A patch knife and sheath....

[VaughnT]

It's been a few years since I put her together, but I really enjoy this blade. 1084, if I recall correctly, forged by yours truly. With a bit of southern whitetail deer antler for the handle and a bit of deer rawhide for the wrapping, sewn tight with honest-to-god deer sinew. The sheath is braintan buckskin over deer rawhide for stiffness.

She's been a great neck knife and I thought she'd be a good introduction to the British bushcraft crowd.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

Thanks for having me.

 

[Goatboy]

That's a lovely knife sir, a good rustic design well executed. How comfortable do you find the antler when using for extended periods? I like it but some find the knobbles off putting in the hand.

Thanks for posting it.
GB

 

[VaughnT]

Goat, the haft is fine for long duration, though I wouldn't want to carve a kuksa with her. The handle is a bit short for my hand, but she was designed to be a "poor boy" style of knife meant to be a patch knife and not much else. In the colonial times, a short knife like this was used rather sparingly, in my estimation, to simply trim the patches of a rifle round and not for general camp duty. I've skinned a dozen deer with her (just replaced the rawhide wrap) and whittled a good bit of wood on general principle, and never had a problem with the popcorn on the haft. Not saying I'd sit down for a good hour or two to make shavings, but I feel confident that I could.

Were I to do it again (and I am), I would make the handle a half-inch longer so I could use it more comfortably as a general-purpose knife. Still, as something meant to simply hang on my possibles bag strap, she does mighty fine!

 

[HHazeldean]

Thats a lovely looking knife that, really nice and rustic looking that. Love the idea for the sheath too of buckskin over rawhide! What purpose does the buckskin wrap around the handle serve, or is it purely aesthetic? I've just never seen something like that before.. Really lovely looking knife though

 

[ozzy1977]

Great stuff

 

[ammo]

This is beutiful. Class, not flash. It looks like a 80 year old knife, that's been passed through the family. It will probably still be going in 80 years. Well done its lovely.

 

[dwardo]

Very nice. Blade suits the handle perfectly.

 

[chimpy leon]

Thats a cracking little knife. Love the simple rustic looks.

What is the 1084 steel like? Does it hold an edge well?

 

[Big Stu 12]

Nice knife.. great to see a nice bit of workmanship.. , thank you for sharing

 

[VaughnT]

HHazeldean, the braintan cover is more aesthetic than anything else. It covers the rawhide that might not be pleasing to the eye, and it gives you something to do with the smaller scraps of braintan you might have. When tanned this skin, I smoked the flesh side to a dark chocolate shade, far darker than the grain side. This bled through the thinnest portions of the skin where the veins were and left dark tracks reminiscent of marbling you see in stone. So, rather than just pitching out the small bit of leg skin, I used it to cover the rather bland rawhide. The little bit of leg got used up and I got a pretty sheath.

Chimpy, I'm not sure what the European equivalent would be, but 1084 is probably my most favorite steel to forge. It's a simple carbon steel that moves well under the hammer and is easy to do a good heat-treat with a modest home set up that most beginning smiths have. It holds a good edge, is easy to sharpen, and takes a great patina as you can see.