A good knife start with good materials.  A piece of steel is selected and an outline of the knife to be made is drawn on the steel.

The outline is then carefully cut out, this will become the blade and inside of the handle.

The next step is to take the steel to the grinder and grind it down for a more precise shape.

After grinding, Paul identifies where the holes in the handle will be for weight distribution and attaching the handle.  He will then drill out the holes.

Next Paul will go back over the blade and define how he wants the blade to look and he will clean the steel.

Heat treating in a Kiln is the next process. Once the knife has reached temperature it will be cooled in oil for O1 and cooled in air for AEB-L. Then check straightness and into a low temp oven to finish the heat treating.

Once the steel comes out of the oven, it is marked and taken to the grinder and the knife edge is formed.

Every knife is then hand-sanded down to it’s finished edge. 

Next Paul begins the woodwork for the handle, sometimes this includes dying and stabilizing the wood.  Once the wood is ready, the end of the handle closest to the blade is shaped and finished.

Once the handle is shaped, it will be glued and pinned on the blade and then finished.

Next he etches the makers mark on the blade.

The knife is then cleaned and a final sharpening is performed. 

Once the knife is complete the leatherwork begins and a sheath is created.