My own hunter for this deer season...

J. Doyle

J. Doyle

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
8,206
Here in Michigan, our firearm deer season opened yesterday, Nov. 15th. I made a knife for me last year but it made it just past hunting season and someone wanted to buy it. Cash is king, so I sold it. Which left me in need for a hunting knife for this deer season.

This is what I came up with. It's a tad larger than my ideal preferences for a dedicated field dressing knife, but the idea was to make it a little larger to handle a few more camp type chores. I chose 80CrV2 steel for the blade, ground thin for its toughness and edge holding properties and curly koa for the handle. For the rest of the fittings I chose as maintenance free materials as possible.

Last year, I made a guardless hunter. This year I went with a guard....for no other reason than just to do it different this time. I like both.

I killed a decent 7pt buck yesterday morning around 8:15 and shot a nice big doe at 5:00 in the evening. The knife took care of both deer easily with no chips, rolls or flat spots (as I would expect of any quality knife steel) and still shaves hair exactly as it did before I started.

I did forget to take my camera yesterday but I think my dad snapped a few with his phone. I'll check on that. In the mean time, here's the knife.

Specs:
Hand forged from 80CrV2 steel
8 1/2" overall, 4 1/4" blade, .175" thick at the ricasso with full distal taper
Heavily rounded spine and ricasso edge
Rounded, filed thumb grip
Black g-10 guard and collar, double line cut
Stainless steel thorn and vine spacer
Stabilized Koa handle
Stainless checkered finial screw

Any and all comments/discussion welcome.









 
Beautiful knife, I really like the look of vine spacer, especially between the black, such a nice touch of class! Overall, looks to be a great user. One thing I wonder is if that vine area is a place for blood or any fine "contaminant" to gather? Or is there a filler in the spaces? Either way, still a great looking knife.
 
Hurt'n'Broke said:
Beautiful knife, I really like the look of vine spacer, especially between the black, such a nice touch of class! Overall, looks to be a great user. One thing I wonder is if that vine area is a place for blood or any fine "contaminant" to gather? Or is there a filler in the spaces? Either way, still a great looking knife.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments. There is no filler in the filework but the gaps are not very deep. There were some small bits of dried blood and fat in some but a little dishsoap on an old toothbrush and it came right out with ease. This one is also a takedown so I can take it out and clean it thoroughly if need be.

Bruce- yeah, when there is a guard, small is best IMO. No reason to have the guard any bigger than necessary as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for the comments, my friend!
 
CANNOT stop looking at this knife!!! Superb in every quality. Excuse me while I get a spatula to un-stick my eyeballs from the screen......
 
Sucks. Where'd you get that crummy wood?


:D


j/k bud. Kicks ass! As I despise making hunting knives, I'll have to get one of yours, some day. Hope it ends up looking like this one!
 
I always try to pay attention to the details when appreciating the sight of high quality knives. That plunge grind just tickles me in ways i've never been before. Congratulations on this knife!
 
So nice. And congrats on the venison. :thumbup:
 
Really nice. Using such a fine tool of your own making seems the perfect way to end a memorable hunt, as they all should be. Maybe you should hang on to this one.
 
Very nice John. I always enjoy seeing what you make. Congratulations on getting some deer for the freezer. Have a safe and enjoyable season.

Chris
 
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