Some thoughts on a breed - the Yatagan blade shape

 On a recent fair in Marburg, I got myself a cheapo Laguiole, and it rides in my pocket quite frequently now. Having a carbon steel blade, it´s razor sharp, and while it has the one shortcoming all Laguioles seem to have (the blade makes contact with the back spring when closed), it also has one advantage many Laguioles share. Originally being a sort of backlock mechanism the spring has a propriety called "cran forcé". Similar to a backlock, there is an indention, a small rounded cavity in which a rounded nub on the spring fits. This makes for some added safety due to the resulting higher degree of stay. I have used it to make my snacks in the office, due to its civil appearance it does not make my colleagues jump for shelter crying "HE `S GOT A WEAPON!" :-P It´s a nice knife and adds atmosphere to any meal.

But so does this one. It´s a Hungarian shepherd´s knife, which I got cheap, as well, on the Jagd und Hund expo. Contrary to the Laguiole, the blade does not make contact with the spring, when closed. It has not an indention in the blade´s root, but the very special layout of the handle together with a stiff spring makes for a safe handler, too, when used for reasonable tasks... 

Seeing both types of knives pared I could not help noticing the strong similarities of the blade shape. It is called a "Yatagan" shape.

Now the Yatagan was a knife or short saber of Turkish make. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yatagan shows you some examples. These blades have a very sleek and slender recurve blade . I would rather call the Laguiole and the shepherd knives´blade shape somewhat of a clip point, but it is clearly evident that there also is at least some evidence. For instance, the Laguiole, native to the Massif Central of France, most certainly derives from an Arabo-Hispanic (or "Mauric") predecessor of the Navaja and the Navaja folding knife of the 19th century. The Yatagan was also common in Hungary... et voilá: There also was a strong influence of Turkish culture, being a commonplace amongst Historians.

The message is simple: France and Hungary are quite a distance apart. But there´s still a lot they have in common, apart from humble blade shapes.

Look to what we have in common... and enjoy your snack. ;-)

German hunting knife on the bench

Currently in the making: My interpretation of an all -time favourite of mine, the famed German Jagdnicker hunting knife. Made from an old lathe chisel fragment I found in the woods, 97x6mm long and thick. Selectively tempered. High convex bevel to zero. The handle is Sambar stag I got from Hubertus corporation, Solingen www.hubertus-solingen.de . The Ritter family is a good acquaintance of mine and also hold up the flag of this traditional knife design. Sambar stag is very rare because the only stuff you can get is from historical Solingen storage contingents. It´s lovely because it has next to no marrow and has a wonderful colour. The tang does not reach all the way through the handle, but it is some hefty 9mm rectangular at the base and fades to 6mm towards the end. Since Sambar stag has next to no marrow and the epoxy is as strong as it is, there should not be any problem even when submitting the knife to abuse.

I carved this owl wood spirit into the integral bolster.... hope the idea shows... ;-)

Bit of filework on the spine...

and in riverso. The blade takes a polish quite well and seems to be stainless. It´s not taking as good an edge as the Wootz blades, but is still hairsplitting sharp ;-). It´s also very ductile in the edge. I slammed it into an iron rod with but minor dents that could be removed with a strop. Do I like it? ;-)

WAAAAY! ;-)

I am currently contemplating what precious stone or mojo to glue into the butt of the handle, and then it´s off for a sheath.

Tiny but mean ;-)

 This is a knife after one I made for a friend of mine long time ago. She had been nearly raped one time and was obviously fearful of all the dark places in our oh so beautiful city and wanted a tiny knife to trim her fingernails ;-). It was one of the few occasions I made a knife for something other than eating smoked sausage);-)>, so to say.  Now it turned out I liked the knife very much (because it´s also a really cool little task knife or even for eating smoked sausage, not just raw ones... ;-), but always lacked the resolve to make another. Now, with a lot more experience, it was a right cinch to make. It was a leftover piece of metal, in fact. Spring steel, the blade is just over 5 cm long. I could fit on scales, and I am currently thinking about it, but it handles well enough as is.

 As you can see, it has a selective temper. The spine tapers severely to a pointypointy point.

The knife works exceptionally well when doing basketweaving or leather braiding. I am, as you well know, always fond of experimenting with knife designs and physics. I am currently thinking about making another one in a bigger layout... we´ll see!