Custom knife advice, please?

[300H&H]

i am having a hunting rifle, custom built and will receive it at the end of may. i have always wanted a custom knife to go with the rifle. as i hunt wart-hogs regularly( twice a week), i would like to have a knife that has a wart-hog tusk for a handle. i would like to use the first wart-hog that i take with the new rifle to donate his tusks to the project.

i have fever than no experience with custom knives. i would like this knife to be a skinning knife with a broad blade with no belly ripper, and some sort of finger protection in case i need to use this knife one day to stab something. i tend to use this knife actively, so it must be good looking as well as practical. it wont be just a show piece.

any recommendation to an armature on knives, and also what is the next step. since i have a primal fear of traveling to Gauteng i would like it, if the knife maker could be in the Bloem Kimberley or Klerksdorp area, or at least if i could courier it if the k/maker is not in above mentioned regions.

[Buffalo Hump]

Good luck with your quest, I am sure there are plenty of custom knife makers in SA who would be happy to make you a knife.

I would just say that I know wartie tusk is a bitch to grind and stinks to high heaven when doing so, so some might not want to utilise that handle material. Although I'm sure if they need the work badly enough they will be flexible.

I would not let that stop you though, owning a custom knife is a joy, especially if you plan to use it.

This is the Knifemakers Guild of South Africa website, which will give you a list of active makers.

http://www.kgsa.co.za/

[Seneschal]

Buffalohump speaks the truth, but let me add that if you are going for a custom knife it is desirable to go for one that is hand-forged out of carbon steel. This is how knives were traditionally made. The forging process results in a truly unique and high quality piece. There are two knife-makers that forge their knives that I have experience with (though no doubt there are many others too): Kevin Harvey and Stuart Smith, and I can recommend both. Kevin doesn't really take orders, so you may want to drop Stuart a line: http://www.forgedknives.co.za/

[claassdj]

I have a damascus Bowie the billet came from heavin forge oh man it is beautifull. Kevin and Heather harvey I do believe)

[KnifeKnowhow]

Bill Burger used to be in Bethlehem (might still be living there), he is an excellent knifemaker.

Since I am in Gauteng you must find someone else :(

I will keep an eye open, if I find a knifemaker in your area I'll post it here.
Good luck with your search!

[PistolBoy]

I also have been having trouble trying to find a knifemaker that is in GP and close to me.

[300H&H]

Since I am in Gauteng you must find someone else :(

there is ways around this Gauteng problem. if you are a knife maker i am interested

[300H&H]

i have through this post and some private posts got some info from a knife maker, i proceeded to order a hunting knife and received it today. will be posting the pics soon. tanks Tiaan Burger for this final product