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Anyone Make a Half Tang Butcher Knife?
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Pilgrim
Picture of Beaver Hunter
posted
I was wondering if anyone knows of a company or individual who makes a PC half tang knife in the style of J. Wilson or other 1830's style butcher knives?

I know J. Adams LTD makes a 19th century pattern butcher knife. Here's their link: http://www.sheffieldknives.co....g/Miscellaneous.html

But their's are full un-tapered tangs. Seems like most of the originals were half tangs, or at least tapered towards the back if full tangs.

I am looking for a 6 inch blade, half tang, and 4 or 5 iron pins in the handle. Does anyone produce or make a "new knife" like this?

Or will I just have to find and buy an original...
 
Posts: 76 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 03 September 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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'Hunter, First, please allow me to speak up a bit about the John Nowill & Sons LTD. knives that you provided the web page for. Those are very good knives and they are marked the way they should be for portraying a knife from the early 1800s. The blade markings are stamped and they do not say "Made in England." They just say "Sheffield" for the place of manufacture. I have more than one of those knives and they please me rather well. Now, about your question of half-tang knives made today, Slater Knives (http://slaterknives.co.uk/products/general_cutlery.asp) also of England does make a half-tang steak knife. You can see it on the page indicated but no other information is given. You will probably be satisfied by getting an older knife and using it. Meanwhile, you might be getting some better answers to your question. Shoot sharp's the word, Mike
 
Posts: 3531 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 25 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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'Hunter, Take a look at this knife on eBay, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintag...&hash=item256fc274e8

Shoot sharp, Mike
 
Posts: 3531 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 25 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of GreyWolf
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With the contry name it's a post 1890's knife. As for being hand forged - guess it all depends on you define the term but in this case it's basically advertising blather, In fact it would have been forged with a die and with the use of water or steam powered trip hammer and ground to final shape with a large (3-6 ft diameter) stone wheel. It then would have been polished by a memeber of a different guild - over all there would not ne just one maker.


aka Chuck Burrows
 
Posts: 616 | Location: Southern Rockies | Registered: 03 April 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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quote:
With the contry name it's a post 1890's knife.

Yes, but it is a real Wilson. That's good doin's to a lot of folks. Shoot sharp, Mike
 
Posts: 3531 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 25 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
Picture of Beaver Hunter
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Thanks guys. I ended up taking my full tang knife and cutting it down to a half tang. Then I tapered the tang towards the back and re-pinned the handle. I also ground down the blade to match an original scale drawing I have of a Wilson. It turned out nice.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Beaver Hunter,

 
Posts: 76 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 03 September 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Hey Beaver, Yes, that did turn out nice. Now you should make more for the rest of us. Shoot sharp, Mike
 
Posts: 3531 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 25 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Yep. Looks very good.
 
Posts: 557 | Location: geneva,fl | Registered: 29 March 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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I agree it turned out really fine, I like the look of it.

BC


"Better fare hard with good men than feast it with bad."
Thomas Paine
 
Posts: 649 | Location: Oregon | Registered: 27 June 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
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That's about as good as you are going to get. The angles of the scales look good and I believe either three pins or 4 pins in a T pattern was the most common- based upon Miller's drawings (that usually just show one pin on the knife handle protruding above the top of the sheath). Most of the scalpers didn't have a pin there- they had three pins but all in the half tang area. Of course, differences did exist, there are scalpers with two piece handles and three pins over the entire length but generally- what you have is very PC butcher knife IMHO.
Why did you have to grind down your own tang? We are interested in this hobby but there probably just aren't enough folks out there to buy a commercially made product. Too bad. I know the Russell knives are good but why do they keep making the sheepherder style, etc when they just as easily could make PC butchers, scalpers, etc.
 
Posts: 10 | Registered: 09 July 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Hey Beaver, River Traders in Oregon makes a very good Red Handled Scalper that is half-tanged. I just got one while at the Pacific Primitive doin's. This is a good knife with a 6 3/4" blade plus a fine sheath. It was copied from an original blade that Dean Oliver has in his collection. Dean took only three of them to this week-long rendezvous and sold them all on his first day of business at this doin's. Dean is the maker who uses the "Canoe" as his touchmark. If you want to contact Dean about his knives just send a note to rivertraders@hotmail.com. Shoot sharp's the word, Mike
 
Posts: 3531 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 25 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
Picture of Beaver Hunter
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Thanks Mike! I will have to contact him. I am also looking for a good scalping knife too. His sound like good ones!
 
Posts: 76 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 03 September 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Hey Beaver, Just in case you send him a note soon, he won't be home from rendezvous for a week. Shoot sharp, Mike
 
Posts: 3531 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 25 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
Picture of Beaver Hunter
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Here is my second attempt at modifying a knife to match an original. This time I started with a half-tang post 1890 marked Wilson butcher knife that matched the profile of an original from the 1830's. The markings were not very deep on this knife and the blade was in perfect shape. I ground off the later markings without really changing the thickness of the blade. I then polished the blade, made new beechwood handle scales and pinned it with the five pin pattern. I made the sheath using thick veg-tanned leather and correct one piece cast brass tacks from the Trunk Shoppe.

I feel that this "new" knife is a good representation of a common butcher knife carried by the original mountaineers.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Beaver Hunter,

 
Posts: 76 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 03 September 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Looks good. Very good.
 
Posts: 557 | Location: geneva,fl | Registered: 29 March 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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This one looks good too.

BC


"Better fare hard with good men than feast it with bad."
Thomas Paine
 
Posts: 649 | Location: Oregon | Registered: 27 June 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
Picture of Beaver Hunter
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Thanks guys!
 
Posts: 76 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 03 September 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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That loook like it would pass muster most anywhere with anyone to me, nice job!
 
Posts: 272 | Registered: 12 June 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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