Toledo Magazine: Knife-maker turns steel into unique blades
Feb. 28—Ned Plummer made his first knife when he was a nine-year-old. It was a Cub Scout project and with a little help from his dad, Ned was able to take a hack saw blade and fashion it into a knife. After a few throws trying to stick the blade into one of the trees in the backyard, the knife broke.
He would make more knives, fashioning one out of a piece of galvanized steel he found in the street. "I was always intrigued by knives and throwing them," he said, "but I usually wound up breaking the blades by doing that."
Years later, Mr. Plummer was working at DeVilbiss Corporation and his co-workers explained the benefits of heat treating the knife blade to strengthen it. That gave his knives a much better life expectancy.
The Maumee Valley graduate, who attended Colorado College before going into the Army, is likely best known in the Toledo area as a firearms expert who owned and operated the Trilby Sport Shop for about three decades. Mr. Plummer is also a lifelong hunter, fisherman, skeet-shooter, fly-tier, and wood-worker. And the 81-year-old has made a few knives along the way, doing the tedious grinding, shaping, polishing, and finishing that converts raw metal blanks into surgical-grade knives for the kitchen, the shop, or the field.
"Back when I had the store I made them and sold them there, and I think that was about 1,000 knives or so," he said. "I know I am into my second thousand now, but as far as a more exact number — I have no idea how many I've made."
He assembled the tools of the trade over the decades — a homemade belt grinder, a refurbished buffer, an ancient drill press, and a series of metal cutoff saws. Working from his basement shop, Mr. Plummer starts with a piece of steel and just a notion of what he would like to create. He does not take custom orders or follow common patterns or try and duplicate the work of others.
"I get an idea or something that strikes my fancy and then I go to work," he said. "I don't really set out to make knives for other people — I make a knife for myself and if someone likes it and wants to buy it, then I figure I can always make another one."
He spends as much time, or as little time, as he wants in his shop. He does not keep track of the hours, since he considers knife-making a hobby, a past-time and a passion — but not a job.
"The hardest question I get asked is 'how long does it take me to make a knife', because I can't tell you. I really have no idea," he said. "I never pick up a piece of steel and start the stopwatch. I just start whittling away and see where it takes me."
He puts a lot of effort and research into the handles and sheaths for his knives, which he also makes. Mr. Plummer has made several knife handles out of thuya, an exotic wood from the Mediterranean region that is difficult with which to work, but produces a unique and striking knife handle.
"It takes a lot of time and effort to make a one-of-a-kind knife, but I still enjoy it and plan to keep doing this," he said. "I just finished another knife today."
