The
Buffalo Knife
by C.L. Matteo
This is a knife!
For those that like a BIG knife, this is about as big as you'd
want to carry . It is 15" overall with a 10" blade of 5160 carbon
alloy steel. The blade is 1/4" thick at the spine and 2 1/4" at
the widest part. This is a heavy knife that is good for chopping
and hacking chores.... building blinds and clearing brush.
It can also serve as a camp knife or survival knife.
The neat thing about this knife is that it is a recreation
of an old knife that we found in the book, "The Knife in Homespun America" by
Madison Grant. The the curving blade has the suggestion
of clipped point which came into later use as a characteristic of
the popular bowie style. Brass linings are between the tapered tang
and the grips which are mounted with brass escutcheons for
the three rivets. The hand fitting handle terminates in a
rudimentary bird head just like the original. Choice of handle
grips are buffalo horn or walnut.
The original knife was used by Buffalo hunters during the
late 1800's and early 1900's and came to be known as the
Buffalo Skinner. At first glance it just looks like a BIG
knife, which it is, but up close and personal it is truly
SCARY. It's a knife you'll want to reach for when you only
want to reach once. I assure you, whatever it is you want
to divide in half, it will be permanently divided on
the first try.
BUFFALO KNIFE and SHEATH
The Buffalo Knife sheath
Any good knife needs a good sheath and in the case of the
Buffalo Knife, because of it's heft, the sheath needs
to be a very substantial one. Art Vincent of Cedar Ridge Leather Works
is the best leather man that I know. The sheath that he is
making for our knife is almost bullet proof. The outer shell
of the sheath is deerskin rawhide and is lined with vegetable
tan leather. Treated and stained it is laced with
bees waxed lace along the top and edge. it's a rugged sheath
with an old timey look and compliments our knife very well.
The back of the sheath has two wide heavy belt loops. The
top loop is for a waist belt when you want to carry the
knife on your side. If you choose to carry the knife using
the underarm carry with the shoulder strap harness, the
harness goes through the top loop and the waist belt can
go through the bottom loop for a very secure carry. With
the underarm shoulder harness carry, the knife will ride
high under the arm where it will be out of the way but
will allow you to sit in a chair, ride a horse or do anything
you want without the knife hindering your movement. The
knife is still very accessible in this high riding position. The
underarm shoulder carry is not a new thing, many large
knives were carried in this manner in the mid 19 century.
An example of a sheath with a carrying strap is on our
website.
Buffalo Knife ...Walnut handle...............$225.00
Buffalo Knife...Buffalo horn handle.....$245.00
Leather lined rawhide Sheath............$49.95
Shoulder carry harness.......................$14.95
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