I think I might get one of the little Barkie scalpels.

I love the 3.5 idea. I think SR101 would be the right steel as well because it is cheaper than INFI and perfect for a little knife. My SS4 has been neglected since I got my Swarden. I also like the idea of the mudder handle.

I am not fond of the flavor of WD-40 either. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

I keep sayin'..... Get some of this:





but, that aside, I am with you. If I could have all the performance of tough non-stainless steel and satin in stainless, I would have stainless.

Ultimately, I like low maintenance if I can get it. But, performance first.

However, for my purposes, I do tend to feel there are PLENTY of good stainless steels with VERY high edge retention, good sharp usable edges and PLENTY tough enough for smaller knives that work VERY well for smaller knives.
I am very confident I would be very happy with this 3.5" blade in a quality stainless with a world class Busse heat treatment and SATIN. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

.

There is a Pro Scalpel and a Pro Scalpel II LE. - which one?

This is the Pro Scalpel II LE:



The Pro Scalpel II LE has a 2.8" blade and 6.4" oal - This is small, but relatively large compared to the first Pro Scalpel!

I like the Pro Scalpel II a lot. It looks like a slimmed down and slightly reshaped version of the Mini Skinner. I have a Mini Skinner and like it a lot. If you compare the Mini Skinner and the PSII, you will see that it looks like the PSII was made from a Mini Skinner. Mike hinted that this may be the case. I am pretty sure it is.

Here is the standard release Mini Skinner:



But, the grip area was too small for my hands. Luckily, there was room in the ricasso area to grind the index finger groove forward. Here is my Mini Skinner that "Barely" fits my hand - tight with modifications:



I had to grind forward about .25" - which might not sound like much, but for grip areas on a small knife that is a lot and also considering it still is a snug fit for my hands. (* Don't mind the rough grinds. I just haven't finished it yet. Sometimes I reshape a handle and like to play with it for a while to make sure I like it or see if I want to change anything else before doing finer polish grits on the micarta. It's getting there. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />)

I wish my Mini Skinner had a shallower belly like the Pro Scalpel II, but the Mini Skinner was designed for skinning, so I understand why it has more belly. I just like that size with more of a spear point for a task type knife.
The Bark River Patch is another option I have considered, but haven't picked up yet that is similar to the Mini Skinner. The Patch and Mini Skinner are both quite a bit larger than the first Pro Scalpel... maybe you want a real small Pro Scalpel (???)

I think this Smaller Rat Duty Concept would fit the nitch of something similar in size to the Mini Skinner and Patch, but with a more task friendly blade shape and a GREAT handle. (middle concept!):



I think the Pro Scalpel II would be a GREAT EDC and task knife. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> But, it was only a Limited Edition release with special liners and higher price than I felt it was worth. It was selling for about $50 - $60 more than I paid for my Mini Skinner. At that price, I felt I could buy me another Mini Skinner and re-grind it myself into a Pro Scalpel II or I might just try to regrind the blade on mine to have less belly. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> I don't like liners anyway.
But, I would think Mike might make a standard run of the Pro Scalpel II some day and hopefully and more standard pricing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" /> It looks like a great knife.
For the record, I think most of the PSII's are sold out. They sold fast and I haven't seen any for a while. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

But, I have strong reservations for my purposes for the regular (first) Pro Scalpel - for me. I like the looks of the Scalpel, but it is VERY small.

This is the Pro Scalpel (first):



I am concerned that it might be too small for my hands.
With a 1.7" blade and 5.0", the blade is small, but a usable size. the handle area is a little unknown because of the grip area actually being longer than the scales. - so, theoretically, longer than 3.3". But, I need at least a good 3.5" to "squeeze" my hands into a small handled knife. On larger 4" bladed knives I prefer the grip area to be at least 3.75" - 4.0".

I wish I could handle the knife to see...

I have an OMF and I just do NOT like three finger grips! - A shame because I love the blade on the OMF. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I just can't get into those VERY little knives. I know I don't like three finger knives and Mike does make a few on the small size. He has small hands. I have XL hands. So, I get a little leary on some of the small ones. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Again, I wish I could handle to see.....

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I picked up a Swamp Warden, but I just sold it. I like the blade size and the shape is good - although, I would prefer less belly (starting to feel like I might sound like a broken record sometimes....) Again, the belly is great for skinning, I just don't skin much and I have better options for skinning knives than the Swamp Warden anyway.

But, the real and main reason I sold my Swamp Warden was the handle. It just doesn't feel and fit right for me. When I hold it, I want to choke up and hold it with my index finger at the guard and that just doesn't work. Because of the hollow handle, I can't reshape the guard.

Here is what I would like to do to the Swamp Warden to make it feel right in my hand (But, I can't as it would weaken the handle too much!):




Since I can't reshape the guard and handle on the Swamp Warden, I decided to let it go and hope for something else some day. I don't usually care for skeleton handles. But, I came up with this as a Concept Rat :



I would be fine with the above Skelly Concept to be made by Scrap Yard. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> We could change the name to Scrap Tooth Tasker or something (???? - don't mind my silly concept names - just had to come up with something.)
I would probably prefer in stainless. Although, I am sure I would still buy if in SR-101.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

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