In the year 1974, Twenty Three Hours and viola, a Custom Knife.

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395
This was my first decent hand made knife. I made it back in '74, took me 23 hours and is all hand ground, filed, sanded and finished.
The handle slabs are of 40 year old American Black Walnut epoxied on with brass pins with a solid brass guard and pommel that are pinned on as well as epoxied.
The steel is 1/4" 0-1 hardened to 61 Rc which drew back to about 59-60 Rc along the edge due to heat from the final buffing and such.
I didn't get the specs, but is about 10" OAL. The handle is made so that it is blade heavy held naturally, slid up a notch with the index finger in the rounded choil it becomes more neutral and will shave the hair off a gnat's ass if you can hold him still long enough.:)
I designed it myself and for myself and carried it for many years.
It isn't the knife I would design and carry today, but that isn't the point.
It's just that I'm quite proud of my first really effort to make a knife from a known decent steel.
Although the knives I made from car springs years before this were decent enough they didn't have the finess, fit and spit polish that this one recieved.
One night I chopped down a 4" sapling to try to lever the Land Cruiser out of the mud without the knife chipping or dulling. It would still shave hair nicely when I tried it the next morning.
This one has also skinned a couple or three deer without any touch up on the edge as well as helping to cut one of them up for the freezer.

I gave it to my son, the one holding my great grandson in the thread,
"Four Generations" some time back as I have lighter knives to carry that I like really well and that doesn't rust at the drop of a hat.
I like 0-1 steel, but it can be a pain to maintain. That's what all the spots are you see on it. Next time I go up I may take my Scotch-Brite and Brass Polishing Cloth and clean it up a bit before it starts pitting.;)

A couple of more pix to come.......
 
Some detail I carved in the blade with one of those vibrating engraving tools.:)
 
The reverse side. By the way one knife maker thought the brass pins in the handle were those fancy pins made up from different pieces of round or hex stock inserted in the tubing.
Can't think of the name for them off the top of my head right now for nothing.:rolleyes: :mad:

Ooops!!!!
Hit the wrong button!!!!:rolleyes: :o :mad:

// mosaic pins? ( Rusty ) //
 
More detail. Sorry about the quality of all the pix. We did this as a sorta last minute thing and didn't have time to set up anything to diffuse the light or add more light to get rid of shadows and glare.:grumpy:


Edit:
I doubt it can be seen well enough to make it out, but just behind the gut hook in the engraving there's a bear standing up with a couple of dogs at its feet and the bear has a dog in his mouth as well.:)
Had to get a reference to a bear in the thread somehow. I bet that this knife would skin a grizz out without needing any edge touch up.:)
The 0-1 tool steel does hold an edge at the proper hardness!!!!
 
What exactly do you do with a "gut hook"? I've seen it on other knives but am not sure why someone would want to hook a gut. For fishing?

Please excuse my urban ignorance :confused:
 
That's some damn fine work on that blade. There wern't too many with a gut hook in them days were there?
Black walnut sure is pretty when it is polished up like that is. don't have to worry about finess with that one. It sure has a bunch.
Thanks for the pixs.:)
 
Pretty, VERY pretty.

Bet that gets owned by a few more generations of your family.
 
Bruise, the term "gut hook" is kinda contradictory as it's purpose is actually to prevent overpenetration and snagging intestines from happening. Its designed specifically to keep the leading edge of the "hook" from digging in too deeply during to initial opening cut, letting you "unzip" the skin prior to skinning. But then that's just my understanding. I ain't skinned nothin' bigger'n a chicken - a foster farms one at that. Unless you wanna count what my scalpel did to the poor frog in the sophomore zoology class. Course by then he was past caring. ( Sorry Walosi! )
 
i thought you stuck the point of the hook in and then drew the knife towards yourself... is that what youre saying, rusty? you have confused me... i live in the city... ive never killed anything and then skinned it...

actually, ive only ever skinned a frog... and a pig... muppet show, anyone?
 
Yvsa that is AWESOME!!!! My next big purchace is going to be a KMG knife making grinder. I thought it was time to start making my own blades too! I'm going to start with 01 also as it is a nice steel to work with! Nice jod Yvsa!:)
 
That's a great looking knife, Yvsa. You can be proud of it, as of your family. :)

The gut hook, incidentally, has an interesting history. I read an article in one of the Knives 'XX annuals some time back in which the knifemaker who made the first known gut hook (Can't remember the name, of course) said he did it so as to have a way to lift a coffeepot or pan bail off a fire without burning his hands. :D The sharpening and other uses all came later.
 
Think of the gut hook as a big letter opener...;)

Yvsa - "mosaic pins"

That is a very fun knife. I would love to hold it in my hand. I like the gentle curve of the handle. It begs to be held. Great work.

In the latest Blade mag, Ed Fowler wrote about the first knife he made. Never sold or traded it - still has it. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as what he does today, but it's very inspiring to him because it represents the beginning.
 
Yvsa,
much respect due. Nice knife.....
Has an old school hunting feel to it, unashamed brass:)


Jeff.
 
If my memory serves me, I believe I saw and held this one at the Reno convention a few years back.

The knife I remember was very solid, blade heavy as Yvsa mentioned. A good piece of work that should serve its owner well.
 
Bro:

Who's thet thar "Tom" person whut scratched his name on yore blade? (Just TZN :rolleyes: )
 
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