The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Killed a Big Rattler on the Doodletown trail. He was laid out right in the middle of the path. Sunning in the morning.Some nice fat rattlers in there too. Bears worry me more than snakes.
Snake story time. Spending my whole life in the swamps and woods of Florida a snake encounter is inevitable. I was still hunting thru a Swamp called the Big Gum. I stepped over a blow down and Without warning Bam a Eastern Diamond Back about 4 foot long tagged my left leg. Mind you I'm 5 miles from my jeep. Fortunately or unfortunately I had my left leg amputated in the Army. When the Army doctors reattached my leg over a year a large calcium growth had grown were my shin had been. I also have extremely poor circulation and severe nerve damage. That rattler had struck me right on top of my calcium growth. It broke skin but I kinda knew he didn't get venom into me. But it opened my eyes to how fast things can go drastically down hill. I had already dispatched that snake and yes he was eaten at camp that night. I do not have a fondness for venomous snakes. A few weeks before I had happened across a 72 year old lady hiking the AT. If she was to get bit, miles from help and none to limited cell service i believe she would be a gonner.Good thing a ranger didn't see that. Timber rattlers are protected in NY, endangered species. I usually just go around them. Funny though, I have stepped over them, teased them with a stick, moved them out of the way with a stick and have never had one rattle for me.
Thanks zzy. Any info is good infoNever heard of Blue Steel. My first gut reaction to seeing it was "Marble", but that's just a WAG and what do I know? That split nut construction was primarily pre-1950s.
Found this reference to a Blue Steel knife here on BF -
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/blue-steel-hunting-knife.350513/
Ok just saw a picture of a Cattaraugus 225q if the pommel was changed its a pretty good matchNever heard of Blue Steel. My first gut reaction to seeing it was "Marble", but that's just a WAG and what do I know? That split nut construction was primarily pre-1950s.
Found this reference to a Blue Steel knife here on BF -
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/blue-steel-hunting-knife.350513/
I'm going to guess 50's or 60's vintage Japanese made hunting knife for the import market.
looks a lot like a "sarge" or "sabre" brand knife I found under a bush once.
I will step up to the plate and step around the snakes from this point forward. Pictures only from now onDefinitely not a KA-BAR product and I really don't know who made it. I hate to flog a dead horse, but please don't kill any more of our local rattlers. Timber rattlers are an endangered species and there is NO good reason to kill one. A rattlesnake will not kill most humans over 80 lbs and it is simple enough to either walk around them or move them with a long stick, the former being smarter. There is no record of anybody ever being killed by any snake in Harriman or it's surrounding counties. You are not doing any humans a service by killing them, you are only satisfying your wish to kill an endangered animal. Down south and out west there are plenty of diamondbacks and although I don't abide much about killing any snake they are not endangered like our timber rattlers are. Harriman and some other New York state parks are wildlife preserves, no hunting or killing of animals is permitted or nice and that means copperheads too. Fishing is permitted in Harriman but the state re-stocks fish, they do not re-stock snakes or other animals. Wildlife preserves are just that, a place to give nature a place to be as she should with no threat to her inhabitants from we humans.
I was under the impression that The FIN came in 4 versions
5554 - Spear point plain edge - don't have
5555 - Spear point partially serrated - which I have
5556 - Tanto point plain edge - which I have
5557 - Tanto point partially serrated edge - don't have
Now I have to modify my notes... apparently the 5557 is NOT serrated, per this picture. Need to dig my 5556 out to see how the 5556 and 5557 differ.