New knife today

[Saltwater60]

So in my previous thread I asked if anyone had ordered a knife from Indy hammered knives ihknives.com. The owner contacted me and asked me if I'd like to try a knife. So he sent me one and received it today. I have never owned a hand made knife, but I have to say I'm impressed. The quality of the build seems great to me. The wood is high quality and fits to the blade very well. The knife is extremely sharp. I love the hammered look of the blade. I received a sheath and it is extremely well done. The knife is balanced very well and fits the sheath nice and tight. The knife will not fall out. Wood on the handle is thick boarder line too thick, but I have small hands. The handle is still very comfortable for me and would be just fine for most others I would say. The leather is thick, finish, stitching, and his tool Mark is awesome. It's a dangler, but has a Chicago screw so you could remove it and use the belt hook. Overall I'm very impressed. Here are some pictures. Also the owner is a fantastic guy, great communication, and his mission statement and about us can't be beat. He also makes a lot of other things. I suggest you guys check out his web site. I love the fire starters and the survival pack. The leather sacks are very nice as well. I will probably buy some stuff after seeing the knife and his work.
So let me know what you guys want me to do with this knife to put it through its paces and I'll provide feedback. Please don't ask me to do anything that you would not do to your own knife. I don't want to damage it.

 

[togmaster]

Awesome looking blade. Is that a burl wood handle?

 

[minderasr]

Can you post a picture of the knife in the sheath? Really nice looking knife! Is that the Skinner?

 

[Saltwater60]

Awesome looking blade. Is that a burl wood handle?

Yes ambonya burl. Very nice and burly. Nice figuring.

 

[Saltwater60]

Can you post a picture of the knife in the sheath? Really nice looking knife! Is that the Skinner?

Yes the skinner. I thought I did, but guess not. I pushed the knife fairly far into the sheath so more of the handle could be exposed and still be secure.

 

[Celt]

Very nice looking tool.

 

[Saltwater60]

Very nice looking tool.

It is a nice knife.

 

[Celt]

I like how the steel has that unfonished look. Ive been looking at knives like that. Im emailing with a custom knife maker now actually.

 

[Phauxtoe]

okay show what part of you was cut by your new blade!

 

[Saltwater60]

T

I like how the steel has that unfonished look. Ive been looking at knives like that. Im emailing with a custom knife maker now actually.

hats what drew me to this knife too. I really like that as well. It really shows that it was hand hammered. He has his forge mark on the knife too. I know a lot of people do this, but I think it's nice. Give this guy a shot. The quality is nice and his prices are super reasonable.

 

[Cleck]

Holy hell that's beautiful!

 

[NYGuns]

Very nice knife, I like it a lot! Congrats.

 

[Criticalt]

Very nice.
Im an amature blade smith, and can tell you there is alot of work in a good knife.

 

[Saltwater60]

Very nice.
Im an amature blade smith, and can tell you there is alot of work in a good knife.

I would love to some day make a knife. It will be a while, but I'll do it some day.

 

[Saltwater60]

Holy hell that's beautiful!

Check out his web site. His stuff is very reasonable and he has some neat items.

 

[Cleck]

Check out his web site. His stuff is very reasonable and he has some neat items.

Considering all of that stuff is handmade and custom, those prices are really good. I was expecting a lot more.

 

[Defilade]

Great looking knife! Not to hijack the thread but what do you knife guys prefer for sharping? Looking for something quick and easy.

 

[Saltwater60]

I spoke to the guy that made this knife and he prefers the ceramic rods and the good old fashioned leather stoop. Also depends a bit on what the blades made out of and the grind angle of the blade.

 

[S&W Fan]

All I can say is WoW, I have some very nice hand forged blades but that is sweet. I'm gonna have to dig out some of mine and post some pics I guess.

 

[wizrd]

Damn, just when my 12 step 'knifeaholic program' program was kicking in, another pusher by the name of Saltwater 60 comes along.....paypal, here I come...

 

[S&W Fan]

Great looking knife! Not to hijack the thread but what do you knife guys prefer for sharping? Looking for something quick and easy.

Quick and easy isn't very conducive to a good quality edge on a good blade. For that a good quality Arkansas stone is needed. I do use diamond stones on my lanskey system for edge touch ups if that's what you were asking.

 

[S&W Fan]

I spoke to the guy that made this knife and he prefers the ceramic rods and the good old fashioned leather stoop. Also depends a bit on what the blades made out of and the grind angle of the blade.

Exactly, knowing the angle of the grind is very important to maintaining a proper edge. Ceramic stones or rods and stropping is definitely a good old school way to keep a quality edge.

 

[Saltwater60]

Damn, just when my 12 step 'knifeaholic program' program was kicking in, another pusher by the name of Saltwater 60 comes along.....paypal, here I come...

Honestly for the price it's a great knife. I'm going small game hunting Monday so I'll see how it actually works as a skinner. I'm sure it will be fine since the blade looks right for a skinner. Also the blade is fairly hefty and strong.

 

[capitalcrew]

I've never skinned small game but my understanding is that there isn't much need for a knife. That stuff should peel right off when they're warm.

 

[Saltwater60]

I used it to skin and hit the rabbit I got yesterday and it worked very well. As stated above the skin did pretty much peel right off, but there was still some need for a knife. It handled it very well. Blade was a little thick for removing the membrane, but you really need a fillet knife for that IMO. All in all very pleased. I would recommend this knife to anyone.