iKnife Collector
Custom Knives by Alan Davis
Thought I would start a blog here to showcase the work of my favorite knifemaker. I stumbled across Alan Davis, a knifemaker from Boerne, Texas, in late 2012. I was blown away by his knife designs. Even more astounding was the fact that they were virtually all one of a kind creations. Alan didn't just make one or two patterns and then just outfit them with different materials. Each and every one was pretty much different. While he did have a few designs that people seemed to like and ask for, even those were made a little differently to make them unique. Alan works with all types of handle and blade material ... but does prefer Damascus blades. I currently own 67 of his knives (mainly his linerlock folders, do have a few frame locks, slip joints and fixed blades) and jokingly told Alan that I would love to have owned 100 of his knives before I die. Wasn't sure that would happen (while I sell many of his knives, I have been known to give a some away to close friends, so that they understand why I keep praising Alan's work!) ... but, that milestone was reached on April 19th, 2021, when I hit that 100 goal. He is the only maker who I would have no problem asking to make a knife for me and leaving everything (material/design) up to him ... and be confident that I would be thrilled with the results! I have done this twice .... and thrilled both times!
To start things off, here is one of my favorites that I picked up in 2014 (though I have so many I love, that picking favorites is a very difficult task!). It is a beautiful linerlock folder with amber Sambar stag scales and M3 composite bolsters. The blade measures 3.375" and is made from Damascus by Zoe Crist (in his Blackhawk pattern). Pocket clip is also Zoe's Damascus. Backspacer and liners are nuggetized and anodized a sort of plum color. All in all, a beautiful knife that feels super nice in the hand and is not too large or heavy to carry around clipped to your pocket all day. Hope you like it.
Jan Carter
This one is enough to make me drool! Cannot wait to see more of his work in wood!
Jul 6, 2016
Dennis Hibar
I keep a rag handy when looking at any of my Davis knives!!!! I think I'll post a new one each week. Next will be a nice wood handled one for you!
Jul 6, 2016
Dennis Hibar
(This knife has been gifted.)
I was going to wait until next week to post another Davis ... but I am a creature of routine, so thought Saturday's would be a better day to establish this particular task! Today I'm going to showcase one of my nice Davis folders featuring wood scales.
What you see here is some beautiful Masur birch. Masur is not really a type of birch, as these scales most likely came from silver birch. Masur birch refers to the unique grain pattern, which is caused in some birch species by a genetic defect causing bark and/or knots to grow into the tree instead of out of it. This creates a beautiful grain (IMO). Here, Alan combined the scales with a 3.5" Alabama Damascus blade which has a pattern that totally complements the grain pattern in the wood. Love this knife. Here are more pictures:
Jul 9, 2016
Jan Carter
Dennis,
I never knew about this type of birch and ism't it fantastic! It may be a genetic defect but it produces a natural beauty! Mr Davis did a spectacular job of marrying that wood to this particular Alabama Damascus. Thank you for sharing, this knife is stunning!
Jul 9, 2016
Dennis Hibar
For your viewing pleasure today is one of my favorites (though most of my Alan Davis knives are favorites!).
I find this one very appealing for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the scales. While my favorite handle material on a knife is a beautiful wood ... giraffe bone is a close second (with Mammoth ivory third, and stag fourth). This one sports some green-dyed giraffe bone with great eye appeal. Alan coupled these scales with some M3 composite bolsters and a 3.1875" Chad Nichols Damascus blade in his lizard pattern. It has a really nice shape to it and feels great in hand. One of the things that Alan likes to do is dress up many of his knives with some attractive back spacers. This one is no exception. In addition to the neat file-work, I love the double anodized color!
Jul 16, 2016
Jan Carter
Mr. Davis sure has an eye for matching prime steel with some outstanding handle material!
Jul 16, 2016
Dennis Hibar
He sure does Jan. I'll post a Mammoth ivory next week that has some great eye appeal.
Jul 16, 2016
Dennis Hibar
(Note: This knife has a new home!)
It's Saturday and time for another Davis.
Here is an one that fits so well in my hand, that I almost never want to put it down! Even though I am not a huge fan of flippers, there are a few for which I will make an exception … this is one! It has an overall length of 7.5 inches with a 3.25” Damascus blade by Rob Thomas (in his typhoon pattern). The scales are Mammoth bark ivory and the bolsters are M3 composite. Alan did some intricate file work on the back spacer and double anodized it in blue and gold. This is one of the many things I like about Alan's knives. He does some fantastic carving and filing on many of his back spacers. This one is a real eye catcher!
Jul 23, 2016
Jan Carter
This one truly is a stunner! I am not a file work person but that spring is just beautiful
Jul 25, 2016
Dennis Hibar
Well ... for this coming Saturday's update, I will post a beautiful wood with just stand offs, no back spacer (filed or otherwise!).
Jul 25, 2016
Dennis Hibar
Here is another of my favorite Davis wood liner locks. Here is an example of some absolutely outstanding Texas mesquite adorning a knife. I have a personal, up close relationship with mesquite, as I have been stuck (more than a time or two) with its thorns. Fortunately, as I have told many a friend … some of whom didn’t understand the “Lonesome Dove” reference (more’s the pity), I didn’t need ole Deets to get ‘em out!! Anyway, the blade on this one is a perfectly sized 3” and is made from Carpenter’s CTS-XHP … which is outstanding steel. Bolsters are M3 composite that blend very nicely with the blade and scales.
Jul 30, 2016
John Bamford
Dennis that is a wonderful knife that Mesquite is a fantastic looking wood , I have heard of it but don't remember seeing it before . I did see Lonesome Dove and enjoyed it enormously though alas the reference to Deets escapes me as well . I the stuff is anything like the Blackthorn we have here it must be nasty stuff , when I get stung with blackthorn I almost always get infected .
Jul 30, 2016