Big Blades (That's a knife!)

[Olumin]

Since I recently acquired a new "big knife" I thought; why not make a thread about it where people can talk & post pictures of their favourite big knives.

I recently got this "D-guard Bowie" (as the manufacturer calls it) made by Windlass Steelcrafts. It looked like a nice functional & very affordable short sword.
Ive been thinking about what to classify this thing as. Is it a (very) short cutlass or falcon? I think ill simply call it a hanger, or hunting sword. What it definitely isnt, is a Bowie knife!

Blade is forged medium carbon & 45cm (18") long. Its actually very lively in the hand, with a good amount of authority in the blade. Quite a gruesome cutter. Due to the delicate tip (& peened tang) I would hesitate to use it for splitting wood, but for clearing foliage & branches it would probably do quite well. Smears on the blade are from the ballistol.
For about €75 its hard to beat & certainly functional. I was thinking about staining the handle black with a steel wool & vinegar solution to better match the scabbard.

This is Windlass´s replica of the US cavalry sabre. I got this for decoration, although it also has a forged & tempered carbon steel blade & is sharpened. While functional, its not very nimble due to being quite blade heavy. This is expected for a cavalry sabre of cause, but the originals have a PoB (point of balance) of about 6", while this one is 7 1/4!".

3C for scale. Retention in the scabbard is good & construction of both the sword and scabbard is historical. I would have liked to see a thicker blade with more accurate distal taper, but this is a problem with many modern reproductions of 19th century swords. Ive been thinking about antiquing it with vinegar, but so far im not happy with the results.

Windlass recently started selling their replica of the 1796 British light cavalry sabre, which is a very accurate replica (with accurate thickness & taper!) from what I can gather. So Ill be getting that once its available in Europe.

You have any machetes, big folders or fixed blades, swords or kukris? Show us some of your big blades!

 

[desert.snake]

9 inch blade, D2 steel flat grind, stainless guard, handle faux bone / leather / stainless and G10

D2 steel, ironwood, brass handle with stainless spacers, blade lenght 8 2/3" and thickness .196"

8.7 inch blade, ironwood, D2 steel

8 inch blade stainless damascus ( Zladinox )

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

 

[alpg88]

That is my favorite big blade, (until i get something i like better, lol) i like how it sits in my hand, and it is not a heavy one, have few more which i will post later.

 

[jz6342]

This is my biggest one. It gets a lot of use when camping

 

[alpg88]

Another one,, good brand great steel but handle is smallish for my hand. was gonna return it, but then changed my mind, will keep it for now.

 

[xxo]

 

[Olumin]

Cool to see a Cudeman, Ive seen very few of them outside of Europe (Muela also). Love the sharpened trench shovel, makes me wanna get out my WW1 uniform. Those things could be devastating.

 

[alpg88]

Those shovels are great, i keep one in a car, very useful during camping, it digs, chops, transfers hot coals from a fireplace into a grill...and it can be thrown with devastating effect, i do not throw as good as the guy on cold steel video, but i'll get there one day

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Oh yeah trench shovels!

 

[BigDeeeeeeee]

Potato pic of my woods companions.

 

[Olumin]

I was wondering when im gonna see the first Kukri. Never had one myself but I've heard good things about those made by Tora in Nepal. I've also heard good things about the army patten Kukri made by Windlass. They've been making them since ww2 & are apparently quite good, especially for the low price. Looking at them online they appear to have a tapered tang, which is quite rare in modern knives (sadly). Some custom makers still do it but who in their right mind is willing to pay the prices they demand nowadays.

 

[BigDeeeeeeee]

I was wondering when im gonna see the first Kukri. Never had one myself but I've heard good things about those made by Tora in Nepal. I've also heard good things about the army patten Kukri made by Windlass. They've been making them since ww2 & are apparently quite good, especially for the low price. Looking at them online they appear to have a tapered tang, which is quite rare in modern knives (sadly). Some custom makers still do it but who in their right mind is willing to pay the prices they demand nowadays.

Mine's a Zombie Tools. They've changed it a little since.

 

[xxo]

Those shovels are great, i keep one in a car, very useful during camping, it digs, chops, transfers hot coals from a fireplace into a grill...and it can be thrown with devastating effect, i do not throw as good as the guy on cold steel video, but i'll get there one day

They are pretty amazing. I think the shovel is my favorite Cold Steel product.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Cost a lot back in the 80's. It's been used some for construction and yard work and for years it has been in the vehicle. More than once been high centered in snow. Standard square point shovel has trouble getting underneath to the middle of the car to remove snow where the center differential and such were resting on compressed snow. This tool did it and handy for defense should a local yeti decide to make trouble.

U.S. Ames 75

 

[Olumin]

We call these "Klappspaten" here. When I went camping with my family as a kid my father used to always have a german army version of these in the RV. No idea if he still has it. They're still being sold everywhere online, maybe I should get one.

 

[alpg88]

Cold steel shovel comes in 2 sizes, the smaller one and they also made a larger version, with longer a handle, but there is no sheath available for larger one. Just for the hell of it i swapped handles on small and larger one, now i have a smaller one with a longer handle and a sheath, and a larger one with a shorter handle, i keep it in my tennis racket case next to a tennis racket, i dont play tennis a lot, but when i do i ride my bike to courts, I have it there just in case i have to dig out my bike,
One downside of all of them, large and small, is smooth clear coated handle, it slips out easy, so i sanded it down on my "tennis" shovel, the grip is much better now. Original soviet shovel that CS designed their after, (or simply copied with some improvements) had a uncoated one, but it was not a hardwood handle like CS, and the steel was thinner. otherwise it is an exact copy.

 

[alpg88]

Also have a fiskars machete, take it camping with me as well, sometimes even use it, lol

 

[alpg88]

NOw another interesting object, not really a blade but made to look like one, it is a shoehorn, I made it from a 2 inch stainless steel pipe, L316 iirc,

 

[KITROBASKIN]

We call these "Klappspaten" here. When I went camping with my family as a kid my father used to always have a german army version of these in the RV. No idea if he still has it. They're still being sold everywhere online, maybe I should get one.

I think this one is Swiss(?)
It can buckle backwards. I had to dress the busted edge initially but the square point is useful for some tasks.