eEdition Subscribe Log in
Saturday, December 28, 2024
37.0°F

Revenant Knives

<p>Mike Mann, 71, sits in his knife-making workshop on Monday that is situated on his home property on Hoodoo Mountain.</p>

<p>Some knife handles are made of mammoth bark ivory that is more than 10,000 years old. Here, two pieces of the ivory is shaped and finished, ready to be cut and placed onto a knife.</p>

<p>A furnace is used to heat the steel leaf springs to about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in order to make the metal malleable. The springs are then cut and pressed before grinded down with a belt sander.</p>

<p>Debbie Mann stands in her home office, where she runs the business side of Idaho Knife Works. "[Mike's] the brawn, I'm the brains," Debbie says. The couple started the company 27 years ago, and sell their knives all over the world; most notably, to the prop master of "The Revenant," a 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.</p>

<p>Three blades in various stages of construction, along with customers' specifications for each knife, rest on the workbench of Mike Mann's shop. The blades are made of high-strength, recycled steel leaf springs from automobiles that Mann reshapes and cuts himself.</p>

<p>Mike Mann and his wife Debbie make up the entirety of Idaho Knife Works, a 27-year-old company that hand-forges knives of various kinds. Five of their knives were used in "The Revenant," a 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.</p>

<p>Using a belt sander, Mike Mann grinds down a recycled steel leaf spring to make a knife blade.</p>

<p>Photo courtesy of Idaho Knife Works Five knives, hand-built by Idaho Knife Works, were used in the movie, "The Revenant." From left to right: The Hudson Bay knife, San Francisco Bowie and Nessmuk knife. Tom Hardy used the Hudson Bay knife in "The Revenant," while Leonardo DiCaprio is seen with the San Francisco Bowie.</p>

Previous Next
| April 13, 2016 9:15 PM

photo

&lt;p&gt;Some knife handles are made of mammoth bark ivory that is more than 10,000 years old. Here, two pieces of the ivory is shaped and finished, ready to be cut and placed onto a knife.&lt;/p&gt;

photo

&lt;p&gt;A furnace is used to heat the steel leaf springs to about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in order to make the metal malleable. The springs are then cut and pressed before grinded down with a belt sander.&lt;/p&gt;

photo

&lt;p&gt;Debbie Mann stands in her home office, where she runs the business side of Idaho Knife Works. &quot;[Mike's] the brawn, I'm the brains,&quot; Debbie says. The couple started the company 27 years ago, and sell their knives all over the world; most notably, to the prop master of &quot;The Revenant,&quot; a 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.&lt;/p&gt;

photo

&lt;p&gt;Three blades in various stages of construction, along with customers' specifications for each knife, rest on the workbench of Mike Mann's shop. The blades are made of high-strength, recycled steel leaf springs from automobiles that Mann reshapes and cuts himself.&lt;/p&gt;

photo

&lt;p&gt;Mike Mann and his wife Debbie make up the entirety of Idaho Knife Works, a 27-year-old company that hand-forges knives of various kinds. Five of their knives were used in &quot;The Revenant,&quot; a 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.&lt;/p&gt;

photo

&lt;p&gt;Using a belt sander, Mike Mann grinds down a recycled steel leaf spring to make a knife blade.&lt;/p&gt;

photo

&lt;p&gt;Photo courtesy of Idaho Knife Works Five knives, hand-built by Idaho Knife Works, were used in the movie, &quot;The Revenant.&quot; From left to right: The Hudson Bay knife, San Francisco Bowie and Nessmuk knife. Tom Hardy used the Hudson Bay knife in &quot;The Revenant,&quot; while Leonardo DiCaprio is seen with the San Francisco Bowie.&lt;/p&gt;