Diving Sparrow Knife Works

Abe Elias of Diving Sparrow Knife Works has written articles for the knife magazines and is also quite a woodworker and canoeist. He's been a knife enthusiast since childhood and has turned that enthusiasm into a part-time avocation as a knifemaker.

The knife pictured is his Sparrow Special, a knife not listed (yet) on his website. It sports a 4" blade and 4.5" of the comfiest handle I've had the pleasure to use. The Sparrow Special is 3/16" thick 1095 and weighs 5.95 oz.

Abe informs me that he's got several 1/8" thick blanks ready to work up and, as well as my 3/16" thick model cuts, I suspect the thinner stock would make this knife a nearly unbeatable cutter/slicer.

I've been using the knife quite a bit lately and the 1095 has taken on a nice patina. It has done everything from splitting kindling and making fuzz sticks for the fire to peeling and slicing apples for a snack. I plan to use it even more in the coming weeks and months due to the extremely well thought out handle design and the overall feel of the knife.

For those of you who visit Bladeforums here are a list of knives Abe's posted for sale in the past several months:
Pukko
Steel
MTZs
Sparrow 3 Box Elder
GB3
GB2
GB Minis
7" Walkabout
Large Bushcraft
Sparrow Special

Abe's pictures give you some idea as to his design and his descriptions tell you what sort of materials he uses. Using the knives gives you a great idea as to his geometry and heat treat.

I don't think I've used this knife enough to really push the limits of either yet but it has done everything I've asked of it so far.

Looking at these posts again it appears that some of these knives are still available. I'd encourage you to give him a look and drop him an email if anything strikes your fancy.

Thanks for reading,


B