Damascus Bushcraft Knife, Stag Antler Handle and Carved Sheath

Camp chores are small and there are a lot of them. Feather sticks for the morning fire, a pot hook cut from a green branch, cordage trimmed and an onion sliced on a flat rock. A woods knife lives on work like that. This one is a 4.25 inch Damascus blade over a high carbon core, and the handle is stag antler, so the piece you get was shaped by an animal before it was shaped by us.

Specification

The blade

The steel is Damascus over a high carbon core, etched so the raindrop pattern shows. Rows of small rings, no two panels alike. The grind is flat and the shape is a drop point, the tip sitting low so it stays under control in a notch. Flat ground stock runs thin behind the edge and it slices. The spine is squared to ninety degrees, which is what scrapes a ferrocerium rod and shaves tinder. The carbon under the pattern darkens to grey with use, and it spots if you put it away wet.

The handle

Stag antler is bone, and it comes with its own ridges and hollows already in it. It holds well when it is wet, better than a polished wood. The scales sit on a full tang with three brass pins through them, so steel runs the whole length of the grip, and there is a brass lined lanyard hole at the back. At 4.75 inches the handle is longer than the blade. That is what lets you slide forward for fine cuts and back for a long stroke.

The leather sheath

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather, cut to the outline of this blade and stitched by hand. The face is hand carved, the lines cut into damp leather and beaten down around them, so the pattern has depth in it. A welt is sewn into the edge to keep the stitching clear of the steel. It hangs from a belt loop at the back. No fire steel loop on this one.

Who it suits

This one is for the buyer who wants a knife nobody else has, and who takes the photograph as a guide.

• Woods walkers who want one knife with no twin
• Buyers who prefer natural handle materials
• Anyone giving a knife as a one of one gift
• Hunters who want Damascus on a working belt knife

What comes in the box

• The Damascus bushcraft knife
• The hand carved leather belt sheath
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life on any blade sent back

Every piece is different

Antler is not a manufactured material. One set of scales comes off a thicker beam than the next, so the texture and the width in your palm shift from knife to knife. The raindrop etch never lands the same way twice either. Yours will not match the picture, and that is rather the point of it.

Looking after it

Wipe it dry when you finish with it. That is most of the job. Oil the blade before it goes in a drawer for the season. Sharpen on a stone, then strop on leather. The grey the steel takes on is patina and you can leave it alone. Orange is the one to catch early. Do not store it wet in the sheath. More is on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name or a date. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. It is free on orders of 10 or more, which suits a camp buying together. Details are on the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Will mine look like the photograph? No. Antler differs from one set of scales to the next and the raindrop etch never repeats.

Can I choose the antler? Message us before you order and we will tell you what is on the bench.

What is the squared spine for? A sharp ninety degree corner scrapes a ferrocerium rod and shaves tinder. A rounded spine slides. The rod is not included.

Does antler hold up outdoors? It is bone and has spent time outside already. Keep it out of long soaks.

Will it rust? It can. There is carbon steel under the pattern. Dry it after use and keep a film of oil on it.

How long does delivery take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

If you want the same idea in a paler handle, there is the Damascus bushcraft knife on camel bone, and for an older outline on a modern grip look at the Damascus Kephart on black micarta. The rest sit in bushcraft knives, the pattern welded blades under Damascus steel, and a few follow deer, so they sit under hunting knives.