If you have a fascination for knives, hunting knives in particular and beyond that for any item which has been lovingly hand crafted and shows the care and attention to detail which only comes from the hand of a well trained, experienced, and  dedicated craftsman who obviously has a passion for his work then you will love custom made hunting knives.

There are many people who collect knives as a hobby and have treasured collections, sure it’s long been a favourite with men and boys but there are ladies too who share the fascination. Maybe it started with a pocket knife or a favourite hunting knife handed down by a Grandfather.

Whatever the reason there is a huge market in collectible knives from novelties with company logos on the blade or the handle to commemorative knives issued in limited editions, but the only knife worth collecting for some dedicated knife enthusiasts is the custom made hunting knife.

Hand crafted from start to finish, perhaps with a leather sheath which has also been lovingly handmade for that knife alone, these custom hunting knives are truly works of art. Never mind the perennial discussion about what is art and what is craft, many of us feel that which resonates with us when viewed or handled  and which bears the hallmarks of having been created by the skill and love of his materials of a true craftsman, that’s a work of art.

With blades hand forged from the finest steels and ground to perfection, maybe even hand rubbed to a fine finish. Handles are made from exotic woods such as cocobolo, snakewood, ironwood,, bone, antler, horn, even fossil bone. Sheaths are also hand crafted from fine quality leather, and while the first requirement is to protect you and the knife the sheath may feature decorative tooling and will be a fine work of art and a collector’s piece in itself.

Hunting knives they may be but there is an infinite variety of styles to choose from, fixed blade (the sort which will need a leather sheath) or folding knife in which the blade folds into the handle, these can safely be carried in a pocket though these too can be carried in a small sheath on the belt. Folding knives usually have a locking mechanism to prevent the blade closing on your fingers while the knife is in use. Fixed blade knives will normally be stronger because the material of the blade runs straight through the handle, this part is called the tang.

Hunting knives also have a variety of blade styles, drop point usually featuring a heavier thicker blade which will allow the use of the full length of the blade for tasks such as skinning. Clip point knives have a thinner blade with a more defined point. Then there are the dedicated skinning knives which tend to have a sweeping curve to the blade for effortless skinning.

Whatever your preference for a custom hunting knife you be sure to find something on offer from a large number of fine craftsmen.