a tribute, some history, and a new combat model.

koyote

koyote

Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
5,846
This knife owes a lot of its design influence to the chute knife concept (not the most common Loveless style blades, though) as well as "the fighting knife" as it devloped through WW2 and Vietnam. I've looked at dozens of victory knives and small maker customs from both periods and have a great deal of interest in the styles and uses of the periods. Somehow, we managed to win wars and fight without 6 different kinds of serrations (one one knife! I saw it!) and sharp poking things all over the knife handles, after all. So something must be up with this period of history.

Well, I also had an inspiration from some books I've read, and the author is a veteran of Vietnam. This one in particular is a tribute, and went to him.

The model name is the Scratchard,

blade is 6 1/2 inches to front of guard.

Reverse edge has a 4 3/4 inch sharpened length with anoth 1/2 inch of transition to the full blade thickness. no sharp angles on any plunge area.

Overall length is 12 1/4 inches. inside handle length from rear of guard is 5 1/8 inches

Handle is 7/8 to 1 1/8 inches with a thickness of 7/8 to 15/16 inches.

Blade is 5160 steel, nominally .230 thick at the guard, with some taper throughout. full convex ground.

Through holes in guard following the chute knife tradition, 1/4 inch diameter. rear thong hole is 7/32 inside diameter. Pin stock is 1/4 inch stainless.

Whole blade and tang cold blued with a multiple coat-and-dry linseed oil treatment on the ipe handle.

It's a wee bit sharp, according to my fingers (I keep forgetting about the reverse edge. ouch)

Balance is at index finger.

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Very nicely done. After looking at your version I had to go get my USM3 and compare. You absolutely nailed it! If I were to come across your knife at a show I wouldn't have guessed it to be of a new design. Not a copy of any one knife but a tribute to all knives of the era.

Nice knife (with a stiff salute!)


-Xander
 
I'm not generally a fan of the tactical knife genre but you've come up with something
real and practical that just reeks of tradition. Really, really well done Christof.
 
Dan- thanks! One of my touchstones was to have the combat bit without the modern "tactical" - if that makes sense. Nothing wrong with some of it, just not where I was going :D

The sheath is being modified for later knives. (incidentally, the straps hid it but the inner seams and welt follow the guard, so the knife bottoms out on the front of the guard, not the blade!)
- The current one is fine but the addition of a third strap pair with the top ones will give more clearance for the retaining strap that goes over the spine side guard, and add another couple rigging options to the dozen odd already extant.
 
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Love it. I think you nailed the combat knife with this; plenty of fight in that puppy.

I see elements that Rex and Bill would approve of, some Randall, some Loveless, and a touch of Al Mar. Nice synthesis of time proven designs culminating in a true Koyote.

Strong work.
 
Beautiful work and thought construction on both the knife and its home. My compliments on rememberbing a "VET". A direct hit!
Another knife loving Vet
 
I'm waiting on one email before I put a page for this "model" on the website. (I still have some mental issues with calling them models when I don't have patterns anywhere!)

I'm working on a few more, one with the shorter 5.5 inch blade for a "by the book" chute style.

thanks all. I love this pattern and it's gotten a lot more response than anything else I've posted in the past 3 or 4 years!
 
THAT'S IT!!!! I love that knife. I have been looking for a classic style fighting knife for some time now, and this is the one. Great job.
 
Awesome looking knife. Excellent design and execution. The sheath really enhances the whole package. All I can say is I really like it.

Tim H
 
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