Bird and Trout proportions

[Wapiti]

I am designing a "bird and trout" style knife, the style with the pinky ring, for a customer but don't have one on hand to get the proportions from.
Would any of you who may have used one or own one be willing to share their favorite shapes, the inside size of the pinky hole (seems like 3/4 or 13/16 of an inch might work...) and distance from the ring to the choil? What are your preferred blade lengths, shapes, etc?
This would give me a place to start and might help cut down on the number of prototypes I make before I get the sizes right.
I am also looking for ideas for sheaths. Do most prefer kydex style or is there a leather style that would work?
Any photos would be nice, too.
On a historical note, my understanding is Marbles Arms was the first to produce this style, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any manufacturer or cutom maker that made them before Marbles.
Thanks,
Brome

 

[RHINOKNIVES]

Originally posted by Wapiti
I am designing a "bird and trout" style knife, the style with the pinky ring, for a customer but don't have one on hand to get the proportions from.
Would any of you who may have used one or own one be willing to share their favorite shapes, the inside size of the pinky hole (seems like 3/4 or 13/16 of an inch might work...) and distance from the ring to the choil? WHAT SIZE HANDS DOES THE CUSTOMER HAVE? What are your preferred blade lengths, shapes,I HAVE SEEN AND MADE THEM FROM 1 1/2" TO ABOUT 4" etc? YOUR A CUSTOM MAKER NOW. TIME TO MAKE A CUSTOM KNIFE!
This would give me a place to start and might help cut down on the number of prototypes I make before I get the sizes right.
I am also looking for ideas for sheaths. Do most prefer kydex style or is there a leather style that would work?
Any photos would be nice, too.
On a historical note, my understanding is Marbles Arms was the first to produce this style, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any manufacturer or cutom maker that made them before Marbles.
Thanks,
Brome

 

[Protactical]

Cold Steel sells one that looks OK. Why not just scale the proportions off their knife, at least to get some basic dimensions. For instance their ring inside diameter looks like. 94", and their distance from the plunge cut to the nearest point inside the ring is 2.99". They give the blade length as 3 1/4", and I got 2.255" scaling it off the drawing. Overall length is given as 6 5/16, and the handle is given as 4 1/16".

Personaly I think the bird and trout functions are somewhat different. So it might be worth knowing what actual use will consist of. In the case of trout, the whole knife is likely to get gloppy from head to toe, which doesn't much impress me. In that case, the user is likely to be scraping with the ring, while holding the blade end in his hand. I would almost prefer to see two seperate tools, or just use a knife, and the thumb nail. But however you cut it, that sounds like a dangerous situation with the blade in hand, and might influence your sheath decisions.