Jagdnicker

The Jagdnicker is a traditional style of Bavarian hunting knife.  Its name means "hunting nicker," the term "nicker" having no English translation that I know of but referring to a particular method of finishing a wounded game animal.  In modern times the exact form varies a lot; this one is an old style, but with some modifications.

The conceit behind this one is that it's a replica of the one carried by Robin McKay.  Because it's made to be carried in a marine environment, all the metal is stainless steel, except for the brass pins and lanyard tube and nickel-plated brass rivets.  The blade is an 11cm graved-back flat tang from Weber Messer, which is 23cm (just over 9 inches) overall.  Jagdnicker grips are classically, and almost invariably, made of antler, but I don't like working with antler - it's basically bone, so it smells foul when being ground and cracks too easily.  Holding antler grips also tends to leave a funny smell on your hands.  The grips on this one are ash, dyed and stabilized by K & G Finishing Supplies, epoxied and sanded up to 3000-grit before the pins are set, then waxed and buffed.  The wrist loop is 2mm waxed hemp.

The sheath design is the modern German style.  I made it from 4-5 ounce veg-tan; it's stitched with black nylon artificial sinew to resist rot, dyed with Fiebing's Pro in dark brown, sealed with Resolene, and finished with neatsfoot oil and Sno-Seal.  I was very concerned that the knife should never fall out of the sheath when it's not in use, since if it were to plunge into the ocean, you'd never see it again.  In theory, the two snaps prevent this, but I find they open slightly more easily than I'd like.  They are stainless line 20 line snaps from Tandy.

Lastly, I included a belt dangler, riveted closed, with a square aluminum screw carabiner so that the sheath can be quickly removed and e.g locked in a glove compartment when one is entering an establishment where large knives are not welcome, without having to take off the belt.

I like the profile of these old-fashioned knives.  However, the full flat grind from the spine makes the edge a bit too dainty for my tastes, even with the spine being 4mm thick - at this length, most utilitarian knives would have a spine of around 3mm, but also a significant secondary bevel beefing up the actual cutting edge.  According to Fimbulmyrk, this very thin edge is a deliberate feature of Jagdnickers called nagelgehend (apparently translating to "nail-going"?) and I have no doubt that it would make for an extremely sharp blade capable of slicing and skinning easily.