Travis Chazes Extraordinary Tattoo Artist and Cutler
Here at Studio 21 Tattoo, you will find a well rounded group of artists with creative talents that include much more than being able to design and execute amazing images on human skin. All of these artists let their creative juices flow in an array of mediums. Travis Chazes @travis565is one of those guys that just loves to spend his time away from the tattoo studio creating metal sculptures in the form of fixed blade knives. Fixed blade knives are those cool looking ones that don’t fold in half and are usually carried in a sheath on one’s belt.
Travis has a keen knowledge of metallurgy, you know, the science of metals! He has been making tattoo machines since 2006 and decided to try knife making about five years ago when he decided he wanted these amazing hand made knives but felt he couldn’t afford to buy them.
Travis says “If somebody else can make it, I can fuckin’ make it!”. He found that after buying the drill press, band saw, belt grinder and kiln for heat treating the blades, he may have been better off buying some of those knives he thought were so expensive. These knives will sell for between $300 to $500 dollars each with a sheath that fits like a glove. Speaking of gloves, these are some real “O.J.” knives if you know what I mean. These babies are sharp as shit and hold an edge really well. You could remove a head or two with one of these guys!
It takes Travis about twelve hours to make one knife. The sheath will take another two hours to make. The handles are made from numerous materials such as bone, space age plastics and sometimes even cactus skeletons like the one he made for Becki last Christmas.
Each of his knife blades is custom engraved with the @redhorse_tactical logo and usually a custom logo like the one he made for me last year with a “21” button engraved on one side.
These make great gifts for most anyone, not just knife collectors like myself. With Christmas on the horizon it might be a great time to hit Travis up on his Instagram or he can be contacted at Studio 21 Tattoo. He’s here a few days a week and a pleasure to work with.
There’s just nothing like custom made stuff! It’s just better than the average Chinese made retail stuff. The quality of Travis’ blades is premium! These will be handed down through generations for sure. I hope to add another one to my collection in the near future.
Charlie Spencer
Owner/Artist at Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery, Inc.