What Is This [dang] Knife Good For?

redsquid2

redsquid2

Free-Range Cheese Baby
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Aug 31, 2011
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So I set out to make a camp knife, and in the process of doing so, I made a knife blank that was quite bent. Looking along the length of it, I was reminded of lasagna. So I ground it and ground it to make everything nice and flat, but at the end of all that grinding, my blank was only .110" thick. It kinda looks like a camp knife, but it isn't too stout. Now what to do with it?

It is 80CrV2 tempered to 60-61 HRC.

In the picture below, you see two ideas for a handle. The shorter option would leave me 5 1/2" of blade. The longer option would leave me 5 1/8" of blade.

I have a little bit of room to change the handle profile.

I have not sharpened it yet, and edge thickness is about .020".

Large game skinner? I am open to ideas on how to finish this project.

Thank you.

50399699806_3e54701278_b.jpg
 
This probably won't be popular but I don't care much about blade to handle ratio so keep with the skinner theme and maybe a lean to utilitarian. Bring the blade back to about 3.5", drop the spine just a touch further and call it a day. In a cross draw sheath it would be awesome.
 
I’d go with the longer handle as well and extend it even further.

I highly dislike knives that have only the ricasso to butt up against your index finger. It’s much more comfortable to have handle material in that area.

You’ve got a nice, slicey blade there. It’s much better than it being too thick. Too thick of stock is a problem a lot of knives have these days.
 
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bigsurbob said:
No joke. It'd be better than my 119.

Great looking blade shape. I like the larger scale option.
Click to expand...
yep, thinness reminds me of ontarios thinned down butcher.....not looks just thinness. cabbage knife.


not sure I'd give up my 119s for this one for general use, but im biased being a Buck collector. Antdog nailed it on thin slicers ain’t a bad thing. it would be a great thin slicer. good looking and drop point. I see a lot of good in it.
 
I wouldn't pound on it, but I wouldn't be overly worried about it being too weak.
Heat treated correctly, 80CrV2 is a tough steel.
I agree with the others, a slicey blade with a shape like that will be probably work out great, especially
for harvesting and cooking food. That means it has the potential to get used a lot, if not everyday, which is also really cool.

If you wind up skinning large game with it in the future, please post pictures, I'd be interested to see how that knife performs.
 
Eli Chaps said:
This probably won't be popular but I don't care much about blade to handle ratio so keep with the skinner theme and maybe a lean to utilitarian. Bring the blade back to about 3.5", drop the spine just a touch further and call it a day. In a cross draw sheath it would be awesome.
Click to expand...

Something like this? In this drawing, I shortened the handle at the butt end.

50399221058_8fa1034ebe_b.jpg
 
One of the common comments made by experienced knifemakers over in the Shop Talk subforum is that new makers make all their knives too thick - they use steel that's too thick.

0.110" seems fine for a camp knife to me. (Benchmade Saddle Mountain is 0.12"). Heat treated properly, it's probably plenty thick to use as a knife for camp tasks, and will be a better cutting tool than something much thicker (all else being equal).

I'd say use it as intended, and see what happens. It looks pretty good to me as it is.

-Tyson

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As mentioned above, use as intended as a general utility knife and it should do fine at that thickness. I like the longer handle idea.
 
IMG_0439.JPG

This is one of your older ones made for me, same steel and maybe a little shorter blade. I like how the handle is longer so I can inch up on it, allows more control with the extra material. Thin edge is not bad either, not for batoning but will make quick work of most jobs. Mine above is a thicker edge, needs to be a bit thinner. A good sharpening should do it.

I like the smaller hunter design too, but not for this blade.
 
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Finally, a thin bladed knife ! Great ! It will hold up fine to any knife tasks and be a great slicer. The longer handle is a better option than too much ricasso, it already has enough of that.
 
I dig it, OP! :cool::thumbsup:

I have a Tops knife that is only .06" thick with a distal taper. Obviously it has some flex to it, which makes it a great BBQ knife--from chopping veggies to trimming on-the-bone meats. Anyhoo, it's harder to find a thin fixed blade outside of dedicated kitchen knives--someone's gonna want a skinny camper, fer sher!

I say carry on with the plan (I too like the long handle design) and let the end user decide if they want to use it on cabbages or caribou. Good-lookin' knife! :thumbsup:
 
The trend towards thick blades for camp tasks has gone too far. Our ancestors used much thinner blades for everything from whittling to skinning and quartering game. Our daily tasks are mostly kitchen and utility chores like breaking down cardboard and cutting zipties (manufactured as opposed to natual items) and thinner blades do well there, too (think Stanley knife or boxcutter). And think of a Mora 510: I've abused the heck out of mine and it's still in one piece.

In short, I like this thinner knife. It should be able to handle a lot. And I'd go with the standard length handle.

Zieg
 
redsquid2 said:
Something like this? In this drawing, I shortened the handle at the butt end.

50399221058_8fa1034ebe_b.jpg
Click to expand...
Nooooo, leave it like it is! The blade shape and length is great. I'd go with the slightly longer handle, but I think either handle length would be nice. Great looking knife. Would make a really nice camp chore/cooking knife. Some nice brown micarta handles would be nice.
 
Another vote for longer handle. I also love the blade shape. "Large game skinner" sounds correct to me.

I'd also agree with leaving the blade length as is. 5 1/8" is just about perfect.
 
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