Knife search - matching an heirloom

[Paul in Idaho]

About 20 years ago one of my uncles made me a beautiful knife. It is made of Damascus steel, ironwood and brass. Its balance and fit are perfect for me. I carried it hunting for several years. Now that he's getting up in years, the knife stays at home since it could never be replaced if I lose it on the mountain.

I have bought other knives since this one went into the safe, but haven't yet found one that matches its balance and dexterity. The closest I have found with a similar arched shape is the Buck 390 Omni Hunter, shown in the photo below with my uncle's knife. The fit and balance are good, but the wider blade is a bit clumsy. The Gerber Gator Premium appears to be similar in shape, but larger.

I can't afford to have a custom knifemaker build me a similar knife, so my search is limited to retail stores. Can anyone recommend a 3 or 3.5-inch narrow drop-point fixed blade knife with an overall arched shape?

 

[Dsnow9]

Try Etsy, you would be surprised what you can find. I have bought a couple knives by a guy out of Steamboat CO. Elkriverknives. Custom, affordable, and good workmanship.

 

[1_pointer]

About 20 years ago one of my uncles made me a beautiful knife. It is made of Damascus steel, ironwood and brass. Its balance and fit are perfect for me. I carried it hunting for several years. Now that he's getting up in years, the knife stays at home since it could never be replaced if I lose it on the mountain.

I have bought other knives since this one went into the safe, but haven't yet found one that matches its balance and dexterity. The closest I have found with a similar arched shape is the Buck 390 Omni Hunter, shown in the photo below with my uncle's knife. The fit and balance are good, but the wider blade is a bit clumsy. The Gerber Gator Premium appears to be similar in shape, but larger.

I can't afford to have a custom knifemaker build me a similar knife, so my search is limited to retail stores. Can anyone recommend a 3 or 3.5-inch narrow drop-point fixed blade knife with an overall arched shape?

View attachment 145123

Might be worth a call to a knife maker or maybe even Buck and see if they'd regrind the buck to match the blade profile of the one your uncle made.

Another option for searching would be to take a picture of just the knife your uncle made and do an image search. Might bring up some possiblities.

 

[Addicting]

Skyblade knives is worth every penny. It will cost you a couple hundred but you will be passing this one down as a heirloom as well.

Skyblade Knives | Art with an Edge

Handmade custom hunting knives & kitchen cutlery made in Montana by bear attack survivor Todd Orr. Premium stainless steel blades with exceptional strength and edge retention. Exotic hardwood handles. Retirement, wedding, Christmas and birthday gifts.

www.skybladeknives.com

 

[MTLabrador]

View attachment 145139
Skyblade knives is worth every penny. It will cost you a couple hundred but you will be passing this one down as a heirloom as well.

Skyblade Knives | Art with an Edge

Handmade custom hunting knives & kitchen cutlery made in Montana by bear attack survivor Todd Orr. Premium stainless steel blades with exceptional strength and edge retention. Exotic hardwood handles. Retirement, wedding, Christmas and birthday gifts.

www.skybladeknives.com

I’m getting a pair of knives made for my dad and I from Todd, using the antlers of the first spike bull I shot for the grips. I can’t wait to get my hands on them.

 

[MThuntr]

Maybe a Benchmade Hidden Canyon or Steep Country. Those 2 may be discontinued but I find my Steep Country to balance really nice and it holds a great edge.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks everyone, these are some good ideas. @Dsnow9 I never would have thought to look on Etsy. Good tip. @1_pointer regrinding the Buck sounds like something worth researching. @Addicting I remember Todd Orr's grizzly story but had forgotten he's a knife maker. Maybe some day I can afford one of his blades.

I kept searching last night and found a few knives described as caping blades that have a shape similar to my uncle's knife.

 

[Irrelevant]

Highly recommend ebay used. There and thousands of knives out there, and since you're looking for one that you could afford to lose that's where I'd look. I picked up a couple of pocket knives for under $10, shined them and sharpened and both are serving me well.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Maybe a Benchmade Hidden Canyon or Steep Country. Those 2 may be discontinued but I find my Steep Country to balance really nice and it holds a great edge.

I have a Benchmade Hidden Canyon, which has a similar profile to the knives pictured in the OP. It’s my favorite knife I’ve ever used.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks. I hadn't thought of looking for a used on on eBay either, will take a look. Will also look at the Hidden Canyon.

 

[pre6422hornet]

Hey Paul. I make knives as a hobby and would be more than happy to help you out if you wanted. You can PM me if you would like. My prices are far from Custom and they include a hand made leather sheath ( by myself as well). I can make just about anything and if you trace out your current knife, I would do my best to recreate the profile to within a hair of original.

Here is my own skinner design. I have 4 of these skinners in various areas of the US currently being used by outdoorsmen and three of us have cleaned/skinned/quartered etc... over a dozen head of big game and dozens of birds in only 12 months. I personally field dressed and skinned out two mature whitetail does this past fall with mine with zero edge loss. My good friend in NM did the same thing on two barbary sheep this spring and said that he had to quickly touch up the blade at the very end of the second one due to the amount of sand/dust in the hide. Another customer ( retired 20 year marine) who field dresses up to two dozen deer/elk a year has given it his stamp of approval and coming from a man who spent 15 years in MARSOC I feel pretty good about his endorsement and opinion on what works.

I designed it to fit in the hand and become an extension of one's hand when skinning, especially in the backcountry. Micarta handle is bombproof and sticky when wet.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks! PM sent.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Here are some photos of the knife @pre6422hornet made for me. He did a great job on both matching my uncle's knife and overall build quality. I was lucky to get to test it out on a young 4x4 buck I took during a late black powder season. It handled well and kept its edge. Thanks Pat!

 

[JLS]

Cool looking knife.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Beautiful knife!