John Salisbury Hand Made Knives

John Salisbury Hand Made Knives Top-quality knives, made one-at-a-time by one man No templates, jigs or guides, ever. I do all my grinding without gloves to keep my sense of touch as I work.

I've been making knives since the 1970s and while technology has improved I still make them the same way: one at a time, freehand, by eye. All my blades are made from either old high-carbon steel files or from damascus steel blanks with the exception of my kitchen knives, and all my knives are 100% guaranteed to hold up to any task you set them to. If you ever have a problem with one of my blades I will make it right. John Salisbury

07/22/2017

Finally back in the shop and getting some work done. Feels good to hear steel singing to me.

4 3/4" Bushcraft Knife $225.00 SOLD!I ground this knife freehand from an old 3/16" thick Nicholson file. The 4 3/4...
04/10/2016

4 3/4" Bushcraft Knife $225.00 SOLD!
I ground this knife freehand from an old 3/16" thick Nicholson file. The 4 3/4" blade is 58-60 Rockwell and the OAL is 10"
The handle is Curly Maple with a cocobolo ferrule and brass hardware.
The sheath is wet molded from heavy 11oz leather for secure carrying.
This knife is beautifully balanced, agile in the hand and is ideal for any task.

Clip Point EDC Knife $175.00 SOLD!!I ground this knife from an old 5/32" thick Nicholson file. The 4 1/4" blade is ...
04/09/2016

Clip Point EDC Knife $175.00 SOLD!!
I ground this knife from an old 5/32" thick Nicholson file. The 4 1/4" blade is tempered 58-60 Rockwell and the OAL is 8 3/4". The false edge on the clip point can be sharpened on request.
The handle scales are maroon linen micarta with 1/4" brass pins.
The pancake EDC sheath is wet molded from 11oz heavy leather, hand punched and hand lock stitched.
I'm always happy to hear what people think of my work.

WIP: This is going to be a take on Tapio Wirkaalla's version of the Puukko knife--that's a block of Cocobolo, a block of...
04/05/2016

WIP: This is going to be a take on Tapio Wirkaalla's version of the Puukko knife--that's a block of Cocobolo, a block of Curly maple and two chunks of brass--we'll see how this wants to come out...

04/03/2016

There's a tremendous sense of gratification and satisfaction when people see my work in the groups i belong to and send in comments like "...beautiful art." and "that is SICK"
It's the wonder of the Internet--No longer do I have to impress the guy who owns the local gunshop. No more having to pester store owners to pay up on consignment sales. The internet gives me the feedback from thousands of like-minded folks and lets me sell my knives to them directly.
Too bad there are already rumblings that this will be restricted...

Completed! 7 1/2" File Stock Dagger $350.00I've just finished this beauty--ground freehand from an old 3/16" t...
03/31/2016

Completed! 7 1/2" File Stock Dagger $350.00

I've just finished this beauty--ground freehand from an old 3/16" thick Nicholson file, 58-60 Rockwell, this knife boasts a 7 1/2" long blade and has an OAL of 12 1/4".
The handle is stacked Curly Maple with brass spacers and a lugged guard and the knife balances right at the hilt. The handle feels very comfortable in the hand..my photos really don't do it justice.
The sheath is 11oz heavy leather and the wet molding lets you see the grind lines right through it. It's hand punched and hand lock stitched.
While we don't usually think of a dagger being a field knife, this one is heavy enough to perform all sorts of tasks around camp. I was reminded as i worked on this of the tasks I used to use my old Ge**er MK II dagger to perform back in the days of my youth.
This dagger was influenced by that Ge**er, by the Applegate-Fairbairn dagger, the Randall Model 2 and by by the Cold Steel Tai Pan.
I love to get feedback on my work and I'm always happy to talk with folks who are interested in my work--please don't hesitate to contact me.

WIP: 7 1/2" dagger is assembled, sanded and ready for me to begin wet molding a sheath. This will be for sale shortly. ...
03/29/2016

WIP: 7 1/2" dagger is assembled, sanded and ready for me to begin wet molding a sheath. This will be for sale shortly. We can see what the blockes from my earlier post came out looking like--once again, this is organic construction; note that the guard is also just blocks in the earlier photo.

Now that looks ugly...that's what a stacked handle looks like when I epoxy it--brass and Curly Maple. We'll just have t...
03/27/2016

Now that looks ugly...that's what a stacked handle looks like when I epoxy it--brass and Curly Maple. We'll just have to see what it looks like when it's shaped, won't we?

WIP: 7 1/2" dagger blade--I do all my grinding freehand--no jigs, dies templates or tool rests, ever--I got these grinds...
03/27/2016

WIP: 7 1/2" dagger blade--I do all my grinding freehand--no jigs, dies templates or tool rests, ever--I got these grinds from my 2 1/2" contact wheel.

03/26/2016

"Why do you use files, man?" The first knife I made was from a Nicholson file--back in the 70s. I still use old Nicholson and Simmons files because I have the tempering process for them down--58-60 Rockwell, every time. I cold grind them--constantly dipping them in water, which keeps them from turning blue and ruining the temper--it's easy to do that because I grind with no gloves on--gloves ruin my feeling the work I'm doing and I only occasionally abrade the heck out of myself by banging a digit into the belt.

Modified the mini cleaver--added a front edge by slack grinding, deepened my grind and re-profiled the edge. Sold this ...
03/26/2016

Modified the mini cleaver--added a front edge by slack grinding, deepened my grind and re-profiled the edge. Sold this evening, 4/1

People ask me about how I do this work: This is how--freehand, without gloves, on a 2x48" belt grinder attachment on a ...
03/26/2016

People ask me about how I do this work: This is how--freehand, without gloves, on a 2x48" belt grinder attachment on a 3/4HP grinder--hollow grinds on a 2 1/2" contact wheel.
Every knife I've made in the last 4 years has been completely organic--No design sketch, just pick up a file and start--Sometimes a dagger decides it would rather be a clip point or a bowie decides it would rather be a chute knife...handles are the same way; whatever the shaping tells me it should be--they all come out looking organically whole and they all balance well and feel alive in the hand. Today's project is the dagger on top of the belt, which was only recently an old Nicholson file.
I enjoy talking with people about what I do, so feel free to contact me.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my page :-)

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PO Box 13
Rio, WV
26755

Telephone

304-359-3241

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