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Why The X-Rhea Knife?

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November 24, 2021

The X-Rhea Is The Result Of Having A Curious Mind And The Ability To Explore Possibilities.

Why did I come up with the X-Rhea knife design? I’ve asked myself this several times and only recently have I been able to supply a reasonable answer. Th e X-Rhea started as a personal challenge. I wanted to make a knife, handle and all, from one piece of steel. Th at’s it: no scales, no added glues, pins, extra space fillers, inlays—nothing. Moreover, I wanted it to look good and be comfortable and as structurally sound as any good knife should be, without being overly heavy.

This challenge nagged at me. If I limited myself to steel and fire as my basic resources, could I forge a knife from one piece of steel, a knife that left no doubt about its viability? Could it look good, feel good and perform well? I also wanted a handle design versatile enough to fit different sizes and types of knives.

“A full tang knife is stronger than a hidden tang knife” is something I’ve heard many times. That statement oversimplifies the matter; which is better? I’ve heard some say, “At least with a full tang, if the scales fall off you still have a knife.” While I don’t agree with either statement, it indicates in some people’s minds a full tang blade alone qualifies as “a knife,” even without scales. And what qualifies as a knife, as well as what part strength plays, might differ from person to person.

In my visits with renowned historic blacksmith Peter Ross, my eyes were opened to the multi-dimensional vision the historic blacksmith needed in order to execute the complex forgings of everyday objects of the colonial era. The ability to understand how something is shaped, combined with the hand skills to actually shape it, are two separate things. The combination of those two qualities in one individual is rare. Peter showed me how to change the way I think about shaping steel. My mind raced with possibilities every time I worked with him. He taught me how to take a project from concept to reality.

Just as steel is shaped by the blows of a hammer, my thoughts were shaped to the challenge at hand. I felt I was in a unique set of circumstances that directed me to mix my forging with the mostly forgot ten techniques of historic blacksmithing. My years of training helped provide some ability to execute my ideas and theories. Theories? OK, it’s my “theory” that about 90 percent of tactile, meaningful contact between the hand and a knife handle is concentrated on the top and the bottom. Think pliers, wrenches, etc. The mind seems to understand the vacancy of the remaining areas between the top and bottom. Also, the hand “soaks up” and “fills in” to meet these vacancies to a degree. If I could add contouring and sculpting to the essential top and bottom, could the hand and mind fill in the rest? Can a knife with no scales be an option?

The Answer To X-Rhea

Finding the answer took significant effort and a lot of time. I worked out a forging sequence for my X-Rhea hunting knives that satisfied me, but I kept thinking it would be great to forge a bowie with top and bottom lugs. It took years to work out the stages of the process. While the accompanying photographs attest to my relative success, it leaves a lot unsaid about the adjustments I had to make in my thinking. I used the blacksmithing principle of eliminating things that hinder the process, and re-emphasizing and adjusting things that assist it. I also considered efficiency in timing, appropriate temperature, or other techniques** that are most practical.

The author up close and personal with an X-Rhea Knife forged red hot.

While modern tooling could speed up some of the steps in my process, modern thinking and modern expectations would not. Aft er all, this process was being developed around the early 19th-century blacksmith tools: a coal forge, blacksmith leg vise, and the use of handheld hammers. This uncluttered my thinking and required me to face the same challenges as the early blacksmith. Elevating one’s skills with basic tools, improving understanding of the materials, and bearing full responsibility for the outcome was my expectation. While this might seem restrictive and limiting, the improved skill level and the readjusting of my views had a freeing effect. I am not as dependent on modern tools, which enables me to be more creative. The willingness to adjust one’s thinking was, and remains, an invaluable aid to the blacksmith.

Material Limits

When forging a complex shape, a smith must consider the limitations of the material, sometimes working near its limits but never exceeding them. Wisdom calls for choosing material suited for the extreme changes of geometry in the knife. Steels that are prone to air hardening must have special consideration or be avoided. Like some historic objects, the X-Rhea Knife is forged from one piece of steel, in this case, entirely high carbon steel. Those qualities and characteristics must be allowed for and considered.

Making an X-Rhea is a multi-step process. It must be pre-formed, with all needed parts and adjustments made before final shaping and peening the handle. Recognizing and maintaining a high standard of precision in the pre-form details is absolutely necessary to a satisfactory final result.

Even after I successfully made one of these knives, I found that part of the challenge was yet to come—acceptance. I showed up at a cutting competition with one of my X-Rhea bowies and sure got some stares. The safety judges looked it over as if it were a new species of animal. “Is it strong? Will it hurt your hand?” they asked. As I recall I placed well in the competition using it, but the initial reaction was still mixed.

Will it hurt your hand? I previously mentioned the handle contouring and sculpting. This is a standard part of the forging and filing process, as it is with any knife handle. Depending on the maker’s forging skill, it may require some filing in-between forging steps. Each step has some amount of adjustability to allow for correction, while leading to a beautiful profile and comfortable grip. It can be surprising to those who handle the knife just how good it feels, considering the remarkable difference in construction and the “open” appearance.

X-Rhea Strength

Is it strong? This is where the application of common blacksmith tool-making skills and logic are applied. Sufficiency was the guide for an early blacksmith. Making a piece overly strong for its intended use might sound impressive, but in use it becomes clear that this strength adds unneeded and undesirable weight for the intended use, and does not account for other desirable characteristics such as flex and toughness. I view heavy,
unwieldy blades generally as a mark of a novice. Unless the intended purpose calls for excessive strength, sufficiency should also, be the guide not only for blades but for knives overall.

Today when I see a thickly built knife, instead of looking at it and saying to myself “This thing sure is strong!” I ask, “Why does it need to be so heavy?” For the X-Rhea handle, I try to use sufficiency as my guide. Where it can structurally be lightened, I do that by forging and filing, leaving it sufficiently strong but not overly heavy. This distribution of strength serves to provide literal balance to the knife exactly as any conventional knife, regardless of construction. Either should have balance when properly built to a purpose and have sufficient strength to perform its purpose. That fact, while amazing to me at first, is testimony to the principle of sufficiency. In other words, the X-Rhea should compare well in balance and weight as well as function to any well-made conventional knife for the same application.

For those inclined to overthink a matter, look at the “T” cross-section of the blade-to-handle transition. It effectively converts the stress loads in the needed directions. Viewed from the profile, the slight rotation of the ricasso as an “X” instead of a vertical “cross” assists in adding strength with less material (weight) to the connection. The upper leg of the ricasso’s “X” tapers back to brace the upper part of the handle, which bears the majority of the workload. The handle then tapers in thickness slightly as it goes back to the forged integral pommel and proceeds to the handle tenon where it is peened. To further lighten the knife, the handle band is sculpted gently to taste. Taste? I try not to get so engrossed in the math and mechanics that I lose the necessity of making the knife look good. Like a scroll forged by a blacksmith, the application of math and mechanics are the basis for all aspects of proportion and form. To keep it simple, I want to make it graceful, not blocky, getting the absolute most out of a minimum of material volume.

The X-Rhea Process

In my situation, I set a challenge for myself and it led to the X-Rhea. For me, the process is as important as the knife itself. I made a lot of individual knives, some better than others, but what I was actually concentrating on was developing a forging process, so the one-piece forged knives could be repeated via a repeatable process with predetermined features, checkpoints and adjustability built-in along the way. To emphasize adjustability, whether by forging, grinding or filing, is key. It enables the smith to reach predetermined checkpoints before proceeding with the rest of the process. When following a well-designed process, the outcome will be consistent and meet a standard as would the product of a well-designed and adjusted machine.

While we are far from machines that guarantee specific outcomes, diligent attention to the execution of each heated and hammered step and making needed adjustments, when appropriate, will carry the project along. As aptly pointed out in David Pye’s book, The Nature and Art of Workmanship, “The quality of the result is continually at risk during the process.” Overcoming the risk by careful determination, as well as time spent in practice, is its own challenge and entirely rests upon the craftsperson.

Like some historic objects, the X-Rhea Knife is forged from one piece of steel, in this case, entirely high carbon steel.

I believe it is noble to preserve cultural objects, and it’s also my belief that preserving the processes used to make those objects is equally important. The hand of the individual craftspeople, following already established processes, can be seen in the objects of the past. A society or culture can lose appreciation for the craftsman’s touch. Pye stated, “The danger is not that the workmanship of risk will die out altogether but rather that, from want of theory, and thence lack of standards, its possibilities will be neglected and inferior forms of it will be taken for granted and accepted.” It would be a shame to neglect the possibilities or take for granted why we craft things the way we do.

I also believe there is room remaining to explore new designs and theories in today’s knifemaking. We can find new ideas and inspiration from places we don’t expect. With the ever-changing laws and shortages of materials such as stag and ivory, we may be wise to consider creating a market based on a process we develop using otherwise unexpected, but available, materials and techniques. This requires time and risk. Are we willing to apply time and effort to follow through with a concept without certainty that there will be a payoff? Is the payoff worth it in monetary or cultural dividends? One can really never know the answers to such questions, and those possibilities were not a serious factor in my efforts.

The X-Rhea is the result of having a curious mind and the ability to explore possibilities. It was an idea, turned into a challenge, turned into reality. The simple sequence is available to everyone. Its cultural value is a matter of opinion, but the process of the X-Rhea Knife shows that new and interesting ideas can be pursued in knifemaking.

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Spike Tomahawk Reviews: RMJ Tactical, Cold Steel, SOG, Browning
A Quick History Of The Tomahawk In The United States
11 Tips For Starting A Knife Shop At Home

BIG Blades: 4 Monster Choppers for the Bush

James Ayres

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September 13, 2021

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BIG Blades: 4 Monster Choppers for the Bush

BY JAMES MORGAN AYRES

Wherever folks live close to the earth, they use big knives

Little knives are convenient to carry but, if you have a lot of work to do, big knives are it. I’ve lived and worked with indigenous peoples in Latin America and Southeast Asia and found that wherever folks live close to the earth, they use big knives—machetes, parangs, goloks, bolos and the like. They use them for everything from rough work such as cutting poles and opening coconuts, to dressing out pigs and game, to delicate work such as slicing mangoes.

The advantage of the big blade was illustrated to me one day when I was working alongside a villager who, with his bolo and its 14-inch blade, cut wood for a fire, bamboo poles for a cooking rack, lopped off a banana leaf on which he filleted two large fish and sliced them thin as a sushi chef—all in the time it took me to bring down a few stalks of bamboo with my hair-shaving-sharp Randall Model 1.

We reviewed the test knives with that standard in mind. We chopped and split wood and sliced meat and tomatoes. We also, just because, cut hanging rubber hose and slashed through water-filled plastic bottles.

LONG, TALL & HANDSOME: Boker Arbolito El Gigante

The Boker Arbolito El Gigante is a handsome classic bowie with a stonewashed blade, comfortable handle and nice leather sheath. Balance is excellent, all very much in the bowie tradition. Construction is top quality; so is performance. It cleaved 2-inch pine saplings with one stroke. The quarter-inch-thick spine was brought down to a well-supported edge fine enough to slice tomatoes, and slice meat thin enough to see light through the slices. We slashed rubber hose and the water bottles with ease.

Like all well-designed and crafted bowies, this is a versatile all-around knife.

A tree branch succumbs to the reflective blade of the Boker Arbolito El Gigante. It cleaved 2-inch pine saplings in one stroke.

BOKER ARBOLITO EL GIGANTE
Blade Length: 9.25”
Blade Steel: Bohler N695 stainless
Blade Thickness: .24”
Blade Grind: Flat
Blade Finish: Stonewash
Handle Thickness: .94”
Handle Material: Green Micarta®
Weight: 15.75 ozs.|
Overall Length: 14.75”
Sheath: Leather
Country of Origin: Argentina
MSRP: $229

The El Gigante also proved its mettle after chopping wood by slicing a tomato nice and thin.

SEMPER FI! The KA-BAR Gunny

The KA-BAR Gunny is a hybrid design that resembles a bolo. I suspect R. Lee Ermey, the unforgettable Gunny who serves as the knife’s namesake, spent some time in jungles because this combination chopper/slicer’s performance is on par with village-forged bolos I’ve used in Southeast Asia, and that’s a high compliment. Its forward weight and terrific blade design promote efficient chopping.

The KA-BAR Gunny chomps into dry pine. Its forward weight and blade design promote efficient chopping.

We cut through 3-to-4-inch-thick saplings with two strokes. We took down a tree with a 6-inch-thick truck just because we could. After the chopping the blade was still sharp enough for camp kitchen work. The belly, good balance and fine edge combined to make slicing meat and vegetables a pleasure. Slashing hanging rubber hose and the water bottle were a piece of cake. The comfortable handle lends itself both to heavy chopping and fine meat cutting, which is unusual.

The Gunny is an excellent all-around bush knife. The sheath has a pocket for a sharpening stone, which was not included with the review model.

After chopping wood, the Gunny sliced tomatoes like a chef’s knife.

KA-BAR GUNNY
Designer: R. Lee “Gunny” Ermey
Blade Length: 9.75”
Blade Material: 1095 Cro-Van carbon steel
Blade Width: 2”
Blade Thickness: .2”
Blade Grind: Flat
Handle Width: 1.5”
Handle Thickness: .94”
Handle Material: Wood
Weight: 15.29 ozs.
Overall Length: 15.5”
Sheath: Leather
Country of Origin: USA
MSRP: $292

RAZOR SHARP: Medford Knife & Tool Bonfire

The Medford Knife & Tool Bonfire came from the maker absolutely razor sharp! The blade design is interesting in that we do not often see a contemporary styled drop point and hollow grind on such a big blade. I don’t know the Rockwell, but the steel is hard and tough. It was just as razor sharp after we put it through its paces as when we started.

The Bonfire comes with a well-fitted Kydex sheath.

The fine edge made for a very good slicer and slasher and lopped off thin branches with one cut. The hollow grind tended to bind when chopping wood, though that’s to be expected—hollow grinds aren’t chopping designs. It’s better to think of this knife as a well-designed and crafted big knife rather than a bush tool such as a panga or kukri. It sliced rubber hose with a snap of the wrist and slashed through water bottles with more consistency than the other review blades and cut meat just fine. You probably could dress out a bear with it.

Use it as a big knife on soft materials and you won’t be disappointed. It comes with a well-fitted Kydex sheath.

The Medford Knife & Tool Bonfire slashed through water-filled plastic bottles with more consistency than the other review blades.

MEDFORD KNIFE & TOOL BONFIRE
Blade Length: 8.25”
Blade Material: CPM 3V carbon steel
Blade Thickness: .24”
Blade Grind: Hollow
Handle Thickness: .64”
Handle Material: G-10
Weight: 19.16 ozs.
Overall Length: 13”
Sheath: Nylon
Country of Origin: USA
MSRP: $450

CHEF’S CHOPPER: The TOPS Bestia

The TOPS Bestia is just a beast. A kukri-styled 13-inch blade and hefty weight make it the blade of choice for serious chopping or zombie cleaving. We hacked though a 3-inch sapling with one stroke, and used it to clear a stand of saplings and brush. The handle remained comfortable during an hour or so of work. Heavy as a small hatchet, it is more versatile and safer in use, especially in thick brush. During many survival classes, I’ve seen more injuries from hatchets than from big blades with their longer cutting edges.

The Kydex sheath is formed to fit the unmistakable kukri-style blade of the Bestia.

Given its heft, blade design and chopping ability, the Bestia is surprisingly usable in the camp kitchen. We found it could slice meat quite well, allowing for adjustments in maneuverability due to its blade length.

The TOPS Knives Bestia’s kukri-styled 13-inch blade and hefty weight made it the blade of choice for serious chopping or, as the author puts it, “zombie cleaving.”

TOPS KNIVES BESTIA
Designer: Leo Espinoza
Blade Length: 13”
Blade Material: 1095 carbon steel
Rockwell Hardness: 56-58 HRC
Blade Width: 2.25”
Blade Thickness: .25”
Blade Grind: Flat
Handle Width: 2.125”
Handle Thickness: .97”
Handle Material: Green Micarta®
Frame/Liner: Micarta
Weight: 1 lb., 13.18 ozs.
Overall Length: 19.5”
Sheath: Kydex
Country of Origin: USA
MSRP: $300

VERSATILE BUSH TOOLS
If you haven’t spent much time with a big blade, try one. Work with it for a while. Direct close attention to your work and you’ll find a good big blade to be a terrific, versatile bush tool.

Hunting Knife Sheath: Choosing The Right One

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Mike Haskew

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February 7, 2022

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Hunting Knife Sheath: Choosing The Right One

Expert craftsmen give insight on how to find the best hunting knife sheath for the best protection, performance and look.

For the hunter in the field, a dependable and durable hunting knife is indispensable equipment, and it follows that the sheath that holds the knife must be equally up to the task.

Secure carry, protection for the blade and handle, easy access, and the ability to stand up to the elements and hard use are essential. While there is a variety of sheaths available and each one contributes something to the equation, the sheathmakers themselves have come to eye-opening conclusions as to the making and deployment of the correct sheath for the hunting knife. Personal preference is still a prime mover, but the basics make the difference between cooperation and catastrophe in the field.

“The best style for a hunting knife sheath is whatever the hunter wants,” explained veteran sheathmaker Paul Long. “Personal preference is very important. However, the knife that would best be described as a hunter would be best suited in a deep seat pouch with a loop that would carry relatively high on the belt. In most cases the deep pouch would preclude the need for a retention strap. For a double-guard hunter, a drop-loop belt sheath would probably be best with a snap strap for secure retention.”

Depending on the style of the knife, the guard often dictates the best pouch configuration. “I favor the pouch-type sheath, and the hunting knife generally has a single guard as opposed to a double guard,” related sheathmaker Paul Lebatard, who also has found success with his custom knives through the years. “I make a lot of doubles, too. You would have to make a snap-type sheath with a keeper strap, but on hunting knives with single guards the pouch type is always best.”

Knifemaker Paul Lebatard shows off one of his custom hunting-knife-and-sheath packages.

A sheathmaker for over 50 years, Chris Kravitt zeroes in on the personal preference perspective. “First and foremost, it’s a matter of the configuration of the knife, and then if more than one style will work it becomes a matter of personal preference,” he observed. “My preference is to go with the pouch because it is easier to draw and resheathe the knife without worrying about straps.”

At the same time, Kravitt acknowledges varying hunting knife construction and its influence in sheath form and function. “If a knife has a double guard, it isn’t going to work on a pouch sheath, and if you have a knife with an integral handle, possibly,” he said. “Certain things don’t lend themselves to the traditional style, like when the blade is the widest part of the knife or there is no bolster or ricasso extending beyond the edge.”

Kenny Rowe, owner of Rowe’s Leather in Hope, Arkansas, adds another option on the hunting knife sheath. “Ninety percent of these sheaths would be the pouch type because they cover most of the knife, and with the guard you can make a welt where the knife has some resistance coming in and out,” he noted. “Some sheaths will have a lid that has a snap on it, and that is as secure as you can get with the flap snapping over the front of the sheath.”

Exotic leathers make great inlay materials, and Paul Long uses various animal skins, including snake, lizard, ostrich and others. He employs ostrich for the red inlay on the sheath of a fixed-blade utility knife by Julian Antunes.(SharpByCoop images)

The consensus with the pouch sheath makes sense for all the reasons that the hunter encounters in the field. For its toughness and the ability to shape and mold the sheath as desired during the construction process, cowhide reigns supreme among sheath materials. Most sheathmakers use 7-to-9-ounce* vegetable-tanned cowhide.

Sheath Leather Types

The use of exotics such as ostrich, stingray, alligator, crocodile or other hides is a continuing option, though for the most part they are used as accents, often in the form of inlays, rather than adding any performance-related component to the sheath.

“Exotics are very useful in sheathmaking but primarily for aesthetics,” Long explained. “Elephant and shark are two that are tough enough to withstand very hard use and are usually built as an overlay on a vegetable-tanned base sheath. I work with various snakes, lizard, ostrich and many others.”

In addition to standard sheaths, Paul Lebatard also makes doubles, many of vegetable tanned leather. “A lot of people say not to store knives in the sheaths, but as long as the sheath is made of good vegetable-tanned leather, I’ve never had a problem,” he noted. (Paul Lebatard images)

As Kravitt noted, “The basic sheath is going to be cowhide 99 percent of the time, but for overlays and inlays my favorite is stingray, which is near bulletproof but more expensive and harder to work with—but great stuff. Ostrich leg or shin is very nice, and Malaysian horned frog has a very nice texture to it. Snakeskin is not very durable, but it’s fine when the knife and sheath are for show since it won’t hold up with regular use.”

Tooling and carving also provide style points and may be pleasing to the eye. However, neither actually contributes to the performance of the sheath in field use. “I occasionally do some tooling with stamps, but carving is a talent I don’t have,” Lebatard remarked. “Still, on almost every sheath I’ll put something in keeping with the theme of the knife, like a small deer. Someone might place an order and specify that they just want a bare, plain sheath, or they may want just their initials on it. That’s a good thing about leather. When it is wet it can be molded and stamped, and when it dries it will hold that impression.”

Tanning Styles

Vegetable tanning is essential when the blade meets the sheath leather for an extended period. In contrast to chrome-tanned leather, a vegetable-tanned leather is not known to corrode or stain a blade left in the sheath for any length of time. That old admonition to store the knife itself separately from the sheath will then get a longer look.

“A lot of people say not to store knives in the sheaths, but as long as the sheath is made of good vegetable-tanned leather, I’ve never had a problem,” Lebatard noted. “I made a knife for a friend a few years ago and he didn’t want a sheath. He was going to get someone else to make the sheath for him. Several years later, he brought the knife to me and he had had it in a chrome-tanned leather sheath. It was nearly rusted through. The chrome-tanned leather is very corrosive.”

Kravitt has had similar experiences. “I hear so many people say not to store knives in leather sheaths, but I have kept knives in sheaths for years and never had a problem,” he recalled. “My sheaths are all vegetable tanned as opposed to chrome tanned. Chrome-tanned leather may have salts and other things in it.”

Sheath Extras

Waterproofing is another essential element, and in the construction itself there are questions surrounding drainage holes and inserts as well.

The different decorations Kenny Rowe offers with his sheaths include, from left: smooth; border tooled; basket weave; acorn and oak leaf hand carving; exotic skin overlay (gator); exotic skin inlay (beaver tail); and exotic skin full coverage (ostrich leg). (Kenny Rowe image)

Most sheathmakers shy away from inserts since contact with the blade may dull the edge. After all, the welt and/or strap should suffice for a snug fit. Inserts in and of themselves may be judged to provide some measure of redundancy, but contribute little to the overall stability of the lockup or in protecting the knife itself. Long says, “Even the best inserts, being rigid, will do more harm to a blade than top grain leather.”

At first glance it might appear that a drainage hole is a good idea to help maintain cleanliness and prevent the buildup of moisture or debris within the sheath. Not so fast!
“I do not ordinarily put a drain hole in my sheaths,” Long asserted. “Nor do I do any waterproofing of the interior of the sheath. Rather, I depend on the normal intelligence of my client to not go swimming with their sheath, and to at least try to clean the blood and guts off the blade before reinsertion.” Rowe agrees.

“I don’t see any sense in it,” he commented. “I can count on one hand the number of sheaths I’ve made with drain holes in them, and I’ve been making sheaths for 35 years at least. The only time I would expect someone to have their sheath in really wet conditions would be if they accidentally rolled into a deep river or their boat sank. I wouldn’t expect someone to haul off into neck deep water with their hunting gear on. For debris, it’s easy enough to take a wire with a little hook in the end and just rake the sheath out, or blow it out with air, or stand it upside down and shake it or tap it on a table.”

Ultimately, Chris Kravitt—here working on a sheath in his shop—stands by the individual perspective. “First and foremost,” he begins, “it’s a matter of the configuration of the knife, and then if more than one style will work it becomes a matter of personal preference.” (Chris Kravitt image)

Kravitt, on the other hand, will utilize a drain hole and an insert from time to time. Often, the insert itself is fashioned from leather to avoid additional friction against the knife edge. The employment of the drain hole is in direct response to the future use of the gear in the field.

“If I know the sheath will be used in harsher conditions, I think it should have a drain hole,” he remarked, “not just for draining moisture, but also removing debris—especially when the user has spent a lot of time in the woods.”

Sheathmakers do tend to rely on the owner of the product and of the hunting knife to exercise responsibility in the field. “Explain to the client, if they are a novice, about the ‘care and feeding of a leather sheath,’” Long smiled.

On almost every sheath, Paul Lebatard puts something in keeping with the theme of the knife, such as a small deer. “That’s a good thing about leather,” he observed. “When it is wet it can be molded and stamped, and when it dries it will hold that impression.” (Paul Lebatard image)

Finding The Best Option

The well-crafted sheath is the constant companion of the hunting knife, either in the field or a collector’s cabinet, and the best measure of the sheath’s contribution is its role in that partnership. For the sheath to function properly, owners must remember the fundamentals of hunting knife care. Keep both the knife and sheath clean. Wipe away moisture and other fluids. Maintain the surfaces as needed. Don’t put the knife away wet and expect the sheath to do more than expected.

Adhering to best practices will ensure long life for both the hunting knife and its all-important sheath.

*According to the Montana Leather Co. website (montanaleather.com), leather thickness is typically measured in ounces. For instance, an ounce of leather is equal to 1/64 inch. As a result, 7-to-9 ounce leather will be in the 1/8 inch range, give or take a few millimeters.

Stropping: What It Is And How It’s Accomplished

Paul White

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February 24, 2022

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Stropping: What It Is And How It’s Accomplished

What is the purpose of stropping? Is it the same as sharpening a knife? We’ll answer those questions and more as we explore how to put the finishing touches on a blade.

Forged Knifemaking — This article is an excerpt from **Forged: Making A Knife With Traditional Blacksmith Skills** available at **ShopBlade.com**.

Burr is a term used to describe the turned-over edge of a freshly sharpened blade. The burr can be seen as an ultra-thin, wire-like structure at the edge. When sharpening you are bringing one edge surface closer to the other edge surface with alternating and even strokes, left-right-right-left against an abrasive such as a sharpening stone or metal grade sandpaper or strop. By alternating sides you simultaneosly remove surface material from both of the sides forming that burr. Sharpen back-and-forth, one side and then the other, and the burr appears.

What Sharpening Does To A Blade

At first the two opposite sides are divided by the blade’s edge thickness and there is no burr. This is seen as that paper thin shiny line from tip to choil. As one side is brought closer to its opposite side (i.e. sharpened), one side or the other will eventually meet the other and the thin shiny line will disappear.

At that point there isn’t enough mass to support the edge against the hard-abrasive surface, and the super-thin edge rolls/curves over in the opposite direction, forming the burr. The burr can be seen with the unaided eye and felt with your thumb. The objective at this point is to switch and sharpen the edge from the other direction with a yet finer grit abrasive. This maneuver makes an even smaller and thinner burr on the opposite edge. After you sharpen several times like this in opposite directions, with finer and finer grit paper, the burr will be reduced microscopically and be difficult to see or feel but will still be there. This final use of fine grits of abrasive is considered, and is called, a hone.

What Stropping Does

At this point switch from a superfine hone-grit paper (1500 plus grit) to a leather strap, belt, or section of a belt, called a strop. The fine sandpaper hones, and the leather strops. Strop with the same back and forth motion, strop the blade’s edge against the leather. This action bends the now unseen burr back and forth against the leather and the burr finally breaks free. The edge thickness is now just paper thin or less. So “paper thin” doesn’t sound like the edge would bear up during use, being this thin, right on the very pinnacle of the blade’s edge—but it does.

With removal of the burr the edge acquires maximum sharpness and can be re-honed repeatedly without subjecting the blade to recurring sharpening cycles with lower grit sandpaper. This maintains the thin-and-sharp element of your blade.

Choosing A Strop

Make your strop from a strip of leather belt (10-inches long) glued to a bit of yardstick or lath material. Glue a strip of 800-1500 grit wet-n-dry sandpaper to the other side for a hone.

The same exact motion is used on the leather side of the strop stick. When the smith is “into” the motion it is similar to a continuous figure-8 movement. Most of the time the leather is enough to restore the blade’s edge without using the sandpaper side of the stick.

How To Strop

Stropping is a low-angle slap and slide motion. The leather actually sharpens the microstructure of the blade’s edge. It 1) bends the burr back to a sharp edge or 2) bends it back and forth till it breaks, like bending a wire coat hanger back-and-forth, revealing a new raw edge. Visualize a barber in an old-west, cowboy movie slappin’-n-slidin’ his straight razor on a big leather strop. Slap-n-slide your Frontier blade on the 800 to 1500 grit black W/D sandpaper 10 to 15 times then on the leather the same number of swipes. When your edge dulls you can often just strop with the leather, forgoing the hone altogether, in the restoration of a keen cutting edge.

After stropping, if your knife edge isn’t near razor sharp, go back to your wet-n-dry-sharpening action with the higher numbered sandpaper grits (400, 600, 800) then strop again.

Testing The Edge

Feel the edge with your thumb, perpendicular to the edge. Never run your thumb or fingers vertically up or down the blade. It will cut. With time you’ll be able to tell in an instant various level of sharpness with just your thumb. With time you will feel the burr and know the angle of any blade with just a touch of your thumb.

Another sharpness indicator is the use of an old leather belt or scrap of leather. Almost any “sharp” knife can cut a sheet of paper but stiff leather is the true challenge. First, use a knife of known sharpness. Cut a bit from the leather. Note the force needed to peel off a few pieces of leather. Use the same piece of leather on subsequent blade edges you sharpen in the future. By comparison, the quality of those blades’ sharpness can be gauged.

**This article is an excerpt from Forged: Making A Knife With Traditional Blacksmith Skills available at ShopBlade.com.**

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5 Best Knife Sharpeners [2022]

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June 17, 2022

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Whether A Stone, A Rod, Or An Electronic Device, There Are Many Quality Knife Sharpeners Out There. Here are five of the best.

There are all sorts of knife sharpeners out there. Some can fit in your pocket. Some are full-on appliances. Some are literal stones. No matter the type of sharpener you use, it’s important to make sure you get the best bang for your buck.

That’s why we’ve scoured the world of sharpeners to show you a variety of the five best out there today. Whether you’re looking for something quick and easy to give your knives a once over or a sharpener the pros use, there’s a knife sharpener out there for you.

Chef’s Choice Model Trizor 15XV 3-Stage Professional Electric Knife Sharpener, Platinum

The first one on this list could be called the Cadillac of home knife sharpeners. Named the best knife sharpener by numerous organizations including America’s Test Kitchen, the Trizor 15XV by Chef’s Choice is a beast of an electric knife sharpener.

It utilizes three separate stages to sharpen, hone, and polish your knives. It sharpens using proprietary diamond abrasives and then stropping discs to polish. It even adjusts between 15 and 20 degrees so you can sharpen multiple types of knives.

Yes, this is made for chefs and their kitchen knives but it’ll sharpen your EDC knives just as well. It’ll even sharpen serrated knives too! While it can’t sharpen ceramic knives or larger outdoor blades like axes, it does pretty much handles any other edge in your home or workshop.

It is pricey with an MSRP of $179.99, but if you want to sharpen like the pros you won’t find a better option on the market today.

Sharp Pebble Premium Whetstone 2 Side 1000/6000 Waterstone

1000/6000 whetstone — Sharp Pebble 1000/6000 waterstone

I love sharpening my knives freehand. I find it meditative, fun, and refreshing. As more and more people look to whetstones as a way to sharpen their knives, there’s a glut of products on the market.

This is the type of stone I’ve used for the last several years, and it’s an excellent entry point into whetstones. Sharp Pebble has made a quality stone out of aluminum oxide that can sharpen and polish your straight-edge knives.

Starting with the coarse 1000-grit side, and finishing with the fine 6000-grit side, you can give your knives the love and care they need to stay sharp and cut at their best.

Another reason I like this stone is its accessories. It comes with a bamboo base to keep the stone secure as you sharpen. And it comes with an angle guide if you’re not confident in being able to keep the angle steady as you grind away.

While I love using my whetstone, it can be a bit confusing to jump into at first. Luckily, popular Youtube Ethan Chlebowski goes over the most common mistakes people make while using a stone and how to avoid them.

At an MSRP of $40.99, Sharp Pebble has made an affordable stone and a great entry point for those interested.

WorkSharp Guided Field Sharpener

Need a sharpener while hunting or camping? The team at WorkSharp has you covered with their Guided Field Sharpener (GFS). Smaller than your cell phone, the GFS is packed with features any outdoorsman can appreciate.

The sharpener comes with two stones of 320 and 600-grit diamond and a 20-degree angle guide so each pass counts. It also comes with two finishing options, a ceramic honing rod and a leather strop, to polish your blade. You can even remove the diamond sharpening plates to reveal a small storage compartment with a built-in broadhead wrench.

And did we mention it can sharpen straight-edge blades, serrated knives, and even fish hooks? It really can do it all outside for you. It even has a lanyard hole so you can carry it without worry about losing it on the trail.

At an MSRP of $34.95, you get so much for the price and the peace of mind that comes with buying something sturdy from WorkSharp.

KitchenIQ Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener

If you’re looking for a sharpener on a budget, this little countertop sharpener packs a big punch.

Available at numerous retailers, this sharpener from KitchenIQ is priced between $10-12 and will get your knives back to a sharp edge.

It uses two angled slots, one coarse (carbide) and one fine (ceramic), for you to pull your knife through. You hold it down with one hand and pull your knife through with the other. Pulling it through 5-10 times a side should be enough to reset the edge and polish it back to new.

Your sharpening time is seconds. If you’re looking for a sharpener that’s easy to use, doesn’t take much time, and gets your knives back to fighting fit, this is the sharpener for you.

Wusthof 9-Inch Honing Steel

The last piece on this list isn’t a sharpener, per se. Honing steels, or honing rods, are used to fix the small, microscopic imperfections that affect a knife over time. Using a honing steel will help get the edge back to where it was before but without removing material, as occurrences when sharpening.

A good honing steel should be used a few times a week while sharpening should be done a few times a year, and you can’t go wrong with this steel from Wusthof. From a company with more than two centuries of experience making knives, the honing steel is made from stainless and will help restore the edge of your kitchen knives.

With a low MSRP of just $25, you can’t go wrong with a steel from one of the most trusted knife brands in the world.

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Factory Drops: New Knives Hitting The Market This Spring

Elwood Shelton

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May 3, 2024

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Factory Drops: New Knives Hitting The Market This Spring

Five knives fit for EDC to the outdoors.

Does the flow of new knives ever cease? Lord, I hope not.

Midspring is as good a time as any for knife companies to drop new models, variations and what have you. And with this round, we have five new blades from three manufacturers worth a gander.

These knives range across the board, from a very collectible outdoor option to a bevy of affordable pocket pals. Even if they don’t exactly tickle your fancy, these blades are worthwhile window-shopping fodder.

Kellam Knives Harriet70

Puukos are bread and butter at Kellam but its most recent introduction of this style of belt knife might prove better on the mantlepiece than on the hip.

Dubbed the Harriet70, the classic design is a tribute to Harriet Kellokoski, the wife of Kellam’s headman Jouni Kellokoski, for her 70th birthday.

There are a lot of nice points on this limited-edition knife, but what jumped out for me immediately was the handle—more exactly its wood.
In this case, it’s arctic curly birch, darkly dyed and lightly oiled for the finish.

The curl pops and plays a beautiful counter to the nickel silver bolster and polished stainless-steel blade.

With 3-inches of wicked-sharp steel to play around with it’d make a solid hunting or fishing option, one dripping with class.

CRKT BOT Deadbolt

I can never complain about a design that puts fast deployment at the forefront of its engineering. Hence the BOT Deadbolt hits a sweet spot for me.

Assisted open with IKBS bearings, the action of this flipper doesn’t disappoint with the drop-point blade winking out in the blink of an eye.

Designed by Flavio Ikoma, the knife also features the Brazilian’s innovative lock—the Deadbolt—which relies on two lugs for extremely strong lockup.

This a much larger knife than what the Deadbolt is usually found on, intentionally so, since Ikoma was aiming for an overall robust system from tip to pocket clip.

CIVIVI Elementum Utility

Quietly, there’s a utility knife war brew in the knife world. I, for one, say it’s about dang time.

An oft-overlooked corner of the blade world is getting some much-needed attention with the latest enhancement coming from juggernaut CIVVI.

Essentially a flipper/folder utility knife, the Elementum Utility offers perhaps the most important aspect of this class of knives—single-hand deployment. And it delivers it not in one, but three ways via kicker, thumb stud and button lock—if you like flicking out your blade.

CIVVI also delivers a bit of panache with the line, offering the replaceable-blade knife in a slew of colorways on its aluminum handle.

CIVIVI Primitrox

Even without looking at the branding, I think most knife aficionados would have sussed out this is a CIVIVI… or WE or Sencut. It just has the look, design points and action of the tirade’s knives and is close to several other options that already exist in the company’s catalog.

The one that comes to my mind is the WE Saakshi.

However, the Primitrox comes in a bit bigger thanks to a larger 3.89-inch drop-point blade.

The extra steel works to the knife’s advantage giving it not only a more robust design but more mass that flings the blade forward when opening.

I have to say, the handle options on the knife are nice as well, particularly the Guibourtia wood scale option, which gives the Primitrox a dignified look.

CIVIVI RS71

I have to confess this knife intrigues me. Of course, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to get geeked up over a dagger—or dagger-style—blade.

A Rob Saniscalchi design, the RS71 takes the deadly-looking blade style and tames it down for EDC with plenty of style.
But plan on having plenty of pocket space to tote it around, because the CIVIVI borders on behemoth with a full 4-inch blade and 9.31-inch deployment length.

The knife fills the hand, yet the contoured handle makes it very manageable.

I also like the grooving on the scale, which gives it more purchase in the palm and a downright distinctive look.

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How To: Custom Knife Sales And Marketing

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Virgil England

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July 4, 2025

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How To: Custom Knife Sales And Marketing

Get the ins and out of custom knife marketing and learn how to improve profits from a maker with years of experience slinging blades.

The most difficult part for crafters is turning themselves into efficient sales and marketing people when they’d rather be throwing pots, building furniture, making knives, blowing glass, sewing moccasins and parkas and the myriads of other craft items people make. Marketing and sales present two different issues; both are necessary for the business to succeed.

Yes, it is a business.

The minute you start working for yourself, full or part time, you no longer have the umbrella of the company you’ve worked for. Now all the financial decisions are on you. Steel or groceries? Both require you to show a profit to draw money from to maintain your materials supply, pay the electric and gas bills, and get your kid’s braces. Paying these expenses is up to your fledgling business. If you have other money coming in from your spouse working, etc., stay out of it. The business needs to support itself. Don’t cut back on the family dog’s food because you need some paint brushes. So, it’s up to you to make it work.

Custom Knife Marketing

Shows are crucial to a knifemaker’s success but involve an investment of money. Table fees can easily be over a thousand dollars each. Add another table as the author often does for his huge pieces and things get expensive quick. Add a plane ticket to that, the cost of the hotel and food, and you’re close to $5,000 per show.

Marketing is about getting your name and your work out there for people to see. This is not an overnight happening. It is something you will need to pay attention to throughout your whole career if you want to maintain a public image that helps you sell.

The best venue for your work is shows, books and magazines specific to your genre.

Show promoters take out large ads in magazines. These usually list the names of the crafters participating. Name recognition is important, especially if you wish to draw collectors.

Advertising

For a show I did at the Hyatt Regency in Beverly Hills, the gallery that was representing four of us took out a full-page ad in the magazine that was putting on the show. Those magazines are kept and float around doctor and dental office waiting rooms for years. I had a small ad in Alaska Magazine that I was still getting inquiries from 10 years after the ad was pulled. I worked out the ad wasn’t bringing in enough money to pay for itself, even after 10 years.

Be aware of how much advertising costs you against how much real return you get from it. Maybe it’s better to save those monthly charges and put them toward doing actual shows where people have a face to put with a name.

Photos

Magazines don’t usually send out letters asking you to send them photos of your knives. You need to send them on your own. Don’t inundate them with dozens of photos. Make your choices very carefully. Check with the publication to see what form or format photos need to be in. These need to be high quality and/or high resolution for the magazines to print them or put them on electronic media.

If you’re not a photographer find someone who is, because these photos are the only way the public can see your work, other than shows. So be sure to have them taken or take them yourself. I have taken my own photos for the past 35 years. The rules for good photos are simple. Remember, it’s about your work, not the killer props it’s set up with.

Beware the dangers of Photoshop. The item has to look as good in real time as it does in the photo the magazine prints. If there are flaws, don’t let the customer be the one to point them out. (There is nothing wrong with selling something that isn’t up to your usual standard as long as you’re up front with the customer, and the selling price reflects these issues.)

Knife Shows

Your spouse is good to have with you at shows for both physical and emotional support. ABS master smith James Cook enjoyed the support of his wife Terry at a past BLADE Show Texas.

Shows can be good, just pick them wisely. If you can sell everything you need to sell by doing only local venues, that’s good. In Alaska I’d be fortunate to sell one piece a year after my prices went up to cover my costs in the late 1980s. I had to do shows to meet the people who would form my future collector base.

On average a well-known show is expensive for most people. Table fees can easily be over a thousand dollars each. Due to the sizes of some of my pieces, I always must have at least two tables because some of the bigger ones are too long to fit on one table. Add a plane ticket to that, the cost of the hotel and food, and you’re close to $5,000. If you’re doing a show in Manhattan, more if you plan on marketing in Europe or Asia.

I have done a lot of shows. I have never done one I could drive to. There’s always a plane ticket involved, the shortest flight being Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle. After that, things can get expensive. Overweight, oversize, extra, etc., those all have costs attached to them. I have traveled with as many as five large aluminum boxes (with snap-off wheels). It does no good if I reach my destination but don’t have anything to sell, so keeping my work safe in transit is very important.

This is a partial list of where I have attended shows, some annually for many years: Manhattan; Meadowlands; Atlanta; Las Vegas; Jersey City; Miami; Orlando; Dallas; St. Louis; Dallas; Denver; Nashville; Scottsdale; San Diego; Anaheim; Santa Barbara; Solvang; San Francisco; Seattle; Tokyo; Milan; Paris; Munich; Solingen; Helsinki; Belgium; and Memphis.

Every year I have attended four or five shows globally traveling from Anchorage. Now I need $20,000 just to cover basic show costs. Multiply that by three and that is where your profit starts. From the beginning I know I have to do at least $60,000 to cover the basic costs of being in business. It is closer to $7,500 in months when my materials are drawing a lot of money from my account.

The one common denominator in all shows is how tired you are when you arrive, and how tired you are when you finally get back home. There is a lot of stress in doing this. A mistake you shouldn’t make is thinking it can be used as a family holiday. This usually ends up with the kids up in your room with a movie menu for the TV, and your spouse right next to you waiting for the sales to show up. It’s better to leave the children at home.

Rolling With The Market

Ron Lake once said, “Some people keep making the same weak design every year, they just make it better. In the end it will always be a weak design.” Avoid this pitfall by looking at your work realistically. Just because it is bright and shiny doesn’t make it craft or art.

Your spouse is good to have with you for both physical and emotional support. When things aren’t selling because someone just plugged the Suez Canal for the umpteenth time, and that’s 10,000 miles away from you, there is no snappy comeback. When 9/11 took place it killed the New York Show, which was the most profitable show I attended annually. You could roll bowling balls down the aisles the following year. You have just been had by chance and circumstance, two things you have no control over as a speculation-oriented crafter. (A speculation crafter—that’s me—is one who builds something hoping to find a customer when it is finished.)

Moving Forward

If it isn’t selling, make it better next time. The customer is out there, you just need to get this little beauty in front of them. Long-time knife artisan and BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Ron Lake once said, “Some people keep making the same weak design every year, they just make it better. In the end it will always be a weak design.” Avoid this pitfall by looking at your work realistically. Just because it is bright and shiny doesn’t make it craft or art. The quality of the work and the attendant aesthetics are what customers look to before digging in their pockets.

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