It seems like a lifetime ago now, but my two sons and I went to South Africa where, among other animals, my older son shot a one-tusked warthog. He asked me to make him a knife with the tusk as a handle. I planned to section the handle with spacers between the tusk sections and shaped in a "normal" fashion. My son was horror stricken and said "nobody will recognize it as a warthog tusk" and said to use the whole tusk. I removed enough of the root to get a clean end, used a piece of walnut to plug the open end and stuck the whole darned thing on. I tried to get an "S" curve out of the knife and he's happy with it. I find the handle very awkward, but he says that's because I don't know how to hold a knife (at least he was smiling when he said that). He's a culinary arts trained chef and learned to hold a knife by the spine so the handle is only necessary for balance. He can use an 8" chef's knife as a paring knife so I won't even try to argue with him. I wish his photography skills equaled his chef's skills as the knife got into the mail before I had a chance to photograph it. When it's not in use, he keeps it in a little wall niche with the photo album of our trip behind it.
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Ron%20Peek%20Knives/Mikes%20Warthog%20knife/DSC_0199-1.jpg) (http://s299.photobucket.com/user/bladepeek/media/Ron%20Peek%20Knives/Mikes%20Warthog%20knife/DSC_0199-1.jpg.html)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Ron%20Peek%20Knives/Mikes%20Warthog%20knife/DSC_089-1.jpg) (http://s299.photobucket.com/user/bladepeek/media/Ron%20Peek%20Knives/Mikes%20Warthog%20knife/DSC_089-1.jpg.html)
Cool!!!
Can't blame him for wanting to keep it intact. Pretty cool. What's the sheath? Croc?
Darcy
Actually, Darcy, it's cheap, dyed alligator from Tandy but it sort of fit to the theme if you don't look too closely :)
That's awesome. :thumbsup:
What a cool way to keep the memory.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bladepeek:
Actually, Darcy, it's cheap, dyed alligator from Tandy but it sort of fit to the theme if you don't look too closely :)
Looks the part anyway and pretty tough stuff(I have a chunk of that here too).
Darcy :)
Ron, great job on the whole package!
After seeing the second photo the display brings the design together and is very appealing. Excellent you could go to Africa with your sons.
A very good friend and mentor made two trips to Africa and enjoyed very good success hunting. He gave me a Wharthog tusk, but I have not been able bring myself to alter it.
Steve
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Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Jr. Museum & Foundation.
ABS
That knife will be cherished for so many reason. Good work Ron.
My boys each have several of my knives and I have none. Now, there's just something really wrong with that picture. Going to have to correct that soon :)