Hand Forged Custom Knives, Hawks, & Leatherworking
Whether your skinning a deer or filleting a crappie, the handcrafted hunting and fishing knives created by Rick Friend will do the job they are designed to do. The blades are crafted from the finest grades of carbon, stainless or Damascus steel, carefully formed and sharpened by hand and hardened so they will take and hold a razor sharp edge. The blades are then fitted with beautifully shaped and finished handles.
Since these knives are hand made no two are exactly alike …and neither are the sheaths that come with them. The sheaths are designed and shaped to precisely fit each particular knife. And, that’s where Diane Friend comes in! She lays out a pattern for each, individual knife and cuts it out using quality eight and nine ounce leather. Then she skillfully hand tools each sheath with an artistic pattern. Finally, she hand punches and sews it together using sturdy, waxed polyester thread completing an attractive, durable finished product that perfectly compliments the knife for which it was made.
These knives and sheaths are arguably among the finest made knives available anywhere. They are designed to be used, but they are more than simply fine utilitarian tools …they are works of art! Whether you are an avid hunter or fisherman, or a serious, discriminating knife collector, these are knives you will be proud to own … tools that are unbeatable in the field and beautiful to carry or display. This website contains numerous pictures, but the truth is these pictures simply cannot do justice to these knives. You won’t fully appreciate their beauty until you hold one in your hand, and you won’t appreciate their quality until you take one to the field.
These knives are not cheap, but they are not expensive, either. They are affordable! The only catch …since they are hand made, the supply of knives “on the shelf” ready for delivery is limited. You may have to wait while the particular knife you order is being crafted just for you, however, we believe that when you do receive it you will agree, the wait was worth it.
Incidentally, there are custom features you can order which will personalize your knife. For example, you can have your name or initials tooled into the leather of your sheath. For more information about custom made knives contact Rick by phone at: 918-695-9240 or e-mail.
Rick Friend is no stranger to skinning a deer or filleting a fish. He began learning the art at an early age.
Rick was raised on a dairy farm in northeast Oklahoma just a few miles west of the Missouri state line …at the edge of the Ozark Mountains! With tree covered hills, clear running streams and the huge, nearby Grand Lake ‘O the Cherokees, it was an ideal place for a boy to develop his hunting and fishing skills. At home in the field with a rifle or a compound bow, Rick hunts every season …in fact, hunting is a family tradition. Rick and his relatives have done some of their best deer hunting fanning out from a family base camp where they enjoyed time together sharing meals and swapping stories around a late night campfire. But come the next day, when it comes to the hunt, it’s every man and woman for themselves!
Hunting isn’t Rick’s only passion. As soon as the weather begins to warm, he and Diane are out on the lake, rod and reel in hand. Catfish, crappie, bass …they’re all good eating and the Friend family tries hard to keep a variety of each on hand in the freezer year round, along with venison and other game.
Over the years Rick has used many different knives in the field. They got the job done, but then one day he got the idea of making his own knives! So he did! Friends and relatives took note admiringly. They began asking him to make similar knives for them. The word spread and pretty soon he had so many orders he decided to make his specially crafted knives available to the discerning public …persons who can fully appreciate a great knife … and, fortunately a new business was born!
She’s little but she’s mighty! Diane also grew up on a dairy farm in the western Ozarks, just inside the Missouri line a few miles from husband Rick’s old stomp’n grounds. Diane successfully owned and operated a southwest Missouri weekly newspaper for a number of years, but from the time Rick introduced her to the thrill of the hunt, Diane longed for the day that she could pursue her new found passion more freely. Finally Diane decided to sell the business so she could devote more time to her family and the outdoor life she loved.
An avid bow hunter, Diane can also shoulder a firearm. She and husband Rick hunt during the bow season, the black powder season and the modern firearm seasons. Diane grew up with a fishing pole in her hand and can also snag crappie, bass and catfish. And even though they have to drive a few miles, Diane and Rick have been known to put a trout on the table once in awhile.
When Rick started making knives, Diane began making the sheaths. With painstaking patience and a bent on perfection, it takes Diane almost as long to make the sheath as it does Rick to make the knife …and, because each is custom made to fit a particular knife, she can’t do her job until he is done with his. In the end it is hard do decide which is the most striking, Rick’s superbly hand made knives or Diane’s attractive hand made leather sheaths. Truth is, each is a work of art in its own right!