First Patch knife

[Rick Marchand]

Here's my first shot at a patch knife. I've always loved the look of an antler handle....
Rick

 

[j williams]

really cool man.... Looks great! I love the looks of a patch knife too..

 

[siguy]

looks good, i like the long handle and the copper pins are a nice touch.

i don't need a long blade, but the handles that come with short blades are always too small...this solves the problem nicely.

how did you fix the blade in the antler besides the pins, if at all? did you boil and shove the tang into the antler, or drill it out etc?

also curious about the thicknes...a spine photo would be good if you don't mind...

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

Excellent work, you are getting pretty good Bro.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

What a clean execution!

 

[J.Wade]

very cool


if you keep making all this cool stuff show and tell is going to be pretty one sided

cya
jimi

 

[tonym]

Very nice work!

 

[bacman99]

Great work

 

[Rick Marchand]

looks good, i like the long handle and the copper pins are a nice touch.

i don't need a long blade, but the handles that come with short blades are always too small...this solves the problem nicely.

how did you fix the blade in the antler besides the pins, if at all? did you boil and shove the tang into the antler, or drill it out etc?

also curious about the thicknes...a spine photo would be good if you don't mind...

Thanks for the compliments, Guys...


Si...
I cut a slot in the antler and filed it to a proper fit... Then I loaded it with epoxy and pinned it in. There are almost no gaps in the fit... It turned out better than expected, for sure. The spine is roughly 3/32" thick.

Sorry for the fuzzy pics... no natural light at 11:30pm... lol

 

[stingray4540]

Very nice, that's my kind of knife!

 

[EmsRescueGuy]

Very Nice

 

[koyote]

Most of my patches are 1/16 or 3/32. I love the way the handle fits, and the shape of the antler.

Nice!

 

[mtnfolk mike]

that came out great man...:thumbup: i've always liked antler tine knives.. they always seem to conform to the hand just perfectly...

 

[MRpink]

That's a great looking handle. Nothing beats micarta/g-10 for me, but recently I'm starting to appreciate the looks of natural handles a lot more.

 

[Joel Stave]

OK, its time for everyone to point and laugh derisively. What's a patch knife?

Some googling suggests that it involves having antler or horn for the handle, but that doesn't explain the name to me.

 

[koyote]

It's a knife for cutting patches! For muzzleloaders. Back when, you used random scrap cloth and cut the patch for the ball, instead of buying wadding.

It's also the presumed origin of the American neck knife fetish.

 

[texastonydobbs]

Great job...classic look...

 

[Rick Marchand]

It's a knife for cutting patches! For muzzleloaders. Back when, you used random scrap cloth and cut the patch for the ball, instead of buying wadding.

It's also the presumed origin of the American neck knife fetish.

That's it Koyote.... patch knives had to be sharp!

Here's a pic of some guy moistening the cloth prior to cutting the small piece...

Then he taps the ball into the barrel with the patch underneath...

And trims off the extra material

 

[siguy]

thanks for those extra shots.

fine looking knife there, looks like it would be a real pleasure to use.

 

[Fiddleback]

I think it looks great.

A note about spongy bone. It will collect water, blood, etc, and grow bacteria like hell. Seal it, cut it out and replace with epoxy, or use a bolster if you're going to use the knife on food.