[Guest]

This one is a bit of an enigma. It is timeless in design ~ as it works well with my earlier BP firearms all the way through time to the modern SA's. Not many knifemakers have mastered the art of melding leather into stag. Given this ones age, the leather is as tight today as the day it was made. The stag is pinned, something not seen in later period knifes...The pommel is capped in nickel...the brass guard is beveled and shaped to the leather. The overall length is 10 3/4" with a blade length of 5.5"....

I've posted it before, but here it is again I'm leaning towards a German Koller knife before Hitler put the company into the service of the German war machine...

giz

 

[xtimberman]

I love that knife!

I see the pin in the stag. Is the tang flat - and do you know whether or not it extends beyond the pin?

I'm asking because nowadays most tangs extend all the way to the butt. I've examined quite a few old well-used knives that have what modern knifemakers would scoff at as a "short" tang, but they are just as tight and rigid as when they were made decades earlier.

I wouldn't say this knife has a "short" tang, but if it extends only to the pin hole, it's much shorter than the modern norm. Any thoughts on this?

xtm

 

[Guest]

I believe it to be a medium length tang due to the position of the pin. No way to know as it is a mystery how the pommel is fit. There are no visible fasteners and nothing to keep tension in place, yet it works!

Suppose an X-ray would reveal the secret...

giz

 

[xtimberman]

I'm asking questions about tang length because of this blade:

The blade portion is ~5" long and is made of a thick, heavy piece of carbon steel. I don't know what type of carbon steel it's made of, but it is as tough as a Buck to sharpen. Once it's sharpened, it stays that way, too.

I found it in a drawer in my grandad's workbench when we sold the old place. My dad says he remembers Pop fooling with that blade back in the 1940s. I epoxy'd a piece of antler onto it in the 1970s, but would now like to do a proper job of it - if it's worthwhile. Some knifemakers poohpooh short tangs - others love them because they can put a pin through the grip.

xtm