My Squirrel Knife

So here we are. If you've been looking at the calendar lately you may notice that 14 days from tomorrow is Sept 1. What's special about that? Squirrel season. Squirrel season opens in 14 short days...

What has this got to do with this knife? Now there's a story. Last season, at the end of January I saw a post on a hunting forum by a fellow who uses a Russell Easler small game knife for skinning and so on while he is hunting squirrels.




If you've ever priced such a thing, you know it can get a little bit expensive to buy. The Mrs. advised it was pretty but no way would I be spending the money on a knife like that. The I thought I would have to learn to make knives so I could make one.

I've been grinding and heating and quenching steel every since. That was last February. Since then I have been working on learning. Cut to last Tuesday. I was busy working and sweating about how I would get things I needed ready by the 30th of this month, ready... And then it sets in. Squirrel Season is only 3 weeks away. Oh man...

I figured it was time to get to it. An appropriate knife needed to be fashioned. I spent a bit of time drawing out a profile and found some 1/16th inch o1 that would be usable to make this happen. I cropped it at about 6 3/4" over all with a 2 1/2" blade. It's flat ground and hardened and double tempered. This one will be a cutter.

The scales are American Oak Dymondwood and the pins 1/16" brass. I added a 1/4" lanyard hole. I added red vulcanized fiber spacers and set to shaping. The scales wound up a bit thicker than I normally like them but it feels great in the hand. I can't wait to see how it does...