I was up in the UP of Michigan last week and a gill net fisherman gave me these old Dexter high carbon knives:



They looked like potential for a good primitive buckskinner knife so I cleaned one of them up and ground a guthook into the spine... a little file work (still working on that) lower down, and some muriatic acid etching.  I sliced some wood out of the handles and laid down some birch bark, another brass pin, reshaped the handle, stained with leather dye, scorched lightly with a torch and then a danish oil and paste wax finish.  The edge is back in action and ready to skin a buck.  I threw the sheath together and am still working on that as well.





Anyway..... something to keep me going while waiting to get my forge together (I gave up on the kiln).

Scott, I like the way that turned out!  Nice work, looks like those blades have many more years service in them!

Steve
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Potomac Forge
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IN GOD WE TRUST

Thanks Steve... How's your latest project coming out?

Those are beaver skinning knives. You can still buy those through trapping suppliers. Should hold a good edge.  Mark

Yeah... and the gill netters up here use them for cleaning the 'mud line' from lake trout and whitefish. They take a lot of abuse.