Designing The Windemere : A Forever Knife
A new design often stems from a single message.
“Do you make custom knives?”
“Yes. Yes, I do. You’ve come to the right place.”
I received this message back in February from Albert, a client who had a story that stuck with me. "I lost my favourite knives in a fire last year, near Lac du Bonnet, and I'm looking to replace one of them with something special, a forever knife."
For those outside of Manitoba, the 2025 wildfire season was absolutely brutal. Even if you weren't here, you probably caught a whiff of smoke in the air at some point. It was devastating. Lives were lost, homes and cottages destroyed, and a large portion of Nopiming Provincial Park was decimated. We were desperate for rain, but it came too late. As a Winnipeg knifemaker who paddles those routes every summer, it hit close to home. After checking NASA FIRMS data, it looks like my favourite canoe spots are gone. I'm holding out hope that when travel bans lift this summer, we'll be able to go check on them.
The old Nopiming Park Sign - I was gutted knowing that my favourite canoe routes were under threat. And after looking at NASA FIRMS data, it looks like my favourite spots are gone. Hopefully, if travel bans lift this Summer, we’ll be able to go check on some of them.
A Knife Worth Making
Albert had done his research. He was drawn to designs from MKC, ESEE, and Grohmann, but he wanted to support a local Manitoba knifemaker, someone close to nature who could give his knife a personal touch. I appreciated that. After some back and forth, we landed on an initial design.
Initial drawing of a knife (unnamed)
Once the sketch was done, I scanned it and rendered a vector profile on the computer. Before committing countless hours to steel, I cut a wooden blank to test the feel in the hand, something I sometimes do with new handle designs at Rainy Day Forge. Good thing I did. The butt of the handle was pushing up into my palm, so I lowered the upper portion to get a more ergonomic fit. A small change on screen, a big difference in the hand.
Steel Selection
Albert wanted two knives. After talking through his use case, we agreed that stainless was the right call and landed on 440C, a tough steel that forms toothy carbides, making it excellent for bushcraft knives without the budget-breaker price tag of the stainless super steels. Alongside his pair, I'd be making a third knife for my 2026 camping season, this one in W2 tool steel.
A touch of Canadiana.
Albert was clear. He wanted these knives to feel Canadian. The blade profile draws inspiration from the classic Grohmann design, and the handles are stabilized Manitoba Maple Burl with red G10 liners along the spine. The centrepin is a brass maple leaf set in red epoxy. Simple, deliberate, and unmistakably Canadian.
Construction went remarkably smoothly, which, as any custom knifemaker will tell you, isn't always the case. The one hiccup was the hamon on my own knife. I didn't get the colour play I was after, but that's part of the process. I have some experiments to run with my next W2 project.
Manitoba Maple Burl expoxied to red G10 - A necessary step for fine details.
Into the Woods
Albert picked up his pair of Windemere knives just before the May Long Weekend. He wasted no time — he sent me a photo of himself using one to harvest morel mushrooms. I packed mine into my bag alongside a Beaver Creek Cleaver and a Lake Winnipeg Fillet knife for our annual canoe trip with the boys. We didn't make it to our intended destination, but we ended up exactly where we needed to be — next to a lake, in the woods.
Albert picked up his pair of Windemere knives before the May Long Weekend. He sent me a photo of himself using the knife to harvest morel mushrooms. I packed my knife into my backpack alongside a Beaver Creek Cleaver and a Lake Winnipeg Filet for the annual canoe adventure with the boys. We didn't make it to our intended destination, but we ended up exactly where we needed to be, next to a lake, in the woods.
Windemere MTO
The Windemere model is now be available as an MTO - Made to Order knife. The may on occasion be some in the Ready To Ship area. Please check for availability.
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You can also watch my build or workshop videos on Youtube.
