I have been working on this project and will continue to for some time.
It is taking time, as detailed information about these knives is somewhat difficult to find, because they were often created by illiterate smiths in very small shops..
I really wanted my version of these knives to be interesting and modern, yet faithful to the overall aesthetic and feel of the originals.
This style handle dates most likely to sometime in the early 20th Century France.
Knives of similar design can be found in French paintings dating back to the Middle Ages in the Alsace region of France.
And more often than not were seen on butcher knives of various sizes, but with similar blade styles throughout.
I created one fancy utility I called French Flower Utility two years ago, and now have finished these three.
The top knife is going to a donation for an outdoors school in my area called Outside Now.
The French version and bottom Utility are available now on my website for anyone interested.
One of the main things I wanted to do with this style handle, was to see how it would adapt to a French Knife Blade Pattern.
I did this on the middle knife and it really is a sweet-one! I have two more on the bench one of which will be finished in the next few weeks.
It's interesting, because this style handle was a very simple slot construction done mostly by simple smiths starting in the early part of the 20th century in Alcase France.
....and as I can do so well, I have figured out how to make it more challenging, by creating these with a stick tang configuration with the front part of the blade actually registering into the handle.
The originals were in a way registered…so this too remains somewhat faithful to this old design.
One of the choices was to create these in modern materials for the most part, and yet, still remaining faithful to the three pin
(would have been three birds-eye rivets, or washer with peened pins over them in the past) and registering the entire choil-area into the handle.
I hope you enjoy seeing these new ones and at the end of the post the one I did two years ago.
More will certainly be made, and some adaptations to blade styles will emerge.
Thanks for looking and Enjoy the images.
-DON
Top Knife in Koa and 1095 Koa was a gift to to me from USN Member Knifemaker Matthew Gregory...so it's cool to pass this energy along in this donation knife!
Middle is Very Rare Westinghouse Burgundy & Ivory Micarta, blade is 1095
Bottom is some 1990's International Paper company Brown paper Micarta,....and though not that pretty, it's some super tough material, blade is 1095.
In the image of the two smaller knives is posed a knife marked "Paul Bocuse"
and it's a stainless steel bladed version of this old design created in Japan sometime in the 1980's I believe.
This was one the knife that inspired these smaller ones to be created.
BUT...It all started two years ago with this a 1940's Sabatier version I scored....
.....so clearly I am not the only one who decided to recreate these old handle patterns in modern-times....
and the resulting knife I did in 2014
.....is one in Westinghouse and W2, fine hand engraved flower and fine silver inlay.
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