Some information about the craftsman who is behind the knives:

Darcy Quapp was born in southern Alberta Canada in 1967. He started making knives in high school in the 1980’s, and according to his own words got fairly serious in 1987. After watching last of the Mohicans he started making forged frontier knives for a few years, then life got busy and he got married and had seven kids. He never completely stopped making the odd knife here and there. About 5 years ago Mr. Quapp started making axes and then pipe tomahawks, his interest in making early style North American knives was rekindled. His edged blade business has grown along with his thriving metal fabricating business. He is a professional welder fabricator and makes all of his own tools for his shop, he even made his shop power hammer and press. With his incredible experience and portfolio I am honored to have teamed up with him to make the historical knives that will be featured in an upcoming YouTube series where we will use and compare the two knives from two of history’s prolific outdoorsmen, Nessmuk and Horace Kephart, out in the field under typical and historical woodcraft tasks. The best way to contact Mr. Quapp about commissions is through his Facebook page Prairie Forge and Axe and contact him via messenger. Let him know Mr. Dyer sent ya!

The Birth of the Nessmuk knife:

The Nessmuk Get’s Dressed Up

The History of Nessmuk

George Washington Sears (Nessmuk) was born in Oxford Plains, Mass., Dec. 2, 1821 and lived until May 1, 1890. Mr. Sears is most well known for his contributions to outdoor recreation, the most lasting being his book that was published in 1884, simply titled Woodcraft. You can find his book and more by clicking My Suggested Booklist at the top of the page or clicking HERE. He contributed articles to what was once called Forest and Stream and later changed to Field and Stream as we know it today. All of his books and articles were written under his pen name Nessmuk which he adopted based on the name of his Native American childhood mentor and friend who taught him about the outdoors such as hunting, fishing, and camping. The word Nessmuk means wood drake in Narragansett.

Many people give him credit for being one of the earliest documented and purposeful lightweight backpackers with leisure in mind. This was in stark contrast to the majority of sportsmen of his time, who in a lot of ways, made contemporary “glamping” look humble. Interestingly, from various sources and opinions, the biggest drive for his lightweight approach to camping and trekking was due to his stature of being around 105 pounds and five feet fall. He also suffered from illnesses including asthma in his adult life so having a light and efficient kit was necessary. He advocated for the health rejuvenating benefits of the outdoors and was an environmentalist by every meaning of the word in his personal life and what he promoted in his writings.

Sears’ axe and knife were designed by him and forged by local blacksmiths, the axe is especially small when compared to other period trapper’s and cruiser axes and his knife is uniquely shaped for a campcraft knife. To this day no one knows what happened to his personal tools thus there is no physical reference beyond what he drew in his book.