Got this Trail of Tears coming from an Exchange purchase.
My son is a University Professor, and has studied and written on Native American subjects. I'll put this aside for a birthday gift. Hope he likes it! I do!
Ray Kirk, the maker, is a member of the Cherokee tribe, and a Master Bladesmith. The inlay is the Cherokee Seal.
Here's Ray Kirk's description of it:
This knife was made at my home near Tahlequah, Oklahoma from 52100 round bar that was purchased from a ball bearing factory in Dahlonega, GA., the point of departure of one of the 3 groups of Cherokees on the infamous Trail of Tears.
The steel was forged into a knife in the shape of a tear drop to commemorate this historical event. The handle is also tear drop shaped and is made from Bois D Arc, a tree that was cut here in the Tahlequah area, the end of the Trail of Tears.
The blade is stamped with “RakeR” and “MS” on one side of the blade and stamped with 3 small tears falling from the point on the other side to represent the three groups. Not all of the tears will survive the grinding, just as some of those that started the Trail of Tears were lost.
The knife will be made with a 3 inch blade and will be almost 7″ in over all length. The handle will be of hidden tang construction with a solid handle that will be attached with epoxy and secured with a 1/16″ inch diameter pin of inconel.
The grain pattern on the wood will vary with each knife. They are forged in the style of my NDN models, flats left as forged and tool blackened.
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Johnnythefox
his medieval style neck knife. I really wanted one for my own. I found a seller online who hand forged this one. He also states that the knife is rather small, so i wanted to see how it would do as a not ‘big and scary’ edc knife. 
