We are both proud and excited to bring you another superb knife by custom knifemaker and bladesmith, Karl B. Andersen of Andersen Forge. After handling the first knife we received from Karl, it was uncontested that we would have to get more of these awesome, hand forged blades. The first one we presented on our site was a takedown, birds-eye maple bowie, which sold in a matter of 3 days. It's really not much of a surprise though, once you get to know Karl's work.
Paying utmost attention to blade performance and functionality, Andersen's knives exhibit a simplicity in design, yet remain more than just "aesthetically pleasing." He brings together the best of both world's making a knife that will suit both the extreme user and esteemed collector. His skills with forging steel, woodworking, filework and hot bluing are those that stand out in his inventory of talents. By bringing together these skills and utilizing them, Karl is able to create a knife not quite like any other. Top it all off with a selection of the best, premium materials available, 100% sole-authorship work and his incredibly efficient take-down knife design, and you end up with a knife that will outperform most others in it's class, and look good doing it.
This fighter is in Karl's standard take-down configuration. The 8" blade is hand forged from 5160 Carbon Steel, hand rubbed to a satin sheen and topped off with a shaving sharp edge. The guard and buttcap have been hot blued to a jet black. The top and bottom of the guard, as well as the cap, have been polished to a high mirror finish, and look like black glass. The perimiter of the guard has been given a flat finish, which really brings out the structural lines of the guard. The blued fittings add wonderful contrast to the bright steel and bring the blade and handle together seamlessly.
The handle really is the centerpiece of this knife - a superb, hand-selected piece of exhibition grade Sambar Stag. It is rare to find an example of Sambar this perfect. There are no flaws / filled spots whatsoever. The color and texture may remind one of caramel popcorn! It just makes you want to pick the knife up, and when you do, you'll realize immidiately that this knife was made to perform. The construction is nothing short of rock-solid. The lines where the handle and guard meet are flawless. There are no spaces - not even the slightest - where the fittings and handle meet. It's as if these very different materials were destined to be together. Seriously - the fit on this knife could not be any better. The Sambar feels wonderful in the hand and provides an excellent grip that won't slip, even when wet, due to it's natural formation.
Karl's attention to the smallest details is what makes the final package so great. The sheath for this knife was also hand made by Karl and was made for this knife specifically. The color-scheme of the sheath, an ultra-dark, almost "off-black" brown, matches the sambar stag perfectly, and the button is hot blued to match the fittings, as is the take-down key. This is really the bow on the package. A superb knife by a superb maker, whose work is becoming very popular, very quickly, among both user's and collector's.
