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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 October 29, 2016 at 4:31: Here is a little gent’s folder that demonstrates why I consider Alan Davis to be a true “custom” knifemaker. I believe I’ve mentioned before that Alan doesn’t make knives in a handful of patterns and then dress them differently. Each one he makes is pretty much a one of a kind custom knife. Case in point is this little beauty. No particular pattern … just a quick sketch before starting the knife. Alan made a few tweaks here and there as he was completing the knife, but the major change came only after he had finished it. The blade is some of Del Ealy’s Lion pattern Damascus and is 2.625” in length. He chose some pale red M3 composite for the bolsters to highlight the bright red synthetic ruby in the thumb stud. He went with a blue theme for the liners and back spacer … which is twist pattern Damascus that Alan nitre blued and sports some chevron firework. Now the scales …. here is where the final change came into play … are Mammoth ivory. Originally, the scales, when polished, were smooth, dark, caramel colored ivory. As he examined the completed knife, he thought it looked too plain. So, he removed the scales and jigged them. Boy … did that add a dramatic touch to the knife! Hope you like it …. I do!!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on October 22, 2016 at 4:46: Today, decided to go with some wood. This one sports some really attractive desert ironwood. Picked this one up from Alan in early 2014 and began to have a love/hate relationship with it in 2015. Really like ironwood, but one of the problems is that it is rarely stabilized, due to the hardness of the wood. Normally, that is not a problem. This one, however, gave me fits. But first, the stats. The blade is some of Delbert Ealy’s Damascus in his serpent pattern. Blade length is 3.375”. The blue anodizing and file-worked liners made this one a pretty snazzy EDC knife. And ….. I loved the beautiful ironwood. This is what the knife looked like when I bought it.

Now … in 2015, I noticed a spit in the ironwood on the presentation side near the thumb stud notch. Must have been deep in the wood and not visible when Alan was shaping that side. Alan asked me to send it back to him and he filled with some high quality CA adhesive. Got it back and could not even see where the spit was. Beautiful repair job. After about 6 months … that blasted split reopened. What to do now? I discussed it with Alan and asked him to just cut the scales and add bolsters. While I hated to lose any of that ironwood, was not sure another repair would hold. Told him to use his best judgement and select bolster material that he thought would look good with the ironwood. He chose some Thunderstorm Kevlar and boy did it look great!!!! Here is what the knife looks like now …. and, I must say, prefer it like this!!!

*Note: This one has a new home and is no longer in the collection.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on October 16, 2016 at 20:09: Thanks Jan .... if you like desert ironwood .... check back next Saturday!!!!

Comment by Jan Carter on October 16, 2016 at 20:04: Just spectacular!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on October 15, 2016 at 5:06: Thanks John. The other one he showed me was equally magnificent. It was easy to see why he couldn't decided whether to keep for himself or sell!

Comment by John Bamford on October 15, 2016 at 5:01: Quite magnificent Dennis !!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on October 15, 2016 at 4:33: Here is an absolutely beautiful (IMO) Mammoth bark folder that I was very lucky to acquire in March of 2016. Actually, Alan felt sorry for me, so I equate this with a pity sale. Three times in a row, I claimed a knife that Alan listed, only to be beaten to the punch by someone else. When his knives come up for sale, they rarely last more than a few minutes or so!! Oh well, the hunt is just as exciting as the score. Anyway, feeling sorry for me, Alan told me he had a couple knives he completed that were sitting in his safe because he couldn’t decide if he wanted to keep them for himself or sell them. He sent me pictures of both and told me that if one interested me, he would let it go. When I saw this beauty … the wallet opened right up! It sports some of the nicest dark blue/black Mammoth bark I’ve ever seen. Handle shape and overall size is perfect. Blade is a hair over 3 inches of Chad Nichols’ Iguana pattern Damascus. Alan chose some of Tony Metsala’s Damascus for the bolsters and adorned the spine with some wonderful file work on back spacer. It also features a hand-sculpted thumb stud in a rather unique mushroom shape.

Comment by Jan Carter on October 9, 2016 at 20:07: Also not a frame lock person but this one would have snagged me too!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on October 8, 2016 at 4:32: As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am not a huge fan of frame locks. That said, I do have a few of Alan’s and always enjoy to add something different or something that is a first of its kind coming out of Alan’s shop. This one hit the mark on both counts. I picked it up in 2013 and it is the first knife that Alan made with a full Timascus frame. I believe he has only made 1 other since. The blade is a little larger than I normally like, measuring in at 3.375 inches … but I really loved the overall look of the knife. Blade is some of Chad Nichols’ Damascus in his Frenzy pattern that Alan gave a somewhat distressed look to better blend with the characteristics of the Timascus. Overall, a very unique knife.

Comment by Jan Carter on October 2, 2016 at 19:22: I have to admit, this is one of the few makers I have seen be sure to roll that edge to maximize the view of such an outstanding damascus! Box elder is an amazing wood for knife making, it dyes very well and shows off that figure just beautifully. I tend to like the earth tone colors in the dyes so this green shouts LOVELY, to me