Damascus Gut Hook Skinner, Camel Bone and Turquoise Handle

4 inches of blade, a wide belly lifting into the tip, a hooked notch cut into the spine behind it. The belly keeps cutting through a long pull where a straight edge would let go. The steel is Damascus over a high carbon core. The handle is camel bone with a line of crushed turquoise down each scale, and that line is where most people stop.

Specification

The blade

The pattern is a twist. The billet is wound along its length before it is drawn out, so the layers etch as a swirl rather than bands. High carbon steel at the core holds the edge. The belly sweeps wide, holding the edge on the material through a whole pull. The gut hook is a hooked notch cut into the spine near the point, sharpened on the inside of the curve only. It opens a hide from underneath so the tip never goes in. Carbon steel greys with use and spots if put away wet.

The handle

Camel bone is dense and pale, closer to ivory in the hand than antler. A shallow channel is routed down each scale, packed with crushed turquoise and resin, then sanded flat so a thumb reads one surface, not two. The tang is full through the middle with brass pins across it and a lanyard hole at the rear. The handle is 4.75 inches. In a cold wet hand that length lets you choke back and still keep the whole palm on it.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather, hand stitched around a welt so the thread sits clear of the edge, the pocket cut to the outline of this blade and its notch. The face is carved, not stamped. Roses and scroll go into damp hide with a swivel knife, then get punched down until the petals stand off the background. Stamping takes minutes. Carving takes hours, and it shows. The belt loop is stitched on the back.

Who it suits

For the buyer who wants the handle to be the thing people ask about.

• People who like stone and bone sitting together
• Anyone happy that the two scales never match
• Buyers who want the notch as well as the curve
• Owners who keep it out of a damp sheath

What comes in the box

• The gut hook skinner on bone and turquoise
• The hand carved rose and scroll belt sheath
• A short care leaflet
• Free sharpening for the life of the knife

Every piece is different

Crushed turquoise is poured, not printed. One line runs heavy blue and the next carries more of the grey matrix through it. Bone takes the channel differently on each side, so the two scales end up cousins rather than twins. Put a twist etch over that and it cannot be repeated.

Looking after it

Wipe it dry before it goes back in the leather and keep thin oil on the steel. A flat stone handles the straight run and the belly if you roll the knife through the stroke. The notch is another matter. No flat stone reaches inside it. Use a small round file or a ceramic rod on the inner curve only, and stop when it bites. Bone and turquoise want a dry cloth. Our care and sharpening page goes further.

Put a name on it

Twenty dollars puts a name or a date on the blade, cut by laser, with around 30 characters the sensible ceiling. A proof image goes out for approval before the machine runs, which adds 3 to 5 business days. At ten knives or more it costs nothing. On a twist pattern the letters read best on the flat. The engraving page has the wording rules.

Questions buyers ask

What is the turquoise set in? Crushed stone and resin, poured into a cut channel and sanded flat once it hardens.

Will mine look like the photograph? The shape will. The line will not, since no two pours run the same colour.

What is the notch for? A hooked opening with the inner curve sharpened, so a hide opens from the inside without the point going in.

Is the Damascus a coating? No. Layers of high carbon steel forge welded into one bar, etched so they show. The edge comes off the core.

Does the steel rust? It will if water sits on it. Dry and oil it and it goes grey, not orange.

How fast does it ship? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

Want the notch on horn instead? The ram horn gut hook with the carved sheath is the heavier one. Drop the notch, keep the pattern, and you have the desert ironwood skinner. This curve sits in skinner knives, the etched billets in Damascus steel, the outdoor range in hunting knives.