One of my favourites - a raindrop Damascus skinner by Charlton with tight burl grips on a tapered tang, in a meticulously crafted mesquite box with deep silver inlay and a turquoise, signed Roger Carpenter, April 2003.

 

Handle on a Spyderco Mule and a Sheath made by a local knife maker



Got two Damascus knives also that I will take pictures of tomorrow

 

You need this one...

 

My grandfather's brother was captain of the Bismarck. Because of that, I've had my eye on this Damascus knife from Boker that is made from steel from the sistef ship Tripitz. Haven't been been able to justify the 699 euro price tag yet. Love the folds.

 

I have a project to work on. The Enfield bayonet that was in my friends gunsafe when the ammo cooked off in a housefire and burned up his rifle collection.
The leather of the sheath was totally carbonized. I had to break it away from the blade with a mallet. The tip of the sheath and the metal of the mouth are more or less intact . the grip panels were reduced to charcoal. The smokeless powder fueled fire did not have enough extra oxygen to completely oxidize all the wood and leather components in the lower half of the safe, though the forearms of the stocks of the rifles were completely burned to ash. Two pistols in boxes under a stack of books and papers at the bottom of the safe were almost untouched by the heat while a 1911 Colt on the top of the stack was burned to a crisp and ammo in its clip exploded.

Anyway I'm not sure but I think the bayonet blade has held its temper. I'll know more if I sharpen it.

 

While my nephew was assigned to identification and recovery efforts of the remains of American POWS at the site of a WW2 German camp one of the diggers found a Hitler Youth naval style pocket knife. Since they were not allowed to have NAZI memorabilia they gave it to my nephew. I looked it up on the net and found that one in lesser condition than his had sold for several thousand dollars at auction.
The handle of the knife had a WW1 German battle cruiser cast in bronze. It was in remarkably good condition.
IIRC a number of POWs and German camp guards were bombed and strafed by allied fighters while returning from a work detail on that road.

 

I also discourage Nazi symbols and memorabilla. What your nephew witnessed was no doubt gut-wrenching and traumatizing. It is difficult to disassociate the item from the historical circumstances in which it was used. In a positive note, this is partly what makes us attracted to the moonwatch. Aside from the price, that may be the real reason I have not purchased this Tripitz knife, despite it's appearance.

I apologize if I stirred difficult memories or seemed disrespectful.

 

Steel and other metals salvaged from ships sunk before 1945 are in demand for the most precise scientific and medical equipment.
After the first A-bombs the background radiation of the Earth increased significantly. Most metals smelted after 1945 contain a tiny amount of fallout, just enough to throw off the most delicate instruments.

In Afghanistan Armor plating salvaged from pre WW2 era warships scuttled in Turkish waters is used to manufacture rifles and handguns.
Due to competition between major powers the alloys used in that timeframe were highly developed and carefully manufactured. Major shipyards in England built many advanced design vessels for smaller but wealthy nations.
IIRC the armor plating they get from Turkish wrecks is mostly high grade Nickel Steel alloys. Many steel alloys contain some nickel but high nickel content steels can be far stronger than the more common alloys.

 

Interesting. Makes sense but I never considered this.

Question: what do you think about the Tripitz knife cost relative to its' value? It seems more justified given the source of the steel, it's toughness and the folding.

 

I couldn't even hazard a guess. Much depends on just who forged and finished the blade for Bokker and how much hand work was involved.
Though the steel comes from an interesting historical source that source contained hundreds if not thousands of tons of this steel so its not as rare as say meteor iron.
I've never been interested in paying any huge amount for someone else's work. Knives are basically just tools for me.

 

I want a knife yet - I don’t know why; maybe it’s something primal. I have absolutely no need for it and at most I would open packages or an envelope. In fact, I might not even do that since I already have a cheap knife that’s old and gets the job done without any remorse for potential damage.

 

Sorry but way overpriced for a production knife. Have a look around at a custom knife maker closer to home and see what you can get for that price.

 

Found a local knife maker that specialises in making Damascus for the knife trade. Has a good size forge set up that was built around a huge 100+ year old power hammer (originally steam powered) that he bought from a farm yard sale. Fully restored it to its glory and converted it to electric. This thing is a beast, and lucky he lives a fair whack from his neighbours.

Had some work done and I commissioned two custom knives,one for myself and one for Mrs STANDY

This is what I picked up yesterday.
One a camel bone handle and the other a buffalo horn.

 

I carry a small pocket knife everywhere. I use it all the time. You would be surprised. I grew up in the country, so it is pretty normal, but sometimes my college students who grew up in the city get bug eyed when I pull it out. I first got one of these when I was 12, a Gerber LST ultralight. It is super utilitarian and easy to carry. It is the Casio F91W of the knife world.



If you want something a little classier you can get an Opinel carbon steel. Either knife is about $15. The Gerber is still made in the USA and Opinel is made in France.

 

how many times do you use it in an average week? And for what?

 

Maybe 15-20 times. Opening packages and containers, cutting off tags, trimming plants in the garden, cutting vines, cleaning dirt from under fingernails, opening dog food bags, cutting weed barrier, cutting rope or string, sharpening pencils, getting an orange peel started, and all sorts of other things.

 

Funny as you don’t know how much you use a knife until you don’t have one. For you, you will realise how much you use one when you get one.
As mentioned above you don’t need a expensive knife as many can be had at under $20-50
But be warned the knife bug is very similar to the watch bug.

My advice would be start off with a Spyderco Delica. Pricey but a knife you will have forever. ( better to jump straight to a nice knife than have 3 cheaper knives then buy a nice knife. This sounds familiar doesn’t it )


PS. Nothing wrong with @wagudc s suggestions above.

A quick google of Spyderco will have you see why the following. And being a knife guy just as much as a watch guy I would give the same advice to anyone wanting a knife. I have many other knives from other makers and some would think crazy $$s, but if any one new to pocket knives asks me for a good knife it would always be a Spyderco Delica.

 

Spyderco, exactly. Benchmade, yep. Zero Tolerance (Kabar), no brainer. All have great stuff.

My personal interest is in the not so mainstream. Take Moore Maker in Matador, TX. Made in 'merica (said with a wad of tobacco firmly in place) .

I have zero interest in the obscure, super fancy knives that can only be worn to church for fear of scratching. My knife will out a dandelion, prune a tree, trim hose, cut rope, break down cardboard boxes, etc. Always sharp. Never polished. Sounds like my interest in watches, yes.

 

Spyderco for sure. Best for the bucks by far!

 

Bit about the above knife maker

https://www.themethodcase.com/steve-sunk-blade-maker/