Making Your Own Knives

Reader Contribution by Lloyd Kahn
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When I was at the Mother Earth News Fair in Pennsylvania a few months ago, I bought a handmade knife from a mountain man — a guy who dressed in buckskins and made a variety of hunting, trapping, and outdoor tools. The blade was carbon steel, which I prefer over stainless steel. It’s softer and easier to sharpen, even if you have to care for it so that it doesn’t rust.

He told me that it was a Russell Green River blade, so I tracked it down, and ordered about half a dozen different shaped blades from Track of the Wolf. They’re pretty inexpensive at $9-$10 each. I made the first one in the last few days with some manzanita wood I gathered (and dried out) a year or so ago. It’s a bit crude, but I learned a lot and am going to make handles for some paring and skinning knives.

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