Every knife that leaves this shop is photographed before it goes — because once it's gone, it's gone. One of one, every time. Each and every knife has its own unique character - and attitude.
What you can expect…
Unusual scale materials like giraffe, impala, mammoth ivory, kirinite, Trustone and carbon fiber to name a few. Sometimes the blade is stainless steel, other times exotic damascus or san mai from makers like Baker Forge, Adam DeVille, Mike Norris, Bertie Reitveldt and others. I dress them up with filework, engraved locktabs, sometimes gemstones and when it’s done, it’s art. The fit and finish is by hand — my hands. No assembly line, no CNC machines - just me.
knives that speak for themselves…
the gallery
Some older, some more recent, these are examples of knives and a little taste of what has been and what can be done…
If you haven’t visited it, my YouTube channel has many videos showing work over the years.
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Latama - titanium
Made for the 2026 Atlanta Blade Show, this unique 9” latama bolster release was made as a collaboration entry and features solid titamium scales which were hand engraved and selectively annodized by my friend Wilfred (“Chip”) Valtakis II.
The spine is custom engraved with a matching pattern, the brass liners are coined, and the blade is full, hollow ground titanium alloy that was hand colored with heat to create an hombre effect! Ethiopian fire opals adorn the fire button and locktab.
This knife represents almost 50 hours of work and sold for $3500 within minutes of being posted on the Latama website. It is the ONLY Latama knife marked Latama USA.
custom leverletto
A gift from my friend and mentor, Bill DeShivs, this hand-engraved leverletto, like many knives that fall in my hands, received some minor modifications including filework, coining and new ram’s horn scales.
It’s not for sale and part of my personal collection. (It will shave a fly’s ass!)
side lock / tortoise
Perhaps one of my favorite designs in the past years, this is a 9” Latama picklock with a half-grind blade that I modified using tortoise Kirinite and ivory accents with a unique side-lock safety.
I have only done this safety a couple of times but it remains a favorite design.
SOLD
latama customs
These are but a few of the many exotic customs I do for Latama.
Tearing them down and rebuilding them from the ground up, I take great pride in the finished product. Most of them represnt 7 to 10 hours of work in addition to materials.
From top to bottom there is a 9” “Woodland” bolster release in mammoth ivory with custom engraving on the spine and a sterling spider locktab,
Next is a 9” model in True Blood Kirinite with barbed wire engraving and afire opal locktab.
Modeled after a knife called “Plissken” that was custom made for a client, the King Cobra is an 11” Latama with Ivory Juma scales, snake belly engraving and a solid sterling cobra head on the locktab.
Last but not least is “Baphomet". It’s a mean, green 11” beast with a 3-D engraved locktab and malachite scales.
All these knives sell within hours of posting on Latama’s website and usually in the $1500-$1600 range.
osso
Without question, this is one of the creepiest knives I have ever made for a client, but I can’t help but to love it. Named “Osso”, Italian for bones, it’s not for everyone but it certainly is a conversation piece. It is a celebration of — well…remains.
It started as an 11” Frank Beltrame kriss bolster release. A good knife but not super exciting. I added giraffe bone scales with ivory accents, made it into a wasp body, came up with filework that looks like tiny bones, 3-D engraved a “wall of skulls” locktab in nickel silver, and to top it off like icing on the freaking cake, I used a human molar as a fire button.
I didn’t even know they were legal to buy until I tried. Go figure…
NOT FOR SALE
don mortale
Another long-time favorite, rebuilding and modifying a 15” Campolin swinguard is a hefty undertaking. This one is absolutely outstanding.
I don’t have many photos, but the video says it all…
NOT FOR SALE
custom locktabs
This is just a sample of some of the unusual locktabs that I have — and can — put on knives at a customer’s request.
From sterling elephants to skulls- even a medusa head… the only real limit is imagination.
CUsTOM GYUTO
Yes, I also make kitchen knives although not that often. This gorgeous low-level twist damascus gyuto was a belated wedding gift for friends.
It features a 9” subtle s-grind blade and a handle of ebony, amboyna burl and mammoth tooth with sterling silver accents. The blade guard is honduran mahogany in my own design and holds on with tiny magnets
NOT FOR SALE