New Knife

[swoter]

Saw this on Craigslist yesterday and ended up buying it. The owner said it was given to him awhile back, but he didn't need it. Supposedly handmade by a guy in Prospect, Ohio, name and residence unknown. He said this guy makes knives and the sheaths, then sells them out of his house. No marks on knife to identify maker. Looks very well crafted to me. Heavy and solid feeling in my hand. Very sharp. The sheath is ok, but I would like to get a better one made. Anyone know of a person who makes leather sheaths that I could order from? If anyone has any info on the possible maker of this knife, please let me know. Only paid $40 and well worth the money.
While we're on the subject, I also have 2 early Jim Down's knives. Back in 1988 and 89, Dad gave my brothers and I each a Downs knife for Christmas. We lived near him and Dad knew him somehow. Those are some nice knives. One of my brothers had his stolen years ago in a break-in.

 

[hso]

That's a nice looking chute knife!

Could you get a closeup of the 4" centered on the guard. There's a wealth of information that about the skill of a maker that comes out of how the knife, guard and handle all meet.

Knifemakers aren't always good sheath makers.

This may sound strange, but call the local Tandy leather and ask them if the know who makes knife sheaths locally. Take a look at their work and if they do a nice job it gives you a lot more control over what is done. Be sure that they use vegetable dyed leather and that the snap backs are covered to prevent scratching the knife.

 

[swoter]

Chute knife? Had never heard the term before, but looked it up, and this one does look similiar. The back edge is narrow, but not sharpened. I don't know very much about knives as you can tell. Tried to get a couple of close-ups, not very good with a camera either, but hope these will work. You can see a seam where the guard meets the blade, looks as if the blade material runs full length, and where the steel meets the wood is another piece laying on top, if that makes sense.

 

[swoter]

Maybe these are better.

 

[zignal_zero]

i'm not a knife maker, so my opinion is only that of a knife user, but i gotta say that looks like it was done right. as long as it's quality steel, i'd feel good about buying that for 40bux

 

[hso]

That is a full tang with integral guard and a 2-piece guard construction pinned onto the integral. Everything but the nickel-silver of the guard and butt and the wood and pins is probably one piece of steel that was ground to shape. I would have expected the joints of the guard to have been silver soldered.

The "narrow back" is called a swedge or false edge. Think of that straight clip in the front third as being sharpenable.

What did the owner mean by "awhile back" a couple of years or 20?

 

[swoter]

He didn't specify how long he had had it. Just said he had a lot of knives and was selling a few that he didn't need/want.

 

[hso]

Keep track of him and see what he wants to get rid of.

Matter of fact, ask him if he wants to post pictures of his collection here. We'll be happy to tell him what's worth posting down in Buy/Sell/Trade and he can sell them there.

 

[swoter]

I'll email him and let him know. He said he had this knife about a year and a half.