Why no love for the Roach Belly ?

[pitdog]

Why when we have so many traditional knife fans on this forum do we not see many Roach Belly knives ?

Stomper ( JK Knives ) makes this awesome rendition below and yet he is thinking of pulling it from his line as he has not had one single order ???

I know Matt of ML Knives makes many that I would describe as Roach Belly variations yet I have only ever seen one of his on this forum, here is an example of one I quickly found in his gallery......

I even like the cheap one made by Coldsteel......

Here is a variation of one I drew up !

So my question is why no love for this traditional pattern of knife ? I think of them as a big ole steak knife with attitude, a knife that can not only slice your sirloin but can also split the kindling for the fire to cook it over and feather the wood to start it !:thumbup:

 

[mcjhrobinson]

if i had enough money id have one of EVERY knife

 

[hollowdweller]

I like this little one I got

 

[Bushman5]

I got a roach belly style knife. Its the Hunters Companion from Mike Mann over at Idaho Knife Works. I Love it!

^ it has very dark mottled patina now however...

as for your question though.....could be that everyone is suffering from knife glut.......there is SOOOOOO many bushcraft knives out there...i dunno

 

[Andrew Colglazier]

I like this little one I got

Nice, HD! Who made those?

Andy

 

[Mentor]

I really like the general shape and profile of a roach belly. When I was working on my EDC knife, I had images of old Hudson Bay roach bellies in my mind. Granted, mine has a slightly dropped point and a scandi grind, but I think it resembles a roach belly otherwise.

For example:

This shape makes for a great small-medium blade. I'm not sure how this translates to larger sizes, but the general design gets a :thumbup: from me.

All the best,

- Mike

 

[hollowdweller]

Charley Ridge.

I sent him the patterns for both cut out of folder paper along with the scales, had him finish the blades, glue the scales on and then I shaped the scales to fit my hand.

 

[Ramm9]

Does this one qualify?

 

[pitdog]

I got a roach belly style knife. Its the Hunters Companion from Mike Mann over at Idaho Knife Works. I Love it!

^ it has very dark mottled patina now however...

as for your question though.....could be that everyone is suffering from knife glut.......there is SOOOOOO many bushcraft knives out there...i dunno

Hey Bushy I like that, looks like a cross between a Roach Belly and a Dave Farmer design...wish you'd had this one in your bag when we met !!!!

 

[Bushman5]

hey Pitdog! email me your mailing address and I'll Canada Post it with tracking number over to you to borrow and try out!

 

[udtjim]

I love the design, some things just have to wait for retired sailors.

 

[Ankar Sheng]

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4572/sheaths6.jpg

I really like this one a lot

 

[hollowdweller]

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4572/sheaths6.jpg

I really like this one a lot

That was sort of inspired by the handle profile of my Charlie May Skifa, the blade shape of the Skookum Bush Tool, the edge curve of Brian Andrews Bushcraft knife and the size of my Charley May Swamp Oak (which I lost)

 

[Liam Ryan]

It looks too much like a kitchen knife to me, just not my cup of tea.

 

[hollowdweller]

It looks too much like a kitchen knife to me, just not my cup of tea.

That was sort of the intended purpose:thumbup:

 

[BarberFobic1992]

I don't typically care for the really wide blade that alot of that pattern seem to feature.

 

[GhostWolf]

It is one of my all time favorite designs and you guys are posting some beauties. This design makes for great self defense knife also.

 

[TheGame]

I am planning on a nice custom one of these sometime in the future. As it stands, the Cold Steel Roach Belly gets a lot of kitchen use.

 

[Rotte]

I think the Roach is under-appreciated. I like the continuous 'belly' it provides. Bryan Breeden made me this as Roach variant:

Maybe not a classic RB, but it's an awesome knife with lots of belly. Matt's versions look great too (ML Knives). The drop edge seems to give the classic design some real versatility.

My favorite Roach Belly is my Appleby:

 

[Joezilla]

I loved the roach belly


once.



COLD STEEL ROACH BELLY

A modernized, economized version of a historic classic!

I recently acquired the cold steel roach belly knife from the folks at Two Wolves Outdoor, and I must say, I wasn’t prepared for how impressed wasn't the half of it.

This knife is one of the new inexpensive models of functional knives that cold steel is offering to consumers. It seems that they are reaching out for a new market: the economical yet reliable fixed blade niche that only a few other makers have dared step foot in. The scandi style mora made knife of legend comes to mind, notably. I love my moras to death and could talk a huge mess about ‘em, but cold steel has brought up a line that may give them a run for their money. Some people just don't like the scandi style. It’s true that Cold steel has some very noteworthy blades that have found themselves in the hands of skilled outdoorsmen in the past, the SRK for sure, and their Hudson Bay line they used to make is very well respected. But how will the new models fare in the ultra-economical, po-boy market?

Let’s take a look at the specifications:
Blade: 4 1/2"
Overall: 8 1/2"
Thick: 2.5mm
Weight: 2.6 oz.

Blade shape:
This knife design pays homage to the Hudson bay region roach belly knife, a style with a large belly and classic looks that is very popular with the muzzleloading/blackpowder community and period knifemakers. The design has stood the test of time; no doubt that this would do very well in any fur bearer skin with it’s slim blade. The knife design boasts a fine point at the end that proved itself very useful and resilient as far as tip styles go. I was able to drill a tiny hole completely through a green piece of sapling and make a broiler. No doubt that it would be great in making notches to start your bow drill as well. And trap trigger carving would be a breeze. The fine point held up very well despite the blatant abuse I subjected it to while trying to open up a rotten log to check out a marbled salamander. I was very pleased rigidity and durability of the point: score one for roach bellys.

Speaking of rigidity, despite my anti-baton preaching, I did conduct such a practice with this knife... I know; I’m surprised too. I was able to baton this lightweight knife through an extra tough piece of wood with no handle cracking and no abuse to the edge. Needless to say, I was very impressed. No white marks on the black handle to show of inner wear, warping or twisting of polymer handle, and no rattling or clicking either, it held up far beyond that of many knives in its price range, especially in handle rigidity aspect. The edge grind held up extremely well too, with no nicks or dings or imperfections to the edge. I also was able to use lightly baton it through smaller pieces of sapling to accommodate the more “precise�? measurements I needed to construct some gadgets. Choking up on the tip of the blade proved second nature, especially for more finite tasks like digging out splinters and a stubborn honey bee lancet left after the stinger was scraped. This is where that lightweight aspect really shined through, as trying to do this with heavier hafted blades can bee a little awkward. It proved itself to be quite the woods kniven. I was able to construct a broiler in a manner I had not tried before, and I was very pleased with the results. No doubt that this would find itself a very useful woods knife, a great knife for a minimalist backpacker to consider along with the cast iron toting voyageur.