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Nothing wrong with that, Foxdog. I will admit that my Leatherman gets a damn good workout, too. A folder/pocket knife is compact & always on your belt. You don't have to get it out of a pack or remember to get it out of the car. The smaller blades are just the right size for smaller critters. Might have to get myself a folder kit to play with....

Thanks, Richard. 130-150mm would be great. I'll grab them when I see you in a month, or so.

Right you two (Optic & Altona), stop hijacking the thread! This is the "Show us your favourite field knife" thread, remember

I'll take some!!!

What type of wood is that, Niroc?

Wow, I like that!

Great workmanship in that one Niroc - she certainly does have a talent for it. Hurry up & post a pic of the other one!

LOL More like compulsive obsessive I think, Paul. I wish I could spend more time actually making them & less time thinking & worrying about it all.

I can only hope, Richard. I've actually blocker her until she calms down a bit.

No for a former AusHunt member.

As the title suggests, post up a picture of your favourite field knife, or the knife you would really like to own, and briefly explain why you like it. I'll start. This is my current favourite but I'm yet to find the perfect knife. It's the first knife I made for myself (about a year ago). It has a good solid handle & the blade shape makes it good for skinning & general purpose use. The point is pretty good but I usually have my pocket knife with me for cutting out the poop-chute & anything else that needs a good sharp point. For skinners, I'm also fond of the Canadian-style knives

The website is actually Argentinian so the conversion would be about $420.

I've recently been put on to an Aussie distributor (http://gameco.com.au/) but most of it has come from various places in the US. I don't have the time, space or equipment to make the actual blades myself...yet.

More of a pack sheath but it fits the knife quite firmly. You can get three fingers around the handle to pull the blade out & it's ready to go in a comfortable position in the hand.

Here's a few pics of my latest knife. The blade is 440c with stabilised birdseye redgum & a black/white/black spacer, stainless & brass mosaic pins and a stainless lanyard hole. The push-fit sheath is actually brown but the crappy little camera doesn't like photographing leather properly. The handle is a bit slimmer than usual as it has been made to fit a female hunter's hand. Even though redgum is a dense wood, it 's grain is a little more open than some other Aussie hardwoods, hence you can see the light reflecting off some of the open grain. It can be filled but I like to keep as much of the original texture of the wood a possible.

...traditional walnut stain or leather dye also works, apparently... Thsi was posted by someone on a bone carving forum - looks like you can use just about anything to dye bone: "First clean the bone piece with alcohol. Then etch in a 33% acetic acid solution for 15 seconds. Rinse in clean water and take care to keep the item grease free, so handle with rubber gloves etc. Now make up a solution of Dylon dye of your chosen colour and add the specified amount of salt as a mordant. Dip the piece into the boiling solution for 15 seconds at a time. Once the desired depth of colour is reached rinse in warm water so as to avoid too much of a thermal shock to the piece. The colouration can at this stage be lightened or relieved by selective polishing. Finally soak the piece in baby oil ( or almond oil ) for 15 min. Wipe off the excess oil and buff to a high sheen with a clean cloth." My expierence say that you can use a brush in the desired part using the acetic acid or the "color". I live in Argentina, we do not have Dylon, so I use cold tea and works PERFECTLY. As long as taking bath and all that good stuff, maybe you can just lacquer the piece... That is an option”

Condy's. I read somewhere that it can be used to give an aged look to bone & horn. Looking at it on line now though, it looks purple????? I think I need to read a bit more....

To hide the rust stain on the handle, you may be able to stain the bone using a potassium permanganate solution.

Not sure I'd use the acid to clean it up. The different layers of the damascus may react differently & you could end up with an over-etched blade. I'd probably just pull it all apart, sand the blade back to smooth, polish the finger guard then re-etch the damascus with phosphoric acid. What's the handle made out of, Paul?

Great work. Very nice. I especially like the simplicity of the beefwood/damascus & bushcrafter. I think I've watched that etching video, too.

You are a legend, thank you! Yeh, that redgum was unearthed in a quarry & I'm told it was carbon dated to 5,000 years. An Aussie version of bog wood. I think I sent down two sets for stabilising - keep one & give it a go.

No half-hearted attempts with Richard. Why make one when you can do 4 at a time? Plenty of moisture meters on eBay for not a lot of coin. Winter can be tricky when working with wood, especially if you have a heated work area. The air is very dry & the wood can shrink a fair bit once you start working with it. I've also read about the oven trick but haven't tried it. Shawn, I found redgum to be pretty good to work with on a couple of letter openers I made. It might depend on where it's from, I assume it would be a bit more dense from more arid areas. Using it on the knife I'm currently working on, too, but it's stabilised now .

Right handed, vertical & not flopping around. I'll often just have the sheathed knife in my pack or in the car so it doesn't get in the way - especially if getting in & out of the car to open gates etc.

I think we all understand those principles, Henno.

I keep mine flat, in unsealed/untied garbage bags under my bed. Can't help you with the hot water shrinking.