Koa Handle Hunter

D.Crawford · Mar 25, 2013

Here's a full-tang hunter almost off the bench. It will probably get a few coats
of lemon juice to bring out the hamon a bit. Specs...

- OAL is 11 1/2".
- Blade is 6 7/8" of flat ground W2 with false edge on top.
- 416 ss guard is pinned and soldered
- Handle is stabilized Koa

Comments are welcome.

Thanks for looking

Kevin Jones · Mar 25, 2013

Nice looking blade profile and proportions are good. Good looking knife in general, seems big for a hunter though.
I don't like how the tang is proud to the scales, other may see it different. :thumbup:

D.Crawford · Mar 25, 2013

Kevin Jones said:
Nice looking blade profile and proportions are good. Good looking knife in general, seems big for a hunter though.
I don't like how the tang is proud to the scales, other may see it different. :thumbup:

Points taken Kevin. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Dusty One · Mar 26, 2013

Very Nice Looking !

D.Crawford · Mar 26, 2013

Dusty One said:
Very Nice Looking !

Thanks Dusty.

hardingknives · Mar 26, 2013

Awesome blade shape, good lookin koa too.

Chad Harding

robino · Mar 27, 2013

nice knife...
may i ask why some makers solder the guard to the blade?
is it a fitting issue?

myself i love seeing a nice tight fitting blade to guard UNSOLDERED, but I see a few makers who solder still

D.Crawford · Mar 27, 2013

robino said:
nice knife...
may i ask why some makers solder the guard to the blade?
is it a fitting issue?

myself i love seeing a nice tight fitting blade to guard UNSOLDERED, but I see a few makers who solder still

Thanks gentlemen.

Robino, I like a tight fitting guard as well, but since my knives are definitely field grade I like to think
that the joints are somewhat sealed for field use. Especially on carbon steel blades like this one.
I generally pin and solder where practical for the build. Just my thinking.

Thanks again for commenting.

RogerP · Mar 27, 2013

Good looking knife David. I like the aggressive blade shape and the overall design. It might be nit-picking on labels, but I would see this as more of a small camp knife / general field knife than a hunter. Now I've never dressed out anything larger than deer mind you, but 4 to 4 1/2" of blade is all I need for the job. I know some guys favor a large hunter, but even there 5 to 5 1/2" seems to be the norm.

I agree with Kevin that the tang shoudn't protrude, but I would add that it needn't be flush, either. On a full tang knife, I actually prefer the edges of the tang and the edges of the scales to be slightly rounded, so that a little movement in the handle material doesn't expose the sharp edge of a flush ground tang to the palm and fingers.

I am totally down with a soldered guard on a field knife - I'm a little old school that way. This is a pretty clean job, but there's still room for improvement.

Overall really well done. I'd totally rock a knife like this in the bush.

D.Crawford · Mar 28, 2013

RogerP said:
Good looking knife David. I like the aggressive blade shape and the overall design. It might be nit-picking on labels, but I would see this as more of a small camp knife / general field knife than a hunter. Now I've never dressed out anything larger than deer mind you, but 4 to 4 1/2" of blade is all I need for the job. I know some guys favor a large hunter, but even there 5 to 5 1/2" seems to be the norm.

I agree with Kevin that the tang shoudn't protrude, but I would add that it needn't be flush, either. On a full tang knife, I actually prefer the edges of the tang and the edges of the scales to be slightly rounded, so that a little movement in the handle material doesn't expose the sharp edge of a flush ground tang to the palm and fingers.

I am totally down with a soldered guard on a field knife - I'm a little old school that way. This is a pretty clean job, but there's still room for improvement.

Overall really well done. I'd totally rock a knife like this in the bush.

Thanks for taking the time Roger. Not nit-picking at all. I agree that it's a bit large for the "Hunter" label and
I've added an in-hand pic to show the proper scale. "Camp knife" is probably a much better label.

I know what you mean about the sharp edges of the tang, especially when using a natural handle material.

Thanks to you and Kevin for the constructive critiques. At this point l'm all about improving my abilities,
and input from knowledgeable knife people is always welcome and appreciated.

Thanks again guys,
David

Burl Source · Mar 28, 2013

Beautiful Knife!
The handle and guard are a little bit blockier than I like but that is just my personal taste.
Looks to me like it is well made and very nice work.