What I do with some of my time.

Since I've mentioned in my profile and elsewhere that I'm a part-time custom knifemaker, I thought perhaps it was time to actually show off some of my work.
I started out years ago doing fairly artsy stuff, although always with a bent towards practicality.
I've largely moved away from this these days, focusing more and more on making knives that lend themselves to certain environments, certain ways of carrying and certain methods of use.
This has led me to the kind of knife that I most commonly make these days when I have the time.
Inspired by the work of Warren Thomas, I came up with my own approach to making knives using titanium/composite laminate and this has proven quite successful.
I have knives in use by (well, I hope they're using them!) by people as diverse as private investigators and Diplomatic Security Service agents.
I make my knives to be easy to conceal. Easy to access. And to be reliable in situations where a last-ditch tool can mean the difference between life and death. Thus, the name of my "company" and the name of this blog, Special Circumstances.
Part of the philosophy behind making an easily concealable "weapons system" is the carry method and the sheath. The sheath itself can make or break an otherwise well-designed knife and for me it's a very important part of the over-all package. So I make all my own sheaths. I also make holsters for other gear, and I'll include a few pictures of that below.

So, on to the knives.
These won't be shown here in any chronological order.

First up, the Interdictum. A smallish, wide blade with a handle that facilitates it's use as a push knife as well as allowing you to use it in other grips. It's carried on the outside of the belt, towards your centerline. This position allows you to access it with either hand and it's discreet. The sheath uses a mounting system that I came up with, consisting simply of shock-cord that goes around your belt and a piece of textured foam rubber on the back of the sheath that stops it from sliding around too much. It's surprisingly secure and keeps the knife snug to the belt.
First picture up shows the knife and to give you an indicator of size, I typically use a size large glove. The Interdictum was made using G10 for the composite. All my laminated knives have the edge impregnated with tungsten carbide using electro-spark deposition.

Here in the second picture, you can see the sheath and the attachment system.

Up next is the Pugilist. This was my first laminated blade and used carbonfiber for the blade part with canvas micarta handles. This was also my first foray into using handle styles that allow for the use of multiple grips with the emphasis being on the use as a push knife.

Skipping back to a more traditional type of knife, here is the Garm.

Thin, sleek, pointy and sharp.
The Garms, of which there have been several all have a few things in common.
The blades were handforged by Aage Frederiksen, one of the pre-eminent Danish bladesmiths, forged in K990 carbon steel and differentially heat-treated. The blades are of the zero-bevel type with very thick spines and a distal taper that leads into an absolutely wicked point. They were all, with the exception of one, polished and cold-blued.
The handles completely enclose the tang and are barely thicker than the blade itself. Retention comes courtesy of the handle profiles that I came up with. Handle materials includes G10, canvas micarta and carbon fiber.
The Garm in the picture had a three-layer handle with a carbonfiber core, canvas micarta slabs and a G10 guard. The sheath was set up for static cord deployment and it carried beautifully.



This next knife was the first knife I made using an Aage Frederiksen blade.
The handle was made from Ebony, elephant ivory (legally acquired thankyaverymuch) and buffalo horn.
The pommel was hand-carved by me from buffalo horn and depicts Odin. Thus the knife was called Odin's Nagli or Odin's Nail. The sheath was also done by me, in plain oak-tanned leather set up for a cross-draw. My brother now owns this knife.

Next up is another Garm. This one was quite a bit smaller and also the first one with a tanto-like point. I really like this picture since it shows the temperline that Aage Frederiksen puts on his blades so well.
As you can see from the picture, a very slim little knife. Canvas micarta handle with a G10 guard.

Moving right along, we come to the biggest laminated knife I've made to date, the Zero Hour.
With an almost 7 inch blade, this one was interesting to make. I also used a slightly different carbonfiber than I'd used previously, one that didn't have a woven top-layer. This is the reason for the slightly different look to it. The handle was canvas micarta. I am quite fond of this design.

Although I think my personal favorite may still be the Xerxes. My first persian-inspired design, this one came out just beautifully. Alive in your hand, it moves with speed and purpose. In reverse grip, it feels like your hand just sprouted a claw. The handle on this one was dimpled to increase grip without causing the handle to snag on clothing.

Here is the second one of the Xerxes-type knives that I've made.
This one had a somewhat more refined handle-shape and the handle scales were left smooth at the request of the customer.

This next one is mostly illustrative. It's a macro picture of what the edge of one of my blades looks like with the tungsten carbide impregnation.

This next knife is called the Sliver and the reason for this is almost self-evident.
Very small, only a few inches of blade and the only knife-design I've made that is chisel ground.
This was meant to be a very compact hide-out blade that would be easy to conceal.
G10 and titanium with a simple sheath that could be worn on a static cord inside the waistband or hung around your neck. The minimal handle allows a surprisingly good grip and control over this small knife.

And here is the Malevolentia. The latest of my designs, this one uses what's commonly referred to as a capsule-style handle. This is similar to what is used on the HideAwayKnife, but the execution is different. This is meant to be used in either forward or reverse grip. Simple to access, almost impossible to disarm and you can still use your hands for various tasks without dropping the knife. I used flame-resistant MILSPEC G10 for this one.

And lastly, we have one of the more pretty knives I've made.
The blade is a classical dagger profile, hand-forged by Swedish bladesmith Johan Gustavsson.
The handle was made with spermwhale tooth (legally harvested and almost a 100 years old) and pink ivory. It was shaped and polished by hand until it was almost mirror-smooth.
The sheath is oak-tanned leather, again set up for cross-draw.

The next couple of pictures are of a magazine carrier I made for a friend. It's for a Glock 17 Magazine and will as far as I know also work with a Glock 19 magazine. Low-profile, high-ride, I tend to refer to this as my "bikini" magazine carrier since it's so minimal in bulk compared to many commercially available products.



And there you have it, folks!
This is not a complete inventory of the knives and holsters I've made. There were several more that I don't have the pictures of any more and some that I never got around to taking pictures of.
I hope you liked what you've seen!