Landrum Cutlery - About the Maker

My wife, Varena, and I run a small machine shop in Cosby,TN. We offer machine
shop, welding, and heat treating services for local factories. We also have the
occasional farmer that needs repairs on farm equipment. As a matter of fact who
ever comes along that has something that needs fixing we can usually fix them up.

When work is slow in our shop I work on knives. I make bowies, skinners, utility,
kitchen, folders and just about anything else anyone would need in the way of
cutlery.

I forge damascus for the fancier knives. My favorite steel for outdoor using knives is
52100. If someone wants something that offers a little more stain resistance, I go to
D2. D2 isn't stainless, it's just more so than 52100. If someone wants something
truly stain resistant I would recommend CPMS30V. This is true with the folders I
make as well. It really depends on what you plan to do with the knife.

I use G10 or Micarta as handle material on utility and kitchen knives unless a
customer wants something else. These materials make good handles because the
elements won't effect them like natural materials. Of course we have all the
stabilized woods to choose from now, so someone can have a very serviceable
handle and the beauty of wood for a few dollars more. I like to work with all natural
materials for handles when possible. India Stag is difficult to find these days and it's
pretty expensive when you do. However, I still like it as handle material. I have a
few good pieces left and plan to use it on some special knives. As you have probably
seen in the Gallery, I've been using a lot of bone on my folders. It works well and
looks good. After all it's been used a long, long time for knife handles.

I could use up a lot of your time here just talking about the materials I use, so if you
would like more information on how I make knives and the materials, or if you just
want to talk about knives feel free to contact me. I would also like the opportunity
to work with you on making a custom one of a kind knife!