A couple of my hand made(ish) knives.

[frozenthunderbolt]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50797928@N ... ficientish
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50797928@N ... ficientish

This is a beautiful little skinning/gutting knife made from power/industrial hacksaw blade.

85 mm Blade is wickedly sharp - I can easily shave with every portion of its single edge. It has a rounded tip to avoid any accidental gut puncture when unzipping a kill.
False edge is beveled and polished but not sharpened - suitable for breaking cartilage to joint game
Knife has a full through tang with a handle made of twin slabs of banksia wood.
Gorgeous grain pattern on both pieces - quite highly finished with linseed oil.
Slabs are epoxied in place and just over 70mm long.

Handle wavy for extra grip when slippery and a hole in the base to permit a lanyard or cord to attach to the top copper grommet in the sheathe as insurance against accidental loss.

Sheathe is my own home veggie-tanned sheepskin leather, sewn with linen thread and heavily waxed with beeswax to protect against the elements.
Single standard belt loop on the back of the sheath, with an additional copper grommet at the tip to facilitate an additional tie-down.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50797928@N ... ficientish
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50797928@N ... ficientish

Blade was dug up at Waipu and reconditioned to this state - almost shaving sharp.

Handle is Alder wood, copper inset eyes, burnt in vine patten.... See More
Tongue/hand guard is mild steel, cold worked with a copper ring at the base.

Binding at the base of blade is hand twisted copper wire overlayed with a natural kauri-gum based resin.

Sheath is my homemade vege-tanned sheepskin leather. Sewn with linen thread and then covered with linseed oil and burnished with bees wax.

It has a twin suspension system - it can be worn horizontally across the small of your back with the handle to the left or right, or it can sit vertically on the right hip (sharp edge facing forward.
Sharp edge faces the crease not the stitching for obvious reasons.

Twin grommets at to can be tied closed to ensure the knife doesn't slip out while walking. There is also a grommet at the the bottom tip of the sheath to give another tie-down option - perhaps if wearing on a leg belt.

Very comfortable to hold, blade is about 30cm sharpened along one edge, slightly blunted tip for safety and additional strength.


Note: I did try to add the images as images but all i got was "It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image." despite uploading to the ish flickr site!

[oldfella]

Beautiful work well done,

[pitwipe]

Very cool! Have you made any with a gutting hook on the back?

[frozenthunderbolt]

Thanks oldfella.
Not yet pitwipe - I don't yet have any heat treating facilities at my disposal and would need to anneal the steel before i could file that shape then re-heat, quench and temper to make a good gut hook. I am working on running up a little improvised forge though. At the moment all my blades are made by stock removal process.

[MuddyWitch]

Beautiful & useful, the perfect (ish) combination, well done.

MW

[Green Aura]

I find them scary but beautiful. Lovely job and will last you forever.

[frozenthunderbolt]

Form should always follow function, which isn't to say that it can't have aesthetic appeal at the same time.