First Nessie

udtjim

udtjim

Joined
Sep 4, 2007
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I have several of these old Old Hickory Skinners and after thinking about it for about a year, this morning I decided to try one. I drew the line I wanted and used the Dremel tool to cut the tip portion off. I stopped about every 15 seconds to spray cold water on the blade. It never got to hot to grab it right next to the cut. When that was done, (about twenty minutes) I finished shaping it with my belt sander then just a piece of wet/dry sand paper. I was going to change the handle but after sanding it down, it's looks to good to mess with. I just need to finish, (stain) the handles and make a sheath for it. I might use a walnut stain then Tru-oil. I am open to any thought as to what might work best. This is not my first Nessie, juat my first try at converting the old skinners. My buddy found this knife under about 3 inches of dirt in an old storage shed.
 
Yes it is. I still have to sharpen this one or send it to siguy for a convex edge.:D

The next one I do has a broken handle so it won't be quite as quick. I might have Stomper put a handle on it. He did a couple Green River knives for me and did a super job.

This one turned out with a five and 1/4 inch blade.
 
Wow..I like it..but breaking an old knife always stings me a bit...It does look like a true Nessmuk though...makes me wonder. Gene
 
looks like a good job...i've broken a few knives to make them more fitting for the task at hand...off the top of my head i can think of a machete and a 10" chefs knife.

as for the handle finish, i would say sand down the handle until its more rounded...i like my handles nice and ovular. and then douse it in danish oil. i love the stuff, and it really lets the natural wood tone stand out. for sanding the handle round i lock the blade up in a vise and use strips of abrasive cloth shoe-shine style. i rarely go below 50 grit, and i get a great silky smooth finish on almost every material. just be careful if you do this not to sand the wood so that the tang is exposed...that can be uncomfortable.

but anyways looks like a good job, i would say very true to the nessmuck pattern. i agree with gene, projects like this really make it look like this could be the origin of the original version.
 
Thanks for the tiup on the handle finish. I will have to see if this one horse town has the Danish oil.:D
 
Very cool. This is exactly how I got started making knives. Old Hickory knives are 1095 steel. Good stuff. And its a fun rewarding project.

Nice work!
 
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