Santa Fe Trail Hunter

[sculver]

Full tang version of my Santa Fe Trail Hunter. Tapered tang. Hand forged from 1/4" 1095 steel.

Blade Length: 4 3/4"
Overall Length: 9 3/4"
Handle Material: Desert Ironwood Burl
Fittings Material: Stainless Steel
Includes leather sheath.

Price: $520.00 USD
Includes shipping in ConUS, via insured priority mail.

I accept money orders or PayPal.

 

[Raymond3]

Very nice and useful looking Knife Steve. I'll bet it feels good in the had too. And congratulations on passing your Master Smith test last year.

By the way, do you use 52100 in your hunters and camp knifes at all? How do you think that it compares to 1095 and 5160.

 

[sculver]

Thanks for the congratulations and appreciation of the knife Raymond.

I have never used 52100 steel, though I am interested in trying it out. I typically use 1084, or 1095 for hunters and small Bowies. I prefer to use 5160 on large camp knives that may see hard use. The higher carbon steels are best for blades like hunters because they retain their edge longer, the lower carbon steels make better large knives because long blades need more flexibility. All of the steels that you mentioned make excellent blade steels.

But the true measure of how a blade performs always comes down to the heat-treatment. Any decent steel will perform admirably when heat-treated properly. The same steel can also be ruined by improper heat-treatment. When buying a knife, your best bet is to look for a knifemaker who has proven that he knows how to heat-treat his blades.