What our customers have said about our handmade knives and swords…
As originally posted on April 8th, 2011
While usually I’m more likely to recommend authors, I recently had some dealings with another market that I feel is worth endorsing.
Full Tang Cutlery is a smithy in New York that specializes in creating unique knives. I had been looking for a particular (somewhat unusual) sort of blade for some time, but had not seen any available that I thought were worth getting; when I realized that someone whom I knew from a message board I frequented was in the business of making custom blades, I thought I may well ask if it were possible (and economical) to have such a piece forged.
As it happened, it was very possible; while the piece that I was looking for was rather outside the usual range, it was well within their capabilities to manufacture.
I was kept very well informed of the progress of my piece, including when a flood caused some slight delay. It was finished well before I expected, though, and I quickly found myself in posession of a falcata with the modifications that I had requested to the ‘classic’ design.
The pictures hardly do it justice; it’s a beautiful piece of work–very solidly built, obviously very functional (though, as I don’t have any battles with Rome to attend, I’ll be using it more for insurance against rattlesnakes and the nastier sorts of chaparral) and balanced just as I had wanted it. The construction is as solid as you could ask for, and all the parts are integrated smoothly together.
The jimping–the notches that you can see in the photos–is both decorative and practical; it greatly enhances the grip on the hilt, and adds an interesting dimension to the design.
Altogether, it’s a very solid, well-tempered piece, and an absolute pleasure to hold. I heartily recommend Full Tang Cutlery’s work to anyone interested in good old fashioned quality workmanship.
