Chuck Hawes Custom Big Daddy Barlow Spalted Maple Damascus

One 124-layer Damascus billet, forged into both blade and bolster, gives the Chuck Hawes Big Daddy Barlow a matched flowing pattern, set in dyed and stabilized spalted maple scales.

• Sole Authorship Build: This knife is fully handmade by Chuck Hawes, who forges and fits each component himself, ensuring one-of-a-kind quality from start to finish.
• 124-Layer Damascus Blade — Chuck hand-forges the blade into a burl pattern from 124 layers of W1 and 15N20 steel, then etches it so the two alloys read as flowing bright and dark bands. The pattern runs the full length of the blade, so no two ever come out the same.
• Matching Damascus Bolster — The bolster is forged from the same 124-layer W1 and 15N20 billet as the blade and etched to match. Blade and bolster share one pattern, tying the front of the knife together in one-off Damascus.
• Spalted Maple Handle Scales — Spalted maple carries dark, web-like lines that no two boards repeat, here dyed for color and stabilized so the soft wood turns hard and durable. Each scale is shaped and finished by hand to bring out the figure.
• Strong Backsprings with Half-Stop: Built with strong, reliable backsprings and a clean half-stop, this knife opens with authority and closes securely.
• Detailed Filework: The backspacer and blade spine are both hand-filed, adding detail only found in custom made knives.

About Chuck Hawes

Chuck Hawes has over 30 years of experience crafting custom knives from his shop in Weldon, Illinois. While his work is admired by collectors, Chuck designs his knives to be used, aiming to create knives that will last a lifetime. He is well known for his damascus forging ability, and he still builds each knife the old way, one at a time.