Okay, just have to crow a little bit!
I came home tonite and the mail man had brought me my newest bush-toy, a Camp Knife by JK Handmade Knives. John Kiedaisch of JK was a friend of my dad, he probably had 50 or more JK knives. I really liked 'em so I've bought a few from JK as well.
Around the middle of last year I began sketching a knife that I wanted John to make for me; it was inspired by the Ontario RAT-7, one of my favorite large knives. I probably made 30 or sketches, tweaking it to try to get it exactly how I wanted it. But when John posted a picture of the finished (but not handled) blade of his new prototype I realized I could toss those sketches in the bin, because he'd created what I was looking for.
I gave him a call to discuss how to finish the knife and we decided on red linen micarta. I would have liked to have had orange G10 like some of the early JKs but sadly John quit working with it after a previously-unknown allergy to the stuff landed him in the ER! While I have pretty large hands (sized XL gloves) decades of working as a chef have made me accustomed to slim handles. My one complain of most big knives is that the scales are thicker than I like. So I asked for slim scales with a nice palm swell, and a bit of flare towards the front to aid retention in a kydex sheath I'll be having made for it. I must say John delivered in spades!
The knife is about 12" OAL with a 7" blade of O1 steel.
Without further ado, here are some pics. I think my white balance could have been better so my apologies if the pics aren't the best. The top one was taken by John, the rest by me. All are of the finished knife he sent me.
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