Trapper Pocket Knife, Hand Forged with Stag Antler Handle

Stag antler in a pocket does not feel like anything else. Cool at first, then warm, and the ridges keep it from turning in the hand. Open, you have 3.25 inches of 1095 high carbon steel in a clip point. The trapper pattern was drawn up for people who worked outdoors, and it has outlived most of what sold beside it.

Specification

The blade

1095 has been the plain choice for a long time and asks nothing clever of you. The finish is hand rubbed satin, worked along the length with abrasive until the scratches run one way and the steel reads soft grey. The shape is a clip point, the back of the blade cut away in a shallow sweep toward the tip, which leaves a fine point that gets into a knot or under a staple. Carbon steel takes a grey patina as it works, and water left sitting on it leaves spots.

The lock and the opening

No lock. A trapper never had one. A flat spring lies in the back of the handle and bears on the tang, so it holds the blade out when it is open and pulls it shut when it is closed, and a firm push moves it either way. You feel the spring load up as the blade passes the middle. The nail nick is a crescent cut into the flat of the blade, deep enough that a thumbnail catches without hunting.

The handle

Stag is antler, dropped by a deer and picked up off the ground. The outside is ridged and ripples under a thumb. Underneath the material is porous, so it takes work to fit and it will not sand flat like a sheet of anything man made. Nickel silver bolsters close both ends and stay bright against the antler. Brass pins run through the scales. Closed the knife is 4.25 inches and sits upright in a pocket rather than lying flat.

The leather pouch

The pouch is vegetable tanned leather, stitched by hand, and the face is carved rather than stamped. Oak leaves and acorns go into damp hide with a swivel knife, then shaped with punches until they stand off the ground. That is hours of work. A stamp takes minutes. It is a flat sleeve, open at one end, and the folded knife drops in. No belt loop anywhere, so it is a pouch and not a sheath.

Who it suits

For somebody buying a pattern rather than a novelty.

• People who like a shape older than the brand
• Anyone who wants a handle from an animal
• Buyers who accept two scales never matching
• Owners happy to carry without a lock

What comes in the box

• The trapper on stag antler
• The hand carved oak leaf and acorn pouch
• A care leaflet
• Free resharpening, always

Every piece is different

Antler is not made, it is grown, so one set of scales is pale and the next dark in the grooves. The two sides of one knife rarely match, since they come off different parts of a beam. The carving is cut freehand, so the leaves fall where the knife took them.

Looking after it

Dry the blade after it gets wet and put a thin film of oil over it before it goes in a drawer. The joint takes one drop on the pivot now and then. Antler likes nothing in particular, though a rub of oil on the scales stops them looking chalky after a few years. Sharpen on a stone, strop it after. There is more on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Engraving is 20 dollars per blade, laser cut, chosen on this page. Roughly 30 characters is the practical limit. On a satin blade the letters read clearly without competing with a pattern. Nothing is cut until a proof image comes back approved, and that adds 3 to 5 business days. Ten or more and it costs nothing. The engraving page covers it.

Questions buyers ask

What makes a trapper a trapper? The clip point blade and the long slim frame.

Does stag wear out? No. It darkens where your hand sits and the ridges polish down.

Does it lock? It does not. A back spring holds it at both ends of the swing.

Will it rust? It can. Wipe it dry and keep oil on the steel.

Am I allowed to carry it? Laws differ by state, city and country, so check your local rules, and we cannot advise on that.

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

For the same spring in a smaller frame, the canoe on camel bone does it. For something flatter in a jacket, there is the gentlemans folder in buffalo horn. Both sit in folding knives, older shapes in pocket knives, carried ones in everyday carry knives.