The Young Kid at Work Wanted a Knife . . .

John "Hutch" Skierka

John "Hutch" Skierka

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Jan 14, 2015
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69
Well, after two years, I'm still at it. One of the young kids I work with (18 year old) is big into hunting and we got onto the subject of knives one day. After looking at his "knife", or rather, "sharpened prybar", I decided to make one for him. The money wasn't really important to me on this one; just barely enough to cover materials, and my time on this one was a freebie. I figure it's a good way to gain some experience and learn from my mistakes.

1095- Poor boy heat-treat, polished and etched, pinned and peened brass bolsters, his own whitetail antler handle (also pinned) with brass/white/black spacers. Leather sheath, also made by me; nothing too fancy.

I really do need an oven, a better camera, and better setup for photos! One thing I noticed: My etch seems to be darker towards the edge, not sure exactly what happened here. Thinking I may have gone a little overboard with metal polish towards the spine after the etch.


 
paying it forward is something that's always worth doing. I'll bet that kid is beyond stoked!
 
Nice job on the knife an dsheath. Karma definitly comes back around good deal.
 
Very nice work and exceptionally awesome present.
Very nicely done in all respects.:thumbup:

Ray
 
BladeScout said:
Nice of you to make him a knife.

Do you have a straight on side shot?
Click to expand...

This is about as close as I have. Should've spent more time cleaning it before photos . . . eek! It's either the 8th or 9th knife I've made so far; every one seems to get just a little better than the last. Just have to take my time and not rush through it towards the end.



 
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Congrats on your 8th or 9th knife. Tremendous satisfaction to make your own knives.

Thx for pic.

Personally I would have preferred the handle to be tilted a bit more downwards (from the point between blade and handle).

Again, just a personal preference which should in no way discourage your from making knives the way you want.
 
A great effort on your part to help the young man out! One to be proud of, for sure. The upward rake of the handle reminded me of a Canadian belt knife, which I've never had the pleasure of trying out. Looks like it would be just as effective in the kitchen or camp as in the field. And the holster/sheath looks very well made, too. Kudos! :thumbup:
 
Thanks for the input. With the whitetail antlers I've been using It's hard to get a good "center line" feel on the profile. I kind of just "shoot from the hip", and whatever happens, happens. I've been finding that the up-swept profile on the handle gives a slightly better feel and balance, especially with the heavy brass bolsters. I do think I'll be switching to hidden tangs soon; just can't get the pins on the bolsters to clean up and be hidden 100%.
 
And thank you for futher explanation.

Ive no doubt the happy knife user will be satisfied with the knife and that it'll perform very well.

One heck of a gift.
 
Damn that's nice of you. The old guy I work with just keeps farting and telling me I wouldn't make it in "His Corp" and that my gig line isn't straight!
 
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