Feather hunter

[Cody Hofsommer]

This is the latest out of my shop. My Damascus feather pattern out of 1084/15n20 with 304 SS guard and dyed and stabilized (by k&g) curly maple handle. It was dyed black, but it is a cold steel grey, (pretty cool, IMHO). The sheath is custom made by me out of W&C 9/10 oz. leather hand stitched with saddle stitch.

Blade- 5"
OAL- 10"
Width~ 1.125"
Thickness .187" at ricasso
Please critique! Even Loren and STeven! (Better go put on my big Boy undies )
Cody

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

Here's my critique: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[Lorien]

wellll....since you asked
your butt is kinda fat. Also, your mark is a little unsubtle and kind of busts the flow up a bit.
Otherwise, a very nice looking knife and a good example of the 'pillowed handle treatment'.
Nice selection of materials and contrasts, and clean execution.
Thanks!

 

[ZLKnives]

Omg, this is really nice one. Congrats

 

[Cody Hofsommer]

Thanks Karl, Loren and ZL.

Loren, when you say fat, are you looking from the top view? I can kinda see that now. Thanks for the input.

 

[Lorien]

I don't mind the width looking down from a top/spine view, (looks almost as thick as the palm swell and I think of that as a good thing), so much as the width looking at it from a side view. It's not much, but it seems a little bulky for a svelte hunting knife- more suited for a bigger blade imo. Not that I hunt, but on a smaller knife it's nice to be able to easily hook your pinky around the butt of the handle. The fatness back there is good to keep your hand in place, on a little knife though, I like to be able to easily change my grip. It's a visual thing too, such a light look up front with that light feather and shiny guard exaggerates the handle a bit so any extra material stands out a little bit more.

 

[jdm61]

Great looking knife. My only critique woudl be the use of dyed maple. Not sure what color it is.

 

[Cody Hofsommer]

Great looking knife. My only critique woudl be the use of dyed maple. Not sure what color it is.

I had thought it would be darker, but it turned out a steel grey. It show the figgured better then the darker stuff I had used before, and is really close in color to the FC etched 1084. I like the color, maybe because I haven't seen that much like it, but a warm brown might be more the liking of some.

Thanks Loren, I do appreciate your input.

 

[Lorien]

:thumbup: Cody!

 

[Kevin Jones]

That's a very well executed feather pattern and a fine hunter in general.

I do agree with Lorien on the thickness of the handle butt.
I usually don't like when a maker's mark is so pronounced that it's among the first aspects of a knife that you notice, however your mark is so appealing it's an exception.
I feel the same way about Bruce Bump's mark and a few others. :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Bruce Bump]

Nice feather, beautiful knife.
I too approve of the makers mark

 

[Salem Straub]

Another great feather blade! Especially since (I assume) you are still cutting that billet by hand, no press...

 

[Cody Hofsommer]

Another great feather blade! Especially since (I assume) you are still cutting that billet by hand, no press...

You assume correct. I was worried about it the first time, but it seems to be working surprising well.

Thanks Kevin and Bruce. Bruce's work has always been inspirational to me.

 

[Will York]

I agree with Lorien's assessment about the butt size. I don't like the butt to interfere with moving my hand around when changing grip position, and that butt is too tall and broad to easily tuck into the palm, as when laying a finger along the top of the handle (making the knife an extension of the forefinger). That's an important hold on a hunting knife, especially useful for tasks like taking out back straps on a deer. Also, an oversize butt makes my hand shift forward involuntarily when I grasp the handle in that area, which causes me to be constantly shifting my grip to compensate--an irritating distraction for me.

Other than that, it's a handsome knife in my opinion, with nice lines and nicely finished.