Old Hickory Knives for Bushcraft
Hey guys, I just wanted to show you a couple of my Old Hickory brand knives that I use in the field, along with the sheaths that I made for them.
The larger of the two started out as an Old
Hickory butcher's knife with an 8 inch blade length. I wanted a slightly shorter blade, so I took a
hacksaw and file to it. The blade measures 4 inches long now, which I
feel is just about right for a general purpose bushcraft knife. It has an overall length of 8.5 inches. I also
filed the tip down a bit, creating a profile similar to a tanto blade. I
like it, but I wish I would have went with a drop point profile.
I removed the wooden scales, and replaced them with a
jute twine wrap. I soaked the jute twine in epoxy prior to wrapping, and
once it was fully dry, I sanded it down to make it smoother. The result
is one of the most comfortable knife handles I have used.
Overall, even though I am a bit disappointed by the
tanto point, this modified Old Hickory knife remains one of my favorite
bushcraft knives. The carbon steel is easy to sharpen to a shaving sharp
edge, even in the field. The size and comfortable handle make camp
chores less of a, well, chore. I would definitely recommend an Old
Hickory knife for bushcraft use.
The next knife, is an Old Hickory brand paring knife,
similar to the one pictured below. It has a 3.75 inch blade length, and an overall length of 7 inches. I did
nothing to this knife, other than sharpening it to a hair splitting
convex grind. It fits perfect in my hand, and has proved most useful for
cleaning fish and small game.
Now on to the sheaths. This was my first attempt at
leather working, so while it may not be the prettiest, I like it. The
leather came from an old boot, which had decorative studs which I
incorporated into the sheath design. I used 15 pound test fishing line
as thread, and both sheaths have held up quite well.
All in all, I'm quite satisfied with how everything
turned out. Both of these knives are very useful in the field, and the
carbon steel used can take quite an edge. I am now eyeballing Old
Hickory sets to have some more knives to modify.
If you would like to try these Old Hickory knives out for yourself, Amazon sells them for a pretty reasonable price. Links are below.
If you would like to try these Old Hickory knives out for yourself, Amazon sells them for a pretty reasonable price. Links are below.
