- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 15,417
One of my favorite, if not THE favorite handle material out there. Its organic, its got history, it used to be walking around, eating stuff. 
It ties in with using all of what you take from nature. Back in the Ol' Days, when an animal was taken for resources, everything had a use. Flesh was good for eatin', skins were good for clothes/boats/shelters/bags, all kinds of stuff. Sinew for STRONG cordage, bones for tools. It was way to make the most with what you had.
Leather handles, puts you in touch with that. Or at least it does for me.
Modern materials offer up some advantages, but they don't offer up the "soul" of the knife like organic materials do. Leather sheaths, leather/bone/antler/horn handles give a blade some life, and create a feeling of "ownership", and pride in your tools.
Don't get me wrong, micarta and kydex are some great material, and offer some advantages right from the get go, that you have to cultivate in organics, but when you wrap your hands around some tight packed leather, or some well made stag handles, you feel it right from the start. Life.
I likes me some stacked leather handles.
These are just three of my stacked leather handled blades. An older Ontario Marin F/U knife, a New 1217 Marine F/U knife, and a BlackJack Trail Guide/A2.
The Ontario has the full round handle, which I don't like. My friend willis likes the full round, but I prefer the Kabar Oval, it fits better int he hand, and feels more comfortable. The BlackJack is a RMK copy, and the handle on it feels perfect, perfect to me for the what a knife like this is for.
So, if you like organic materials, if you like, stacked leather, or stag/bone/horn, post up some pics and lets show the plastic and micarta world, what "soul" means to a knife.
Moose
It ties in with using all of what you take from nature. Back in the Ol' Days, when an animal was taken for resources, everything had a use. Flesh was good for eatin', skins were good for clothes/boats/shelters/bags, all kinds of stuff. Sinew for STRONG cordage, bones for tools. It was way to make the most with what you had.
Leather handles, puts you in touch with that. Or at least it does for me.
Modern materials offer up some advantages, but they don't offer up the "soul" of the knife like organic materials do. Leather sheaths, leather/bone/antler/horn handles give a blade some life, and create a feeling of "ownership", and pride in your tools.
Don't get me wrong, micarta and kydex are some great material, and offer some advantages right from the get go, that you have to cultivate in organics, but when you wrap your hands around some tight packed leather, or some well made stag handles, you feel it right from the start. Life.
I likes me some stacked leather handles.
These are just three of my stacked leather handled blades. An older Ontario Marin F/U knife, a New 1217 Marine F/U knife, and a BlackJack Trail Guide/A2.
The Ontario has the full round handle, which I don't like. My friend willis likes the full round, but I prefer the Kabar Oval, it fits better int he hand, and feels more comfortable. The BlackJack is a RMK copy, and the handle on it feels perfect, perfect to me for the what a knife like this is for.
So, if you like organic materials, if you like, stacked leather, or stag/bone/horn, post up some pics and lets show the plastic and micarta world, what "soul" means to a knife.
Moose
