Recommend me a stacked leather knife

[Olumin]

Im looking for something very much functional, but also elegant & well executed. I see no contradiction there.
Knives like the ones Im looking for are often known as general purpose camp/belt/trail/hunting designs, with no niche specialization. They are good for everything blades. Im not looking for anything overly thick or over-built, like some bowie knives. Also not looking for fighting focused designs.

Ill take a good stainless over a carbon steel if given the choice, certainly for smaller blades like this.

 

[Olumin]

To clarify; this is mostly gonna be for fun. Ive never had a stacked leather knife & wanna add a nice example to my collection. I image those handles are supremely comfortable, plus they look great.

That being said I like to get stuff that also performs well if needed. I like blades that are well designed for function aswell as elegantly executed. Itll probably see some light use occasionally, but its not gonna be on my belt every weekend. Maybe that helps.

 

[Alberta Ed]

Two of my favorite stacked leather grip knives are my Marble’s Fieldcraft and Campcraft in 52100, from Mike Stewart's era there around 20 years ago.

 

[Sgt 127]

You pretty much drew a Randall Combat Companion.

Combat Companion - Nordic Knives

$585.00 Tool Steel $650.00 Stainless Steel 5 1/2" blade Brass double hilt Leather handle Aluminum butt cap Thong hole Model...

nordicknives.com

 

[Olumin]

Please keep in mind that for me, as someone who lives overseas in Europe, I would also have to pay drastically higher shipping + high import fees on such a knife. This would probably work out to close to a grand, for a knife with a sticker price of less then half that. Thats not worth it for me, I also simply cannot afford to drop this kinda money on a knife ATM, especially considering that I would never actually use such a knife. If I lived in the US, things might look different.

 

[oldmanwilly]

Hess Knives has some nice, classic offerings with stacked leather handles and 1095 blades. They do not have their own website but have an ordering page that can easily be found by googling "Hess Knives." They're reminiscent of the old Marbles knives.

 

[wajgy]

So, Im considering sending these sketches off to a maker.

Its my first knife design, so Im interested to know if I messed anything up. Specifically the design of the tang; too wide, too narrow? I have no idea what the tang in a stacked leather handle is supposed to look like. I took care to round the shoulders tho.

Its very clearly inspired by the Model 5, but fixes some problems I had with the design, such as pulling up the sabre grind & thinning the blade stock. Im planning to have it done in a subtle hollow grind. Not sure about jimping yet, probably yes.

The measurements seem a bit wonky, but thats only because of the 119mm blade. 12cm is max in Germany for legal carry, so it has to be just a tad under. Theres obviously some tolerance.

Also not so sure about the stock thickness. I dont know if makers nowadays still do distal tapered blades & whether or not it costs a load extra. Ill be discussing these things with the maker whenever I decide to commit.

Hello buddy, I can make it for you for sure ;-) check my thread here so see my work and if you like don´t hesitate to send me email or massage ;-)

PWcustom.cz

Hello, there was 2nd giveaway of the knife from my workshop for all members at my herohero.co/pwcustom last Saturday and we already have a winner :-) If you want to support me and have a chance to win a knife from my workshop every month (5 Euro for month subscription) join the comunity there ;-)

www.bladeforums.com

 

[TC]

So, Im considering sending these sketches off to a maker.

Its my first knife design, so Im interested to know if I messed anything up. Specifically the design of the tang; too wide, too narrow? I have no idea what the tang in a stacked leather handle is supposed to look like. I took care to round the shoulders tho.

Its very clearly inspired by the Model 5, but fixes some problems I had with the design, such as pulling up the sabre grind & thinning the blade stock. Im planning to have it done in a subtle hollow grind. Not sure about jimping yet, probably yes.

The measurements seem a bit wonky, but thats only because of the 119mm blade. 12cm is max in Germany for legal carry, so it has to be just a tad under. Theres obviously some tolerance.

Also not so sure about the stock thickness. I dont know if makers nowadays still do distal tapered blades & whether or not it costs a load extra. Ill be discussing these things with the maker whenever I decide to commit.

Overall I think that's a great, classy design. I wouldn't put a 2 cm choil on a 12 cm blade though - gives up too much valuable cutting edge. Go the opposite way and minimize the ricasso as much as possible. With the rear of the edge close to the guard you'll still have plenty of leverage for fine work. My 2 cents...

 

[Olumin]

Overall I think that's a great, classy design. I wouldn't put a 2 cm choil on a 12 cm blade though - gives up too much valuable cutting edge. Go the opposite way and minimize the ricasso as much as possible. With the rear of the edge close to the guard you'll still have plenty of leverage for fine work. My 2 cents...

I definitely see your point, but I have to say I really like the way the choil looks. It adds some character I think.

Maybe some more folks can chime in & state their preference. Top, middle or bottom? Just aesthetically.

 

[Olumin]

Hello buddy, I can make it for you for sure ;-) check my thread here so see my work and if you like don´t hesitate to send me email or massage ;-)

Thank you. If you look at the handle design & steel choice, Im sure you can already tell what maker I had in mind when drawing this
I will shoot you an email later. Before I commission the work I will have to do some more testing & finalize the design.

 

[The Zieg]

Well said. The 1095 Cro Van (same as Carbon V) steel is a step up from plain 1095. Hard to beat as an all-round cutting tool.

I often swap back and forth between the Mk 1 and the Carbon V SRK. If the SRK grip ever slips or tears, I'm going to install stacked leather.

Zieg

 

[HexY3co]

I often swap back and forth between the Mk 1 and the Carbon V SRK. If the SRK grip ever slips or tears, I'm going to install stacked leather.

Zieg

If you need good leather look at thrift stores for old belts. Usually just a few bucks, way less than buying large pieces. Make sure they are not padded, must be solid leather. One long belt should be enough to do a handle. They are usually over 1-1/2" wide and close to 1/4" thick. I thought of this a while back when thinking about handle options for my recon scout but ended up with canvas phenolic.

 

[Ebbtide]

Have some fun and do it yourself!
I’m sure kit blades are available to the OP locally. Frosts of Sweden, Helle & isaaki Jarvenpa (sp???) all make great kit blades.
Brisa had a great tutorial that I followed when I did the knives below a decade or so ago.

Leather handles are about some of the easiest to do and all you need are hand tools and a drill.

Connecticut Valley Arms blade

Stromeng

I’ve been calling this the Moreseth Mystery Blade so long I forgot who actually made it. (Was a big kerfluffle about that name ages ago on the now defunct forum. )

DIY gives one a true appreciation for that custom when you get it. And you won’t be hesitating to use your DIY knife.

 

[John A. Larsen]

Ebbtide, Nice work! I especially like the Stromeng and now I remember I have one of those mystery blades somewhere in my "Office". John

 

[TC]

I definitely see your point, but I have to say I really like the way the choil looks. It adds some character I think.

Maybe some more folks can chime in & state their preference. Top, middle or bottom? Just aesthetically.

Get some cheap 12 cm knife and cut a 2 cm choil into the blade with a file or angle grinder or whatever you have at hand. Use it to do some of the things you expect to do with the real one. Take it from there. You already know my opinion, so no need to repeat it.

 

[jfk1110]

I kinda figured you'd go for him being he's in Europe and makes some awesome blades!!! That's why I linked hjs.thread on page one!
Please do keep us posted on.your project...

 

[eveled]

Yes, indeed. The only thing that baffles me about this particular knife is why (WHY???) they would pair a nickel-silver guard with an aluminum buttcap. Seriously, be consistent in that, it's only a few bucks more.

It’s a Randall thing. I think it is done for balance Standard pommel is duraluminum, even with a Brass guard. Which looks even more mismatched, but it is part of the Randall look.

They only recommend brass or nickel silver pommels on long blades to offset the weight.

 

[Olumin]

I dont mind the look of the different metals. Gold/silver pairs well enough. Would I personally do it? No, Id probably go for Alu for both. Unless its a fighting knife, at which point use steel or brass for the guard.

 

[Thorgrim]

Are you talking about a knife for show or a practical user?
If a user, to be used on what?
Completely different categories and recommendations.

I'm surprised that no one asked that critical question before you did (and if they did, I apologize for missing it).

Although it isn't in your ideal specs list, a peened handle is easy to tighten if the handle loosens - just look on Youtube for "rivit peening" and pay particular attention to those who make replica medieval armor as they have to be concerned with tension as well as doing a good-looking job. It isn't hard to do correctly, but it doesn't involve simply bashing the tang with a big hammer, there's a degree of finess required. Done right with a mushroom headed rivit, you can't really tell which side was hand-peened, and you don't have to worry about re-orienting the buttcap as you would with a screw-on butt cap. That's (the button headed rivit) not normally part of a knife, but the technique is transferable. It might need one controlled "bash" to start the process if the handle is really loose, but the rest is done with tiny taps with the round end of a ball-peen hammer. And if you didn't already know, now you know how that hammer got its name - the ball end is for peening.

 

[calm]

For lower cost thrills look at Rough Rider, Marbles, Boker.
Available in several EU online sites. Go to them and do a search for stacked leather