Dunkerley Mastersmith Hunters

[Will York]

On the right is a sheephorn handled hunter built to my design by Montana Master Smith and outfitter Rick Dunkerley, brass guard and pins. The 4” blade is Rick’s 52100, which he has had analyzed by a metallurgy lab in California. The lab found the grain structure to be the finest of any 52100 they ever tested, with carbides at the cutting edge in the ½ micron range. Ed Fowler wrote about it in a 1997 Blade Magazine article. This knife has seen light use, but was cleaned up by Rick and not used since. Including a heavy duty custom leather sheath (shown) from Rick, this knife is a bargain at

$400.00 shipped in USA, money orders only. Now $350 shipped SOLD

On the left is a mortised desert ironwood hunter Rick built for himself and used for one season in his capacity as a hunting guide and outfitter in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area in Montana. I’ve also used it some, but sent it back to Rick and had it cleaned up before offering it here. It has two very small pits on the obverse side of the blade. The knife was built so that Rick could test a new super-aggressive blade steel, CPM 10V. The blade was heat treated by Phil Wilson. Wilson later wrote about the knife in an article on 10V in Knives Illustrated which was published in 2000. Accompanying the knife will be Rick’s letter to me in which he describes his experience using the knife. It reads, in part, “As close as I can recall I dressed 3 elk and 2 whitetails with it. This includes caping on 2 of the elk and 1 deer. I only sharpened the knife to send it to you, it was still cutting fine. The steel is very aggressive and cuts better than anything I’ve used to date…”

$500.00 shipped in USA, money orders only. SOLD

 

[Raj]

Very nice knives.Nice info on the 10v. Not too many makers other than Phil Wilson use the 10V.Rare collaboration piece with these 2 makers on this.Wish I could have pulled the trigger on one of these hunters.
Will is a fine man and one can deal with him in perfect confidence :thumbup: .

 

[Don Adelfson]

PM on it's way to you.

 

[Will York]

10V w/ desert ironwood is sold.

Here's some more detailed information on Rick's incredible 52100 steel. The sources include Ed Fowler's article in BLADE plus a letter Ed sent me about Rick's steel, and further conversations I had with Rick about his steel and testing while we were hunting elk together in Montana in 2000:

In the October 1997 issue of BLADE Magazine, Ed Fowler reported on a 52100 blade tested by Metallographic Laboratory Services in California. The owner of the lab stated that the sample had the finest grain structure in the cutting edge of ANY steel he had ever examined, with carbide size between 1/2 and 1 micron. As Ed states in the article, "This is as fine as it gets," comparing it to D2 at 10-15 microns and CPM420V (S90V) at 2-4 microns.

I contacted Ed Fowler in 1999 about that test blade, and he told me the blade had been forged and heat treated by Rick Dunkerley. That same test knife was later put through a flex test in which it was clamped in a vise, bent 90 degrees, then bent back 180 degrees, back again 180 degrees, back again 180 degrees, back again 180 degrees, back again 180 degrees and finally cracked at the edge on the next flex--incredible toughness. In cutting tests a Dunkerley 52100 blade has made over 1000 cuts through rope without re-sharpening--incredible edge holding. With a few strokes on a fine Arkansas, that edge was restored to full sharpness. The flex test was done in the presence of Phil Wilson, and the rope-cutting test was done in the presence of Barry Gallagher--both knife makers with national reputations.

I dug this information out of a thread I responded to in the fall of 2000, right after I got back from a hunting trip with Rick.

The above sheephorn-handled knife I have for sale was built in the summer of 1999. It has a light, very shallow crease, about 3/8" long, on the left side of the blade under the maker's mark. Rick accidentally made it when he marked the blade, and told me about it saying he could make me another, but I accepted the blade as marked. The crease doesn't affect its performance or strength in any way, and you have to hold the knife just right to see it, but it is there. I had actually forgotten about it until I was examining the knife more closely this morning. The blade has a mirror polish below the temper line, and is nicely etched above the temper line.

Replacement value of the knife is about $650 from Rick, and I think my original offer price above of $400 is a bargain, but I'll discount the knife an additional $50 because of the blemish. Make it $350 shipped. At this price, it will make someone an incredible user--handsome, too! SOLD PENDING FUNDS

 

[Will York]

Both knives are sold.

Thanks to all,

Will