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Bootlegger Knives & Custom Leather
Savannah, TN.
How we got here
As a young boy growing up I can still remember the first knife I ever had. It was a folding pocket knife with the Boy Scouts of America logo on it. I carried that knife proudly on many camping and hiking adventures. Well, like a lot of kids lucky enough to grow up in a rural country setting, my dad would take me along with him and his friends hunting and fishing. This introduced me to a whole new way of life. That upbringing started me on a path to my love of the outdoors. Now, anybody that spends time in the great outdoors knows, a knife is one tool you can't be with out. Well, when I started looking at all the different knives out there, I just loved the variety of different designs. However, being a young man with limited finances I would buy what I thought were some really cool knives at local fairs, sport shops and gun and knife shows. My eyes were soon opened one day when a friend of mine came home from a hunting trip he had been on with his dad. On this hunting trip his father surprised him with his own custom made knife. It was the most awesome knife I had ever held in my hand. The feel, fit and craftsmanship was incredible. In fact, it put every knife I owned to shame. That was my first exposure to the world of custom knife making and deep down inside I knew one day I had to do this. So, I started making some knives and became quite good. I became confident enough to make my own custom knives for people I knew. When I saw the same look on their faces that I had on mine the first time I held a beautiful hand crafted knife, it drew me in even further. Now, I also know that a quality knife needs to be protected and carried securely so, I started learning leather crafting making custom sheaths to go with the knives I make. I also use Kydex material. This allows me to construct a maintenance free sheath for a knife. Kydex is a good choice for hard use applications while leather can be tooled and customized with different color dyes and is a great choice for that personal touch. I can help you choose which is best for you depending on your needs.
Materials
How your projects begin
Handle Materials
Choose from a wide variety of natural and synthetic materials to give your knife the custom look you want. Choices include natural materials like wood, bone, antler or horn. Others can be engineered synthetic materials, these materials can stand up better to harsh and punishing conditions. You can give your knife a wild or custom look by combining any of these materials with custom fasteners, pins, liner materials or spacers.
Your Steel
High Carbon Steel? Tool Steel? Stainless Steel? Different steels have various properties that make them more suitable for different uses. I use a variety of different steels to form blades for custom knives. I can help you decide which steel is best for your knives intended use. Shown is a small selection that can be used. If you're looking for a novelty knife made from various items I can help you with that also.
Custom Projects
Looking back I wish I had kept more pictures of past completed works. I never dreamed that I would have a website for my projects that started as a hobby. If you have an idea that you would like to bring to life, I can help you make it become a reality, whether that idea is something for you or someone special in your life. Hunting, camping, everyday use or protection I can help you design a custom project you will be proud to own, give as a gift or hand down to a young person as a family heirloom. Below are some examples of past work that I completed for customers. Most started as an idea that the customers had and some are modifications of previously made projects. As I complete more projects I will update them here with new photos and descriptions so check back often to see what's new.
The Frontier Knife
This knife was inspired by the old time looks from the days of the frontier that the customer requested. Wanting to keep the look of that period, the blade was forged from high carbon 1095 steel. The handle material is from a whitetail buck that the customer harvested from his property. He wanted to honor the deer and use the antler for the handle. To add a personal custom touch, a brass hand guard and some buffalo horn with spacers were added . The sheath is 10 oz. leather, tooled with border accents and dyed brown. It is hand stitched using a two needle saddle stitch method for ultimate strength. A simple button post closure is used to secure the knife into the sheath.
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Horizontal Belt Knife
This horizontal belt knife was made for a lady to give to her husband as a gift for their Wedding anniversary. The blade is made from CPM154CM stainless steel. The handle is Desert Ironwood with brass pins and thong tubing. The 10oz. leather sheath is oil dyed to match the handle colors and is hand saddle stitched for durability. The sheath is designed to be worn horizontally, either on your left or right side or in the small of your back. It can be worn for front or or rear draw deployment.
Maple Burl Hunter
This knife was made from Nitro-V stainless steel barstock. It has a 4.75" inch blade polished to a mirror shine. The customer chose this Maple Burl handle material to use on this full tang design. It is not only beautiful but has been stabilized with resin to make it strong and durable. The handle is pinned into place with 1/8" brass pins. A small braided lanyard was added just to add a little character. Like all of our projects, a 10oz. leather sheath was made spefiically for this knife so it would fit the exact shape and profile. The customer had this made for his son's birthday. He wanted his son to have something made especially for him from his father. "Nice job Dad".
Drop Point Hunter
This knife was made for the particular needs of a hunter and outdoorsman. This blade is made from CPM154CM steel. The blade is a full tang drop point design made for hard use. Sized so that it would be small enough for field dressing an animal with enough belly to the blade to make an effective skinner. The 1/4 inch thick blade will be strong enough for camping chores or work out in the field. While it may see some hard use this customer still wanted it to have a nicer looking handle. We used a multi-colored laminated wood handle of his choice rather than synthetic material. The handle material is pinned to the tang with 1/4 brass pins. The sheath was made from 10 oz. leather, dyed and treated with natural oils and waxes to keep the leather and stitching in top condition when being exposed to the elements for years to come.
A Combat inspired weapon
This build was one I was truly honored to make. I was asked to make this knife for a gentleman who served as a Marine for Our great country. He wanted to have a weapon to commemorate his time he actively served as a marine. We discussed what his ideas were and we came up with this knife that was reminiscent of his service issued combat knife. The blade is 7 inch long 1/4 inch thick piece of CPM S35VN, one of the best all around stainless steels for this knife. The front guard is silver soldered to the blade for durability. A grooved black and green micarta handle will help keep a grip on this beast and The pommel is held in place with 2 stainless steel pins. The whole package was polished to give it beautiful shine. A 10 oz. leather sheath was made so it could be carried horizontal, vertical or strapped to gear bags for quick deployment as needed. Included in the sheath is a small storage pouch which holds a diamond sharpening stone.
The Chameleon
This little blade is just another example of how popular small evey day carry knifes are. This can be tucked away discreetly thanks to a 4.25" ovarall length. Born from a piece of 440c stainless steel barstock, it will be stored in a simple Kydex sheath. The handle is a synthetic material which has a color changing phosphorescent property. The colors change from Blue to green depending on the amount of natural light and will glow in the dark for hours in the darkness.
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A sons first knife
After a customer had his own custom knife made. His young son fell in love with it so much he decided to have a custom knife made for his son for a Christmas gift. His son is now at an age where he will start hunting soon and already loves the outdoors so, he could not imagine a better gift to give him than his own custom knife. There is no better feeling than seeing your young son receive a gift like this when he knows that you had it made especially for him. Now he feels like he is "just like dad" and that is a wonderful thing.
Something for my husband
When I started posting photos of the knives I had made, I was asked by a lady to help her in coming up with something for her husband as a gift. We sat down one day and went through my sketch pad where I put down my ideas for different designs. She found a style she liked and said she wanted it to be something he could show off. After discussing handle options, I sent her some sketches of ideas for the handle. We came up with a design that she liked and here is the end result. The five inch blade is from CPM154CM barstock ground and polished. The handle material is made from Birdseye Maple sandwiched between Buffalo horn with brass spacers and Bocote wood. Brass finger gaurd and pommel finish it off. The Hand made, 10oz. custom leather sheath with a brass snap closure is where this knife will live untill it is needed to be put to use.
Short &Â Stout
Wanting a no nonsense, workhorse knife ready to take on any daily task, we came up with a design. The blade is a five inch long, one and a half inch wide, clip point blade cut from 1/4 inch CPM154CM stainless steel barstock. The black G10 handle material is about as durable and impervious to the environment as you can get. As usual, the custom sheath is 10oz. leather, dyed black. The sheath is hand stitched with a two needle saddle stitch using kevlar reinfoced green thread. This should pretty much ensure that this knife should be a life long companion to the owner.
Something for everyone
What do you do when you have five people in your family and need to personalize a knife for each? There is a wide variety of handle materials availible so everyone can get a knife with a unique handle. These handle materials were selected by the customer for five family members as Christmas gifts. He previously had a knife made for his wife with a color changing handle material and liked it so much he wanted a knife made for each of the rest of his family. Each handle material choice was made with the personality traits of the person receiving the knife. He told me that these were a big hit with everyone.
My Tanto
This was the seventh project for this customer. After he already had six knives made for his family members, he decided to have one made for himself. He had this concept in his head for years and looked all over to try buy what he wanted. Never being able to buy anything close to what he wanted he figured he he would have to settle for whatever was available. Then one day we happened to meet. So, after we started working together on other projects, he knew he would be able to get exactly what he wanted when the time was right. Well after having knives made for everyone else, he decided it was time. He explained exactly what he was looking for. A Tanto style blade with a look to set it apart from anything else out there. This is the end result. Using Nitro V stainless steel the blade was formed to the size he was looking for. We added brass to accent the black & cobalt blue handle material and colors were carried over to the sheath to compliment the rest of the project. He was very please with the end result. After looking for years he knew he had a one of a kind piece that definitly wold stand out in a crowd.
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I need a knife
As soon as I started this website, I got an E-mail from this man titled " I need a knife". Well my wife told me he was a friend of hers who saw some of my work on her facebook page. After finishing some projects for people for Christmas I was able to start on his knife. We talked back and forth to make sure I built exactly what he wanted. Once I was clear on his wishes, I began working and the end results made him a very happy man. When all the details he wanted in the knife and sheath were made a reality, the results speak for themselves. This is one nice piece to own.
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Bengal Tiger
This design was the inspiration of a Long time hunting buddy. He wanted a knife that was bold enough that it would be easy to find, especially if laid down on the forest floor. With the handle material he choose I think he pulled that off. The blade is made from S35VN steel that will give him a lifetime of service. We made some stainless steel bolsters and pinned them into place using brass pins for a color contrast The 10 oz. leather sheath is dyed to his liking is double stitched with orange thread to match the handle material. Some light tooling of the leather along the stitching lines helps add a little detail. We also integrated a pouch into the back of the sheath which holds a diamond sharpening steel. I sure hope it brings him luck and success with every trip into the woods.
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Another Horizontal Carry Belt Knife
This is the third knife I have made for this customer. When he saw my personal horizontal carry belt knife, and how easily deployed it is when needed, he just had to have one. This full tang knife has a four-inch blade and is made from Nitro V stainless steel. As with most my knives it has a mirror polish finish for the highest corrosion resistance. The handle is made from beautiful brown dyed Maple burl wood pinned to the tang with brass rod and tubing for the addition of a lanyard. The sheath is made from 10oz. leather. It is dyed and tooled with 2 rows of contrasting color stitching. The sheath can be carried on the left or right side, in the front or back and oriented for front or rear draw.
The Japanese Nata Tool
Some people at a certain point in their life just get sick of looking for that blade that they have always wished they had. Then they hear about a guy (that's me) that will make you any knife you want. Well in this case I was approached by a man looking for something truly unique. He wanted a knife fashioned after the Japanese Nata tool. So, after making a couple of templates to get the handle feel just right for him and, the blade length to his liking, the construction started. The Nitro-V stainless steel knife is a full tang design polished to a mirror finish. Black and mustard green G10 scales are the handle material of his choice for this knife and are held in place with brass mechanical fasteners. Since he will be carrying and using this for utility purposes around his property, he chose to have a no nonsense Kydex sheath made to carry it. Well unique is what he wanted and unique is what he got. From what I hear, everyone who has held this knife agrees, it is like no other.
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Five of a kind
I was asked to make five knives for a man and his four best friends that he could give to them for Christmas. As lifelong friends who are dedicated to each other and are always doing some fun and crazy things together, I was proud to take on this task for him. We talked about some ideas he had and when we were done, came up with these. He wanted a natural wood handle, and we chose Cocobolo rosewood for its beautiful rich colors. He also chose to embellish the handles with Buffalo horn and brass spacers. The stainless steel of his choosing for this project was CPM154CM. This is excellent Knife steel and as you can see polishes up very nicely. Matching color coordinated sheaths were made for each knife. with the combination of his choices, I think anybody would be honored to be one of the recipients.
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For my Friends
These two knives were made from CPM154CM stainless steel. The man that had them made gave them as gifts to two deserving people in his life. We did the segmented handles using Striped Ebony and Mopani hardwoods with brass spacers and mother of pearl to add a contrasting and complimenting colors. The 10oz leather sheaths were dyed and highlighted to match the colors in the handle. The double row of contrasting stitching finishes off these sheaths. When you get a gift like this, that someone took the time to have made especially for you. Not only the recipients, but the giver must be very special people.
Angelos Birthday
When you are a proud mom of some amazing kids, I think you are always looking to show them how much they mean to you. I have known such a mother since we were just kids. Now that her children are growing up and becoming fine young adults, she wanted her son, for his Birthday to have a gift that shows how proud she is of him and the fine young man her son Angelo is becoming. We used Nitro-V stainless steel for his knife which polishes up to a mirror like finish. We decided to wrap the full tang handle in Cocobolo Rosewood and pin it all in place with round brass rod. The tang was extended beyond the wood handle material for the addition of a lanyard if desired. The 10oz. leather for the sheath was tooled and a Mohogany color dye was used for a beautiful rich look. Like most of my sheaths, a double row of stitching was used that not only makes the sheath strong but adds some nice detail. It is a wonderful feeling to have children that you can be truly proud of when they become responsible young adults. Happy birthday Angelo
Contact Me
Are you interested in pricing for an idea you have? Wondering about placing an order, or simply want to learn more about what I can do to bring your ideas to life? Simply reach out to me by phone or email and I will get your questions answered. (Certain backgrounds in the pictures are taken at Shiloh National Military Park)
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Thanks for looking!
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Bill Sears
Knife and Leather Creator
731-926-5053
