During the latter part of 2013 I had the good fortune to run into a new craftsman named
Lyndle Driggers. His Oklahoma based workshop / business is called J&L Custom
Cutlery. With the help of his wife, I believe, he's been making knives, Viking-style axes,
warhammers, tomahawks ... actually a variety of things. I've purchased a couple of his
axes, a warhammer, and when I read he was open to custom commissions, I bounced
a little idea I had off him ...

Okay, anyone think ... " What does he want with a giant cake knife ?"



... this is my drawing of a dha-like short-sword, actually somewhat inspired by a Scott Roush
project, and a recent intrigue with swords and knives from the Phillipines ...

Lyndle does a full-scale drawing before starting ...



Once the meager details were agreed on, Lyndle went to work ...

One of the practices I enjoy when reading and looking at the posts of the smiths and
craftsmen here at myArmoury is when they share the process of making an item.
Where and what they start with, how it begins to take shape, and the evolution of the
piece to its finished look ...







Lyndle did a great job keeping me updated. I particularly like this last photo of the blade
glowing red-hot. I should note he experienced a broken blade on the first try, but there was
little time lost in getting the project back on track.

Once the new blade survived heat-treatment and quenching, it was on to polishing and the
eventual final stages of sharpening and securing the grip ...

After about a month of work, I received the shortsword neatly and securely packaged along with
a nice little Japanese-styled stand.



A couple of my own photos hi-lighting the blade and tiger-wood handle ...

A bit of an epilogue ...

I hope to post a picture of the axes and warhammer LD also made. For what I
was looking for, and interested in spending, each fit the bill and are rather nice
additions to my meager collection. I won't swear to historical accuracy or overly
polished fit-n-finish, but there's a rugged roughness to the pieces I find rather
appealing ...

As for my dha-inspired shortsword ... well, as it turns out I must have been sub-
consciously thinking of a somewhat modernized rendition of a Phillipine Golok.
Dha inspired it might be, but the grip curves the wrong way, and the shape of the
blade resemble nothing Dha ... uhm ... Dha-ian. All in all, though, its a nifty sharp
one-or-two hander that agrees with my keeping-it-simple tastes these days ...

As for what the future holds for J&L Custom Cutlery ... good question. I don't
believe there is a website. To my knowledge he promotes his items primarily in
another sword forum. Nor am I certain or privy to which direction he'd like to take
his skills.

For the time being, when available, his items are modestly priced, and most look
well worth the $$$ ...

He did a nice job on that.

I have a large Bowie Knife, regular size Bowie Knife and a tomahawk style axe. All were good quality and the prices were very reasonable. I like supporting the new people in the craft.