EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – For the past six years, Red Beard Knife and Tool out of Gulfport, Mississippi has been making custom fixed-blade knives that combine artistry and functionality.
Over the summer, I had the pleasure of being able to borrow and use one of Ed Wittneber’s creations, an RB-4 fixed blade.
My son and I really put it through its paces, including cutting up a leather couch that we needed to get outside of our house and take to the dump.
Anyway, for Christmas, I asked Ed to create an RB-4 for my son with an Ohio State football theme. Ed, a Navy vet with a great attention to detail, came up with a beauty – buckeye burlwood handles and G10 liners in red and gray.
From left, RB-3 and RB-4 with leather sheaths from Red Beard Knife and Tool. Photo by Dave Burge/KTSM
The RB-4 (The RB stands for Red Beard) has an overall length of 8 ½ inches, a cutting edge of 3 ¾ inches and a blade height of 1 ¾ inches.
Ed says he can make knives out of almost any handle material, but he doesn’t stock a lot of micarta or G10. So he usually orders those materials as needed.
His main two priorities are to create knives that combine function and comfort.
“It has to be useful and it’s got to be comfortable,” Ed told me. “If you put a knife into someone’s hands and it’s not comfortable, then they won’t use it. That’s the art of it, in my opinion.”
To my surprise, there was a second knife included in the package I got from Mississippi. An old friend and colleague from my days working in the Four Corners had read my initial column on Red Beard Knife and Tool and ordered me a knife as a surprise Christmas gift.
This knife is the smaller RB-3 (7 ¼ overall length with a 3 ¼ inch cutting edge).
My RB-3 was made with desert ironwood handles, a material Ed says is one of his favorites. This knife is sturdy but gorgeous.
What I really dig is that my RB-3 can mix and match with a small collection of Rough Rider Desert Fox traditional knives that I already own. The Desert Fox has an orange fox design on one side of the knife and orange and black micarta handles.
The RB-3 and my Rough Riders look like they belong together even though they have different makers and vastly different price points. Rough Rider is a well-known budget brand that combines great value and pretty decent craftsmanship.
RB-3 with a collection of Rough Rider Desert Fox knives. Photo by Dave Burge/KTSM
But back to Red Beard. The two knives we got for Christmas also came with handmade leather sheaths for easy belt carry. Ed says his leatherwork is strictly a sidelight meant to give his knives a functional carry system. I beg to differ — his leather sheaths are as nice as any I have seen.
As for the price, it sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but the larger RB-4 costs $165 and the RB-3 comes in at $175. Ed says there is a tad more work that goes into the smaller knife.
You can find out more about Red Beard Knife and Tool on Facebook. Here is a link.
You can also email Ed Wittneber at redbeardknt@yahoo.com.
Here are some YouTube channels on EDC gear that I find to be fun and informative.
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