work knives

I've been watching your site for a while, but haven't posted yet. I love the steels you use for your knives, most notably the spring steel. Although I don't have a use (at the moment) for a large bowie knife, I would like to inquire about the possibility of getting a work knife made out of your steel. I hope I don't get flamed too much for this, but I am looking for (and have not found) a perfect knife for my line of work. I am an electrician, and I work on the big stuff, industrial equipment and high voltage, and the like, but I also wind up pulling computer cable every now and then. I used a few knives in my career, broke a few more, but have never been totally satisfied with any. Here are some of the knives I've used in the past 5 years: Tops Scalpel- 1/4 thick, very heavy. Nice sized blade for what I do (trim insulation off of conductors about 1" dia) and the sheath is very nice. I need all my knives to be pulled in and out of the sheath single handed, because I never have a chance to use two hands to pull a knife out or put it back when you are hanging 30 feet in the air. The Tops Scalpel was too heavy and had the wrong blade shape for what I do. CRKT Neck Peck- I've had about four of these knives. They have many attributes to their being a good work knife, most notably the modified sheepsfoot blade. I have a habit of breaking the blade tips, or bending the edge of the AUS-8 stainless when using the back of the blade as a screwdriver. I know I shouldn't do that, but when you are 120 feet on the side of a building, you don't have time to go and get the proper tool sometimes. The Neck Peck has a great thermoplastic sheath that lets the knife click in and out singlehanded with an audible SNAP so you know it is secure. The blade material is ok for stainless, better than 440, but I don't need stainless for what I do. That is where the spring steel would be perfect. The CRKT Peck is a little small, but it always got the job done; even when broken. (I know, I broke a tip off one of the Pecks when I was throwing it at some scrap plywood- I had a job to do but no tools or material and had to sit around for a couple of hours, what do you do?) The flat part of the sheepsfoot blade was nice for cutting and shaving insulation, crate strapping, stuck nylon slings, etc. The pointy part was good for very intricate work, like following a line of conductors without piercing them in a multi-conductor cable when stripping insulation. The Peck had some filework near the tip of the blade to allow your finger a secure place to help guide it. If the CRKT Neck Peck were only 1-2 inches bigger, slightly less pointy, a narrow plastic handle (insulator, just in case; I'd never let my knife near anything live <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />), and made of your spring steel, well, I'd have the perfect knife. Any chance you could make one?

Welcome to the Yard.....I am a bit lost on the spring steel line, but I have wanted a tops scapel for a while, though I heard from a few folks that they have broken the tip off the little bugger.

Welcome to the yard gunbunny! Some of us occasionally say what our dream knives are round here and some of us shout about it... so feel free to pitch in! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

BOWIE!!!!! [color:"red"]BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"green"] BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"blue"] BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"white"] BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"orange"] BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"black"] BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"purple"] BOWIE!!!!![/color] [color:"brown"] BOWIE!!!!! [/color] [color:"#666666"]BOWIE!!!!! [/color]

Notice I left the pink out.....you dog bas.....nevermind!

Yep, whole heap a shoutin agoin' on... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I thought you LIKED PINK knives GF!!!

YOU.....you are the reason I left it out....I should have never shown that picture!!!!.......RED G10, call the shop ask if they even made PINK...I can tell you the answer is NO! I hope your tea is really hot and you spill it on your lap!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Chill out dude, I think I saw a 'better' (different?) photo of your knife on the Swamp 'ganza coverage and it looked a lot more burgundy than pink! So I promise I won't mention your 'BARBIE BUSSE' ever again!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I did recently spill tea on my keyboard but was unharmed... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Pink G10 can still be manly bro...err at least I think it can...just barely <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />




GIMME DA BOWIE!!! not with Pink G10 though






hehahahahaaaaa

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

It can't.....I don't care how many pink shirts you own......

I want that Bowie "[color:"black"]BLACK [/color]" on "[color:"black"]BLACK [/color]"

i always thought it would be cool as hell to have a big nasty bowie with a pink carbon-fiber handle... like a little added insult as you bury it to the hilt in your opponent and the last thing he sees is the pretty pink handle... ok i'm sick... lock me up...
Gunbunny, as for the spring steel Wharncliffe there are prolly a lot of makers out there who could make one from spring steel or S7 (did you mean "shock steel"), but we are still waiting for our bowie here...

gf - is that "black-on-black" or "blank-on-blank"??

I think GF meant; I want that Bowie 'custom limited edition <RED> G10 coloured res-C' on 'handle'... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/paperbag.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Stare at it real close, you will see what it says...or just qoute it, and it will show up just fine.....now that I have given away my secret on how to curse at all of you without getting banned..... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Yes, I ment shock steel. I know some guys that made their knives out of old jeep leaf springs, and they were very servicable knives. The only problem is that they didn't want to make any more of them. I guess I mistook one for the other.

As for the pink, I did have pink paracord wrapped around the handle of one of my CRKT Neck Pecks. It made it seem less of a "weapon" and more of a tool when I worked in public places. Most people didn't notice it on my belt, and those that did were confused as to why I was wearing it backwards. The funny thing is, I wasn't. The modified sheepsfoot blade has the flat edge ground, the curved side is a the back of the knife, with a false edge. Most people just look at the shape and judge it wrong.

I switched to a fluorescent green color chordage on the next Peck.

FWIW, I broke the very tippy-tip off of the Tops Scalpel. I had it re-ground and never really noticed any difference.

A couple of months ago I was using a large Gerber folding Tanto liner-lock. It was easy to open with one hand, but very large for a folder. I usually don't prefer a Tanto blade, but I had a limited choice as to what knife I could get- my company was paying for it and I had to order out of MSC- and it was the only folder without serrations. A serrated edge, to me, is a lost part of a blade and may as well not be a sharpened portion. I kept leving the darn thing above ceilings and lost it for good on the third time. I guess that's why I need a fixed blade knife. The tanto blade was very easy to resharpen.

Nice one GF! If I just alter my viewing angle...

Gunbunny, I think Scrapyard knives are going to make one perfect for you... when and what its called I don't know?... But at Swamp Rat ( the sister co. ) its called the Rat Claw.... Its a 4" wharncliffe type blade, Its like a bigger Cable-Splicer's Knife

Welcome to the Yard! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> My Dad is an industrial electrician at Chrysler. Although it isn’t insulated, a good small knife that I think would be good for stripping wire is the Swamp Rat Rat Shaker. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a link to pics of mine. It’s pretty small and compact, but tough as nails. It’s lightweight, and you can carry it on a neck sheath for quick one-handed access.

Do you carry a multitool? That’s a good way to carry several tools with you in a compact package. That way you won’t hurt your knife using it as a screwdriver. I always liked using my Leatherman when I was working with wiring running phone lines and stuff. Several handy tools in one package that you can open and use with one hand. I had a PST II, but now I have the Titanium Wave one. One thing I really like about the new Wave is it has screwdriver bits you put in it. That way if you mess up the tip of one, you can just put a new bit in it. You can also get an extra bit kit with unusual bits that most people don’t use, but are really handy if you’re working on something.


Here's a link to a pic of it if you want to see it. It will cost $128.95. Blade Length 4 1/2", Overall Length 9 9/16".

Thanks, Mr Wayne! That's it, a knife taylor suited for what I do. I'll have to find Swamp Rat's website and find what metal they are using.

I'll save ya the trouble and do the work for ya. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> The steel they use is SR-101 which is a modified form of 52100. Here's some links for ya:

Swamp Rat's Website - Click Rat Chat for their forum, which most of us also chat on.

Swamp Rat Company Store - This is where you purchase the knives

Swamp Shack - This is a fan run site with info of past knives Swamp Rat has made.

Scrapyard is going to make a Wharncliffe-bladed knife with a mudder grip (Resiprene-C plastic, but the brass lanyard hole will touch the blade steel). Lemme try to find the picture.

Yes, here it is:



Found on this Scrapyard thread.

Now if that don't just make you cuckoo for coacoa puffs, you ain't what like knives.

Now that looks like a most excellent work knife!
Now I guess the only question is, how long do I have to wait for this knife to be offered for sale?

Probably many months. The next two knives that will be made next are the Bowie and INFI Mudder. It will be several months before those are made and ready to be sold. We don't know what will be coming after that.

If you don't need much blade length you could always cut down an INFI mudder...

Yup! Some files and sandpaper and you could change the blade to any style you like. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Lol, Andy you didn't mention LOTS of time spent lovingly with those files!

But it would certainly be unique! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Quite possibly the first 'yard custom! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Custom Dogs....now were are talking...who is first?

You- with a bowie with an 'unusual' coloured handle? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

You're a mean one, Paul!

Good one Paul !!! We have to keep ole' GF honest! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> We can't ALL be color blind !!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />

Gunbunny - Howdy and Welcome to the Scrap Yard !!! I sure hope YOU can tell red from PINK ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Tom

Welcome to the Scrap Yard. We are glad to have ya here.

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

I just said GF likes [color:"red"] unusual [/color] handles... I'm not mean really!... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

[color:"red"] You folks are going to make me resort to drastic measures aren't you! [/color] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> [color:"red"] Just cause he is red [/color] [color:"red"] But really I mean[/color] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Whoah, lot of red type there GF! Glad you've got a nice chilled blue smiley on the end! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Just think happy thoughts about [color:"orange"] BOWIES [/color] and forget about our good natured ragging!

Not to worry Paul - Jason is cool ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Besides, we all know that he can take a permanent marker and color his handles black when he's ready ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Tom <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Yep that (the marker pen) would definately help us people with good colour vision when GF is around!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

[color:"red"] I an going to get a RED sheath and spraypaint my knives RED just for you folks......I had a red day today and feel as though I could "paint" the town red [/color] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Well GF - like Scarlet O'Hara said; "You can worry about that tomorrow - after all, tomorrow is another day!". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I hope that whatever it was doesn't cause you too much grief. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/paperbag.gif" alt="" /> Tom

Sorry to hear you had a bad day mate, beer makes everything better! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

See if you can find any of the Carlsberg 11% Export, that'll put a smile on your face but it does make the world go all wobbly! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/loopy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />