Small Tiger Knapp by Blind Horse Knives...

During Practice What You Preach (PWYP) VII, in April 2008, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and spending some time with L. T. Wright and Dan Coppins of Blind Horse Knives. These men are true gentlemen and, together, they make a fine series of quality custom knives at very affordable prices.

I couldn't resist buying a matched pair of their Small Tiger Knapp Knives; one for me, the other for Care...



Here's the Specs for the Blind Horse "Small Tiger Knapp" :

∙ 100 % Made in the USA
∙ Laser/water jet cut blanks made from 4140* steel, hand finished
* 4140 is an oil-hardening alloy steel with respectable hardenability. Here's the breakdown of 4140:
Carbon .35 - .43; Magnesium .75 - 1.0; Phosphorus .035; Silicon .04; Molybendum .35; Chromium 1.10
4140 heat-treats well and machines well in the heat-treated condition. It has good strength, good wear resistance and excellent toughness.
∙ Overall length is 6"
∙ 2 1/2" sharpened edge
∙ 1" squared edge spine tip for use as a ferrocerium (FireSteel) striker
∙ Grind - Hollow (flat grind is optional, soon to be offered as the standard grind)
∙ MSRP - $20.00 USD plus shipping
∙ This Knife does not include a sheath. Sheaths are available from both Blind Horse Knives and from JRE Industries.*
* I highly recommend the JRE Industries sheath - see my "Trusted Friends" links on the left side of the page you're viewing for JRE contact info.
∙ Weight with JRE sheath is 3.2 ounces.

Here's a pic of me wearing the Small Tiger Knapp in a JRE sheath. With me is the talented "Spen" of JRE Industries...

I've been using the S.T.K. for a bit over a month now. It's been my primary utility knife around the house; handling chores such as cutting cordage, cutting or trimming cable ties, stripping wire, and cutting up the piles of boxes and plastics for weekly recycling. Performance on those chores has been first rate. Additionally, performance on making fuzzy sticks out of hardwood scraps down in my shop has been stellar. The edge has not suffered the experiences at all. With routine maintenance of stropping the edge after use and a quick wipe down with an oily rag, I've not yet had to put the knife on the SharpMaker.

Even without handle scales, the Tiger Knapp is very comfortable to use for short periods of time due to the nicely rounded and polished handle edges and most of the blade spine. The Tiger Knapping is inset into the handle and gives the user a little more bite to his/her grip as well as keeping the knife's weight to a minimum. The jury is still out on comfort level for extended use of the Tiger Knapp. The load of boxes I sent out two weeks ago was enormous, including the box from a new lawnmower and that from a new grill. By the time I got all the boxes and plastics cut, my hand was a tad crampy. I kind of suspect that discomfort would have occurred regardless of knife choice - those boxes were really tough material.

The "squared edge" spine tip makes for an absolutely wonderful FireSteel striker. Showers of hot sparks are very quickly and easily achieved with minimal effort, as the Tiger Knapp makes a very stable and capable striker.

In the camp kitchen, the Tiger Knapp shines. It makes a great paring knife for the veggies and it makes quick work of meat cutting and trimming chores. Thus far, it's handling characteristics lead me to believe that the S.T.K. would make a very serviceable field dressing knife for big game as well as an excellent choice for small game / fish / fowl processing.

In my opinion, the Tiger Knapp is an excellent choice for a neck knife, utility knife to be carried as a spare for a primary knife, patch knife for a muzzleloader or a primary knife for one interested in going ultralight. It's a great little knife that performs much bigger...

M

*Last picture added with permission from Luke Causey (LukeC)