Moose Crown Chopper

Product Description for Moose Crown Chopper

Maker: Stuart Smith, J.S. (click to see more by this maker)
Item num: 102141
*** This is handmade and one-of-a-kind ***
Blade length: 11.10 in.
Cutting edge length: 10.60 in.
Total length: 17.25 in.
Blade height (at heel): 2.10 in.
Blade thickness (near bolster): 0.23 in.
Blade thickness (at midpoint): 0.23 in.
Blade thickness (near tip): 0.05 in.
Item weight: 29.00 oz.
Shipment weight: 34.6 oz.
Blade: Hand forged 1070 carbon steel with a clay zone heat treatment
Bolster: Bronze guard
Handle: Moose antler with African blackwood and bronze spacers
Sheath: Brown leather sheath with tooling and leather tassels
Description: Stuart Smith began making knives in 2000 after he took a class with Mastersmith Kevin Harvey. Stuart was immediately hooked and quite his job working as a salesman by 2004. Only a few years after that, in 2009, Stuart began teaching classes of his own. Among his many students is Neels van den Berg. Stuart has been very active over the years in the Southern African Bladesmiths Association (SABA) and the Knifemakers Guild of Southern Africa (KGSA). Stuart became an ABS journeyman smith in June of 2019.
This massive Moose Chopper was made by Stuart back in 2013. It has been kept in a private collection and has been meticulously cared for. It has never been used to cut and by all appearances, it could have been made yesterday. I doubt there is anything around the camp site this knife can't handle. Weighing in at a hefty 29 ounces, this knife will make quick work of chopping or splitting firewood as well as general butchery work such as cutting through rib cages.
Stuart forged the blade from 1070 carbon steel. It features a clay zone differential heat treatment. This technique, borrowed from Japanese swords, uses clay to insulate the top half of the blade prior to quenching. The result is a softer, supportive spine with a keen, long lasting cutting edge. The undulating transition line is called a gunome hamon. The spine has been nicely chamfered, providing an elegant ridge to the spine that is aesthetically pleasing. Stuart's maker mark is shown on the right side of the ricasso.
The handle is formed from a large section of moose antler. The natural texturing around the crown of the horn offers plenty of tactile grip. Alternating African blackwood and bronze spacers add nice contrast to the light toned horn. A polished bronze guard helps bring the weight forward in the knife and will prevent your hand from slipping over the blade during heavy use.
To keep the knife close at hand, a tooled brown leather sheath is included. Leather tassles give the sheath the feel of an American frontier style knife.
Exceptional work throughout!


Availability: Not currently available