- Joined
- Dec 9, 2015
- Messages
- 392
I think the "Bird and Trout" is probably one of the most useful non-pocketknife traditional patterns, at least for me. I fish and hunt small game several magnitudes more often than large game, and small hunting knives seem to be the forgotten middle child of the traditional knife family between folders and big bowies. I really like how there are as many styles of Bird and Trout knife as there are makers, and no two are ever quite the same.
Show and tell time! Let's see what your version of a Bird and Trout knife looks like and tell us about some of the adventures it's been on or who you inherited it from or really anything that might be interesting.
Here's one that I just finished, my 5th knife and first ever B&T. It's made from 1/8" 1075 steel with maple scales and brass pins. I don't have a way to test hardness but I tempered it at 325° which should put it around 60 hrc. The comparison shot is with a Buck 110 and 108OT for scale.
I made it for an art class project (along with the cutting board it's on) and it went over very well. I surprised myself with how nice it came out since I started with almost no plan other than knowing I wanted that big shark fin finger guard. The handle shape kept changing throughout the project and I had to do the scales twice, on the first set I messed up one of the pin holes, and while trying to re-drill it (with the scales already epoxied onto the knife) I broke the drill bit off inside the knife then ended up splitting the wood trying to fish it out. I ground off the old wood and started over, this time doing two pins and a lanyard hole instead of four 1/16" pins like before.
I know that 1/8" is a bit thick for a knife like this but I have too much of it laying around to justify buying something a hair thinner "just because". The handle looks fat, and it is, but trust me, it fits the hand surprisingly well. I actually started documenting the process of both the knife and cutting board to make a WIP but got short on time and forgot to take enough pictures.
Show and tell time! Let's see what your version of a Bird and Trout knife looks like and tell us about some of the adventures it's been on or who you inherited it from or really anything that might be interesting.
Here's one that I just finished, my 5th knife and first ever B&T. It's made from 1/8" 1075 steel with maple scales and brass pins. I don't have a way to test hardness but I tempered it at 325° which should put it around 60 hrc. The comparison shot is with a Buck 110 and 108OT for scale.
I made it for an art class project (along with the cutting board it's on) and it went over very well. I surprised myself with how nice it came out since I started with almost no plan other than knowing I wanted that big shark fin finger guard. The handle shape kept changing throughout the project and I had to do the scales twice, on the first set I messed up one of the pin holes, and while trying to re-drill it (with the scales already epoxied onto the knife) I broke the drill bit off inside the knife then ended up splitting the wood trying to fish it out. I ground off the old wood and started over, this time doing two pins and a lanyard hole instead of four 1/16" pins like before.
I know that 1/8" is a bit thick for a knife like this but I have too much of it laying around to justify buying something a hair thinner "just because". The handle looks fat, and it is, but trust me, it fits the hand surprisingly well. I actually started documenting the process of both the knife and cutting board to make a WIP but got short on time and forgot to take enough pictures.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/AHTMy5]
What wood was used in your board?
The sheath I made from some craft store leather (my first). G'ma thinks she remembers G'pa buying this knife brand new as a teenager, as his first hunting knife. Still works awesome, and a black beauty it is!
