Imperial Rehandle (Picture Heavy)

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

I purchased a knife from a surplus store about three years ago. Flat grind, 3 inch blade, black kraton handle. It was called an Imperial knife, from Ireland. Stainless steel (yeah yeah, I know), with a kraton handle. I don't like kraton, so I quickly chopped it off with a chisel. And there on my workbench, the blade remained for 3 years. The last weekend of February, I came across it. And I had just purchased a large block of Chechen wood.... so...

Here's one of my rehandling gigs.. I seem to do that more than any other craft :rolleyes:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h66/OzaawaaMigiziNini/IMG_0676.jpg

Chechen is a very heavy wood, which balanced out the knife so well, that even though I hadn't sharpened it in 3 years, it carved feathersticks easily!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h66/OzaawaaMigiziNini/IMG_0680.jpg

I made a bit of an interesting sheath. I wanted to make something I've never made before. It's not done (lacking belt loop and firesteel loop), but this is the basic look.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h66/OzaawaaMigiziNini/IMG_0683.jpg

There's a flap for it that closes to secure the knife.


http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h66/OzaawaaMigiziNini/IMG_0685.jpg

And yes, when I finish the sheath, I'm making a very large firesteel with a similar handle :D.

I'll be selling it at a pow wow in May, hopefully to some young kid interested in Bushcraft or Survival. About $18 Canadian I think is good.

[addyb]

That's a beautiful looking knife, man.

You said it's Imperial from Ireland, right? As far as I know, Schrade knives uses to make the Imperial brand. And if that knife is made by them, then the steel is probably "Schrade +" which is somewhere along the lines of 425modified or maybe even 440a. Regardless, I believe that Schrade tempered their blades to about a 57 on the rockwell scale. (But don't quote me on it)

Cheers,

Adam

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

Yeah sounds about right, she's stainless, but fairly easy to sharpen. So I figured it had to be a soft Inox.

[addyb]

Hey, nothing wrong with soft inox. Schrade knives were great, they were built well and took a helluva beating. Too bad they closed down and the new stuff's made over in China. I still have a couple of Old Timers laying around here somewhere, but the blades are worn down to absolutely nothing from years of sharpening. Their Uncle Henry stainless blades were pretty nice too, just like the Old Timer but with "Staglon" scales instead of Delrin.

Schrade knives were just all around good, cheap knives.

Adam

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

I like it, believe me, I prefer a soft steel over a rigid, impossible to sharpen one! :lmao:

I'm gonna be selling her and a few Moras I'm rehandling at a pow wow, I really hope a kid picks this one up, and starts to practise the wood skills I'll be demonstrating. I don't care about costs, as long as the skills are passed on to the next generation.

[Ogri the trog]

I don't care about costs, as long as the skills are passed on to the next generation.
Praiseworthy sentiment Buddy

Hope your Pow wow goes well.

Ogri the trog

[addyb]

Giddy up! :)