The Allegheny Knife

J

joelbolden

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Jan 10, 2006
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165
I make this style in both a clippoint as shown or a drop point. Classic styled hunter in modern materials. Specs:
Blade: Flatground 1/8" D-2 blade is 4 1/2" long(tip to guard) x 1 3/16" wide. Satin(600 grit) finish with convex edge and distal taper. Cryo HT by D'Holder.
Handle: Copper bolsters with Stabilized curly maple scales. Copper mosaics and LTL. Red/black spacers and red liners. I made the handle long enough to be comfortable for most hands; including my large ones.
OAL: 9.0 "
Weight: 6.7 oz
Balance point: between bolster and first pin.
Sheath: 8/9 oz veggie tanned bridle leather. Saddle stitched with welt and sealed in Sno-seal(beeswax).
Price: $225.00 USD. Includes postage as far as the UK. Check, MO or Paypal. My contact/paypal is joelcb@pennswoods.net. Thank you for looking.
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Interesting knife. Blade is nice and handle has nice figure. A question, though. Why does the handle have corners? Hands don't have corners. Personally, I like oval or finger groove type handles. BTW, your F&F is superb.
 
fudo said:
Interesting knife. Blade is nice and handle has nice figure. A question, though. Why does the handle have corners? Hands don't have corners. Personally, I like oval or finger groove type handles. BTW, your F&F is superb.
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The corners aren't square, but the rounded bevel doesn't show up well in pics. I moved away from rounded(oval) handles years ago. I'm not sure about you, but if I go into my kitchen and grab a kitchen or butcher knife the handle on it will be quite similar to what you see on this knife. To go back even farther, look at the handles of the serious using knives of the 19th century, i.e. the green river knives as an example. These are the knives that skinned, gutted, butchered buffalo, elk, deer etc by the thousands. You'll see mostly flatish handles with rounded edges...the design keeps the handle from twisting in your hand when wet or bloody or greasy. Round and oval handles twist, unless(a) you use a "sticky" material; in which case it's the material, not the design that is working. Try using a KaBar clone with a slick plastic handle and do some serious work with it with a and you'll see what I mean. The original ones had a very round handle( I have one) and the newer ones have gone to a more oval configuration...helps a bit anyway. And (b)you have to( I have to, anyway) use a lot of extra hand pressure on a roundish handle that is not dry to keep it firm in my hand. My handle sides are not flat, but gently rounded (and don't "bite")which fills the hand nicely, but still gives it something to hold onto when wet amd torqued. A rather flat "platform" on the top and bottom of the blade allow you to exert a lot of thumb pressure, if necessary, without too much worry about the handle tipping and your finger sliding...helps improve blade control. I like rounded handles on certain knives,such as woodcarving types, since you WANT the hand to be able to slide around a bit as you carve..but not on a field knife. I may pretty up a knife a bit, but they're intended as users. As far as fingergrooves go, they prevent my hand from getting a full grip on the handle when used in any postion except a saber grip. A finger grooved knife that is, again, wet or bloody or greasy and is used upsidedown to gut a deer for instance can be a bit fatiguing, since the fingers have a hard time getting a firm purchase on or in the grooves. I've hunted, and shot deer in temperatures as low as -8F, and even though the body cavity of the animal is warm my fingers still ended up stiff and a bit numb. In those sort of conditins I like a handle that is easy to use without have to try and exert a lot of finger pressure since cold hands/fingers tend to lose their strength when numb. Anyway, these have been my observations over the years, and I build my knives based on my own years(I'm 63) of use. Other's develop different methods, and I've no argument with anyone about what they choose to use. But mine work, no matter the aesthetics.
 
Joel, another beauty of a knife. Sweet looking wood.
I find the similar knife I have of yours to be quite versatile, and a large part of that is the rounded rectangular cross section of the handle. I can’t see having a GP utility knife with anything (finger grooves, sub-hilt, etc.) that gets in the way of any hold. I can see grooves or similar on a tool that you will be holding only one way (machete maybe?), otherwise, leave it simple and versatile in any hold.
 
Joel,
That is a very lucid explanation of handle ergonomics.
You are certainly correct about the old skinners. Even if you discount price in those frontier knives they would not have sold long if they didn't do the job comfortably in hand.
 
Looks good to me. I too prefer a handle that is not round for the same reasons.
I like the use of copper.
Mike
 
I like this very much. i too have found a square-ish cross section to be an overall comfortable set up. even my more rounded handles have a flat on the top and bottom with bulging sides. its important for me to feel when the knife is in the correct position in my hand. i love the blade shape too.

-Lou
 
desmobob said:
Mr. Bolden,

Do you have a photo of the drop point version?

Thanks,
desmobob
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I've two pics in my photobucket. This first one is downsized a bit to fit a customer's wife.
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This one was for his father.
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What can I say, the guy liked blue:)

I have other's in my desktop file, but not too many since I just started using a computer about 18 months ago. I do have two that I'm getting ready to ship Monday(along with 12 other blades) to D'Holder. In these, I've dropped the point a bit more and they currently aren't set up for bolsters. One is going to use loveless bolts and the other mosaic pins. If you would care to e-mail me I can send you pics of those two. Keep in mind that they need to go out by Monday though. My e-mail is joelcb@pennswoods.net
....Joel
 
Thank you Joel for taking the time to explain about the handles. Your reasoning looks sound to me.:thumbup:
 
its important for me to feel when the knife is in the correct position in my hand. . -Lou[/QUOTE said:
A friend of mine implants a small ball bearing into the guard so you can feel it in the dark if needed. That way you can always tell where your point is.
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