Lion Knife with Buckeye Burl

Product Description for Lion Knife with Buckeye Burl

Maker: Neels van den Berg, M.S. (click to see more by this maker)
Item num: 110601
** This is handmade and one-of-a-kind **
Blade length: 6.00 in.
Cutting edge length: 5.90 in.
Total length: 10.30 in.
Blade height (at heel): 1.03 in.
Blade thickness (near bolster): 0.16 in.
Blade thickness (at midpoint): 0.12 in.
Blade thickness (near tip): 0.04 in.
Item weight: 4.00 oz.
Shipment weight: 14.4 oz.
Blade: Hand forged 5160 carbon steel with a differential heat treatment
Handle: Stabilized buckeye burl
Sheath: Brown leather custom sheath
Description: Visiting Mastersmith Neels van den Berg's workshop on my trips to South Africa is always a real treat. His forge is pretty much in the middle of nowhere -- or at least if you kept driving down the road, that is clearly where it would end. The twisting road travels through veldt populated by zebra and other wild animals. Neels is well known for his war hammers, spike hawks, and highly refined knives. Van den Berg was honored as a Mastersmith at Blade Show in June of 2022, joining an elite rank of the world's best knifemakers.
This Lion Knife was forged by Neels back at the very first ABS Introduction to Bladesmithing course held in South Africa hosted at Heavin Forge. This was before 2016, before Neels was even a Journeyman smith. The blade sat for years unfinished in Neels' shop and was recently unearthed. As a mastersmith Neels chose to finish the knife and brought it to Blade Show 2024.
This knife was inspired by the knife used by the Kruger National Park's first game ranger, Harry Wolhuter. Wolhuter used the knife in 1903 to kill a lion that attacked him while on patrol in the park. His memories of this event (along with others) can be read in his autobiography, Memories of a Game Ranger.
The drop point blade was hand forged from 5160 carbon steel to ensure excellent edge holding and chip resistance. A clear differential heat treatment line separates the hard cutting edge from a soft and supportive spine. The blade is flat ground and razor sharp. Neels' touchmark is on the left side of the blade.
Handle scales are stabilized buckeye burl set on a full tang for strength and durability. Both the blade and tang are distal tapered providing a perfect balance in hand. White fiber liners add a nice contrast to the scales and antiqued tang.
To keep the knife close at hand, a double stitched brown leather custom sheath made by Ben Moodie is included.
Excellent work throughout!


Availability: Not currently available