Rasp Steel Skinner Knife, Rosewood Handle

The shape is the usual skinner argument, a wide belly sweeping to a rounded tip so the edge stays on the work through a pull. What is not usual is the flat above the bevel. This blade is 4 inches of reforged farrier rasp with the original teeth still showing, a grid of raised diamonds. The handle is rosewood. Before it was a knife it shaped hooves.

Specification

The blade

A farrier rasp is a long file used on hooves, high carbon steel because it has to cut horn all day. We forge one down into a blade, leave the teeth showing across the flat, then grind the bevel smooth so the cutting edge is clean steel. The raised diamonds sit above the grind line where they do no harm. The belly sweeps wide into a rounded tip, where the work happens on this pattern. Carbon steel greys over time, and the teeth hold water in their valleys, so drying it matters more here.

The handle

Rosewood is oily in itself, dark brown with black streaks, and it takes a polish without much help. The tang is full and sits between the scales the whole length of the grip, pinned across with three brass pins, and a lanyard hole is drilled at the back end. The handle measures 4.5 inches. Wet hands and cold weather make a short grip feel shorter, so the extra length lets the hand sit anywhere along it and still be holding the knife.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather, hand stitched, with a welt sandwiched between the two faces so the edge never sits against the stitching. The pocket is cut around this blade and its curve, a different pattern from anything with a straight spine. Basket weave is stamped across the front, worked into damp hide. A belt loop is stitched at the back. The leather firms up as it dries and holds the handle.

Who it suits

For the buyer who likes knowing what the metal did before it was a knife.

• People who like tools with a previous job
• Anyone who wants texture left rather than polished away
• Buyers happy that the grid lands differently every time
• Owners who will actually dry it after use

What comes in the box

• The rasp steel skinner on rosewood
• The stamped basket weave belt sheath
• A care leaflet
• Free sharpening for as long as it is yours

Every piece is different

Each rasp comes off a different working life, so the teeth are worn shallow in one place and sharp in another, and the forging drags that pattern around as the steel moves. Where the grid lands is decided by the hammer. Two knives made in the same afternoon carry different markings.

Looking after it

The teeth are the one thing that needs a habit. Water sits in the valleys between them, so after it gets wet give it a wipe and let it dry before it goes near the sheath. Oil is easy, since a drop worked over the flat with a rag settles into the grid and stays. Do not run a stone across the teeth. Sharpen the bevel only, then strop. Our care and sharpening page spells it out.

Put a name on it

Engraving is 20 dollars a blade, cut by laser, around 30 characters maximum. The letters go on the smooth ground area, not across the teeth, since a laser and a raised grid do not get along. A proof image comes back for approval before anything is cut, adding 3 to 5 business days. Free on ten blades or more. The engraving page explains placement.

Questions buyers ask

Is this a Damascus blade? No. There is no pattern welding and no etched layers in it. The marks are the original teeth of the rasp, left in place.

Was the rasp really used? It was. They come from working farriers, and the wear in the teeth is why one blade never matches another.

Do the teeth get in the way? No. They stop above the bevel, so the part of the blade doing the cutting is ground smooth.

Will it rust? It is high carbon steel, so yes if left wet. Dry and oil it and it takes a grey patina that suits it.

Can the teeth be polished off? They could be, and then you would have an ordinary blade and none of the reason you bought it.

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

For this shape in a clean forged finish there is the hand forged skinning knife on walnut, and for a glossy dark handle look at the water buffalo horn skinning knife. The curved blades are grouped in skinner knives, the reforged files in rasp steel knives, the wider range in hunting knives.