Afternoon Out + Vintage butchers knife (pleasant surprise)

[justin_baker]

On the way in.
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A manzanita tree/scrub
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Dried up creek.
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Saw a deer on the way in.
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The other day i bought a vintage butchers knife off of ebay for like 10 bucks. It was made by ontario knife company. This thing is awesome in the bush!!!! Its long blade makes it great for clearing out brush and limbing. Its just thick enough to handle some pretty decent battoning. And it slices and carves much better than i expected! I think if i could only take one knife, i would take this one. Its surprisingly easy to do fine work with, even though it has such a long blade. Its the perfect blade for camp chores. Way back when in the mountain man and early woodsman days, men would often carry butchers knives straight out of their kitchens for use in the woods. An example of that would be nessmucks knife, which is considered a modified butchers knife.

A little bit of feathers and fine work demonstrated.
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The pacific madrone tree, my absolute favorite tree!
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An example of my typical bush attire.
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Making some tea from the california bay laurel leaves.
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I learned a VERY hard lesson today, always take a spare pair of glasses! I fell and knocked the lenses out of mine, i had to walk down a steep hill full of rocks. It took a long time and i tripped more than once. If i didnt know the way out by heart, i would have been pretty screwed.
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[Rick]

Old Hickory are goods knives. They've been around a long time. Glad you had a good time. Thanks for sharing the pics!!

[justin_baker]

Old Hickory are goods knives. They've been around a long time. Glad you had a good time. Thanks for sharing the pics!!

Any idea on the time range these were produced? Mine looks like something from the 1800's but i imagine it was made much sooner than that.
Only time will tell how durable it is. I will definitley put it through its paces and batton it through some thick and nasty pieces of wood. If it holds up great, if not, its only a 5-10 dollar knife! The edge, despite being very sharp and thin, seems quite durable. I chopped through a manzanita limb (which is extremely hard, the kind of wood that makes steel cry and run home to its mother) and it was still sharp with no visible chipping, even on a very tiny scale.
I figure that a knife like this needs to be somewhat durable, to chop through bone and such, which is good news. This knife, pared with my US knife, seems to be a good combination in the woods. During the winter i will carry an axe, but in the spring and summer, its all i really need. Its very light too, i could see it being a good do-it-all backpacking blade.

[crashdive123]

Nice pics. Thanks.

Old Hickory knives are made from 1095 steel and are still made today. You can often find them at flea markets and yard sales for $1. Here's a 5 knife set from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Ontario-Knife-.../dp/B000M2R6C6 Butcher knives like that have a rich place in the history of this country.

[Rick]

Here's a link to Ontario's open stock on Old Hickory.

http://www.ontarioknife.com/catalog/category/17

[your_comforting_company]

Although my old hickory isn't the big butcher knife like you have, it is my most valuable knife. Tough as heck, easy to sharpen and can really take some abuse. It's my "go-to" knife for anything I don't want to use my "good" knives for.

Looks like an amazing place. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
I do wish you'd have cleared the leaves and such away from your fire tho.. Never take chances with fire, A stray wind gust, or accidental bump of the embers and you can start a wildfire in just a few minutes. Always practice safe firemaking habits!!
(sorry.. didn't mean to scold you there!)

Does that madrone bark take a spark from a ferro? I wonder about the uses of such a tree. looks really interesting!
Glad to see you out and about JB. Looks like you had a great time!

[Camp10]

That Old Hickory of yours doesnt look that old to me. I would guess 60's or newer. They are great knives and I still use my G grandfathers old hickory knives to process my game every hunting season. I've replaced a few because I let a buddy borrow them and his dog ate a few handles. I still have the blades and will rehandle them someday....honest!

Anyways, these three are the same knife but one is from the 30's (I think), one from the 50's and one is from the late 90's. You can see the pattern is either completely worn off the oldest knife or it never had it. It also has 3 pins instead of two in the handle.

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Here is my entire set. You can spot a few new handles in the mix but most of these are decades older then I am and they still do their job.

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One more thing...clear the leaves and build a ring if your going to have a fire out in the woods!! Half your state burns every summer I dont want to see your name in the news some day!!

[klickitat]

I have a drawer full of old hickories. When ever I see one at a yard sale or thrift store, I pick them up.

The butcher pattern that you have is one of my favorites. I have a Case in that pattern that is my camp knife. It goes with me every time I am out but it mostly gets used around the camp for cooking duty.

I have a deal made for a friend of mine to make me a beaded sheath for it to replace the ugly sheath I am using now. That is how much I like that knife.

The Old Hickories are extremely easy to sharpen with a stone too.

Great choice in a knife. Do not get fooled by the glitz of a new blade. Tough to find a knife that is much better than what you got and especially for the money spent.

[klickitat]

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What pattern is that Dexter Russel? Is it a boning knife or a butcher? I can't see it.

[Camp10]

Boning knife.

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[klickitat]

Too bad, I was going to try and talk you out of it.

[Camp10]

Too bad, I was going to try and talk you out of it.

These knives have been processing game for my family for 4 generations...they arent going any where.

[klickitat]

These knives have been processing game for my family for 4 generations...they arent going any where.

I can appreciate that.

I have, many of these older carbon steel knives and love them. I have a Case and several O.H. butchers and am always on the look out for a Dexter butcher as I do not have one.

I keep all of mine for processing game as well. Easy to keep touched up on a steel.

[justin_baker]

One more thing...clear the leaves and build a ring if your going to have a fire out in the woods!! Half your state burns every summer I dont want to see your name in the news some day!!

No kidding! Thats why the fire is only about the size of my fist. Its actually a real pain in the butt if you want to make a proper fire, you gotta do a whole lot of clearing and ripping out grasses. But, the fire danger out here is insanely high, and you gotta do what you gotta do. I usually make a pit too, so the flames dont fly everywhere with the wind and lick potentially flammable stuff. Also then i can put it out real easy by dumping the excess dirt over it. Its public land, so i have to be extra careful and i make sure to have a minimal impact. Thats why i dont really want to make a fire ring. The areas are fairly pristine, very little trash and hardly anyone goes off the trails, i want to keep it that way for anyone who goes exploring around there.

[Camp10]

I keep all of mine for processing game as well. Easy to keep touched up on a steel.

They are fairly low maintanence. I use a stone to sharpen them after the last deer is in the freezer and then I oil them up and put them away. They are sharp at the start of the season this way and all they usually need is a ride on a steel now and then while I'm cutting. Great knives!

[crashdive123]

No kidding! Thats why the fire is only about the size of my fist. Its actually a real pain in the butt if you want to make a proper fire, you gotta do a whole lot of clearing and ripping out grasses. But, the fire danger out here is insanely high, and you gotta do what you gotta do. I usually make a pit too, so the flames dont fly everywhere with the wind and lick potentially flammable stuff. Also then i can put it out real easy by dumping the excess dirt over it. Its public land, so i have to be extra careful and i make sure to have a minimal impact. Thats why i dont really want to make a fire ring. The areas are fairly pristine, very little trash and hardly anyone goes off the trails, i want to keep it that way for anyone who goes exploring around there.

JB - a cigarette butt will burn three counties in California before you can blink. A fire, regardless of how small (or large) requires proper safety.