New Von Gruff Heavy Hunter Knife

Are you talking about the seax then havent done so as yet but yes I could make one of them but not the axes. Have made one but not at a saleable quality for now.

Not sure.
I’ve seen photos of Viking knives.
I like the relatively speaking, unsophisticated looking knives.
Just interested in history and of course knives (in case you didn’t know)
 
With your sheath with the keeper strap.
Is it a length of leather cord fixed at the sheath near the spine with a loop to go over the handle to hold it secure and the remaining length of the leather through under the back of the sheath to where the toggle end can wrap around the keeper on the sewn edge??
Keeper strap goes through the winding tab and is tied on the opposite side. Rather ingenious to my eye. I hope the pictures show it, if not happy to try other angles. So the strap holds the tab on and then wraps around the knife to hold it, then back around the tab to lock the knife in.

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Keeper strap goes through the winding tab and is tied on the opposite side. Rather ingenious to my eye. I hope the pictures show it, if not happy to try other angles. So the strap holds the tab on and then wraps around the knife to hold it, then back around the tab to lock the knife in.
That shows it perfectly thanks Tim. As you say, rather ingenious. I have a customer who is looking for knife retention but being carried on the right side of the body and also with the rifle on that shoulder is worried about stock run so am looking at a sam brown stud on the fold (spine side) with strap having a light leather flap to cover the end of the stud.
 
Seax knives
Small and large
The seax is an interesting knife in being historical and of a broken back design (to save on hard to get steel) that was used for every day tasks from kitchen to hunting right through to the larger war knives
 
That shows it perfectly thanks Tim. As you say, rather ingenious. I have a customer who is looking for knife retention but being carried on the right side of the body and also with the rifle on that shoulder is worried about stock run so am looking at a sam brown stud on the fold (spine side) with strap having a light leather flap to cover the end of the stud.
That ought to work and protect the stock. This one has quite a bit of antler to cover and would seem unwieldy if covered. But it works fine for visual appeal. In the brush it would catch on branches and hang up all the time and eventually break I suspect. Looks like Tarzan, works like Jane, from a ruggedness standpoint, I suspect. The use of the strap to both lock in the attachment part/stud and the knife, may have some application.

Please show us what you come up with.
 
That ought to work and protect the stock. This one has quite a bit of antler to cover and would seem unwieldy if covered. But it works fine for visual appeal. In the brush it would catch on branches and hang up all the time and eventually break I suspect. Looks like Tarzan, works like Jane, from a ruggedness standpoint, I suspect. The use of the strap to both lock in the attachment part/stud and the knife, may have some application.

Please show us what you come up with.
The knife will have camel bone so I have to get some in from the USwhich will take some time so it may be into feb before I can show it.
 
I never asked one of the original owners or smiths if saving steel was the purpose for the broken back, seax design. :):) Seems like the straight edge would use up almost as much steel as the clip of the "broken back". The savings would be minimal in any case. Also, if the straight clip is too long, to "save steel", wouldn't that severely weaken the tip- somewhat of a downside for any fighting or multipurpose knife? Always suspected it was form following function where the straight cutting edge does certain tasks better than a curved edge. And, three straight edges are much easier to consistently forge and form. And, a straight cutting edge is much easier to sharpen. If the design originates in antiquity, I doubt the reasons for the design were recorded and all associated are long dead... so seems to me all will be conjecture. :)

For 50 to 60 years, from when I was very young until a few years ago I carried maybe two or three different folding pocket knifes, IIRC, Shrade and Case and the ones I had usually had three blades. Each with a "sheep's foot" blade. I always found the sheep's foot to be very useful and easy to sharpen. I can't help but notice the similarity between the straight cutting edge, broken back seax design and the sheep's foot. IMO, the sheep's foot is simply a curved back version of the broken back :)

Sheep's foot on Buck folder
Screen Shot 2021-12-10 at 10.07.42 PM.png
 
I like to collect and seriously study really old pieces of history and that includes quite a few blades in a very wide variety. I wouldn't think of using any of them for their intended purpose. The rest are accumulated "modern" hunting/utility type knives. Two are custom knives, given as gifts, I would never buy on my own. They are in the safe and won't see any bone or dirt or blood or soap or gravel or detergent. All the rest of the modern ones were bought as hard use hunting or utility knives and had better be able to withstand some serious cleaning and detergent and gravel and blood and rough use. I also have a few older modern, good quality hatchets, short axes and axes. They are hanging in the shop and get used regularly when a bow or chainsaw isn't needed or can't be used. Just like the knives, they have to be able to withstand hard use or they hold little interest for me and that includes an occasional rock hit. I have two 1700-1800 Indo-Persian fighting axes and they will never be used for fighting or chopping anything. :)
 
I never asked one of the original owners or smiths if saving steel was the purpose for the broken back, seax design. :):)
It was speculation on my part for the same reason that many of the older smiths would use bars of iron forge welded to the steel edge to save on the precious steel so with the "sweet spot" of the seax for hacking etc often at the start of the spine to point juncture (or close behind it) the lack of weight forward would make for faster use. Your point about the ease of forging the three straight edges is very relevant as is your mention of its practicality of use but having said that all of us know that for a skinning an animal the curved belly is far more usefull than a straight edge so that raises more questions when the seax shape was so ubiquitous. Like you I would love to be able to sit with some of those smiths and learn why they did so much of what they did.
 
That forge welding process is one reason why the really old Sheffield made wood chisels are perhaps best kept as ornaments. In the way of contrast I have a very nice English firmer chisel that is obviously all steel and appears to have had very little use. I need to put that on my wet grinding machine once I have caught up with all my site chisels!
 
That forge welding process is one reason why the really old Sheffield made wood chisels are perhaps best kept as ornaments. In the way of contrast I have a very nice English firmer chisel that is obviously all steel and appears to have had very little use. I need to put that on my wet grinding machine once I have caught up with all my site chisels!
Yes you see the join line between the soft shank and the hard edge section in many of the older chisels. I often had to straighten one of my narrower chisels when I was doing my apprenticeship from the late 60's on.
 
@Von Gruff
Gary that Khyber knife would be great for skinning mosquitoes
Ha ha ha ha ha
Bob
On that note I remember my father giving someone a 10 inch butcher knife and a plate of whitebait and asking for them to be gutted.

Not much else other than offensive use for that one but an interesting knife all the same.

NZ Whitebait the best thing lightly fried with just enough egg to hold them together in the pan and straight between a couplr of slices of bread. Exceptionaly good.
whitebait.jpg
 
+1, I'm not a fan of fish.
@CBH Australia
I would prefer to have a tuna on my piano than crabs on my organ.
Even though you are inland mate they still have bloody nice fish out in the darling River.
Yellow belly/ callop and cat fish are really nice.
 
On that note I remember my father giving someone a 10 inch butcher knife and a plate of whitebait and asking for them to be gutted.

Not much else other than offensive use for that one but an interesting knife all the same.

NZ Whitebait the best thing lightly fried with just enough egg to hold them together in the pan and straight between a couplr of slices of bread. Exceptionaly good.
View attachment 441070
Lemon juice on top, yes. Bread - no. They get a bit strange down in Otago and Southland. :rolleyes:


My father came from the Coast (West Coast of the South Island) and I still have quite a few cousins there. Direct shipments of whitebait (juvenile galaxids) to our home were an annual event for decades.

The whitebait and egg concoction is called a pattie. If you hear some heathen talking about whitebait fritters you know that he/she is from Auckland and that there is very little whitebait in what they have prepared. :)
 
A slight persian influence
View attachment 440830

Very modern look

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WOW!!!
I´m very amazed with you´re jobs!
Looking at the photos of the knives in the post, I saw the one with the upper edge and it is identical to the one I made, to use it hunting wild boar.
Regarding the design of the blade, the cutting angle, the drop of the edge ... Very comfortable! I designed it like this looking for something practical, comfortable, and multipurpose that would serve both as a finishing weapon (I love to finish with a knife) and also as a skinner, and everyone who sees it says "what a strange way, how did you come up with doing it like that?" I already thought they were crazy, until I saw that knife of yours and I thought "it looks like I'm not that crazy" hahaha
Beautiful designs, very good work!
 
How many people will know what that is, without having to Google it? :unsure:
I don´t know!!!
In the particular, i´m a hystoric blades enthusiast, I study very much about this...
The Khopis were a greek sword in the ancient times, made in brass, i guess...
In fact, I think the greeks take the design of the egypcian Kopesh, there are very similar!
 

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