Fixed & Folded ~ traditionals

Will Power said:
Ohta Barehead Stag and Bark River Lite Hunter in Amboyna. Anon Tortoiseshell bought in a junk shop 40 years ago....

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I've always admired that Ohta will. What a wonderful looking knife. :thumbsup:
 
Thank you Christian, I feel very lucky to have it and was impressed that Hiroaki Ohta offered me 3 different sets of slabs to choose from before hafting it. The blade's pretty swoopy too :cool:

Regards, Will
 
oldmanwilly said:
It's not the prettiest but it sure works better than the loose, dried out original handle. I had the dickens of a time trying to get all of the original plastic spacers to fit properly near the ends so I tossed them. The brass spacers fit well enough but were so small in diameter that I would have had to keep whittling down the leather washers to make them fully visible but I didn't want to thin the handle any more. It fits my hand perfectly and you can see a few spots of brass poking out so I'm satisfied. I would probably use natural leather and not the darkened belt leather if I had to do it again. I think it pairs well with an 8OT.

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- cool, that is just dandy..! And, you have the satisfaction of knowing all your own work went into it :thumbsup:
 
Aryan29 said:
GEC#29 and Iron River.
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- love the handle on that Iron River...........custom job, I guess..?

Old Hunter said:
A good and sturdy woods bumming duo for the hunter, Buck 110 & Buck 117. OH
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- those Bucks are just iconic

315 said:
Here’s the pair I packed around on a hunt in Idaho a couple years ago. It was the maiden voyage for the Hess and it got in a little field dressing and skinning on the trip.

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...beautiful stacked leather, very tastefully done altogether

Fodderwing said:
Puukko by Pasi Hurttila & Le Grimpeur by Yann NominèView attachment 1530852
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- love the matching wood :thumbsup:
 
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oldmanwilly said:
From Tod Cutler!? Pray tell, what are your impressions of the dirk? I've been mulling that or one of his bullock daggers for a while.
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You know Tod Cutler? I admit only recently finding out about him, stumbling upon his wares one night as I whiled away the time on YT.

I would describe the fit as good, not great. There are some gaps between the wood and the brass fittings. That's ok, this type of knife was wielded by a materially poor people that probably didn't overemphasize spit and polish. This level of fit and finish is probably historically accurate.

Tod got the more important stuff right. The blade is straight, no small feat given it's 15" length. It seems appropriately tempered, not a soft or brittle wall hanger, but neither is the blade as hard as what you'd find on a pocketknife. And the handle is the right size, it's not comically large like the handles you usually see on modern factory dirks.

The leather sheath is outstanding. Beautiful, fit for this specific item, and made from vegetable tanned leather.

I think this dirk is better than most of the stuff worn to Scottish Festivals or Games. Definitely better than any of the dross I've seen sold.

Frailer said:
“Kitchen tools.” I like that. ;)
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Me too.
 
kamagong kamagong , yup I've got one of his 12th century daggers. I too learned of him via YouTube and have been following his work for a few years.

In one of his videos he explains why his "cutler" brand items have less than perfect fit and finish. I'm paraphrasing, but the gist is that he's making fully functional and historically accurate pieces. Modern tech now permits craftsmen to make nearly perfect pieces without discernable flaws, however ancient smith's had to make do with what they had. He said he's examined museum pieces that would have been considered exquisite in medieval times but were riddled with unacceptable imperfections to our spoiled modern eyes. If his pieces are to be accurate then, to him, that means cosmetically imperfect. I'm willing to believe it, but I also imagine that philosophy also lends itself well to cranking out a high volume of inventory more efficiently. I think his custom pieces pay a little more attention to the fine details.

I agree that his steel is on the softer side but I don't mind too much since it's used in daggers. I don't feel worried to use mine (as much as a modern man can use a dagger) knowing they steel is not too brittle.

If you really want to go down the rabbit hole check out his crossbow videos.
 
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oldmanwilly said:
He said he's examined museum pieces that would have been considered exquisite in medieval times but were riddled with unacceptable imperfections to our spoiled modern eyes. If his pieces are to be accurate then, to him, that means cosmetically imperfect. I'm willing to believe it, but I also imagine that philosophy also lends itself well to cranking out a high volume of inventory more efficiently. I think his custom pieces pay a little more attention to the fine details.
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I agree. The imperfections aren't off putting, given what this knife is supposed to be. To put things in perspective, I don't think they're any worse than the imperfections I found on my recently made Mora Classic, a factory knife with a plastic sheath. This dirk was forged by a smith in the UK, and comes with a superbly crafted sheath. I am well satisfied for the price I paid.

This dirk would give good yeoman service and I think most Scots would have been proud to carry it. There's undoubtedly better, but until I save up the cash to grab one from Vince Evans, this one will do.
 
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