Five Southern-Forged Oyster Knives

(Knives listed below are shown clockwise, from top left.)

With its blue-green box-elder burl handle and Damascus steel blade, this shucker by Shannon Reed at Coastal Custom Knifeworks in Summerville, South Carolina, calls to mind Lowcountry tidal marshes. coastalknives.com

The lacquered burlap handle of this knife designed by Heartwood Forge in Athens, Georgia, for Decatur’s Kimball House restaurant, takes inspiration from harvesters’ bags. It gives back, too; a portion of the proceeds benefits Apalachicola Riverkeeper. heartwoodforge.com

Culinary bladesmith Travis Weige of Weige Knives in Austin, Texas, sets off his ironwood-handled shucker with a brass bolster and pins. weigeknives.com

Zack Worrell and Nick Watson of Monolith Studio Knives in Charlottesville, Virginia, collaborated with the folks at White Stone Oyster Company to design this knife’s comfortable bulb-shaped handle and thin Damascus steel blade. monolithknives.com

Richmond artisan Brent Stubblefield’s Join or Die shucker nods to another Southern tradition—the handle is carved from bourbon barrel staves. gridsupplyco.com