Verde Ranch Hunter D-2

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

Hello everyone. I have a pretty cool knife for some lucky soul. Back when the total eclipse happened, my wife and I were at the ranch and I found this piece of hard rubber in the old shed. I thought it might make a good handle material, but wouldnt know until I tried. Well, it turned out great. It is a hard rubber, maybe from some sort of tire, I really don't know. It has the stitching in it, no steel or anything, just thread of some type. I tried to get the threads cleaned up a bit, even tried burning them off, super glue, fine cut file, my shop knife, but nothing I tried worked. They look a little funny in the photo, but not so much in person. The rubber is hard, the pins do not stand proud at all, even if you give it a good squeeze. It feels like it compresses just ever so slightly in the hand, but it is hard and tacky. I have been playing with it, fidgeting with it is more true! I have just enough of this stuff for one more knife. Sad thing is, a couple of weeks ago we had a fire in the old shed, and we lost everything in it. Grandaddy's old Ford tractor, my cousin's old Ford Bronco, my aunt's Kawaski mule, the riding mower, Grandaddy's old school reel mower that he had put a Briggs and Stratton on in the 1960s, as well as a jig for sharpening those reel blades, tons of tools, screws, bolts, files, you name it, all gone. Sad deal, but we were lucky that no one was hurt, it wasn't the house, and my cousins were able to get both their vehicles out just in time. Pretty sure it was an electrical fire. So this knife has a real part of the Verde ranch history literally glued right on it!

Steel is Crucible's D-2, not PM but ingot. Their steel has a higher vanadium count, and very tight alloy tolerances. The "delta" heat treat, done in house, includes "cryo" and triple tempers for a final hardness of 62.5HRC, which is a great hardness for D-2 in a hunting knife. The knife has a very thin blade stock with a very thin full flat grind, terminating in a 15° edge. Sharpened on ceramic stones and stropped with 4 micron CBN, and it's wicked sharp! Hand rubbed satin finish on the blade. I tried etching it to show a bit of carbide banding, but didn't like the way D-2 took the etch (too stainless for a good etch I am assuming), so re-polished the blade.

I hope you like this one, I sure do! BTW, this knife is so thin it would simply excel with food prep as well, so if you need a knife for game processing, general work, or food prep, this is an excellent choice.

OAL: 8 3/4"
Blade: 4 1/8"
Handle: 4 5/8" Hard rubber
Thickness: 0.065"
Steel: Crucible D2 62.5HRC with "cryo"
Edge: 15° per side, 4 micron
Price: $275 (includes kydex sheath)



Paypall preferred (samuraistuart@yahoo.com). All knives come with free shipping in the USA as well as a lifetime unconditional warranty. Something goes wrong, the knife gets repaired or replaced. I ask that the buyer be aware that most all of my knives are cutting tools and are made only for their intended use. I like to make thin, hard knives that excel at cutting and not necessarily able to take abuse. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me here or contact me by email (samuraistuart@yahoo.com). Thanks for taking a look, and follow me on Instagram at stuartalandavenport.

 

[tyr_shadowblade]

I wish more makers would try rubber handles. Years ago this one guy was using rubber horse mats to make scales for large camp knives and everyone said they were great. Rubber is actually my favorite handle material, especially on smaller knives.

 

[Kevin W.]

Another nice one! I love this pattern. Mine has somehow made its way into the kitchen and I don't think it is leaving anytime soon

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

Thank you both very much. I looked into horse stall mats some time back and was shocked at the price. If I knew where to get this sort of hard rubber in the right thickness at a decent price, yeah buddy I would use it a lot. My Dad saw this knife and ordered one with a clip point, but he wants that rubber, and I have just enough for his knife. I really need to find a source.

I also really really like D-2 tool steel on game processing knives. It has all the wear resistance you would ever need in a game knife, plus with this delta heat treatment it has much improved apex stability. Plus you don't need fancy stones to sharpen/maintain the steel. It wasn't that long ago and D-2 was considered a super steel!

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

This sales thread is now closed. Reposted with another knife. Thank you all!