I blame it all on Mark at Knife
Magazine. The Little Valley knife show
was terrific, and Mark had a variety of collectible knives he was selling.
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| What's that Logo? |
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| Mark told me it was Swamp Fox by Tim Ridge |
A specific one caught my eye. It had a ten-inch, flat grind blade with a drop point and a sharpened top swage. The spine next to the handle's metal ferrule was nice file work that adds to the look and increases your grip with a friction surface for your thumb. The rosewood handle is round and sports a closed ferrule by the blade and a turned butt cap. The knife is blade heavy, but surprisingly well-balanced for its size.
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| The knife came with a very nice leather sheath |
It had a certain chef's kitchen
knife look, if the chef was wanted for murder.
I fell in love with it, and it went home with me and a lighter wallet.
The knife was made by Tim Ridge
of Swamp Fox Knife. Tim makes
historically accurate knives from the 1750-1865 period of American history. He hand forges 1095, 5160, and 1084 carbon
steels to the desired shape. After
grinding, Tim heat treats and tempers all his knives himself.
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| The file work adds to the look and gave me a felt index as well as friction surface |
"(I'm) just trying to make
good quality knives that will last someone a lifetime," Tim told a film
crew. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04BopT0fxVQ) Imagine making something that will live long
after we've slipped off the plate.
That's a form of immortality in itself.
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| The round rosewood handle has a nice polish, but not slippery |
I found out that Tim has stopped making knives due to health issues. But his knives remain in high demand. The Swamp Fox website was purchased by someone who uses the name to link you to other sites.
I found an image of my knife at https://www.bladegallery.com/shopexd.asp?id=88141,
where they describe it as a rosewood dirk.
I don't like that description.
Most, if not all, the dirks (long-bladed stabbing knives) I'm familiar
with are more symmetrical to the center line and not wider than the
handle. I wanted to get more information
about it and the craftsman behind it. It
took a little work, but I connected with Tim and asked him a few questions.
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| The turned butt cap has the right amount of machining marks |
Tim tells me he has made over
6000 knives as a bladesmith. I sent him
a photo and he identified it as his version of the Scottish 'skein achlais,' or
armpit knife. I found a reference to
this term.
The term skein achlais is a
Scottish Gaelic phrase describing a type of dagger, called an armpit dagger or sleeve
dagger. It's a traditional part of
Scottish Highland dress, worn concealed in the armpit or sleeve. This style evolved to the more familiar sgian
dubh.
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| The knife is a little blade heavy, but not bad, especial considering the size |
The sheath has what appears to be an attached frog with a belt loop and a retention stud. The stud allows you to wear it in the French Canadian Voyageur style.
The Voyageurs by Charles Deas 1846
Swamp Fox knives are historically
correct and are in demand by collectors, re-creationists, re-enactors, and
lovers of the art. My little jaunt about
Swamp Fox was started by Mark. Thanks,
Mark! I enjoyed the trip.
And thanks, Tim, for making a
great knife.
