Matt Roberts, J.S. African Blackwood Hunter

commodorewheeler

commodorewheeler

Joined
Jun 15, 2004
Messages
1,434
Here's a beauty of a small fixed blade that I ordered a little while back. It is a hunter made by Matt Roberts, J.S. The 4 1/8" handrubbed blade is forged from W2 steel, and the handle is a piece of beautifully contoured African Blackwood with some nice burl in it. The OAL is 8 5/8".

The copper guard is acid colored, which produces a really nice dark bluish silver coating on it, but the original copper color can still be seen through the coating in the right lighting. It makes for a very nice effect on this piece and matches the handle very well.

Matt's work is outstanding on this piece. The fit and finish is just about flawless, and the knife feels great in the hand. He also put a killer edge on this hunter. I had Kenny Rowe make a beautiful black alligator sheath for this knife, and it has been a great piece to carry on hikes. I am certainly looking forward to seeing what else Matt makes in the future.

Thanks Matt!

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That is a good loooking hunter I love African blackwood and really like the shape of the handle. I also like the finish on the guard. The sheath also looks to be top notch.
 
Very nice piece indeed. That handle design looks great - how does it feel? Sheath is a terrific compliment to the fine piece. Congrats! Nice work as always, Matt.

Roger
 
RogerP said:
Very nice piece indeed. That handle design looks great - how does it feel? Sheath is a terrific compliment to the fine piece. Congrats! Nice work as always, Matt.

Roger
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Amen to all of above!!!
James
Could not have said it better myself.
 
Thanks, Ken, for posting pics. I'm glad to hear you're carrying your knife. I hope you enjoy using it.

Thanks for the compliments everybody!

Matt
 
Very sweet little package! I'm jealous.

Matt, It looks like you have some chips/cracks on the handle. I think that is more common with ebony than African blackwood. What happened?

John
 
John Frankl said:
Very sweet little package! I'm jealous.

Matt, It looks like you have some chips/cracks on the handle. I think that is more common with ebony than African blackwood. What happened?

John
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Looking at the knife closely, I don't think these are chips or cracks, I think they are areas in the burl where the grain is more open. But I think Matt knows best, so I'll defer to whatever he says about the wood.
 
Ken nailed it. They're just very shallow sections of open grain burl. I filled them with an epoxy/blackwood dust mix. However, I want Ken to keep an eye on them; if they turn into full blown checks we're going to take the handle off and replace it. I put the knife through some pretty harsh tests without damage, so the knife is good to go.

Matt
 
Congrats Ken!
Another nice and clean one from Matt.Very nice and very clean.
I enjoy how ergonomic his handles are and he thrashes his blades pretty good when testing them.
The blackwood looks good with that guard finish and the sheath is beautiful as well.
Great combo and glad to hear you are using it. :thumbup:

Doug
 
I am, happily, corrected. Okay, now I'm more jealous:).

But I did manage to contact Matt about a piece of my own.

John
 
Sweet looking hunter. Great handle design. That should feel really good in the hand. And, a sturdy sheath for a sturdy hunter. Nice package!

- Joe
 
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