Your knives having the most unique or rare handle/scale material(s)...

[Travman]

Percheron bone, 1 of 10....

Wow. Gorgeous handles with a lot of character. What is the story on the Percheron bone? That has to be the only time GEC has used horse bone.

 

[Arathol]

GEC made only a handfull of Percheron knives some time ago. 10 #47s and 10 (or 11 depending on the source) #45s back around 2013.

 

[eisman]

Red Coral

 

[Old Engineer]

Wart Hog Tusk



Harry

 

[waynorth]

Not many knives have been made with Scratted Bone in modern times!!
Joseph Rodgers used it up until about 1911!!
Ken Coats wanted to try a version, shown here on the huge rope knife - nearly 5" long!!
Seen here beside a standard-sized Barlow!

 

[waynorth]

Joseph Rodgers large Scratted Hawkbill from ca. 1900!!

 

[eisman]

As you say Charlie, it's not common, and even less so on knives less than 50 years old. Scratting/checkering (chequring) seems to follow the English development lines. Germans went in for more carving as actual checkering started to "standardize" into diamonds, but earlier English fine guns had had a number of different styles. Fred Brunner, an old German gunsmith I was lucky enough to know, could tell who made guns from the 17th century on just by looking. He wasn't always right, but not too often wrong. I wish what he knew was in a book somewhere. Geoffery Boothroyd is the "go to" guy for English guns, and Steve Hughes is really good too, but I don't know if anyone has ever traced how checkering developed and the interchange between cutlers and gunsmiths/stockmakers (who are quite separate).

I'm glad to see you back and hope everything's well in your world.

 

[MililaniGrown]

Such an interesting range of uncommon materials! Great knives!

Mine would likely be this Viking-themed Schrade 7OT by Jimmy Sabo inlaid with MOP, Gold-Lip, man-made and natural opals, malachite, black jet, coral and likely a few others I have missed.

This is one of most gaudy pieces I've seen in a while. Like it's a bit over the top for me but at the same time I think it's very beautiful.

 

[Rose and Thistle Custom]

Plexiglass

 

[CujiWuji]

Not many knives have been made with Scratted Bone in modern times!!
Joseph Rodgers used it up until about 1911!!
Ken Coats wanted to try a version, shown here on the huge rope knife - nearly 5" long!!View attachment 1620725
Seen here beside a standard-sized Barlow!
View attachment 1620726

Wow thats incredible! I love the look of scratted bone and that knife is stunning!

 

[glennbad]

mammoth molar

 

[Buckeye Sharp]

Not as unusual as Swordfish Bill, but the mammoth covers are some of my favorite.

 

[black mamba]

Ancient Kauri Wood Cuban, one of only four made. I don't think they've used it on any other knives, either.

Good & Plenty Jigged Bone, 1 of only 2 Cubans. Pink stag bone . . . who would'a thunk it???

 

[Buckeye Sharp]

Here’s an Ancient Kauri Wood 57 Whittler to go along with the black mamba Cuban. They made 11 of the Whittlers and a few 57 Wranglers as well. I think they may have also used it on a 33 Conductor, but not sure.

 

[black mamba]

Nice whittler, Buck, I was unaware of those!

 

[drj211]

Not very rare overall, but rare in my collection!

 

[mbkr]

Camelthorn


American Chestnut reclaimed from an old barn


Blue rope bone

Abalone

 

[easternknives]

One I forgot about. A Case trapper rehandled with fossilized dinosaur bone.

closeup

And some tiger coral

 

[Markeologist]

Last night I saw this thread and contemplated some potential candidates. Was thinking about primitive bone and mammoth but hadn’t posted yet. Visiting my alerts just now, I see responses to these two knives from a post I did back in January…guess it was meant to be. Old cow bone from a bone heap and fossilized mammoth:

 

[Buckeye Sharp]

This is one of my favorite threads so I think it needs a bump with this recent ivory addition.