Crooked Knife Series: No 4

Here are a couple of crooked knives I’ve had in stock for about a year. Both were made from six-inch steel files.

The first knife is set into a white-tailed deer antler tine. The shape is quintessential crooked knife with the sweeping thumb perch and blade angled upward from its juncture with the handle in order to augment its ergonomics. 

The second crooked knife is what I call a “hybrid” style. You’ll note the lack of a thumb perch although the handle does have a slight curving contour.  This allows the user to employ either the classic palm upward hold or a non-conventional palm downward hold. I switch back and forth as I work to reduce wrist fatigue. The second knife’s blade employs a curve that is primarily crooked knife style angling upward from its union with the handle. But it also has a deep curve ala hook knife style. 

Both knives have a shallow chisel grind of about 22 degrees which allows me to shave the wood. The handle is guayacan which has a specific gravity in the 1.0 range. That, my friends, is extremely hard wood.