View of the classic Damascus steel design
Photos by R. Lowe
On the outskirts of Bristol Tennessee, on a hill, in a grove of very old trees sits an unimposing wooden shed. The building houses a forge, a hydraulic press, a couple of anvils, tons of metal, and several other pieces of metal working equipment. But, this is not an ordinary blacksmith shop; this is the home of Lonesome Pine Knives. The operation is controlled by Larry Harley, knifesmith extraordinaire, teacher, and mentor to the up-and-coming younger ‘smiths’.
As Larry opens the door, he says, “Be careful, everything in here will get you dirty or hurt you.”
“I’ve been doing this full-time for about 30 years,” he says.
He goes on to explain, “I joined the ranks of the unemployed in 1980. Dad had taken early retirement. He’d been a knifesmith since the mid 30’s and I learned from him. Anyway, for a while there, we’d meet for coffee and breakfast at his place and make knives all day. When my 
unemployment ran out, I just kept on doing it and now I have knives worldwide.”
Individual knives are not in a catalog
Larry doesn’t sell from a catalog. His pieces are individually crafted to the highest possible quality. Every hammer blow adds to the uniqueness of the knife. There is no warehouse full of ready-to-sell knives and customers know that it can take up to two months to get a knife from Lonesome Pine Knives. Special touches may take even longer. Damascus pieces are forged right here in his shop.
“These are not standard pieces,” he says.
Damascus steel—history and how-to
History indicates nations rose or fell based on the weapons of the time. Damascus steel is one such material that provided superiority to the army with weapons made from it. This magical steel will hold a cutting edge and still be strong and flexible enough to avoid shattering when used.
The beautiful patterns readily identify Damascus steel—also called pattern welded steel—and are created by combining two
dissimilar metals using heat and pressure. The process involves layering the different metals and heating them to a point where they can be worked. The combined metals are hammered, flattened, folded, and heated again and again (up to 200 times) to create the resulting texture and design.
The youth may be the future of knife making
One of Larry’s stated goals is to educate and train more bladesmiths…particularly, the youth. Through the American Bladesmith’s Society, he partners with Smokey Mountain Knifeworks in Sevierville, Tennessee to host a ‘hammer-in every year during the second week of June.
“The knowledge is being lost,” he says, “but, through the hammer-ins we can introduce it to the youth. Give a boy permission to play in a hot fire and what have you got. I’ll tell you, though, girls seem to get wired up faster than boys and do a better job, but all the kids learn fast.”
“I like teaching kids as much as I like making knives,” he says. “I’ve been teaching for about 15 years.”
Mentors like Larry have to be the ones to pass the art on.
For more info:
Lonesome Pine Knives
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