The newest Breeden pattern - Breeden DeWeese!

Codger_64

Codger_64

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Here is a knife that has been in the works for a while by Breeden, a remake of the circa 1902 Marbles DeWeese pattern. It is pretty true to the original design by Dall DeWeese and Webster Marbles, with small thumb notches on the spine (done to my own specs by Kaleb Reynolds, Muskratman), and custom amboyna burl scales in the place of the original knife's stag handle. Full tang construction for strength, short handle with a built-in finger notch for control.

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As you can see from the in-hand picture, the knife is quite small, as was Dall's objective, a small, simple knife useful for hunting and other field chores without becoming a burden to carry. This one will go with me this winter on my delayed Buffalo River voyage along with the Fiddleback Nessmuk. I am quite pleased with how this rendition of a century old classic pattern turned out. I can hardly wait to see if Dall was right.

Regardless of Dall's vision for the knife, I have to say that my personal experience in working with Bryan on this new creation has been 100% positive! The man definately has talent and a willingness to please that makes him a pleasure to deal with!

Codger

PS- There is a rumor that he might be willing to make more of this pattern if there is sufficient interest. :thumbup:
 
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looks to me like it isn't quite exactly the same, but i would say he did a good job of capturing the spirit of the knife, in terms of intended use and classiness.

i think that the original had a more clipped point, and bryan's version has more of a drop point.

looks like a fine knife anyways, i look forward to hearing how it performs.

also, i'm interested in knowing what book those pages are torn out of, looks very interesting.
 
Looks good to me. I like the full belly. How about a shot of the filework. :thumbup:
 
Bryan still has the knife at this point, so we'll have to prevail upon him to give us more photos of it. These are photos he sent me today and I just couldn't restrain myself.

The knife is not meant to be an exact copy of an original. There were actually, I think, three or four revisions before it was discontinued after DeWeese's death. And Marbles made reissues at least twice in the recent past, each changed from the original to prevent fakery.

The originals were 1095 high carbon steel, not O1 as well.
 
Hi all thanks for the comments on Mikes knife, I will get some pics of the file work up soon. Kaleb did for this knife he did a very fine work of this.
and siguy I got the pic from a wilderness way mag. I keep the articals I like and chuck the rest of the mags.

Bryan
 
I like that! Of course I have a thing for the older styles. Great job!

John
 
Very nice looking knife! :thumbup: I have one of the old Dall Deweese models in my collection and have always really liked its straightforward lines and practical dimensions.

I haven't seen any of the Breeden knives in person yet, but I have one coming to my door any day now. I'm anxious to give one a try.

Enjoy the new knife!
 
Older styles, yes! I have a passion for the old turn of the century (last, not this) hunting/woodcraft knives. To give one a fair tryout with an original, now scarce, would be a shame. I am quite satisfied to try out the patterns with these "new" customs, particularly handcrafted by up-and-coming makers.

You can see a nice example of the early first version of the Dall DeWeese M.S.A. knife here.

But what now? Yes! An Outers!!!!:D I have several originals including an Imperial and a Remington. Dare I use them?
 
The blade shape reminds me of my RAT-3 without a choil. The large belly should prove worthwhile in lots of situations.
 
Dall Deweese of Canon City, Colorado, was an engineer by trade, an amateur archeologist and big game hunter in the late 1800’s. He was a contemporary of President Theodore Roosevelt and was instrumental in having the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge established.

As you can see from this photo, DeWeese was not a large man.
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He, according to Marble’s lore, designed the Dall DeWeese pattern knife to be as light and easy to carry as possible while still doing duty as a hunting knife.

Webster Marbles produced the pattern from 1902 thru 1930. Webster died that year and his sons continued the business, replacing the DeWeese with the Outers pattern.
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The knife was not made again until revived briefly in 1999 by knife designer Mike Stewart for a special run of 1,425 pieces to be used as a fundraiser for outdoorsman Fred Trost’s Practical Sportsman TV show on Michigan public television. In 2003, the DeWeese with the rough back was made by Marbles for Northwood Knives. 250 were made.

The Breeden DeWeese was a collaboration between Bryan Breeden and Kaleb Reynolds who did the filework thumb grooves on the spine. Bryan cut the blank from O1 steel using a thin aluminum template I made, sent the blank to Kaleb, then finished the grind and mounted the amboyna burl handles with four brass pins as per the originals.

Having received the knife and fondled it for a few days now, I can honestly say I am loving it. It fits my hand well, the thumb grooves running 1 5/8” up the spine gige plenty of control when the index finger is wrapped aroung the finger groove used in lieu of a guard. The blade grind, as with the earlies production, goes all the way to the handle with no choil, unlike the later originals and the Marbles reissues.

Hunting season is just around the corner and I will see to it that both the Breeden DeWeese and the Fiddleback Nessmuk get their workouts in skinning and butchering game. Then maybe this winter we’ll see how they fare at general wood crafting. Do they live up to their historic reputations as the first of the true outdoors knives?

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Codger
 
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Here’s a photo of the Mike Stewart copy of this design.

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I believe there might still be a few of these available.
 
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