This past week I received a new knife. It is a hunter style in high carbon crucible steel (Wootz) made by the knifemaker. The blade was nital etched to show the characteristic Wootz design. The handle is stabilized maple burl and the guard is forged from wrought iron from an old wagon wheel picked up from an abandoned farm site in the woods. The knifemaker added an extra blade in a small skinner style as a bonus. Now I just need to get a handle on that one.

The knife:


Detail of pattern in the steel:



Small skinner blade:


Both together:


Lots more boring redundant pictures, and larger versions.

I've wanted a Wootz knife since reading about the history of Damascus steel several years ago, and got lucky finding this one shortly after it was put up for sale. The maker is active on several knife forums and I had seen his work before. His name is Greg Thomas Obach and it was a pleasure dealing with him.