Rick Menefee: "Shadow Stockman"

[Blues]

Back at the Blade Show earlier this year Rick and I got to talking about this and that and he asked me if I'd be interested in a prototype shadow stockman he intended to build based upon the pattern as built by Reese Bose.

I didn't have to really give the question any thought before giving Rick a definitive "yes" and then settling in to count the days until he had the opportunity to build the knife.

This is (to my understanding) Rick's first three blade knife. I know that the project gave him pause on a few occasions as it presented some new challenges to be met. I tried to be as encouraging as I could and told Rick not to sweat the small stuff. (I'll let him fill in any details concerning his feelings about and approach to the project.)

The knife hit my mailbox today so Smoky and I trudged a half mile down through snow, slush and ice to pick it up. The images you will see are taken immediately upon opening the box to take advantage of the remaining light. (So, in other words, I didn't get a chance to clean or wipe the knife down. It looks even nicer now that I have. )

Some stats:

Pattern: Stockman
Length: 4" closed
Weight: 3 1/4 ounces
Steel: 154-CM @ ~ 60 Rc
Scales: Green Canvas Micarta

I am very happy with and impressed with Rick's effort with this knife. The walk and talk on all blades is excellent, the springs and tangs align in all three positions and there is no blade rub (that I'm aware of).
Thank you, Rick, for your time and effort on this project! :thumbup:

I'll let the images do the rest of the talking. As always your comments and observations are welcome.

edit: new images added 12/31:

 

[comoha]

Sweet Georgia Brown that is the very coolest. Congrats Elliott on a beauty that begs to be used. Above par work as usual Rick!

 

[texasflyfisher]

Wow! A Menefee shadow stockman! Simply amazing work!

p.s. This has given me ideas for the next knife. Darn you Elliott!

 

[cnas122]

Other than being an all around awesome knife, the micarta on that looks excellent. Nice picture. Looks like one of the springs is sitting a little low, but overall it looks really, really nice. The long pull was done nicely....centered and works very well with the clip shape and size. Lucky man....

 

[ndeezl]

Lookin good Elliot, everything coming out of Rick's shop these days is out of the park and the stockman is gorgeous :thumbup:

Nathan

 

[VCM3]

Elliott,I am so glad it finally got finished & you have it :thumbup:
It looks pretty freakin' sweet,to me :thumbup: Congrat's!!
Nice one Rick :thumbup:
-Vince

 

[zerogee]

Interesting take on the spe(y)ar blade there -- kinda splits the difference. Should be handy. I do hope Rick gives us his commentary -- I have a feeling that he probably added a few "learning experiences" to the scrap pile on this one. It's a real beauty.

 

[mitch13]

:thumbup: That is very nice indeed!
Mate you'll have to use it, to carve a walking stick to trudge through the snow
mitch

 

[Blues]

Thanks, guys, for the good words!

Other than being an all around awesome knife, the micarta on that looks excellent. Nice picture. Looks like one of the springs is sitting a little low, but overall it looks really, really nice. The long pull was done nicely....centered and works very well with the clip shape and size. Lucky man....

You're right, Campbell. The spring for the "spey" sits a little low but the image magnifies the effect greatly. You can just barely catch your nail on it.

Interesting take on the spe(y)ar blade there -- kinda splits the difference. Should be handy. I do hope Rick gives us his commentary -- I have a feeling that he probably added a few "learning experiences" to the scrap pile on this one. It's a real beauty.

Dwight, I like your description. :thumbup:
I have a couple of custom stock knives with somewhat similar interpretations. (Rusty Preston comes to mind.) I really like it and I think for my purposes this will suit me more than a standard spey. I never asked Rick to show me the blade profiles in advance as he had enough on his plate without my trying to customize the pattern before he ever built it.

Rick did tell me on the phone that he learned a lot about knife making with this project. I also know that at times the knife had him somewhat daunted (but again I'll let him share his thoughts in that arena).

The knife is too cool and is riding shotgun in my right front pocket as we speak.

 

[ken erickson]

I am looking forward to Rick's comments also. I know how
tough it is to get all the stars to align when adding that third
blade.

Kudos to Rick for taking this one on!

Ken

 

[duckman1]

I like that one a lot. Looks good with the green micarta.

 

[zerogee]

Well, Tony does say that if you ever get bored making slipjoints, add another blade.

 

[LKJW]

Man, I wish people offered to let me try out their knife ideas. Sweet knife. :thumbup:

What exactly is a 'Shadow' Stockman.

 

[wagglebee]

Elliott, I remember seeing this in it's early stages a few weeks ago when Rick was sending me all the pictures.

It hardly does the finished product justice, Rick nailed it.

 

[zerogee]

What exactly is a 'Shadow' Stockman.

A stockman pattern made without bolsters. "Shadow" means bolsterless when applied to any pattern name.

 

[2Dead]

That stockman is really nice!!

 

[J. Oeser]

This picture is amazing. I just love seeing how it all fits together on these 3 blade + knives. Congratulations Elliott and well done Rick. :thumbup:

 

[Railsplitter]

Rick,

That is extremely good work on such a challenging task! I cannot even begin to imagine how tough it is to make a 3 blade slip joint. It's fantastic! Very, very nice. Your work never ceases to amaze me!

Elliott,

Thanks for posting this. When I joined these forums not long ago I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to witness the progress of individual knife makers. Thanks to both you and Rick for sharing this with us.

 

[waynorth]

That tough micarta material is perfect for a knife with no bolsters.
Congrats on the Hat-trick Rick!
Nice knife to own, Elliott!

 

[kamagong]

That's another nice one Elliott. It looks like a pretty svelte knife at 4" long and 3 1/4 ounces. It's been a December to remember for you, with this stockman, Enrique's HTT, and John Howser's slimline trapper. You've picked 1-blade, two-blade, and 3-blade knives. What's next? You don't have a Bose Congress to share with us tomorrow, do you? That would be the icing on the cake!

Great work Rick! So how much harder is it to make a 3-blader compared to a 1-blader?

- Christian