Hand Forged Cowboy Bull Cutter Knife with Rosewood Handle

Take the point off a knife and you learn how much of the work never needed one. The bull cutter is wide and short, a straight spine over a belly that sweeps up to a rounded nose. It goes nowhere you did not send it. This one is 5 inches of 1095 high carbon on a rosewood handle, nearly all of it edge.

Specification

The blade

1095 is plain high carbon steel. It takes an edge without a fuss and comes back under a stone. The spine is left dark from the forge and the bevel is ground wide and bright. The shape is what matters here. The spine runs dead straight, then the belly drops and curls back up to a blunt nose level with the edge. Against a board that curve gives more edge than 5 inches of straight blade would. Carbon steel darkens to a grey patina and spots if you leave it wet.

The handle

Rosewood is dense and a little oily, and it holds on when your hand is not clean. The tang is full and follows the whole outline, with three brass pins set through the slabs. The steel shows along the top and bottom. A lanyard hole sits at the back. The handle is 4.5 inches, a shade shorter than the blade, and that matters because you often end up with a thumb laid flat on the spine. There is room to move your grip forward.

The pancake sheath

Two pieces of vegetable tanned leather stitched face to face, with a welt between them so the thread never rides on the edge. That leaves a flat wing either side of the pocket, and the two tall belt slots are cut clean through those wings. Nothing is stitched on the back. Your belt goes through the leather itself, so the knife sits flat and stays put when you sit down. The face is stamped basket weave.

Who it suits

The missing point narrows who wants this. If your work is close in, a blunt nose stops being a limitation.

• Anyone working close where a tip is in the way
• People who want a long edge on a short blade
• Anyone who has put a point through something by mistake
• Cooks and campers who work against a board

What comes in the box

• The 5 inch bull cutter
• The stamped basket weave pancake sheath
• A care card
• A lifetime warranty against defects

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged and ground one at a time, so no two come out alike. The belly is filed by eye and the curve settles differently on each one. Rosewood is a natural material, so the grain and the colour in yours will not match the photograph. Nor should it.

Looking after it

Wipe it dry after use and do not put it away wet in the leather. A thin coat of oil before it goes in a drawer for the season is plenty. The grey patina is normal and it does the steel a favour, so leave it be. Sharpen on a stone along the angle already there, going slowly round the belly so the curve stays even. More on our knife 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. The dark forged spine takes letters well. We send a proof image before the laser runs, so nothing arrives as a surprise, and that adds 3 to 5 business days. Engraving is free on orders of 10 or more. The engraving page shows what fits.

Questions buyers ask

Why has it got no point? That is the shape, not a fault. It cannot go where you did not send it.

Do you lose edge without a point? No. The belly curls far enough that 5 inches holds more edge than a straight blade.

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

Will it rust? It can. Carbon steel goes grey with use and spots if left wet. Dry it and oil it.

What is a pancake sheath? Two layers of leather stitched face to face with the knife between them. The two belt slots are cut through the leather itself, so nothing is looped on the back and it rides flat.

How do I sharpen that curve? A stone, along the angle already on it. We do it free for life too.

For a straight edge instead of curve, the Cowboy Sheepfoot Knife with a camel bone handle lies flat on a board. The Damascus Ranch Knife with an olive wood handle wears the same sheath. The rest sit under cowboy knives, or narrow it to 1095 high carbon steel. Every knife we make is one page away.