First Custom Blade

Today I received my very first custom handmade knife! I was going to wait and use it for a while and show it to you when I wrote my review, but I couldn't wait that long. I still plan to do a review later, but I wanted to show you the knife now. 


First, let me say that I cannot take any credit for the knife whatsoever. It was designed from scratch by my very good friend, Marc. He actually designed a total of four different knives - all his original ideas. He spent several weeks in the design process. When the four knife designs were finalized, he sent me the sketches and this particular knife really jumped out at me. Marc calls this one the Cab-N-Muk (Cabin Muk). 


After much research, Marc chose custom knife maker John Kiedaisch to build the knives. John owns JK Handmade Knives. I liked the Cab-N-Muk design so much that I told Marc I wanted one of my own and he asked John if he would make a second Muk at the same time he was making the others. Marc's knives are all serial number 1, naturally, and my Muk is serial number 2.

Handmade Cab-N-Muk serial #2 and handmade leather sheath

Marc designed all four knives with different tasks in mind. He wanted the Cab-N-Muk to be a food prep, cabin, camp, light bush crafting knife. He incorporated some really neat features into the design that I will cover in my review. The knife is made from 01 steel of 1/8" thickness, has a 5" blade with a full flat grind and convex edge, and is 9 3/4" long overall. I had John put black micarta canvas handles on mine with black liners and stainless pins.


The knife feels great in my hand! I love the deep belly and you can choke up on the blade easily for precise chopping (I'm talking food, not firewood). It looks like it could be a heavy knife, but in fact, it is very light. Since I just got it today I haven't done any serious work with it, but I did use it to cut steak and slice potatoes for dinner. 

The Muk preparing dinner

John's craftsmanship is excellent! He posted photos of the entire process from start to finish so we could follow along and see the transformation from raw steel to completed knives. It was very interesting! I am very impressed with his work and proud to own my first JK blade! 


I have many knives from top-of-the-line makers, but this is my first custom knife. It's special to me for that reason and more importantly because Marc designed it. It is easily the coolest knife I have! I told Marc I'm going to dog-stomp this thing so I can write a review later! Something tells me it's going to pass with flying colors. 

Cab-N-Muk wearing black micarta canvas handles

If you like custom knives, go take a look at John's work. He is great to deal with and can make a knife for you of his design or your own. I am certainly going to enjoy using this Muk and will post a review after I've put it through the ringer! Kudos to my bud, Marc - he designed four very practical knives that are meant to be used, not displayed on the bookshelf! 


JK Handmade Knives