About Commissioning a Custom Knife
Hello, my name is Scott Van Arsdale, owner, flintknapper and knife maker at Wasicun. Wasicun (wa-she-shoo) is a Lakota word for "white man". I chose this name for my endeavor because my work is more than just replicating Native American tools. Regardless of our ancestral lineage, we are all descended from flintknappers. My knapping heritage is every bit as valid as that of a Native American. In other words, I am not an Indian wannabe, I'm just a modern day flintknapper. As such, I have a luxury that early knappers didn't. I can study flaked tools from around the world, from various time periods and cultures. I can draw from this accumulated knowledge of point styles, and add my own modern twists to create knapped work that is a continuation of stone tool evolution.
Two of the most beautiful and finely knapped ancient stone tool types were Gerzian style blades in Egypt, and daggers in Denmark. Their makers employed a technique called flake over grinding to achieve beautiful pressure flaked patterns on the finished piece. With this method, a blade was knapped to near completion, and then the flake scars were ground away until the face of the preform was smooth. A final series of flakes was removed, and if executed properly, the resulting flake scars were much smoother and more orderly than those seen on unground blades. I often use flake over grinding techniques pioneered by these master craftsmen to create beautiful knapped blades. Thankfully, I have modern tools at my disposal for the grinding process, where my predecessors had to do their grinding by hand. The flaking of the ground preform is much the same as it was in the early days. It takes considerable skill to flake a nice pattern. Any mistakes are recorded for all time on the face of the work! Some folks say this flake over grinding technique is used to save time and cover a lack of skill, but that notion arises from ignorance, jealousy or the notion that knapping should be purely traditional. Flake over grinding is a means to an end (beautiful stone blades). I could practice it in the traditional way (grinding on a large flat stone), but that wastes much more stone and takes a lot longer, which would result in vastly more expensive knives that nobody would be able to distinguish from those I make with some modern tools. And in my case, my knapping won two awards before I ever tried grinding. I use the method because I love the results it allows me to achieve.
A beautifully flaked blade is only half of the equation for a beautiful knife. The handle must complement the blade, and vice-versa. I make every knife as an individual project, designing the blade and handle for a beautiful match. Notice I use the word beauty frequently. My primary goal is to make knives that are beautiful. Too many knives look like the maker just stuck the blade in the handle with little thought to visual balance. This is O.K. for a mere tool (like a concealed weapon!), but I want my work to be an eye magnet. Speaking of concealed weapons- don't think that because my knives are metal free they are perfect for slipping past security to hijack planes with. A friend almost missed a flight because she kept one of my knives in her carry-on bags for safekeeping. Security found it, and they didn't act too interested in the finer points of stone flaking!
Flaked stone knives work. Human survival through the Stone Age is proof of this. But we left the Stone Age for a reason- metal knives are better tools! Stone knives are relatively fragile (after all, they are made by controlled breakage). The haft area is quite a bit weaker than on a metal blade knife. Stone blades are re-sharpened by re-knapping the edge. This process destroys the original flake scars and makes the blade smaller. Also, the longer the blade, the more fragile it is (most of my blades are too long to be practical for cutting jobs). For these reasons, I recommend my knives be used for display and collecting/investing purposes only. You can use them for a cutting tool if you like, but why risk damage to such an expensive knife when you can get a more functional steel knife for much less money?
All of my knives are initialed and numbered. I make knives with traditional or modern styling, or a combination of the two. My modern style knives are usually designed to be a step beyond the Stone Age, but not a huge leap like some of the elaborate fantasy knives a few other knappers make. I put in much thought and careful work to ensure a balanced (beautiful!) piece. These elegantly simple designs maximize the beauty of the stone and handle materials that I work with.
My favorite blade material is obsidian. No other stone flakes as well (according to my definition of "well"), although man-made glass does, which I use too. I do use flint and agate on occasion, especially for small points and blades. I make my handles from a number of beautiful stones, domestic and exotic hardwoods and antler.
In the past I made knives to a customer's specification. I have discontinued this practice for two main reasons: it tends to get in the way of creativity, and the amount of time it took me to complete a project (up to a year) often left the customer feeling forgotten and me feeling like I wasn't providing good service. Having said that, you may ask that I make a particular knife for you, but I won't take an order or make any promises other than to contact you if I do make the knife. Also, if you just want an unhafted blade, that's much easier for me to accomplish and I will take orders for those.
A word about pricing: the prices for my work may seem high or low depending on your perspective. The prices you see are at or close to the WHOLESALE level. Some knappers and knifemakers sell their work to retailers. This allows for a higher volume of sales, as it gets the work in front of many prospective customers. The disadvantage to this is the maker has to sell at a price about 50% less than retail. I only make a very limited number of knives, and currently do very little business with retailers. So for the time being, I can offer low prices. Another factor is time involved in making the knives. Full time makers have to work as quickly as is reasonably possible to produce a good volume at a low cost. My knapping and knifemaking is not my main source of income, so I'm free to expirement and take my time with the knives. I promise you I make far less an hour knifemaking than your plumber, auto mechanic, landscaper, etc. (Please don't think I'm criticizing the full-time knapper/knifemakers. They just have to face different realities than I do.)
Prices shown or quoted are in U.S. dollars and include postage for U.S. delivery (sorry, New Yorkers, add appropriate sales tax). I accept money orders and personal checks (I do wait for them to clear before shipping). Any orders over $60 will be shipped insured, return receipt (in the USA). If you return an item, please ship it the same way.
For orders outside of the U.S., check with your Customs officials. Most or all countries prohibit the import of weopons. If you can find a legal way around that I'll try to work with you. Extra shipping charges will apply.
For more information on knapping in general, check out my links or contact me for recommendations. If you would like to meet me in person or see my work in 3D, I set up a display at several shows, knap-ins and atlatl shoots in the Northeast U.S. each year. I live near Cooperstown, N.Y., and would be glad to try to arrange a meeting should you visit the area.