My African Knives

[bruce moulds]

hell garry,
i know a guy that did not want wood at all!
but then he is known to be a bit odd.
bruce.

 

[Von Gruff]

hell garry,
i know a guy that did not want wood at all!
but then he is known to be a bit odd.
bruce.

wood is only one of the options I have available and has a great deal of beauty within the variety on hand but there are bone, horn and some antler as well and then there are the synthetics so there is something for everybody regardlerss of the priorities they have for a knife.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Got the handles cleaned up and a bit of tung oil on to start the sealing process, so now with the skinning knife, I have a nice new set for the next excursion. The skinning knife is starting to get a patina on the blade (from the goats) as I dont want them to have a bright finished look so over time they will darken and after a while they will look about right.
Pleased with how the giraffe bone has finished up with the streaks of apparent cracks and slight yellowing in patches but the overall effect is very pleasing to my eye.
Have them sharpened and like the feel of the edge so will be looking to test them on meat sooner rather than later.



The hunter will get a simple pouch sheath like I usually make but the skinner and the boner will not as they will have a light ply two knife block set that will be (in general) home based.

@Von Gruff
3 excellent knives that will fulfill every need. The Skinner is a similar shape to my blade runner Skinner.
With those 3 you would not need anything else to complete processing an animal from the paddock to the plate.
Bob

 

[Von Gruff]

@Von Gruff
3 excellent knives that will fulfill every need. The Skinner is a similar shape to my blade runner Skinner.
With those 3 you would not need anything else to complete processing an animal from the paddock to the plate.
Bob

Ha, those three have long been replaced with newer and better modles.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Ha, those three have long been replaced with newer and better modles.

@Von Gruff
I don't know about newer and better models mate. This 3 would have seen my days out and still be passed on. To me they are the ideal set for style and function, but h e that's me I just like simplicity that looks good and works. A h are thing to do but you did it in those 3. I personally wouldn't look any further but that's me
Bob

 

[Von Gruff]

@Von Gruff
I don't know about newer and better models mate. This 3 would have seen my days out and still be passed on. To me they are the ideal set for style and function, but h e that's me I just like simplicity that looks good and works. A h are thing to do but you did it in those 3. I personally wouldn't look any further but that's me
Bob

The top one was an experiment but had handles that were too thin and one hunt was enough to set it asside, the bolster on the middle one is too short and visually annoyed me so it is in the reject box as well and the bottom one has been replaced with a shorter boning knife and a longer slicer.

 

[Von Gruff]

@Von Gruff
I don't know about newer and better models mate. This 3 would have seen my days out and still be passed on. To me they are the ideal set for style and function, but h e that's me I just like simplicity that looks good and works. A h are thing to do but you did it in those 3. I personally wouldn't look any further but that's me
Bob

This is what I use now.
Out hunting I carry the Light Hunter and when I get the animals (mostly goats) back to the skinning frame at the truck the mini skinner gets the pelt off then the genral purpose and the field boning knife takes care of the rest so it is all freezer ready for when I get home.

The field skinning frame and the table that is where the boning etc happens (when the smoko is not on it of course)

For domestic use when I kill one of my sheep I use the slaughtermans knife to do the deed, The skinner to get the pelt off and again the general purpose and field boning knife to break down then the slicer to dice what needs to be done for stews and what will go into the sausage meat pile

.

 

[bruce moulds]

Ha, those three have long been replaced with newer and better modles.

like the hunter/skinner and 4x4.
either will do a hell of a lot of things.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

This is what I use now.
Out hunting I carry the Light Hunter and when I get the animals (mostly goats) back to the skinning frame at the truck the mini skinner gets the pelt off then the genral purpose and the field boning knife takes care of the rest so it is all freezer ready for when I get home.

View attachment 380662
The field skinning frame and the table that is where the boning etc happens (when the smoko is not on it of course)
View attachment 380665

For domestic use when I kill one of my sheep I use the slaughtermans knife to do the deed, The skinner to get the pelt off and again the general purpose and field boning knife to break down then the slicer to dice what needs to be done for stews and what will go into the sausage meat pile
View attachment 380663.

@Von Gruff
Gary they are nice knives but to my taste and use style the other 3 are a better style

If I could get the knife on the left in the same style with a shorter 4 and a half inch blade it would be perfect. I don't know what steel blade runner uses but shit it stays sharp for a long time and is easy to sharpen.
Bob

 

[bruce moulds]

bob, look at the hunter/skinner in detail.
what that knife won't do hardly exists.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The top one was an experiment but had handles that were too thin and one hunt was enough to set it asside, the bolster on the middle one is too short and visually annoyed me so it is in the reject box as well and the bottom one has been replaced with a shorter boning knife and a longer slicer.

@Von Gruff
Better dig them out of the reject box Gary.
Bob.

 

[Von Gruff]

Had a play in the shed with this prototype Bearded Uti and it is a bit more complicated/time consuming than any of the other knives.
I handsanded a Serbian blade the other day after heat treat and it is a very different proposition to handsanding a standard knife with the wide blade and I didn't want to have that same difficulty (read extra time) involved so there will be a new approach to making them.
I have made a new jig for grinding them and with handsanding to 320 grit before heat treat, I am going to try some anti scale on the blade. I also decided to do a new quench tank so I can do an edge quench up to about mid hole.
I weighed the blade after profiling it and it was just on 17 oz and as it sits now in the pic with grind done it is down to 12 oz so will still be within a good weight with handle on although brass bolsters will add a bit. I will rivet the copper pins into my makers mark over the hole and of course the brass bolster will have the three copper pins as well

 

[Von Gruff]

A left handed "D" handle on the chinese vegetable knife with black lacewood over brass on the L6 HC blade and a Serbian chef knife with stabilised willow on the 1084 blade.
I learned a lesson with the serb knife in that a wide blade like this is a real chalenge to snad after hardening so in future I will do a pre HT hand sand and do an antio scale coating to make things less difficult and time consuming

 

[Shootist43]

Von Gruff, for sure you tackle some interesting projects. Were these a special order or are you just "branching out?"

 

[Von Gruff]

Von Gruff, for sure you tackle some interesting projects. Were these a special order or are you just "branching out?"

Thes are all orders Art with a few others on the bench that are firsts. A couple of daggers with one of my design and a representation of the 3rd model Fairburn Sykes, a new bird and trout design and the new bearded uti I have been working on with a camp and kitchen models sorted. Another of the 12 1/2 in cimeters and a few others along with a raindrop SS damascus Light Hunter with a rather nice piece of spalted buckeye to match up with it..
I got the last 2020 orders on the bench and had a add up of the book before I start on the 2021 book and see that there has been 145 for this year and 595 in total since the first orders in 2017

 

[Shootist43]

Von Gruff, a couple of good things have come out of your knife making activities. It keeps you out of your wife's hair, and it has made a lot of guys happy.

 

[DG Gunsmith]

Those are NitroV stainless knives that have been hardened at 1955F/1070c for 7 minutes and plate quenched. I put them in the shed freezer for a 1/2 hour to bring them down in temp to below zero before they go in the liquid notrogen @- 320f / -195C for an hour to do the cryo quench then after they come back up to room temp are into the tempering oven for 2 time 2 hour cycles at 339f / 165C

Top notch work, Mate! I've made a few Knives over the years... I'm hoping to build a Forge, over the Winter, and get back at it...

 

[Von Gruff]

Von Gruff, a couple of good things have come out of your knife making activities. It keeps you out of your wife's hair, and it has made a lot of guys happy.

I know that it has made me very happy and if that has spread to others then that is all I can ask for.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thes are all orders Art with a few others on the bench that are firsts. A couple of daggers with one of my design and a representation of the 3rd model Fairburn Sykes, a new bird and trout design and the new bearded uti I have been working on with a camp and kitchen models sorted. Another of the 12 1/2 in cimeters and a few others along with a raindrop SS damascus Light Hunter with a rather nice piece of spalted buckeye to match up with it..
I got the last 2020 orders on the bench and had a add up of the book before I start on the 2021 book and see that there has been 145 for this year and 595 in total since the first orders in 2017

@Von Gruff
Gary it would be nice to see your version of the bird and trout. The original is a great design.
Bob

 

[bruce moulds]

one of the highlights of my year was getting my von gruff hunter skinner, and another was using it.
bruce.