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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.

Stay tuned ....

Tags: Alan, David, Knives

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Comment by Dennis Hibar on February 7, 2020 at 16:57: Another Alan Davis slip joint made its way into the collection. The more I look at it … the more I am thinking it will be part of my daily carry for a long, long time! Bolsters and handmade shield are antiqued copper, which … along with the copper pins … go really well with the jigged bone covers. The 2.625" blade is made from some of Del Ealy’s random pattern Damascus.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on January 25, 2020 at 10:28: There's a new Davis in the house. This smaller slip joint arrived yesterday. Sports some nice natural Sambar stag covers, copper pins, and a 2.75" modified Wharncliffe blade made from some of John Gulso's random pattern Damascus.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on December 22, 2019 at 9:55: Okay Rick .... Did the polish on the new Davis yesterday. Also did a sharpness test before and after using the EdgeOnUp. As I said in that post discussion, not sure if the BESS score really means anything, but it does serve as a benchmark. Alan's edge scored a BESS score 362 (new high end cutlery edges). His edge bevel was 24 dps. I sharpened and polished to 23 dps to make sure I removed as much of the etch at the edge shoulder as possible. After sharpening and polishing, tested again and my BESS score came in at 198 (utility razor blade edges). Here are before and after pics using the same background as my original pics below:

Before:

After:

Makes the knife look SO much nicer with a polished edge contrasting with the beautiful Damascus.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on December 19, 2019 at 14:01: They are, Rick ... it is just that I don't like to see remnants of the etch on the edge bevel of a Damascus blade! A beautiful knife deserves a polished (or often ... mirror polished) edge!!! I do this to EVERY knife that I plan to carry .... and some that I don't!!!

Comment by Rick Propas on December 19, 2019 at 12:21: So, I'm not the only one who polishes maker's edges . . . Though I must say that Alan's edges are exemplary.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on December 19, 2019 at 12:03: Trust me ... looks even nicer in person!!!! Going to work on the edge sometime soon to fully polish it.

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on December 18, 2019 at 16:45: !! . ART . !!

Comment by Rick Propas on December 18, 2019 at 16:28: That is a stone stunner!!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on December 17, 2019 at 16:48: New Davis in the house! Pounced on this one faster than a cat on a mouse! This liner lock sports nice Sambar stag scales, a 3.0625" blade made from Burke's Dragon's Breath Damascus, and Tony Metsala Damascus bolsters. A real beauty!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on November 24, 2019 at 12:03: Added a new Davis to the collection. Beautiful black lip MOP scales with copper snakeskin carbon fiber bolsters and a 3.0625" A2 blade. He also added some texturing to the blade spine, much like on one of the slip joints I got from him.