Damascus Bull Cutter Knife with Bone and Turquoise Handle, Pancake Sheath

A bull cutter is the short cowboy knife that came off the ranch, not out of a catalog, made for close one handed cattle work. This one has a 3.5 inch Damascus blade in a tight ladder pattern etched dark and bright, a polished steel bolster, and a cream white bone handle with a thin line of turquoise set flush along the top edge. A hand tooled pancake sheath comes with it.

Specification

The blade

Damascus is pattern welded over a high carbon core. The layers get folded and drawn, then etched so the dark and bright bands separate, and this one holds a tight ladder pattern running in even rungs across the steel. No two come out the same. The belly is deep and the point sits low, because the cutting happens along the curve, not the tip. The trade is that the core is high carbon and not stainless. It will take a patina, and it will rust if it is left wet.

The handle

The handle is 3.75 inches against a 3.5 inch blade. More handle than blade is the whole pattern, and it matters because the hand sits choked forward, close to what you are cutting, driving the edge rather than swinging it. Cream white bone polishes up bright and keeps its grip when your hands are damp. A thin turquoise line runs flush along the top edge. A polished steel bolster sits at the blade, and the tang runs unbroken to the butt.

The pancake sheath

Two flat leather panels stitched face to face with a welt down the edge side, and two wide belt slots punched through both layers, one ahead of the pocket and one behind. The belt threads through the sheath itself rather than off a single loop, which holds it flat and sideways on your hip. It does not swing or dig in when you sit down in a truck. Slots cut straight, canted or horizontal decide how it rides. The idea comes from Roy Baker's pancake holster. This face carries a stamped border and a running geometric pattern.

Who it suits

This size sits between the short ranch knife and a full skinner, so it is easy to carry and still useful on more than cattle.

• People who want a bull cutter that is dressy as well as usable
• Buyers who prefer bone to horn or wood
• Collectors who want a Damascus pattern nobody else owns
• Someone looking for a gift with turquoise in it

What comes in the box

• The Damascus bull cutter knife
• The hand tooled pancake sheath
• A care card
• A free laser engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Every knife here is forged, ground and finished by hand in small runs. The ladder pattern, the color of the bone, the shade of the turquoise and the tooling on the sheath will all vary from the photographs you see here.

Looking after it

Wash it by hand and dry it right away. Never the dishwasher and never left soaking, since that damage voids the warranty. The core is high carbon, so wipe it down and oil it before storage. The etch sits on the surface, so skip scouring pads. Let the leather dry slowly and away from heat. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side, then strop. No pull through sharpeners. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade. Around 30 characters fits on a blade, and longer messages sit better on the sheath. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Clean line art engraves well, photographs do not. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a bull cutter for? Close cattle work, cut with control instead of reach.

Why is the handle longer than the blade? The hand drives while the short edge does the cutting.

What is Damascus? Layers forge welded over a high carbon core, then etched to show the pattern.

How is the pancake sheath worn? Belt through both slots, so it lies flat on the hip.

Will my knife look exactly like the photo? No. The shape holds, but pattern and bone vary.

Can I return it? Yes, within 30 days, unused and unsharpened in the original packaging.

The same steel with horn instead of bone is the Damascus bull cutter in horn and turquoise, or the rasp steel bull cutter in bone for a plainer working knife. The pattern sits in cowboy knives, the steel in Damascus steel, and the handle in bone handle knives.