Show Us Your Hunting Knife

While on Safari in South Africa 2 weeks ago I visited Lion Hearted Bladeworks. I met the owner, Carl, and he gave me a show of the lineup. I have contracted him to make a special order knife for me. It will be a Pikal style knife with Damascus steel. The handle will be from a Golden Wildebeest that I actually harvested while there. The sheath (front pocket clip type) will be made of Red Hartabeest as I took a Gold Medal SCI Red Hartabeest while there.
I will post pics when I get it. For anybody who is hunting in or near Limpopo- I suggest you give them a look.
 
While on Safari in South Africa 2 weeks ago I visited Lion Hearted Bladeworks. I met the owner, Carl, and he gave me a show of the lineup. I have contracted him to make a special order knife for me. It will be a Pikal style knife with Damascus steel. The handle will be from a Golden Wildebeest that I actually harvested while there. The sheath (front pocket clip type) will be made of Red Hartabeest as I took a Gold Medal SCI Red Hartabeest while there.
I will post pics when I get it. For anybody who is hunting in or near Limpopo- I suggest you give them a look.
Are you using horn or bone from the wildebeest?
 
One of my hunting knifes. A custom knife from Burger Knives in South Africa. It’s a pleasure to use and easy on the eye!


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Upon discovering Von Gruff Knives through this forum, I placed an order for matching Safari and Lion knives, both of which just arrived.

Basic specs for both:
- Flat grind
- Yellow cedar burl handles
- Lanyard tube w/ leather lanyard
- Closed tope sheath

The “Safari knife” is, well, self explanatory; the “Lion knife”, was just because it is a memorable story from the life of Harry Wolhuter about courage and determination against the odds!

I hope to pass them along one day to my son Zander (who is currently 2), so I also engraved them with his first initial.

They are remarkably beautiful and perfect! Garry @nztimb is a true craftsman and I am greatly appreciative to enjoy his handiwork!!

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Upon discovering Von Gruff Knives through this forum, I placed an order for matching Safari and Lion knives, both of which just arrived.

Basic specs for both:
- Flat grind
- Yellow cedar burl handles
- Lanyard tube w/ leather lanyard
- Closed tope sheath

The “Safari knife” is, well, self explanatory; the “Lion knife”, was just because it is a memorable story from the life of Harry Wolhuter about courage and determination against the odds!

I hope to pass them along one day to my son Zander (who is currently 2), so I also engraved them with his first initial.

They are remarkably beautiful and perfect! Garry @nztimb is a true craftsman and I am greatly appreciative to enjoy his handiwork!!

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Excellent! I saw those on his FB page the other day as he was shipping them. Awesome that they are going to a forum member. Very nice
 

One of my favorites
I’ve skinned and completely cut up an elk and could have done another. Amazing edge retention. He will ask what the knifes primary duties will be then treat to the appropriate hardness. More edge retention means more brittle. Which means it’s not a prying tool. If you pry or pound on the blade he will make it less hard.
 
Excellent choices! Von Gruff only improves with age!
Agreed. His earlier activity on this forum was almost entirely responsible for me becoming a contributing member. His stock work threads are some of my favorite content to read through. I look forward to ordering more of his knives as I’m more than satisfied with the one I currently own.
 
I'm assuming this probably has no hunting use & I believe "double edge" illegal carry here.
perhaps it just looks cool, tactical .. it would be a nasty son of a pup.

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I'm assuming this probably has no hunting use & I believe "double edge" illegal carry here.
perhaps it just looks cool, tactical .. it would be a nasty son of a pup.

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It might be suitable for unzipping medium sized game for field dressing while trying to not nick the stomach, etc.
 
It might be suitable for unzipping medium sized game for field dressing while trying to not nick the stomach, etc.
That's good enough! .. very cool & many thanks!

This would be a near perfect tool for that purpose because it has a blunt tip that allows it to slide under the hide and cut at the same time. Plus it's ergonomic shape that allows for it to be held with the blade facing up. The long blade edge makes short work of nearly any game animal. I took two of these to Africa on my last trip at the PH's request.
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This is another example of a commonly used "zipper" style knife that incorporates the traditional edge on the opposite side to make it a mulit-tasker. Notice the blunt tip on the leading edge of the zipper blade. I've had one of these knives and found the zipper to be all but useless because the blade gets clogged quickly, especially on thick hides.
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Gambit style knives like the Cold Steel Double Agent are meant to be held in a certain way that is not conducive to dressing game. Typically one of the two grips pictured below are used. Their primary use is self defense in a slashing or hooking motion while using one of the integral rings on the grip to hit the attacker at the same time. I'm not saying you CAN'T use them for hunting, but there are better tools for the job.
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The outdoor edge style is probably the best. I knew someone making their own before they were popularized/commercially available.
 
The outdoor edge style is probably the best. I knew someone making their own before they were popularized/commercially available.
@Josh P - i like the style and functionality of some Outdoor Edge knives and they are inexpensive….but the steel they use is lower quality (guess that’s why they are inexpensive). I prefer a knife better quality steel and don’t mind spending more for blades made with S30V, S35V, or some high carbon - as long as I can sharpen them…so No “ceramic” blades. Benchmade and even now some Buck knives have better materials. Although in the end — whatever gets the job done is what matters.
 
@Josh P - i like the style and functionality of some Outdoor Edge knives and they are inexpensive….but the steel they use is lower quality (guess that’s why they are inexpensive). I prefer a knife better quality steel and don’t mind spending more for blades made with S30V, S35V, or some high carbon - as long as I can sharpen them…so No “ceramic” blades. Benchmade and even now some Buck knives have better materials. Although in the end — whatever gets the job done is what matters.
I agree. I don’t even entertain 97% of the commercials pieces. Svord was the last practical knife brand I purchased from, and no complaints. Other than that, I’d rather have fewer well made knives than a pile of Walmart stuff.
 
I'm not too sure about the Outdoor Edge knives. As I understand it, at least in respect of their swing blade zip knives, they appear to be a cheap Chinese knockoff of the original Eka G3 & G4 which are made in Sweden.
 

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