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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 August 26, 2017 at 4:39: Let’s shift from wood back to some Mammoth ivory this week. Here’s another small folder Alan made in 2014. The heavily crackled and crusted bark scales really stand out. Blade is from some of Del Ealy’s lion pattern Damascus and measures in 2.625”. Alan added a Damascus back space to this one for some contrast between the liners.

Comment by Jan Carter on August 24, 2017 at 18:42: WOW! The baby snake is very unique! The size would make it a good user for me also and anything Alabama Damascus Steel works well for me also LOL

Comment by Dennis Hibar on August 19, 2017 at 4:27: (Note: This knife has a new home!)

This is probably my second most frequently used Davis. I have two that I always use around the house. The most used is my small jigged bone liner lock that Alan made in 2010. This one takes second place in the most used category. And … it is a joy to use. It is another mini-liner lock. Alan made this one in 2013. It has a 2.5” Alabama Damascus blade and Madrone burl scales. I call it my baby snake. Why? Scroll down through the pics!

And, here is why I call it my baby snake!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on August 12, 2017 at 4:53: (Update 11/23/21: This one has been gifted)

This is the last of the 4 of Alan’s frame locks I have in the collection that I’ve yet to post. I’m really a liner lock guy, so don’t really know why I have 4 frame locks … other than the fact that I somehow like each of them! With this one, I just love the hand carved titanium frame and clip. The blade is Elmax and measures in at 3.3125”. Fit and finish is on par with all of Alan’s knives, which is to say … outstanding. The one thing I DO like about his frame locks is that they are thin enough to make for a great back pocket knife.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on August 5, 2017 at 4:40: It is not bad to feel a little blue when I am toting this blue Mammoth Ivory Davis around!! Alan was really surprised by these scales. They didn’t look nearly as vibrant before he went to work shaping and polishing them up. The beautiful colors seemed to come to life as me removed a little of the top layer of the Mammoth while shaping them to the liners. Alan used a Del Ealy lion pattern Damascus for the 3 inch spear point blade and some of Del’s cheetah pattern Damascus for the bolsters. The back spacer on this one is pretty neat as well. At first glance, it looks like he used a blue anodized, textured spacer between two gold anodized strips. In reality, it is just one piece that Alan double anodized and then textured the center portion. Alan is always trying different things with his back spacers … this one is exceptionally nice.

Comment by Dennis Hibar on July 29, 2017 at 4:43: Here’s a desk knife I got from Alan back in 2013. This one sees daily use for cutting tasks that extend far beyond opening the mail! The blade is made from 52100 and is 3.25” long. Alan dressed the spine with some nice file work. Scales are polished bone with ruby red G10 spacers. My daughter used to call it a glorified letter opener. Hmmmm … I beg to differ, since I can open mail with it in the evening and shave with it in the morning!!!! Okay, I wouldn’t …… but I could .... just sayin'!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on July 22, 2017 at 4:36: [Update: This one has been sold.]

Here’s another Davis that is a little bit on the large size for my needs, but keep it in the collection because I like the wood! For this one, Alan used some nicely figured, dyed fiddleback maple. The random pattern Damascus blade (1095 & 15n20) is a hair under 3.5 inches and has a nicely convexed edge. Alan made a deep carry clip for this one, so it fits great in the pocket.

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on July 17, 2017 at 8:32: Nice looking knife , Dennis.
Yes .. the giraffe bone is nice .. kind of a grain to it I'm not used to seeing in dyed bone.

!! . SWEET . !!

Comment by Dennis Hibar on July 17, 2017 at 4:57: As do I Jan! Hard for me to pass up a nice giraffe bone.

Comment by Jan Carter on July 15, 2017 at 19:29: Oh how I love a good giraffe bone handle! The take a dye in such an amazing pattern. They easily rival mammoth in my eyes. I like that he let the bone carry the look of the knife. A nice subtle pattern in the Damascus. As for the craftsmanship, I have yet to see one that I would not love!