Post by Birddog6 on Jul 15, 2004 10:11:20 GMT -5
Here is something unusual that several people have asked me to post on here..
I have a childhood friend that is wheelchair bound from a swimming accident. He has buddies that take him deer hunting every year & he usually shoots a deer every year. He told me he loves going deer hunting & etc. but he wishes he could help them cut the deer up, but he cannot grasp a knife because his hands are partially paralyzed. The VA furnishes him little cheap paring knives, but not something substantial he can cut up a deer with. So he told me he wanted me to make him a knive he could Really use.... Needless to say, I was determined to make his request & after 6 mo. of messing with it on & off, making dif. prototypes, dif handles, dif hand guards, etc., I finally accomplished making one that fit his hand properly & he is just thrilled with it & anxious for deer season to come.
The blade is ATS-34 SS that is Case Color hardened to 60 Rc, then a -305 Cyro Quench, SS guard, Black Water Buffalo slab, Brass plate, and Whitetail deer antler with a perfect curve to not interfere with his wrist while sliding his hand into the retaining guard.
The SS retaining guard he slides his hand thru is made of 440 Stainlesss & pinned thru the handle with 2 Mosiac pins & then epoxied.
The following are some photos of the knife with my wifes hand holding it as if she would use it, my hand was way to large to get into loop. Another problem we had was location, as he is 650 miles away from me so we had to mail it back & forth had my friend marked on it with a black marker where it was too large, too small, too sharp here, curve there, bend here, etc. After doing this & making a couple trips to try fit, it was completed. I also laced a soft piece of leather to the top of the hand guard to cushion the back of his hand. I would test it on my wifes hand without the leather cushion & make it tight on her hand, as his hand was slightly smaller than hers. I made 8-9 different guards over the handle before I got one that fit right & I could attach down thru the top of the antler thru a milled slot in it.
The sheath is riveted together & made of 10 oz saddle leather, then treated with a homemade leather preservative. The last photo is before I finished, as I ended up with the bottom strap attached from the rear such as the top strap is and placed the missing rivet in tthe sheath part to space them evenly around the sheath. With the velcro straps he can put his thumb in the loop & attach the sheath to the calf of his leg when in his wheelchair & take it on or off by himself, as his hands cannot do buckles.
Also notice the retaining strap is snapped at the top so he can grasp it with between his thumb & hand & just pull it down to get the knife out & the strap falls away & he can easily slip the knife back into the sheath, then use his thumb & hand & push the snap back on. The sheath is double thickness on the leg side to protect his leg & also the sheath has a small hidden SS metal isert inside it to protect the point of the knife from slicing thru the sheath.
www.custommuzzleloaders.com
I have a childhood friend that is wheelchair bound from a swimming accident. He has buddies that take him deer hunting every year & he usually shoots a deer every year. He told me he loves going deer hunting & etc. but he wishes he could help them cut the deer up, but he cannot grasp a knife because his hands are partially paralyzed. The VA furnishes him little cheap paring knives, but not something substantial he can cut up a deer with. So he told me he wanted me to make him a knive he could Really use.... Needless to say, I was determined to make his request & after 6 mo. of messing with it on & off, making dif. prototypes, dif handles, dif hand guards, etc., I finally accomplished making one that fit his hand properly & he is just thrilled with it & anxious for deer season to come.
The blade is ATS-34 SS that is Case Color hardened to 60 Rc, then a -305 Cyro Quench, SS guard, Black Water Buffalo slab, Brass plate, and Whitetail deer antler with a perfect curve to not interfere with his wrist while sliding his hand into the retaining guard.
The SS retaining guard he slides his hand thru is made of 440 Stainlesss & pinned thru the handle with 2 Mosiac pins & then epoxied.
The following are some photos of the knife with my wifes hand holding it as if she would use it, my hand was way to large to get into loop. Another problem we had was location, as he is 650 miles away from me so we had to mail it back & forth had my friend marked on it with a black marker where it was too large, too small, too sharp here, curve there, bend here, etc. After doing this & making a couple trips to try fit, it was completed. I also laced a soft piece of leather to the top of the hand guard to cushion the back of his hand. I would test it on my wifes hand without the leather cushion & make it tight on her hand, as his hand was slightly smaller than hers. I made 8-9 different guards over the handle before I got one that fit right & I could attach down thru the top of the antler thru a milled slot in it.
The sheath is riveted together & made of 10 oz saddle leather, then treated with a homemade leather preservative. The last photo is before I finished, as I ended up with the bottom strap attached from the rear such as the top strap is and placed the missing rivet in tthe sheath part to space them evenly around the sheath. With the velcro straps he can put his thumb in the loop & attach the sheath to the calf of his leg when in his wheelchair & take it on or off by himself, as his hands cannot do buckles.
Also notice the retaining strap is snapped at the top so he can grasp it with between his thumb & hand & just pull it down to get the knife out & the strap falls away & he can easily slip the knife back into the sheath, then use his thumb & hand & push the snap back on. The sheath is double thickness on the leg side to protect his leg & also the sheath has a small hidden SS metal isert inside it to protect the point of the knife from slicing thru the sheath.
www.custommuzzleloaders.com
Seems like the deer season in Ohio usually starts right after Thanksgiving or first week in Dec., close to that time anyway.
I was gonna say sumpin' but I forgot what it was! 
