Hand-forged Yakut Style Slipjoint / UK Legal Folding Knife / 1084 Carbon Steel Blade with Moose Antler & Stabilized Masur Birch handle

Hand-forged Slipjoint / UK Legal Folding Knife / 1084 Blade with Moose Antler & Stabilized Masur Birch

Blade Material: 1084 Carbon Steel
Handle Material: Stainless Steel Liners with Moose Antler & Stabilized Masur Birch scales
Mechanism: Slipjoint with forced notch mechanism - non-locking backspring
Blade Length:  70mm (80mm with ricasso)
Blade Thickness at spine: 2.5mm
Handle Length: 105mm
Total knife length: 175mm

This particular blade is a traditional slipjoint with a twist - I wanted to combine the traditional style of Sheffield pocketknives with some of the aspects of the Yakut knives used in Siberia. The blade is hand-forged from 1084 Carbon Steel.  It has been hardened and tempered to between 55-58 HRC. A differential temper gives the spine more flex and toughness with the edge remaining harder.

The unusual asymmetrical Yakut blade has one side convex and the other with a flat grind with a hammered fuller. This versatile blade design is ideal for bushcraft & woodwork as well as daily tasks such as food prep. 1084 has excellent edge retention and the completely flat surface makes the blade quick & easy to sharpen in the field. 

The handle is carefully handcrafted using stainless steel liners and beautiful stabilized Masur Birch scales. The scales are mechanically attached with pins, as well as epoxy. The pins are all made from stainless steel and are domed/peined by hand. The backspring is very strong and has a forced notch mechanism for extra safety - this means that there is a lot of resistance against the blade closing during use, but it is still easy to open the blade and there is no sudden spring shut when you close it. The spring is flush in both positions along the spine.

The knife is accompanied by a Yakut-style hand-sewn leather pocket slip. The leather has been sealed and waterproofed with a mixture of linseed oil and beeswax from our own apiaries.

...

All my knives are forged by hand using traditional bladesmithing methods at Willslock Forge in Staffordshire, England. Each knife has been forged from high carbon steel. I usually use either 1080, 01 or 1095, and sometimes antique historical steels such as crucible steel or shear steel.

I usually forge as close to finish as possible, creating the knife shape and setting the bevels on the anvil. For all of my historical work, my aim is to make my knives with minimal use of power tools, and I take a lot of inspiration from historical knifemaking and smithing techniques.

The handles are all carved by hand and made from locally sourced wood, bone and antler - I avoid using any plastics, resins or synthetic materials.  Wherever I can, I try to repurpose salvaged and upcycled materials in order to create beautiful new knives and tools.  I usually leave a brut de forge, or forge finish, on most of my blades because I like that the hammer marks tell the story of the knife's creation on the anvil, and the forge finish differentiates the knife from all the mass-produced, factory made knives out there.