Well my fine-steeled friends, IT'S CUSTOM TIME.

Viewers of my photo page know that Randy Haas/HHH Knives is one of my favorite custom makers (ever). Shown in this photo is a little project that he and I have been working on...for a while.

If you check out the 3 1/2 other Haas knives that Randy has made for me, you'll see that each and every one is rather remarkable in it's individual "beauty". Indeed, Randy's work...and design sensibilities...produce stunning pieces of steel artistry. Notice that I indicated that Randy had made three-and-a-half knives for me? Are you confused? Seem like a strange thing to say? Well, I also had Randy Haas-rod my Ka-Bar Becker BK2 (also called the "Companion")...via some uber-cool file work and smoking hot wood handle scales. And the Haas-KaBar knife is really where this particular custom knife adventure begins...

After Randy modified my KaBar Becker BK2, I found myself going back to that knife OVER AND OVER AND OVER. If you are familiar with the KaBar BK2 design, you'll know that it's one extremely burly blade...especially in a relatively compact package. While the BK2 is a great knife "out of the box", Randy's work put it "over the top"!

As much as I cherish the Haas-rodded BK2...my being built like a bear makes the knife just a touch smaller than what I consider "ideal". Also, it lacked the kind of blade spine-jimping that my fat thumbsteaks like.

One night, I was laying in bed...thinking about my Haas-KaBar when I had one of those "inspiring moments". In short order, I was out of bed and sitting at my desk sketching a knife design. Looking at this photo...you can probably see some of the BK2 in there. Obviously, it was the "inspiration" behind the new custom-built knife that you see here.

This new knife, which I've named "Black Tiger" (any of you 80's rockers should remember a Y&T album by the same name...LOL), is quite a bit bigger than the BK2...with an overall length of 12" (the BK2 is 10 1/2"). While the BK2 shares much with this new design, there are all kinds of differences.

* The blade is both longer and wider (though we kept the 1/4" thickness from the BK2). Check out the really cool thumb ramp/bump! If you look closely, you may just see that it's a bit different from most thumb ramps. It actually fits my thumbsteaks perfectly!

* We used some very cool Tiger Twist Damascus. As I understand it, Randy Jr. handled this part of the blade...and I've got to say that the pattern, with it's sharp contrasts, is totally impressive!!!!!!!!!!!

* The handle is quite a bit longer...to accommodate my pork chop paws. Also, notice the enhanced shape of the scales? The inspiration for this shape was generated from me staring at photos of Tigers. What an incredible animal! Like nothing else on earth!

* We used Flamed Maple handle scales, dyed in a transparent gray-black. This pattern kind of mimics the stripes on a Tiger!

* We used red spacers and pins to offset the gray-black handle scale color. I find the contrast very "striking".

* The sheath is one of the coolest I've ever seen on a knife. The quality on this is MIND-BLOWING. Dig the red stitching on the leather! Goes with the red spacers!

While this knife is "beautiful" in it's own way (how could a Haas/HHH Knife be anything but?), it has a darker...more intimidating aspect to it than the other projects that we've worked on. AND I REALLY DIG IT BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Randy, as always, did a brilliant job and this knife knocked me out of my seat. Over the past year, I've watched Randy just get better and better. My first knife (The Chopper) blew me away...but every single knife after that has gone a step or two even further...and the Black Tiger is no exception!

Randy is gifted beyond belief...and yet he is a remarkably humble man. Truly a joy to work with. I've never experienced better!