What do you think of a leather stack survival knife?

R

R.H.Clark

Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
771
I've been thinking of making a leather stack survival knife.I'm thinking 4" blade Puukko style with small stainless guard and butt cap.I want to use leather because of it's feel and I can make a much larger tang like a Fallkniven F1 but still have a fully enclosed tang for cold weather comfort.

Do you like the Idea of a really beefed up Puukko?
 
I really like the look of stacked leather, just make those tangs a bit more beefy and radiased then the kabars which seem to snap relatively often under hard use. Good examples are the fallkniven northern light series with the ox-hide stacked leather. They look gorgeous.
 
kgd said:
I really like the look of stacked leather, just make those tangs a bit more beefy and radiased then the kabars which seem to snap relatively often under hard use. Good examples are the fallkniven northern light series with the ox-hide stacked leather. They look gorgeous.
Click to expand...

Yea, that's what I was thinking.This first one is going to be from 1/4" 5160.You should be able to drive it into a tree and stand on it.Not that that's the smartest way to make a step.:D

I'm going to contour the handle nicely and add a very small dip for a finger guard. Not anything so large that it would restrict any grip position.
 
Should I do a matching firesteel and heavy leather waxed sheath? I'll reopen this thread with the prototype pictures in 2-3 weeks.

I just wanted to get some opinions.
 
really beefed up puukos have been around. I love leather stacked stuff, birch bark as well. Over time leather conforms to fit your hand with all the constant pressure on certain points... kinda customizes itself to the user's hand. Check out Rosarms-they pull off some of the most beautiful stacked handles on the market.
 
I think you should do it. Heck, I'm thinking of getting the new Boker Navy knife with the leather handle and grinding the guard down to the minimum. A bit bigger and thicker blade than my Mora's and still a carbon blade.
 
R.H.Clark said:
Should I do a matching firesteel and heavy leather waxed sheath? I'll reopen this thread with the prototype pictures in 2-3 weeks.

I just wanted to get some opinions.
Click to expand...
this sounds awesome!
looking forward to the update in a few weeks.
 
I'm interested to see how it turns out...I like the oval handle shapes on Ka-Bars...not something you really see on full tang knives.
 
Joben said:
I'm interested to see how it turns out...I like the oval handle shapes on Ka-Bars...not something you really see on full tang knives.
Click to expand...

the kabar's grip is awesome. I've got a stack glued in the rounded daimond sisu shape. It'll get sanded this weekend....
 
Stacked leather handles hold up very well in use too. Especialy if they are treated with beeswax.

Should not only look fantastic but perform well too.
 
I really like the look and the feel of stacked leather handles. I've owned Ka-Bars (still have one), pilot survival knives, and SOG Bowies and loved the feel of all of them. After using the Fallkniven A1 I have for a while I really want one of the Northern Lights NL3s, those are so sweeeet! I've considered seeing if John could put a leather stack handle on the A1 and how much of the tang he would have to remove to do it.
 
That does sound a like a great product. As long as you take care of the leather, it'll last and they are often more comfortable in colder weather...plus the profile is often better on the hand for extended use.

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
That does sound a like a great product. As long as you take care of the leather, it'll last and they are often more comfortable in colder weather...plus the profile is often better on the hand for extended use.

ROCK6
Click to expand...

I love the feel of a leather handle and they don't seem to creat hot spots nearly as easily as micarta.At least that has been my experience.

I appreciate all the input.This is definitely a project I want to do.I just need to find the time.

Do any of you know of any forum rules associated with a pass around? I've been thinking it would be a good way to get some input on the prototype so I could make adjustments based on experienced usage.
 
I love stacked leather handles, and a 4" blade is a great size, but you lost me with the 1/4" stock. Of course it's just personal opinion, but I think 1/8" would be more suited that knife size.
 
R.H.Clark said:
Should I do a matching firesteel and heavy leather waxed sheath? I'll reopen this thread with the prototype pictures in 2-3 weeks.

I just wanted to get some opinions.
Click to expand...

Lol, like you would put a stacked leather handle into anything but a leather sheath, you're funny...

A matching firesteel would be cool :thumbup:
 
stingray4540 said:
I love stacked leather handles, and a 4" blade is a great size, but you lost me with the 1/4" stock. Of course it's just personal opinion, but I think 1/8" would be more suited that knife size.
Click to expand...

I usually don't like thick blades either.I've posted several times about how I prefer something about 1/8".However,since I've started forging and grinding my own blades I've come to realize that I can manipulate the grind so that a thick spined blade can still be a great slicer.

Everything is a compromise and a thicker blade still won't slice large veggies like a thinner blade.It will however excell in some other areas over the thinner blade and still cut very well in most situations where a 4" blade would be used if you grind the edge thinner than what you find in most production knives.

Still,the whole purpose for this project is to get input from users and I may rethink my position if it seems a thinner blade is preferred.I appreciate the suggestion.
 
passaround forum - suggested rules are in the stickies, but the person creating the passaround can change them if they are looking for specific criteria.

I'd love to participate, and don't have a problem with spine thickness, because like you said - grind manipulation helps define cutting performance.
I can also see putting a 1/4" tang inside the handle but doing a fast taper down to 3/16" to help keep the balance point close to the guard.
 
hollowdweller said:
I always wondered why a lot of blades are overly thick.

So it takes more skill to grind a thin blade?
Click to expand...


Not sure how how much skill it takes.I just know from my testing that I can grind the edge profile of even a thicker spine knife a good bit thinner than a lot of factory blades and it will cut better and still hold up to reasonable hard use.

I'm not talking about cutting through concrete blocks or mild steel bars but so far I've had no problems with any hard knotty wood even batoning.

That is why I would like to do a pass around though,to see if my ideas hold up under others hard use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top