Alexander Cheburkoff knives

What should be a hunting knife? Are there universal knives? What should be the configuration of the blade? Which metal, and how to handle the material is preferable? I think that these issues sooner or later asked any hunter. Diversity and redundancy knife products available today to the buyer, lack of reliable information about the quality of these products, leave us among the most reliable simple solution - to choose their own, from their own experience, the manufacturer of knives and trust him.

In Russia, in the late 20th and 21st century, a number of informal circumstances and legal issues has spurred the rapid development of trade in this product. Stores and little shops blossomed thus unsuited cutlery, from scrap to China quite decent American and European products. In this case, as in many other segments of the trade, our customer, tortured in Soviet times "diet" Iron Curtain, eagerly pounced on all this diversity, without considering what to buy, shoveled all the bright, shiny, "... that a longer blade , buttons - fixed more, so that on the sheath thicker ornaments ... and even if the blade itself pops up as you press a button - that all beauty ... ".

Parallel to this process quickened manufacture their own products, out of the shadow of the old masters, like mushrooms after the rain people numerous new workshops. And nothing, since all theories of trade - the excess of the market should lead to lower prices and attrition substandard products. An, no - not that Russia is a country to follow the beaten path to go. All of it started as usual at a gallop, and as always unpredictable. The people began to buy up bright burger crafts, passing modest-looking working knives.

In customer head still warm delusional Soviet ideas about the knife out of the bearing, and then some of Damascus and Bulat offer? As experts recommend not trying to man skinner for cutting, and its like a magnet pulls on some bearish Daggers (which, by the way, is unlikely to go on a bear, except that on the road to earn). As no other hunter explains that we should not take for winter with a knife through mounting, "stick" it to the hand - no, do not believe, they want to the metal was more ...

In those years, being one of the trade fairs, my attention was drawn to a small storefront. Range represented on it, was not that big, but the knives something attracted me. Against the background of 80% of the ambient kitsch product, these knives were apparently made ​​by the workers and not "in the flow." A pretty girl with a nice  Russian accent  explained to one of the buyers of properties knife, and stood next to a lean and strong man, thoughtfully looking through the crowd of people. I noticed his hands, encrusted with traces of burning forge, it was clear that he is the master. The sign I read " Alex Cheburkoff".

Since then we have been friends and co-operate with Alex. Despite the fact that today his workshop - this is a large-scale production, the team of experts, he continues to work with his hands, as a blacksmith and creator, all of its products are still hand-made individual products (with an acceptable price tag close to factory-made goods). Know his knives and abroad, several parties did Alex commissioned Norwegian, American and German customers - and it's worth it. Correct, beautiful knives, made in the workshop of Alexa Cheburkoff - something that is not in the general series. All perfectly proportional: a tree and his drawing, obushok and its proportions, the blade and the thickness, width, profile. Below I present fragments of the conversation with Alex Cheburkoff, where he discusses his views on the important details of the design knife.

-         The angle of the knife sharpening depends on the knife. Many want to make a knife universal - and slashing and cutting and low level. All at once, of course, impossible, but the middle, there are some, the optimal medians. If you take the butt thickness of 5 mm, strip downs before grinding can be done, and 0.5 and 0.4, and negate. If the set of "out", then you will not make a big angle, if the razor downhill, if the wedge - everything is possible. Now I have all the concave slopes, and I tend to leave the supply of 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. It is not measured, it employs flair grinder. This is done by hand. Angle of 13 to 17 degrees. During the manufacturing process, we grind out the angle, but in individual circumstances, it should grind out a specific job.

-         My vision of the sheath is that it is to be a good skin, which, incidentally, is very problematic, especially in Russia, good leathers produced very little. And if available, it is only good until the new. Crafted without following technologies skin dries quickly loses strength. In Russia there are no manufacturers of skin that suits me, I take in Narva. A vision of the form of the sheath here is: buried in their opener, with two fingers to go and get it out of the sheath, so that it does not take off, not batters of the thigh; to be able to sit, bend the legs, if the blade on the front. Relation to the knife should be, as a rifle: you can not give up, forget to wipe - you need to take care of him.

-         What material for the handle? Personally, I believe that the best material - walnut. But we do and of different wood: African, plastic, walnut, acacia ... I believe that the handle has to be strong, to not injected, and the most important - it should be warm. Feel it warm in my hand, it should transfer heat hands of the master, who made the knife. Beauty - in simplicity, absolute simplicity .. Oh, and my knives have a lifetime warranty.

-         Pretty much makes communication with the consumer, to those who use my knives. I meet a lot of people, collectors who know, know. Among them are writers, artists, hunters, people will definitely understand a lot about knives, they should be listened to. Feedback works and goes to his own feeling.

-         You can contact Alexander through our website, we recommend you to new products, to advise, help to order and get the knife Cheburkova right in St. Petersburg, at factory price. aleksandr@cheburkov.com

 Nicholas Lawrence