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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 September 2, 2018 at 14:29: Thanks Rick and Jan. I really like this one. Gotta say something, and it is nothing that will surprise or offend Alan. While I consider myself to be somewhat of a hack when it comes to photography .... Alan just plain stinks!!! I am certainly glad his knifemaking skills don't mirror his photography skills! I view this as a plus. When I see him post a pic of a new knife (having owned so many of his pieces), I kind of know what it will look like in the flesh, so to speak, rather than what the photo depicts. That gives me a little edge when it comes to snagging a piece! I don't have to think as much as other might. When I saw his posted pics of this one, I knew immediately that it would look fantastic in person, despite Alan's somewhat underexposed and washed out pics. For this, I thank him ... because the knife now resides in my collection! One more thing ... I don't care for many of Markus Balbach's Damascus patterns ... but his herringbone is out of this world. It has a chatoyancy that photographs just can't capture. Beautiful stuff.

Comment by Rick Propas on September 2, 2018 at 10:48: Since I missed it, I was hoping it was you who snagged it. Well played. It is gorgeous!!

Comment by Jan Carter on August 31, 2018 at 20:37: TextureTech bolsters ! That is just the icing on the cake right there! LOL, he knew...this one screamed DENNIS!!!! Congrats my friend, it is just beautiful

Comment by Dennis Hibar on August 31, 2018 at 18:07: Newest Davis just in. Nicely sized gent's folder with Sambar stag scales, bronze TextureTech bolsters and a 3.125" Markus Balbach Damascus blade in his herringbone pattern. Everything about this one is perfect (but that goes without saying!) Alan must have thought I would do my best to snag this one, because he put his makers mark on the inside of the back-spacer! He knows I don't like it cluttering up the pattern of a Damascus blade!!!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on July 18, 2018 at 16:25: Looking forward to seeing them Rick.

Comment by Rick Propas on July 17, 2018 at 18:58: It's been said, but it is absolutely stunning. A great combination of horn and metal! Well done, my friend. With your leave I may show off a couple of my more recent acquisitions from Alan's forge.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on July 17, 2018 at 16:52: Thanks John. Alan told me he calls the horn a fluke. It wasn't this green before he started working and shaping it. The more material he took off, the nicer it became ... revealing those nice green, yellow and orange hues. Fluke or not .... I'm in love with it!

Comment by John Bamford on July 17, 2018 at 12:31: Fabulous knife Dennis.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on July 17, 2018 at 4:57: Thanks Jan. I have to laugh when I say this, but the horn is one of the primary reasons I bought this one. The reason I laugh is that my daughter would say ... why don't you just buy a piece of horn if you like it so much ... to which I would reply that it is just not the same as having it adorn a knife!