Horsewright Knives and Leather

[Mk-211]

Yeah had to run out, anytime it's triple digits in the AV, it's miserable. Should be back in the 90's next week.

Coming by the shop would be cool, I'll have to hit you up when it cools off a little.

Also a new gun store in Palmdale in case you didn't know. Look up .308 Industries.

 

[echoscout]

Ya know Amigo it just occurred to me that those scales have made a roundtrip!

Yes sir they sure have pard. That thought occurred to me as I was considering this Mestano and helped with my discussion to get it. In the part of south central Kansas where I live. Which is on the the western edge of the Flint Hills it's called Hedge. They planted Hedge miles on end. Especially to the west as it gets flatter. The further west you go the flatter it gets. It was used for a windbreaker, fence post and firewood. A when I was a youngster we hunted the hedgerows for rabbits and squirrels.

 

[Horsewright]

Yes sir they sure have pard. That thought occurred to me as I was considering this Mestano and helped with my discussion to get it. In the part of south central Kansas where I live. Which is on the the western edge of the Flint Hills it's called Hedge. They planted Hedge miles on end. Especially to the west as it gets flatter. The further west you go the flatter it gets. It was used for a windbreaker, fence post and firewood. A when I was a youngster we hunted the hedgerows for rabbits and squirrels.

View attachment 2957248

Great pic Amigo and I liked hearing the reasoning behind selecting that Mestano.

It's' been a scorcher here lately. My set up when working when its hot:

What I got going:

Finished these yesterday and will start on sheaths today. Most of these will be headed to the website for stock. The only one spoken for at this time is the Mestano in the black sheephorn. Its pretty darn cool.

 

[lambertiana]

Yeah just down the road from us! That's cool, we'll have to set up a shop visit some time if ya want. Man I hope you're able to be inside for the next few, it's a scorcher!

I've never been to Saddleback. Seen the sign a bunch of times though.



Here's a little different one. A modified Cowboy Toothpick, well maybe we ought to call it a Cowgirl Toothpick:

Here's a Cowboy in rosewood out of the 26C3 high carbon steel:

Axehead stamping on the sheath:

What species of rosewood is that? At first glance I thought it was padauk.

Going back to the conversation about osage orange, when I lived in St Louis there was a row of mature trees at the bottom of my yard. The fruit was interesting. Thorns are nasty. If I had known then what the wood was like, I would have cut some.

 

[echoscout]

What species of rosewood is that? At first glance I thought it was padauk.

Going back to the conversation about osage orange, when I lived in St Louis there was a row of mature trees at the bottom of my yard. The fruit was interesting. Thorns are nasty. If I had known then what the wood was like, I would have cut some.

Dont let your milk cow eat hedge apples. Or your milk will taste sour for days.

 

[Horsewright]

What species of rosewood is that? At first glance I thought it was padauk.

Going back to the conversation about osage orange, when I lived in St Louis there was a row of mature trees at the bottom of my yard. The fruit was interesting. Thorns are nasty. If I had known then what the wood was like, I would have cut some.

It's been identified, with a high degree of probability by Ben Greenberg, a noted expert, as sonokeling rosewood. My brother found this board in my parent's barn when he took over their place. It was grey with age and I was originally thinking some kind of mahogany because of the faded dried brown/greyish color. He wanted to know if I could use it for handles. Cutting into it and working the wood gives that stunning result. Best we can piece it together my dad had it shipped home from India as it was with other items that he had also shipped home. My father always had a fascination with exotic woods and pick up a piece of this here and pice of that there. At the end of WW2 he was an Army Air Corp base commander in India so all the parts fit and he did send a lot of things home. Many of which are still in that barn. I've used up quite a bit of the wood and built both of my brothers sets of kitchen and or steak knives with it.

You guys get those heavy thunderstorms today that we got?

 

[Horsewright]

Dont let your milk cow eat hedge apples. Or your milk will taste sour for days.

Did not know that!

 

[lambertiana]

It's been identified, with a high degree of probability by Ben Greenberg, a noted expert as sonokeling rosewood. My brother found this board in my parent's barn when he took over their place. It was grey with age and I was originally thinking some kind of mahogany because of the faded dried brown/greyish color. He wanted to know if I could use it for handles. Cutting into it and working the wood gives that stunning result. Best we can piece it together he had it shipped home from India as it was with other items that he had also shipped home. My father always had a fascination with exotic woods and pick up a piece of this here and pice of that there. At the end of WW2 he was an Army Air Corp base commander in India so all the parts fit and he did send a lot of things home. Many of which are still in that barn. I've used up quite a bit of it and built both of my brothers sets of kitchen and or steak knives with it.

You guys get those heavy thunderstorms today that we got?

Gotcha. Sonokeling is another name for East Indian Rosewood, dalbergia latifolia.

We didn't get any rain at all here on the valley floor. Friday night I was at Franklin Lake (10,330') above Mineral King. We got just a few stray raindrops. Coming down yesterday there was already lightning above us around 9 AM. We stopped to eat at the Silver City Resort and it started raining while we were there. We had rain all the way down to Three Rivers, but nothing in the valley.

 

[jfk1110]

 

[Horsewright]

Gotcha. Sonokeling is another name for East Indian Rosewood, dalbergia latifolia.

We didn't get any rain at all here on the valley floor. Friday night I was at Franklin Lake (10,330') above Mineral King. We got just a few stray raindrops. Coming down yesterday there was already lightning above us around 9 AM. We stopped to eat at the Silver City Resort and it started raining while we were there. We had rain all the way down to Three Rivers, but nothing in the valley.

The difference between them if I understand it correctly is the sonokeling grows on islands off the coast and the East Indian grows on the mainland. Interestingly, and I don’t think a lot of folks in the knife world know it but the cocobolo that was also talked about earlier, is a rosewood too. In that last pic of the work in progress that I posted above, there is a Mestano in cocobolo. There are also two knives, a Poco and a Cowboy Toothpick in what is commonly called African Rosewood. But Bubinga, its real name is not a rosewood. Go figure.

Very cool. We got hammered with some torrential downpours. Lasted most of the afternoon. Fishing at Franklin?

 

[lambertiana]

The difference between them if I understand it correctly is the sonokeling grows on islands off the coast and the East Indian grows on the mainland. Interestingly, and I don’t think a lot of folks in the knife world know it but the cocobolo that was also talked about earlier, is a rosewood too. In that last pic of the work in progress that I posted above, there is a Mestano in cocobolo. There are also two knives, a Poco and a Cowboy Toothpick in what is commonly called African Rosewood. But Bubinga, its real name is not a rosewood. Go figure.

Very cool. We got hammered with some torrential downpours. Lasted most of the afternoon. Fishing at Franklin?

Yeah, cocobolo and African Blackwood are the two true rosewoods that are most commonly used for knife handles.

We didn’t fish at Franklin. In the past I have only seen small brookies there. The best fishing I have ever seen was at Bear Twin Lakes, which are situated on a shelf 500’ above Bear Creek upstream from Lake Thomas Edison. We got a big fat rainbow or brookie on every cast. Typically 10” with fat bodies. A friend of mine caught a couple fat brookies by dangling his lure above the water; they jumped out of the water to get the lure in mid air. And Bear Creek was good fishing too. We got a number of nice fat goldens there. Pink flesh like salmon. The best tasting trout I have ever had.

 

[Horsewright]

Yeah, cocobolo and African Blackwood are the two true rosewoods that are most commonly used for knife handles.

We didn’t fish at Franklin. In the past I have only seen small brookies there. The best fishing I have ever seen was at Bear Twin Lakes, which are situated on a shelf 500’ above Bear Creek upstream from Lake Thomas Edison. We got a big fat rainbow or brookie on every cast. Typically 10” with fat bodies. A friend of mine caught a couple fat brookies by dangling his lure above the water; they jumped out of the water to get the lure in mid air. And Bear Creek was good fishing too. We got a number of nice fat goldens there. Pink flesh like salmon. The best tasting trout I have ever had.

I have fished both the lakes and Bear Creek. They were great. As a kid I caught two 18"s at Edison cross the lake where they drop folks off for the John Muir trail. Right at the inlet. I have seen the jumping out of the water to grab the fly both at Bear Creek and Golden Trout Creek. Golden Trout Creek is all Goldens as you would guess. We use to pack into there horseback. It's all a big public pasture and fenced. Just turn the ponies loose and they are in horsey Cancun.

 

[Horsewright]

I've made quite a few knives over the years with spacers:

I have used reconstituted gemstone as shown above and wood below:

What do you think of spacers? If you are a fan what's your favorite spacer material.

 

[SharpBits]

My favorites of yours are the ones with spacers.

 

[Ironbut]

I like the looks of your knives with spacers. Spacer material, or color, would depend on the handle material, but nothing really flashy. Personally, I like the combinations in pic # 2, or any of the pics with wood spacers. But, that's just me. Everybody's tastes are different.

 

[echoscout]

I like the spacers. I don't have a favorite at the moment as I seem to like them all. I will admit I'm rather fond of the African Blackwood spacer on my Sonoran Belt Knife.

 

[mitch13]

I've made quite a few knives over the years with spacers:

I have used reconstituted gemstone as shown above and wood below:

What do you think of spacers? If you are a fan what's your favorite spacer material.

Very nice Dave.
I like the turquoise spacer, gives a touch of bling but still screams user.

 

[Horsewright]

My favorites of yours are the ones with spacers.

Thank you. Good to know. Do you have a fav spacer material?

I like the looks of your knives with spacers. Spacer material, or color, would depend on the handle material, but nothing really flashy. Personally, I like the combinations in pic # 2, or any of the pics with wood spacers. But, that's just me. Everybody's tastes are different.

Good deal. Thanks for the kind words and the info. I don't have a pic to hand but I have done some with iron spacers and an ironwood handle. I run the grain crosswise on the spacer. Its an interesting combo that I like.

I like the spacers. I don't have a favorite at the moment as I seem to like them all. I will admit I'm rather fond of the African Blackwood spacer on my Sonoran Belt Knife.

View attachment 2961184

Yeah amigo, that's a good combo with the Blackwood and the woolcarta.

Very nice Dave.
I like the turquoise spacer, gives a touch of bling but still screams user.

Ya know when I was first starting along this road I was a lil hesitant about the turquoise. I was afraid it would turn some guys off, ya know maybe a lil girlie. I was really wrong about that! A bunch! In fact. I was telling a friend about that the other day and he was laughing in my face over me being so dumb!

Thanks guys for your input!

 

[SharpBits]

Thank you. Good to know. Do you have a fav spacer material?

Currently, it is a close tie between the jasper* and the turquoise.

*I assume it is jasper.

 

[Horsewright]

Currently, it is a close tie between the jasper* and the turquoise.

*I assume it is jasper.

Yess sir the red with black veining is jasper.