Damascus Skinner Knife, Desert Ironwood Handle

The belly swings out wide and carries the edge round to a rounded tip, which is the whole point of a skinner. A curve stays in contact through a long pulling stroke where a straight edge lifts away and quits. The blade is 4 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core. The handle is desert ironwood, about the densest wood anybody puts on a knife.

Specification

The blade

The steel is pattern welded and then etched, so a raindrop pattern comes up dark against bright and sits in rings down the flat. The rings land where the billet puts them. Underneath is a high carbon core, and that is the part taking the edge. Behind the sweep the bevel is ground wide and shallow, so the curve does the cutting on a pull and the tip stays out of it. Carbon steel greys off as it gets used. It also spots if it goes away wet, so dry it.

The handle

Ironwood runs dark brown into orange with tight swirling figure that shifts as you turn it under a lamp. It is heavy enough to sink in a bucket and hard enough to come off the buffer shining, with no oil or lacquer on top to wear through under your thumb. The tang is full, three brass pins go through the scales, and there is a lanyard hole at the butt. At 4.5 inches a cold wet hand still gets four fingers on it.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather, cut to this blade's own outline rather than a generic pocket, so the knife seats and stays put without rattling around. The face is stamped in basket weave with a stamped border run round the outside to frame it. The edge is welted, which keeps the stitching clear of the sharpened side, and it is stitched by hand. The belt loop takes a normal belt without a fight.

Who it suits

People buy this one for the handle. The steel is the same Damascus as the ebony, but ironwood is what gets turned over twice.

• Buyers who want wood, and want it dense rather than soft
• Anyone sick of a handle finish wearing off in patches
• Collectors who like figure in a grip as much as pattern in a blade
• Hunters after a short curved blade that lives on a belt

What comes in the box

• The skinner, sharpened
• The stamped leather belt sheath
• A care card
• Engraving details

Every piece is different

Ironwood grows slowly and every block has its own mind. Some come out nearly black with an orange streak through the middle, some lighter with the swirl wound tight as a thumbprint. The etch varies too, since the raindrops fall where the billet decides. Yours will not match the photograph.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry before it goes back in the sheath, and oil it lightly if it will sit in a drawer for a month. The ironwood wants nothing. Do not feed it or wax it. A dry cloth keeps the gloss. Sharpen on a stone, finish on a strop, and if it gets away from you, sharpening here is free for life. More on the knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Engraving is 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits, enough for a name and a year. We set it out and send a proof image, and nothing goes under the laser until you approve it. It adds 3 to 5 business days. Ten or more on one order and it costs nothing. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Does the handle need oiling? No. Ironwood polishes on its own and carries no finish to feed. A dry cloth is the routine.

Is the pattern printed on? No. Damascus is layers forge welded together, then etched so they show. The carbon core underneath holds the edge.

Will it rust? It can. Left damp it spots, and an etched flat shows spotting more than a plain one. Dry it, oil it.

Why ironwood over walnut? Weight and hardness. It sits heavier and shrugs off knocks. Walnut is softer and wants oil.

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

Is 4 inches long enough? For this shape, yes. The curve does the work, not the length, and a short blade steers easier.

For the same steel darker in the hand, the Damascus skinner on black ebony with a brass bolster is next. For a hooked notch and colour in the grip there is the Damascus gut hook skinner in camel bone and turquoise. The rest sit under skinner knives, the pattern welded blades in Damascus steel, and every knife we make is in one list.