Crocodile

[Kelly Carlson]

In addition to stabilized stingray, referred to elsewhere on this forum, other leathers also lend themselves to this process, including the crocodile skin pictured in this version of one of my Iceburg models. The blade is about 3.5" of D2 with a stainless and gold thumb stud, and the bolsters are mokume from Mike Sakmar.

[Jim Small]

Take my breath....just plain classy!
I am sure we will see more " gator grips" in the future. I love your personal designs...just great stuff.
Thanks for the picture.
Jim

[Alberto]

Lovely work!!Croccodile looks great too!!
Alberto

[caseynz]

awesome, what do you seal it with? i want to try some fish skin scales.
thanks, casey

[Kelly Carlson]

Thanks for your very nice remarks.
I don't know as there will be any more crocodile knives, as they are controlled by CITES and hard to obtain, particularly with a small enough pattern for folders.
They are wet formed, then bonded permanenetly to a carbon fiber sub-frame with cyanocrylics, followed by stabilization and enhanced bonding by soaking in very thin, penetrating cyanocrylics while in a partial vacuum - kind of a messy process!
This is basically the same process I use to stabilize stingray and other leather items, but haven't tried snakeskin or any fish scales.

[jhn cohea]

Awesome work Kelly!!

[caseynz]

thanks kelly, i really like that stingray icicle too.
cheers , casey

[Mike Turner]

That is very cool. Any problems or tips working the croc?

[Jack OBrien]

just saw the croc skin and I am impressed . I just phoned a knife mate of mine ,Dion Hedges ,who is heavily into stabilization and uses the same cryo fluids on everything from rock to cloth etc and gets good results by first shaping the materials to as close to finished product as possible then immersing it in a vaccum till the bubbles cease to rise. She has done a few handles for me including some fossil rock ( sandstone full of fossilised shells etc )with very good reults.I asked her about skins especially croc and her immediate answer was to first make sure the croc is dead before even trying to skin it and treat the hide.apparently things become a bit untidy if the leather donor is not quite dead first.

Jack

[Kelly Carlson]

Thank you for the good advice, Jack. I had hope to grow my own skin, expecting this young crocodile to regenerate, but the process is messy enough without all that blood and thrashing.

[TexasJack]

Great looking knife, Kelly, as always!

Croc might be controlled, but surely 'gator isn't far different and we have plenty along the Third Coast. Some years ago, nutria - which are muskrats the size of groundhogs - were introduced to Louisiana. Their fur is very useful, but the PETA folks have made that impossible. They breed like, well, rats, and they can cause a lot of damage burrowing through dikes and such. They've also spread all along the Gulf Coast. As it turns out, 'gators - which thrive in the same habitat - are particularly fond of nutria. (As dinner, not pals.) So the 'gator population is booming and with such a great food supply, many are huge.

Any PETA folks who object are welcome to carry a captured 15 ft. gator back into the marsh.