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http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1560869&a=11863747&p=51153879
I recently picked this knife up off the Exchange Forums, and I have to say, it is a lot of knife.
A few years back, before Larry Harley became famous for winning American Bladesmith Society cutting competitions and stunning the likes of mastersmith/bladewriter Steve Schwarzer with his edges, Harley had a very effective way of turning out blades for a living. He made up 100 or so blades at a time in a given profile, gave them a first-class heat treat, put excellent edges and stout micarta handles on them, and sold them like hotcakes for very affordable prices. This is one of those knives, and the number on this blade is 1497, which means this is the 1,497th blade he made in this style. Thats a bunch of knives.
The 4 blade is of ¼ ATS34 stock, and the blank is not tapered at allno taper in the tang nor in the blade until you reach the swedge grind, about 1 from the point. Super stout. Heat treated by Paul Bos to 62 HRC--so you wouldnt want to over-torque its deep hollow-ground edge. But slipping the swedge into a tight spot and using the full blade thickness at the spine for leverage would seem to be a safe bet even for heaving prying. The handles are black micarta with five stainless pins and a lanyard ferrule, very comfortable, balancing between the first and second finger, which keeps the blade very stable while working. This knife weighs right at 9 ounces, but does not feel at all heavy or cumbersome in the hand.
So the basics are all solid, but what I really like about this knife is the unique and well-thought-out blade shape. As much as I like a sweeping, curved blade for skinning, I hate trailing points that want to poke stuff you dont want to poke. This is particularly tedious when opening a body cavity on game. Youre working where you cant see, and the point is sticking into soft, unseen things beyond your fingers. On this knife, however, the use of a hump-back counter-angle at the swedge changes the profile so that youre poking with an unsharpened swedge instead of a pointvery nice. Rather than follow similar designs of the past such as Marbles classic hunting blades with their big, broad humps, Harley left the width of this blade at the swedge in a very modest proportion only about 1 wide. This short swedge also acts as a nice guide rail for starting a skinning cut, such as opening the hide along the insides of legs, and gives the knife handle and fingers good clearance above the cutting surface--but without a lot of extra steel sticking up, as on a Marbles Woodcraft or Fieldcraft.
In sum, this is a truly great working design for field-dressing and skinning deer-size game, and would certainly handle elk-size animals efficiently. The heat treat and edge are as good as it gets, and both strength of design and ergonomics get high marks.
If youre looking for a stout hunting knife with a great working profileand an edge ground by somebody who really knows what hes doingkeep an eye out for one of these little bulldogs. There are a bunch of them out there, so theyre bound to show up from time-to-time at shows and on internet exchange forums. This knife is a sleeperand potentially a real bargain, IMO. Just dont bother to ask Larry Harley to make you one like ithes strictly into one-of-a-kind creations these days. If you want a base model Harley like this skinner, youll have to shop the used knife market.
I recently picked this knife up off the Exchange Forums, and I have to say, it is a lot of knife.
A few years back, before Larry Harley became famous for winning American Bladesmith Society cutting competitions and stunning the likes of mastersmith/bladewriter Steve Schwarzer with his edges, Harley had a very effective way of turning out blades for a living. He made up 100 or so blades at a time in a given profile, gave them a first-class heat treat, put excellent edges and stout micarta handles on them, and sold them like hotcakes for very affordable prices. This is one of those knives, and the number on this blade is 1497, which means this is the 1,497th blade he made in this style. Thats a bunch of knives.
The 4 blade is of ¼ ATS34 stock, and the blank is not tapered at allno taper in the tang nor in the blade until you reach the swedge grind, about 1 from the point. Super stout. Heat treated by Paul Bos to 62 HRC--so you wouldnt want to over-torque its deep hollow-ground edge. But slipping the swedge into a tight spot and using the full blade thickness at the spine for leverage would seem to be a safe bet even for heaving prying. The handles are black micarta with five stainless pins and a lanyard ferrule, very comfortable, balancing between the first and second finger, which keeps the blade very stable while working. This knife weighs right at 9 ounces, but does not feel at all heavy or cumbersome in the hand.
So the basics are all solid, but what I really like about this knife is the unique and well-thought-out blade shape. As much as I like a sweeping, curved blade for skinning, I hate trailing points that want to poke stuff you dont want to poke. This is particularly tedious when opening a body cavity on game. Youre working where you cant see, and the point is sticking into soft, unseen things beyond your fingers. On this knife, however, the use of a hump-back counter-angle at the swedge changes the profile so that youre poking with an unsharpened swedge instead of a pointvery nice. Rather than follow similar designs of the past such as Marbles classic hunting blades with their big, broad humps, Harley left the width of this blade at the swedge in a very modest proportion only about 1 wide. This short swedge also acts as a nice guide rail for starting a skinning cut, such as opening the hide along the insides of legs, and gives the knife handle and fingers good clearance above the cutting surface--but without a lot of extra steel sticking up, as on a Marbles Woodcraft or Fieldcraft.
In sum, this is a truly great working design for field-dressing and skinning deer-size game, and would certainly handle elk-size animals efficiently. The heat treat and edge are as good as it gets, and both strength of design and ergonomics get high marks.
If youre looking for a stout hunting knife with a great working profileand an edge ground by somebody who really knows what hes doingkeep an eye out for one of these little bulldogs. There are a bunch of them out there, so theyre bound to show up from time-to-time at shows and on internet exchange forums. This knife is a sleeperand potentially a real bargain, IMO. Just dont bother to ask Larry Harley to make you one like ithes strictly into one-of-a-kind creations these days. If you want a base model Harley like this skinner, youll have to shop the used knife market.
