Chuck Hawes Custom Trapper Purple Maple W2 Hamon

The Chuck Hawes Custom Trapper in purple maple pairs a hand-forged W2 blade with a flowing hamon line, a one-of-a-kind slip joint forged and finished one at a time in a small Illinois shop.

• 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.
• W2 Tool Steel with Hamon — Differentially hardened edge holds a keen bite while the softer spine adds toughness, and no two hamon patterns look the same.
• 124 Layer Damascus bolster — The bolster is hand-forged into a burl pattern from 124 layers of W1 and 15N20 steel, then etched so the two alloys show as bright and dark bands. The pattern frames the purple maple scales and gives the trapper a one-off look.
• Flat-Convex Grind: The blade features a razor-sharp edge with a subtle convex geometry behind the bevel, enhancing cutting performance and prolonging its lifespan.
• Purple Maple Handle — Dyed maple gives this trapper a rich purple tone that shifts with the light and shows off the natural grain underneath. The scales are shaped and contoured by hand, so the feel in the palm is as custom as the look.
• 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.