A bit of history about my knife making   Custom works   |  Prices   |   Payment  |  Shipping *AJH* knives   Gallery (1/8 pages) - Knives and Designs - Stone handles   Warranty and Customer Service   |   Where your money goes   Contact me with Your Comments, Questions, Orders   Your Privacy

For many years, one of my hobbies has been making knives.

My interest in the knives and edged weapons in general seemed to be always part of my life.
When I was just a kid, I have bought a couple of cheap hunting knives, but very shortly broke both. Curiously both tangs broke inside the guard at the blade.
My first ever knife repair job - take all apart, than had my uncle weld the tangs back onto the blades, and me putting everything back together as if it never broke. Not wanting to spent more allowance on more cheap knives later on, I have decided to make a knife for myself that would be unbreakable.
I have made the first one out of thick power hacksaw blade, and have re-designed the straight traditional transition from the blade to the tang to add strength to the obviously weak spot. The knife was pretty crude looking, but never broke, and pretty soon all of my friends wanted me to make them one too. so, that is how it all started. Making knives in the school shop, my uncle's blacksmith shop, and later in the mill's shops.
I have learned how to forge and heat treat hardenable steel later in the collage workshop, and found that extra dollars spent on top quality materials for blades and handles made a big difference in quality and appearance. Ending up with a professional finish was the biggest challenge of all, but finally achieved by years of practice - grin..

I used to make knives in my spare time, which was at premium at best, but enjoyed the challenge of creating something a bit different every time, and got good at it. Done it all for fun, and to make just enough money to have enough materials to make more knives. Life was good, and making knives a good pastime.
However, I have recently retired, and just can't subsidize the hobby from my meager pension.
The Tax-man did take all I have made in the past, and a lots more on top in interest.
The only option was to change the hobby into a business, paying the taxes, so here comes the price increase.

I have made many skinners, hunters, boot and combat knives, belt buckle and chute knives, large Bowie knives and toothpicks for black powder clans, fancy Scimitars and daggers, large presentation matched sets, purse knives, my own free designs and customer specific and precision ones.
Have and customized and sometimes even improved many factory knives. So - No need to worry and hesitate to place an order.

What makes my knives collectible is the fact that each is top quality original, unique in appearance, and all made by hand.
In the making of new knives or replacing the old parts in my repairs, I use only the best quality materials.
None available. There are limits as to variety of working blade shapes, so some will be similar, but I do not make duplicates, or mass-produce any particular shape, and I try to make each knife as individual as possible.

Pictures of some of my past & present work are available on a few web pages for your reference.

Picture & Design Gallery (1/8 pages)  |  Go back to Top

CUSTOM DESIGN

An important part of your purchase price when you buy one of my hand made knife
is The Originality. And of course countless hours away from my family which is beyond any price.
Be it as it may, do not ask me to make copies, or replicas of a knife you like in my Galleries.
I simply do not make copies.
That would diminish the value of both knives- the original's, and yours would always be only a copy.
I can only make "One like that one" but the real Original.

Design your own knife

It is a great experience, and Most importantly, the knife might even fit your hand just right.
If you are ordering, keep this in mind and give your hand size.
Small - 4-1/2" long, Medium - 4-5/8" long, Large - 4-3/4" long, Extra large - 5" long   Choose one of many varieties of exotic handle materials, you can have inlays, fancy file works, scrim-shaw.
I have no capabilities for engraving, but have links to many engravers in the Master Index.
All materials used for your knife cost you only as much as it cost me, and I shop around for a best deal. You can ship me your own materials.
  I make knife sheaths or scabbards from top quality leather, glue and rivet, copper wire sewn,
  Kydex or Concealex or wood, and custom fit to each blade.

I have not found a satisfactory and lasting way of preventing brass from tarnishing on the working knives, therefore fittings and rivets I mostly use are Nickel/Silver alloy.
Handles are highly polished hard and exotic woods like Ebony or Cocobolo, woods from Australia or Morocco, or imitation ivory embellished with multiple or single color scrim-shaw, or even from Recon stone like Lapis, Malachite, Azurite etc., usually separated from the full tang or fittings with colorful spacers.
If you have a specific materials or look of the handle in mind, the Select Grade of woods of exquisite color or figure cost sometimes 2-3 times the base price, particularly rare and exotic burls, matched grain, Chromawood® Stamina® wood etc.

I make my blades mostly out of 440C and ATS-34 stainless steels, and now also from India Damascus and Thunderforged� Damascus.
Planer blades (modified D2) make great knives, and I do make a few now and then from this material.
I harden all my blades to 58-60 Rc scale, and triple heat treat, finishing ATS 34 in dry ice (sub-zero temperature)
 The forging of 440-C and ATS-34 gives me the flexibility to expand the blade shapes and curves and leaves less material to be
 ground off. The repeated heating and cooling of the steel while forging also gives the steel the time to reduce internal stresses and even up the structure. Works for me.
Blades are hollow or flat ground with and apple seed edge, which seems to hold an edge longest,
and sharpened to a razor shaving sharpness. I do a chisel edge on request - dulls faster, but sharpens easier with the stone.

Each forged blade is marked with my trademark and number.
Blades out of Damascus and planer blades are mostly unmarked
Hand Made Collectible Art
Not everyone's hand is the same size and the Custom Hand Made knife is the answer.
Every knife is one of a kind, hand crafted original.

If you are a right handed person, a good place to have a knife hanging from is a belt on your left side, so you can grab the sheath safely with your left hand and draw the knife with right. The opposite goes for the left handed person.
Swivel belt loop angles the sheath naturally when so grabbed. When ordering, specify your preference. It is preferable to make all arrangements by e-mail. Any developments, change of mind, design, scanned pictures of work in progress or checking on shipping can be relayed fast.

Tony Hnilica *AJH* Custom Knives & Services PO Box 657 LYTTON, B.C. V0K-1Z0 CANADA [tell: (250)455-2594]

This phone number is for shipping only Custom knife order form

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