Welcome!
Hey there, I’m Jerry Durbin, a Bladesmith (knife and tool maker) from Middleton, Idaho. My love affair with sharp edged tools has followed me throughout my life having owned fine knives over many decades. For me, knives are tools best kept sharp and used daily.
I officially started making knives in 2014 as a single source maker, meaning my knives are hand-crafted one at a time in my shop by my hands. My knives start life as high carbon steel shaped either through the heat of forge and anvil or by stock removal.
I hand-craft a variety of knife styles, including culinary, feather/fin/fur/outdoor, straight razors and wood carving tools. I also create custom knife designs for customers unique needs. Come by the shop and we’ll design a knife just for you.
Stay Safe & Stay Sharp!
Jerry Durbin
ABANA (Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America)
ABS - Apprentice smith (American Bladesmith Society)
IKA (Idaho Knife Association)
FEATURED KNIVE
The durbin Bowie
Black-White Ebony Scales with
Cherry Red G10 Liner “Bowie”
I was commissioned to build a Bowie and this particular Bowie was built during that project build as were 2 others along with the commissioned piece. All four Bowies were forged to shape from a quarter inch thick piece of O1 tool steel.
O1 is an oil quenching steel known for its toughness and great edge holding abilities. Out of quench (heat treating and quenching) these blades registered over 65+ HRC. Bevels were ground on a 2x72 grinder and followed by hand sanding to finished luster.
The guard is copper and backed with a bolster of Cherry Red and Black G10 along with another piece of copper. The wood is black and white Ebony all held together with West Systems G/Flex 2 part epoxy.
The handle was hand sanded to shape and then sealed with several coats of Tung Oil. The sheath was hand sewn with thread color to match the handle liner material and the keeper strap fastens with a Sam Brown button.
The project of building all 4 knives, from start to finish took about 7 months.
At Durbin's Forge we do not 'sell' knives without speaking with our customers first. Unlike factory produced knives, we like to make sure our knives are a perfect fit for their new owners.