Gunshow butcher knife...it's my favorite !

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

As I was just about to cut up the last of the garden
cabbage for a stew I'm making this evening, I reached
for my favorite knife....

Let's backup a bit.

I think I attended by first gunshow when I was in
my early 20's. My dad never went to them, even
though he was a long time trap shooter and loaded
his own shotshells. So the first couple of gunshows I
attended, were as a single man. well, it was just
magic to me...all that neat stuff, in one place.
Many items I'd never seen before and didn't know
what they were used for, it was a whole new world.

I didn't have much cash back then, so I wasn't
looking at anything too fancy...Well, I got 'hooked'
on a sales pitch from an old timer that made knives.
They weren't fancy...I mean REALLY, they weren't fancy!
As you will see below, but he used high carbon steel
from old saw blades, that was the sales pitch.
I never heard of that before, I thought that stainless
steel was the best there was (boy, did I have alot to learn.)

Anyway, this was made by that fellow, I think he charged
me $10. I think about that old fellow and those first few
gunshows I attended, everytime I grab this knife out of
the cutlery drawer. Yep, it's a tough lookin' knife.
It surely holds a edge better than anything else in that
drawer and it's just the right size and design (simple as
it may appear) for cutting up a chicken.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/left_zps8b143ea8.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/left_zps8b143ea8.jpg.html)

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/Right_zps864337a5.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/Right_zps864337a5.jpg.html)

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/top_zpsbd5307ca.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/top_zpsbd5307ca.jpg.html)

[smokeywolf]

When I was working in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Machine Shop, the old dull saw blades off the big power hack saw were highly coveted specifically for that purpose.

smokeywolf

[fryboy]

i have this sneaking suspicion ... you dont perchance recall this feller's name do you ?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

fryboy,
Sorry, I don't recall his name. That would have been '91 or '92. He was old then, and to be honest, I don't recall seeing him at alot of gunshows, so maybe that was near the end of his gunshow selling...at least in MN anyway.
Jon

[fryboy]

in the early to mid 90's i used to subscribe to alot of the knife rags .... in one of them ( boy wont i be digging thru old editions i can still find now ) was a story about an old guy up in that area who built knifes that looked strikingly just like yours ( albeit some had lighter handles - perhaps fresher cut wood at the time ) and the same materiel for blades , nope his name wasnt scagel but it escapes my recall at the moment , i remember how he stated that the saw blades were best for chiseling out the blade blanks from ( yes sir ol skool by way )

my fav kitchen knife isnt a big one , just a lil sliver of steel barely bigger than a chip carving blade with a piece of old cordia i attached for a handle but to be fair i dont cut up chickens lolz i do fillet a few pheasants but i use a different blade for that

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The handle appears to be walnut and is stained dark besides.
I don't see any chisel marks in the steel, but it is thinner that what I'd think an old time saw blade would be. The blade has a nice taper to it, not just a flat chunk of steel with an edge. When I look at it now (20+ years later) with a more educated eye, there was certainly plenty of work done to the blade, whereas the handle and rivets give the appearance of it, just being slapped together quickly.

[TCLouis]

Just like my Herter's Model Perfect French Chef knife for late 60s early 70s.

Simple carbon steel blade, but sharpens like I want.

Wish I had bought several versions of their knives now.

Money, even small amounts was a lot more dear in those days.

[Garyshome]

If your lookin' for some GOOD kitchen knives try Warther knives out of Dover Ohio. Made in Dover, family business, been around for years. It's all I use at my house.http://www.warthercutlery.com/

[Artful]

When I was working in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Machine Shop, the old dull saw blades off the big power hack saw were highly coveted specifically for that purpose.

smokeywolf

I picked up a broken power hacksaw blade for just that purpose from a fiend who worked on the railroad.
I also have a half dozen planner blades from a sawmill from a millwright but they have to be re-tempered
he said they were too brittle to use as knives until re-tempered.

[knifemaker]

Those saw blades were probably L-6 high carbon steel. Most of the saw blades back then were made of that steel. There has been numerous knife makers using that steel for several reasons. #1 it was cheap and easy to get from shops when the saw blades got dull. #2 it is a very good carbon steel that will hold it's edge very well when given a good heat treating. A lot of the saw blades today are made of different steels then L-6 depending on who made the saw blades.
Those planer blades that was mentioned may be D-2 steel. If so, that is a very good knife steel that will also hold a good edge. It has about 11-12% chrome in it's makeup, which makes it more rust resistant then L-6 or other high carbon steels. It can not be classified as a stainless steel as U.S. standards call for 13% chrome in the steel before it can be called stainless steel. A lot of knife makers do not care to work with D-2 as it will work harden when it gets hot and will eat up sanding belts at twice the rate of other steels. Also it will not take a mirror shine and is best with a satin finish.

[AKtinman]

If your lookin' for some GOOD kitchen knives try Warther knives out of Dover Ohio. Made in Dover, family business, been around for years. It's all I use at my house.http://www.warthercutlery.com/

I'm not familiar with the Warther knives, but I imagine that family is kin to the Warther ivory folks in Dover:
http://www.guitarpartsandmore.com/?nav=history
They make some nice Ivory 1911 grips.

Thanks for the link to the cutlery!

[77ruger]

Warther knives ? Hey I have some of these and they are great knives. Made/sold right here in Dover, Ohio.

[MBTcustom]

I have a Warther. Harder than hell to sharpen, but holds an edge fairly well.
It was a gift from my parents, and it's about the size of a steak knife which makes it handy in the kitchen, but it's not my favorite. Every time I have to put an edge on the thing, it's a struggle.
That's D-2 for ya.

[CastingFool]

I like to use the saw blades that only the teeth are hardened. Those I grind off, and use the back of the blade for knife making. The material is soft enough to use a file on, it's tough, and holds an edge tolerably. Here's a picture of a knife I made about 30 yrs ago. Full tang, 3" blade. Made the sheath, too.

91117

[johnson1942]

do rail road spikes from long ago make a good knife? they tore up the old track in front of my house last year and it was put in back in the early 1880/s. my friend and i collected about a wheel barrel full and they are at his place. he has a forge and everything but hasnt made any knives yet.are they worth makeing a knife from them?

[bedbugbilly]

One of the best knives I have is made out of a blade from one of the old style scissor type "sheep shears". I found a fellow at a farmer's market a couple of years ago that had one laying on his table for sale - he had cut the blade and shank off of the shears and inserted the shank in to a turned horn handle. This thing, while it has a curve running from the back of the blade to the edge (as sheep shear blades did) is a great knife and it stays sharp! I don't remember the fellow's name - I believe he said he and his wife were from Texas and he had done blacksmithing work. He said that he had made a number of steak knife sets out of the sheep shear blades as well. Just thought I'd post this about the knife I have that's made that way - for those of you who like to make knives, you might might take a look at sheep shears for a source of blade material. I thought it was a very unique and neat knife - I knew if I didn't get it - I'd regret it later. :-) Unfortunately, I'm currently traveling across country and don't have a photo to post of it. The fellow had also made a number of knives out of railroad spikes - I've seen a number of these done by various "smiths" over the years - some with some great forged handle designs.

[nanuk]

Goodsteel hit on it.... a knife that "holds" and edge is hard, brittle and a bear to sharpen

a knife that is easy to sharpen, won't hold its edge as well BUT that is where a "Steel" comes in handy... it is used to lay that bent over edge back straight again.

the way I was taught, is if a freshly sharpened knife won't cut, it is because the edge rolled, NOT dull. Steel it back up and you are back in the game.

that is where the term "Hold and Edge" comes from. Brittle/hard steel won't actually "hold" an edge, as when it turns it just breaks off, and needs to be resharpened. BUT it will resist turning a lot.

I have an old hunting knife, a generic Chicom "Bell" brand that his so thick and hard, it has only been sharpened thrice in the 35 years I've owned it, and it gets used more for rough stuff than anything else.

one warning we got in meatcutting school was when using those brittle hard knives and you lose an edge, it will cost you the whole piece of meat, as you'll never find the multiple tiny pieces that broke off, and you best not sell it with steel shards in it.
Boning is where it'll lose its edge

[DLCTEX]

The shape of the OP's knife is similar to a knife my Grandmother had from my earliest memory till her death at 84. She could dress a chicken faster than the chicken could figure out it was dead with it and she sharpened it on the rim of a crock jar. I am thinking it may have been an Old Hickory brand, but I may be confusing that with my Mother's knife. I can remember her cleaning chickens in 1948 or 9. It held an edge well as she didn't sharpen it often and it was always sharp.

[Hardcast416taylor]

In the last quarter of the last century when I made custom knives, one of the steels I used were the industrial hack saw blades that has been mentioned several times here. A salmon fisherman had me make a set of 4 knives to be used on his boat for Lake Michigan Coho salmon. The short blade was 8" long past the birdseye maple handle. Next was a 10" followed by a 14" and the last knife was 16". All of the knives came from worn out blades and the birdseye maple came from a piece of a wood pallet that boxes of bolts came in on.Robert

[Ubet]

Have you had any experience with knives made from old files or horse shoing rasps?