I have this really nice skinning knife made for me 15 or 20 years ago by Bill Buchner of Idylwild Park, Oregon.

It is a one-of-a-kind fixed blade knife of Damascus steel, all hand made (including the steel) by Bill, to roughly the same blade pattern as a Morseth Cascade Skinner, with a brass hilt & pommel (SP?). (At least I think that's what the brass parts are called...they are the parts at both ends of the handle.)


I am not a knife guru or collector. I am a hunter. Bill made it for me because he is one of my friends. It is of the Morseth blade shape because he asked what I would like to have, and that's what I asked him if he could make.


It is NOT for sale, but I need to put a value on it for my insurance inventory. Anyone got even a guess as to what such a knife should be valued at for insurance purposes?

Buckner was, as far as I know, the first person who ever successfully forged titanium and steel, or maybe different types of Ti, into what they call timascus. Apparently he only made 9 of them. (It has apparently now been done by Tom Ferry and a couple of others)It must have been a very difficult process. Apparently he is no longer actively making knives.

I'd say that a knife such as you've described would be worth about $500 IF you can find someone who wants it. Sentimental value may be much higher but that's what my GUESS is of market value. Depending on cost of insurance you might insure it for $350 or $1000, either number could be defended. That's a semi-guess but one of his 9 timascus knives is for sale for $595. Of course another one is for sale for $2450 (an insane price IMO), but the $595 seller sells a LOT of knives and is not known to be a cheap seller. You might give them a call and ask their opinion on value. Nordic knives, Solvang, Ca 800 992 6574.

Buchner Timascus

I've kind of sworn off buying knives (even as I say that, I've bought the first 2 in over a year in the last couple of weeks), more stuff for my kids to dispose of, but the above knife is way cool IMO. I'm thinking........

You also might go to bladeforums.com and ask the question. There are some very knowledgeable knife people there who can give you their ideas. Sad but true, but unless the maker was one of the REALLY well known early icons (Loveless, Moran, Warenski, etc.) of the craft, the value of their knives often DECREASES after they are no longer active in the market.

Thanks very much, "GatoBueno" (I can't see you, so you don't look fat to me, but that was a good turn you just did for me. I can clearly see that.)

I don't mind if the value has dropped. It is not for sale anyway, and its personal value to me as a item from a friend will never drop. Just wondered what I should be insuring it for, and you have given what appears to me to be good advice on that.

I guess I should add that it is a really good knife for use in the field, which is why he built it for me, and what I do with it. I have skinned a lot of elk with it and it seems to never really need sharpening.

(We used to live about 15 miles apart in the Oregon Cascades. Both of us right on the North Umpua River.) Bill is a very good man, very honest, and rather bashful too.