Knives as gifts or rewards ?

J

John T Wylie Jr.

Rockstar and ACE vBulletin troubleshooter
A co-worker of mine came to me for advice , her son will be making Eagle Scout by years end , and she was trying to decide to get him camping gear or a knife as a reward. I suggested she go with the camping gear.
That shocked her , since I am known as the knife nutt at work. Go figure ;)

When she asked Why not a knife ? I informed her that he is getting a reward knife , only she ain't paying for it , then I asked her permission to make him one , which after showing her pictures of some of my past work as well as my carry knife , she readily agreed.

This is what I have came up with so far , blade steel 154CM .140 thick , blade is just under 3.4" , it will have a tapered tang , red liners and green micarta ( though I may opt for ironwood ) , 20LPI checkering with the thumb jimping, with a leather sheath. Hope to get it ground this week and then off to Paul Bos for HT.

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I am taking pictures as I progress and will print out and place them in a small album.

What I am thinking is a way to work the Eagle Scout emblem into the knife , hoping to find a leather stamp for the sheath as well. Any ideas or suggestions ?

Anyone know just how many scouts earn the rank of Eagle each yet ?
 
Thanks bud , this is a redesign of a knife I made for a guy who ordered something for his red stag hunt in New Zealand last year.
 
John, you're a stand-up guy! 2thumbs My hat's off to you. Eagle Scout is still an achievement that means something in this jaded world. My hat's off to your coworker's son too.

Sorry, I can't help with either of your questions though.
 
Hey John, That is very awsome of you! It's good to help the scouts out. I have a different group come to my shop a couple of time a year to talk knives and/or put some togethor.
I am pretty sure tandy has a leather stamp I think. As for the knife I have thought about this before & I think if you go to a scout office or scout supply store you can buy a tie tack that is metal. There is one for each level of scouting. I thought it might be cool to set the tie tack in the handle. The only thing is I don't know if you can just walk into one of thos places and buy stuff or if you have to be a scout leader. I am sure if you told them what you were up to they would probley sell you what ever you wanted. Hope this helps.
 
In 2008 52,025 scouts received their Eagle award. I have given knives to four scouts and have three more coming soon. I would also like to find a stamp to mark the sheath.
 
Good on ya John!
A couple of months ago I delivered a 25 knife order to the Forrestry Service. These knives were presented to 25 firefighters in Mississippi that went above and beyond the call of duty.
The contract required that the Forrestry Service logo be somewhere, and the only place was the sheath. Buckeye Engraving out of Ohio made a custom stamp for me , and the price was very reasonable. I don't know if you could justify it for one knife, but it's a thought.
 
Sure is the perfect gift, John! I bet the Scout is going to be proud for the rest of his life because of receiving such a gift.
 
This is as far as I have got , its now ready to go to HT , hopefully Paul Bos can squeeze it in before the holiday.

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Man that looks clean for going to HT! If everything I've heard about Mr Bos is true, and I've no reason to question anything, you'll get it back before the holidays. I'm really looking forward to seeing this one done.

Did you find a stamp for the sheath? I got to thinking, you could probably have a stencil made to etch the blade.
 
Thanks Dave , I thought about getting a stencil made , but right now that is cost prohibitive for me. Also running on a tight deadline with very short periods of shop time available this month , my goal now is to finish it and the leather sheath on time.
 
John T Wylie Jr. said:
red liners and green micarta ( though I may opt for ironwood )

What I am thinking is a way to work the Eagle Scout emblem into the knife , hoping to find a leather stamp for the sheath as well. Any ideas or suggestions ?
Click to expand...

Personally, I would avoid the red/green colors and just go for a timeless nice wood.


You can get a fantastically intricate and detailed logo etched into the blade If you visit a laser engraving shop.
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All you need is a good digital image of the logo.
From the research I have done expect to pay a minimal charge $ 10 to $ 15.

For a one time use, it's much cheaper and faster than having stencils or stamps made.

Phone book listed:
Laser Engraving
Trophy Shop
Engraved gifts

From a google search in your area they do it here
http://local.yahoo.com/info-20263161-crown-trophy-henderson
 
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I thought about wood , and if I find some decent wood that is stabilized , I may opt for that , I was more or less going for a low maintenance knife , since I am unsure how he would be into knife maintenance. Going from the dry desert , up to the moist mountains often and back again , would require a nice stabilized wood.

I tried to get a few places locally to laser etch blades before , as soon as they heard "knife" , they lost all interest. I was thinking of just getting his initials and Rank: Eagle 2009 on the blade.
 
Awesome , thank you !

I will get the correct spelling of this young mans name and call Ernie in the morning. If you are ever in Vegas , first drink is on me :)
 
Personally, I think green micarta with red liners is so classic and recognizable, it's a great option. The stability of micarta is an important factor too, not to mention its hardiness vs most stabilized wood. If I could, I'd use only micarta for knife handles. Or for most anything else. :)
 
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