My Personal Flint Knife

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
Here is my own flint knife that I made about 12 years ago along with the brain-tanned deerskin sheath for it. The blade is black Arkansas Novaculite, a type of chert, with a white translucent streak runnin` through it and is a shade over 3 inches long. The blade is hafted in the antler of a buck I shot and wrapped with the back sinew from the same deer. This knife has skinned and boned out several deer and has been resharpened once. I plan on havin` the shape of it and my flintlock rifle cut in my tombstone.
 

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StriperAddict

Senior Member
Great pic

That is some nice work there, Nic. Do you make these for sale? I can see it would be very time consuming, but worth it!

:clap:
 

Nugefan

Senior Member
Cool , how do you sharpen it ?

just knap on it some more ??


That would be very neat in a tombstone , would fit you perfectally ...
 

Ta-ton-ka chips

GONetwork Member
Great work!
It's sounds like you've got the death thing all fiqured out. What a great burden you've lifted from your family by preplanning:cool:
 

CAL

Senior Member
A good looking knife no doubt.I know you wouldn't part with it,sorta like me and mine!By the way,what is mine wrapped with?
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
Cal, your blade is held in place with deer hoof glue and wrapped with deer back sinews. I wet the dried sinew and wrap the knife tightly with it. When it dries, it shrinks like rawhide to form an almost unbreakable bond. If you wrapped a piece of wet sinew around you arm and left it, it would stop when it got to the bone. It has tremendous holdin` power.
Stripe Addict, PM me if your interested in one. Thanks.
 

Dudley Do-Wrong

Senior Member
I can vouch for Nick's knifes, because I have one. Nick is a true craftsman, using no modern tools or supplies; everything he does and all his materials are the same way it was done going back hundreds of years. My knife is something I can pass down to my son or grand children (if/when I have any). I don't use it to skin deer, but it is plenty sharp to do so.

BTW Nick, what do you mean by "brain-tanned"?
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
David, every animal except an armadilla (and a few folks I know) has enough brains in its head to tan its own hide. When the brain is mashed up and applied to a properly cleaned, dressed hide, the oils in the brain penetrate the fibers in the hide. It is then pulled and stretched until dry (several hours on a thick skinned buck or beaver). The leather will be white, have no odor, and have the texture of velvet and the consistancy of a thick beach towel. If it gets wet, it will revert back to rawhide and be stiff, so it must be smoked over a low rotten-wood fire that produces heavy smoke and little flame or heat. The chemicals in the smoke dissolvesthe natural glue in the skin that will make it stiff. Smokin the skin gives it a mellow brwnish color and a pleasant smoky smell. It also allows you to wash the leather when it needs it.
 

StriperAddict

Senior Member
nicodemus said:
David, every animal except an armadilla (and a few folks I know) has enough brains in its head to tan its own hide. When the brain is mashed up and applied to a properly cleaned, dressed hide, the oils in the brain penetrate the fibers in the hide. It is then pulled and stretched until dry (several hours on a thick skinned buck or beaver). The leather will be white, have no odor, and have the texture of velvet and the consistancy of a thick beach towel. If it gets wet, it will revert back to rawhide and be stiff, so it must be smoked over a low rotten-wood fire that produces heavy smoke and little flame or heat. The chemicals in the smoke dissolvesthe natural glue in the skin that will make it stiff. Smokin the skin gives it a mellow brwnish color and a pleasant smoky smell. It also allows you to wash the leather when it needs it.

Well, if I ever get a knife from ya, I won't tell the wife how ya's made it !! :rofl: :rofl:


... really... that's impressive :)
 

Headshot

Senior Member
Nick,
Beautiful work you do with the stone and deer. I'm glad for people like yourself that have the skills and wishes to keep the old ways alive.
HS
 

boneboy96

Senior Member
Nick...do you work 1 piece at a time on commission or do you have several pieces avail for viewing and for sale? I'd be interested in seeing what's available if there were any. thanks BB96
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
I resharpen a blade by rechippin` the edge with a sharp pointed tine off a deer antler. This is called pressure retouch. I don`t try to take long flakes of the face of the blade. On average, around 12 to 14 tiny flakes per inch and that puts the edge back.
Bone boy, I usually make one when someone puts in an order, but occasionally have a few extra. PM me for details.
 

bam_bam

Senior Member
i like that novaculite. thats a good lookin knife.
 
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