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Skinner knife
- Thread starter akoontz
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2007
- Messages
- 2,261
one of the worst hunting knife designs ever. And I have owned originals. I always wondered how much input Elmer had? Or maybe he was just all blow hard.
http://www.mileswelze.com/index.html <------ Might check with this fellow, he's bought and sold a lot of rare and odd Liles over the years.
It's odd in a good way. The blade shape is seen on a few Liles, but that handle is all Keith. I've never seen a reference to it being offered by Lile, so it's probably a one off. Very neat.
It's odd in a good way. The blade shape is seen on a few Liles, but that handle is all Keith. I've never seen a reference to it being offered by Lile, so it's probably a one off. Very neat.
I think this is the first mention of the design, apparently the earliest knives mentioned in the first paragraph are with the Keith estate in Idaho still, but I've never seen a picture of it, the written explanation made it sound sorta like a thick Ruana 26 CD model.
Guns and Ammo 3/66 -
CUSTOM HANDMADE HUNTING AND FIGHTING KNIVES -
Gil Hibben, of Manti, Utah, is the maker of some of the world’s finest custom knives. H e uses the finest knife steel money can buy (high-carbon 440-C). This contains chromium, vanadium, phosphorus, and several other steel ingredients. This is a very expensive steel, and his knives are costly, but I feel they are well worth their cost to the m an who needs the best in a knife. Having guided for 30 years, hunted and dressed out big game for a lifetime, I have my own ideas as to the best knife, for my use at least. Some 35 years ago, Iver Henriksen, when he was making knives instead of rifles, made one to my design that has served me very well all these years. It carries a very thick, 3/8-inch-wide blade, five inches in length. It is heavy enough to blaze trees, unjoint a foreleg from an elk, and then pound the knife right through brisket or pelvis. It has never chipped from the hard work. It holds an edge very well and is also quite easy to stone. H e made the blade from an imported Swiss rasp from which he drew the temper, shaped the blade, and then retempered it to his own formula. It has been a wonderful knife all these years. Next my friend, the late Frantz Rosenberg of Lillehammer, Norway, made me a very fine, light knife on the old Norwegian pattern with a thin ribbon of finest Norwegian steel sandwiched between two layers of soft iron. The blade was hollow-ground on a big, water-cooled sandstone, and then honed to a razor’s edge. Over the years, I have tried about everything in commercial and custom knives. With the exception of the Buck and Randall knives, I have found most of them far from my idea of what a good knife should be.
Recently, Tom Siatos, Guns & Ammo Publisher, had Gil Hibben make a knife to my blade design and sent it to me for trial. It weighs one pound, is perfectly balanced, has a five-inch blade, a full 3/8" inch-thick bolster, and the rib about two-thirds of the way back from the cutting edge. The point is rounded enough for peeling, with a clip point. The cutting edge of the blade is hollow-ground back to the rib. The clip point is ground sharp to a short, abrupt edge on one side for bone cutting. The top of the blade carries a crosshatched thumb rest in front of the bolster. The handle is of ebony, with cocobolo spacers at each end, and the bolster is of solid brass a quarter-inch thick. The grip cap is a heavy hunk of solid brass, tapered at a right angle for driving the point down through the pelvis joint when dressing out big game. The handle is of peculiar shape, and while I did not like its looks at first glance, I found it was very practical and big enough for a good grip when peeling heavy hides. Recently, I killed a big mule buck. I had to pack it down the mountain half a mile, so I skinned and boned the front shanks. Then I found I could cut right through the neck spine with this short-bevel chip point, by hitting it a few blows as with a hatchet. Judge Don Martin went with me and suggested I cut off the neck, which Mrs. Keith always makes into mincemeat. Instead of unjointing the back of the skull, I simply severed it with a few blows of this clip point, then cut around the base of the neck and did the same thing to the neck column. Next, I cut the buck in two in back of the ribs and again, instead of fishing for the joint, simply chopped through the spine in very short order.
The buck had rolled and the hide was full of sand, but skinning it did not change the razor’s edge on this fine blade. I also found that the blade stones quite easily. With stropping, it will shave like a razor. We gave this Hibben knife a good workout. We chopped brush and limbs out o f the way when they hung on our packboards. All told, I consider this one of the three finest knives I will ever own. Hibben will make knives to any design with about any length, weight, or blade width and any handle design. The blades are polished like a mirror and come with a razor’s edge. This is a $50 knife. Prices vary according to the length of blade, width, and design. These knives are made for a lifetime of hard use and, I must say, there is none finer in the world. Hibben personally hand-forges the blades of his knives as he feels this serves to toughen the steel even more. They are then hand-shaped to the final dimensions, tempered, polished, and sharpened. The really amazing thing about a Hibben knife is the superb hand-finishing. The fit of blade to guard must be seen to be appreciated. The balance of each knife is well-nigh perfect, as both blade and handle are shaped with this factor in mind. Though Hibben will turn out just about any design the customer may want, he does insist that the final modifications be left to his discretion in order to achieve w hat he calls “character.” This is the subtle difference between a superb-looking knife and a clunker with a sharp edge. This takes talent and craftsmanship-of which Hibben has plenty. The final proof of the pudding, however, is in the eating. For example, a Hibben knife with a seven-inch blade was recently used to chop an abandoned telephone pole in half on a bet. It came through the ordeal still able to shave hair off your arm. Gil has been swamped with orders for his fighting knives by Special Services personnel in Vietnam. You can’t get a much higher testimonial than that.
Guns and Ammo 3/66 -
CUSTOM HANDMADE HUNTING AND FIGHTING KNIVES -
Gil Hibben, of Manti, Utah, is the maker of some of the world’s finest custom knives. H e uses the finest knife steel money can buy (high-carbon 440-C). This contains chromium, vanadium, phosphorus, and several other steel ingredients. This is a very expensive steel, and his knives are costly, but I feel they are well worth their cost to the m an who needs the best in a knife. Having guided for 30 years, hunted and dressed out big game for a lifetime, I have my own ideas as to the best knife, for my use at least. Some 35 years ago, Iver Henriksen, when he was making knives instead of rifles, made one to my design that has served me very well all these years. It carries a very thick, 3/8-inch-wide blade, five inches in length. It is heavy enough to blaze trees, unjoint a foreleg from an elk, and then pound the knife right through brisket or pelvis. It has never chipped from the hard work. It holds an edge very well and is also quite easy to stone. H e made the blade from an imported Swiss rasp from which he drew the temper, shaped the blade, and then retempered it to his own formula. It has been a wonderful knife all these years. Next my friend, the late Frantz Rosenberg of Lillehammer, Norway, made me a very fine, light knife on the old Norwegian pattern with a thin ribbon of finest Norwegian steel sandwiched between two layers of soft iron. The blade was hollow-ground on a big, water-cooled sandstone, and then honed to a razor’s edge. Over the years, I have tried about everything in commercial and custom knives. With the exception of the Buck and Randall knives, I have found most of them far from my idea of what a good knife should be.
Recently, Tom Siatos, Guns & Ammo Publisher, had Gil Hibben make a knife to my blade design and sent it to me for trial. It weighs one pound, is perfectly balanced, has a five-inch blade, a full 3/8" inch-thick bolster, and the rib about two-thirds of the way back from the cutting edge. The point is rounded enough for peeling, with a clip point. The cutting edge of the blade is hollow-ground back to the rib. The clip point is ground sharp to a short, abrupt edge on one side for bone cutting. The top of the blade carries a crosshatched thumb rest in front of the bolster. The handle is of ebony, with cocobolo spacers at each end, and the bolster is of solid brass a quarter-inch thick. The grip cap is a heavy hunk of solid brass, tapered at a right angle for driving the point down through the pelvis joint when dressing out big game. The handle is of peculiar shape, and while I did not like its looks at first glance, I found it was very practical and big enough for a good grip when peeling heavy hides. Recently, I killed a big mule buck. I had to pack it down the mountain half a mile, so I skinned and boned the front shanks. Then I found I could cut right through the neck spine with this short-bevel chip point, by hitting it a few blows as with a hatchet. Judge Don Martin went with me and suggested I cut off the neck, which Mrs. Keith always makes into mincemeat. Instead of unjointing the back of the skull, I simply severed it with a few blows of this clip point, then cut around the base of the neck and did the same thing to the neck column. Next, I cut the buck in two in back of the ribs and again, instead of fishing for the joint, simply chopped through the spine in very short order.
The buck had rolled and the hide was full of sand, but skinning it did not change the razor’s edge on this fine blade. I also found that the blade stones quite easily. With stropping, it will shave like a razor. We gave this Hibben knife a good workout. We chopped brush and limbs out o f the way when they hung on our packboards. All told, I consider this one of the three finest knives I will ever own. Hibben will make knives to any design with about any length, weight, or blade width and any handle design. The blades are polished like a mirror and come with a razor’s edge. This is a $50 knife. Prices vary according to the length of blade, width, and design. These knives are made for a lifetime of hard use and, I must say, there is none finer in the world. Hibben personally hand-forges the blades of his knives as he feels this serves to toughen the steel even more. They are then hand-shaped to the final dimensions, tempered, polished, and sharpened. The really amazing thing about a Hibben knife is the superb hand-finishing. The fit of blade to guard must be seen to be appreciated. The balance of each knife is well-nigh perfect, as both blade and handle are shaped with this factor in mind. Though Hibben will turn out just about any design the customer may want, he does insist that the final modifications be left to his discretion in order to achieve w hat he calls “character.” This is the subtle difference between a superb-looking knife and a clunker with a sharp edge. This takes talent and craftsmanship-of which Hibben has plenty. The final proof of the pudding, however, is in the eating. For example, a Hibben knife with a seven-inch blade was recently used to chop an abandoned telephone pole in half on a bet. It came through the ordeal still able to shave hair off your arm. Gil has been swamped with orders for his fighting knives by Special Services personnel in Vietnam. You can’t get a much higher testimonial than that.
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bax229
Platinum Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2016
- Messages
- 2,629
A
akoontz
Looks like you answered your own question
www.bladeforums.com
Looks like you answered your own question
Elmer Keith Skinner knife for sale
Seling my Original Elmer Keith Skinner knife, This knife was hand-made by James B lile, and given to Elmer Keith during the early days of the Skinner knife. Elmer had a vision for a hunting knife and had renowned knife makers create prototypes for him this is one of them. I am Asking $4,200 let...
www.bladeforums.com
I had some contacts from this post and am getting evaluations all over the place anywhere from 2k to 15k I took down the post and am going to do more researchA akoontz
Looks like you answered your own question
Elmer Keith Skinner knife for sale
Seling my Original Elmer Keith Skinner knife, This knife was hand-made by James B lile, and given to Elmer Keith during the early days of the Skinner knife. Elmer had a vision for a hunting knife and had renowned knife makers create prototypes for him this is one of them. I am Asking $4,200 let...
unwisefool
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2007
- Messages
- 10,065
Not to be mean, but that is one ugly knife.
