Custom Knives by Loren Feldman
Some of the most interesting discoveries in Tucson came courtesy of Loren Feldman (Feldman Custom Knives, Gold Canyon, Arizona). His knives are works of art constructed from some of the rarest materials on Earth—and other planets. A visit to Feldman’s booth is a fascinating walk through history that reveals geological treasures such as Tyrannosaurus rex bones, woolly mammoth tusks, and meteorites that fell to the earth millions of years ago.
Remarkably, Feldman has only been making knives for seven years. He describes his introduction to the craft and training as pure luck. Collecting rocks and minerals since he was a young boy, Feldman impressed custom knife maker Robert Stratton with his enthusiasm at the 22nd Street show in Tucson. After a fourth visit to the booth, Stratton generously offered to teach Feldman everything he knew about the craft. At the end of the training, he allocated part of his Tucson booth space to help Feldman get his start in the business. Feldman said that after his apprenticeship, “it took me about two years full-time to consider my work what I considered good. It took me about three years to pay all my bills. And seven years later, it’s the happiest I’ve ever been as far as a profession.”
Feldman’s knife handles are crafted from minerals, gems, and fossilized dinosaur bone. One of his favorites is a knife made of gem dinosaur bone from nine different dinosaurs (shown on the cover of this issue). He explained that only 1/20 of 1% of all dinosaur bone turns into gem, describing it as a miracle of nature because it is only created under very specific conditions. During this process, the dinosaur bone undergoes a transformation that leaves the bone with a beautiful pattern of color and texture (figure 1). Of all the materials he uses, he gets the most excited about gem dinosaur bone because it’s so scarce and highly coveted (figure 2). Feldman also makes his handles from rare gems and minerals from all over the world, such as charoite from Siberia, Ammolite from Alberta, green jade from British Columbia, black jade from Western Australia, dumortierite from Mozambique, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, labradorite from Madagascar, and agate from Northern Mexico.
Equally impressive are Feldman’s blades. Made of fine American Damascus steel, the blades are one of three types: carbon, stainless steel, or mosaic. Feldman also crafts blades from iron meteorites that fell to the earth millions of years ago (figure 3). Feldman noted that while rare and expensive, meteorite has been used to make knives throughout history, adding that at least one meteorite blade was found in King Tut’s tomb.
Feldman purchases some of the material he uses but also does his own exploration and digging. Each summer, he visits a friend’s ranch in Montana to dig for dinosaur bone, and any bone recovered is sent to a lab for identification. He recently found enough T. rex bone to make a knife. Feldman noted that he’s never seen another knife maker incorporate T. rex bone.
Each knife comes with a sheath made of premium leather or exotic skin such as alligator, snake, or elephant—“all legally obtained,” Feldman said. About half of Feldman’s customers also purchase stands, which are crafted with the same rare materials, including dinosaur bone, woolly mammoth tusk, and fine gemstones, and are often chosen to coordinate with the materials in the knife.
When asked what he enjoys most about his business, Feldman revealed that his favorite part is attending the shows and talking with customers. “Doing these events and meeting the collectors, the hunters, the scientists, museum curators, and the professors. I love learning more about the products I sell. Just about everything that I share with my customers, I learned here at this very show.”
For Feldman, business is better than ever. The pandemic has increased the demand for his handmade creations. He explained that customers have been treating themselves during a time when they’ve been deprived of so much. His clientele, which includes collectors, investors, ranchers, hunters, and culinary artists, has kept him busy for the past two years.
