Coyote Knife

[tonybones]

A friend was trying to hammer in some authentic looking forge marks into an Ontario/Old Hickory and broke this knife. He sent me what was left, I got this blade, another very small blade from the tang, and an arrowhead from the bits. Set into a coyote jaw with a brass pin, the gut hafting is at points where grip will be greatest. Enjoy!

Bones

 

[The New Guy]

Another good looking knife. :bow: Is there a tutorial somewhere that describes how to fit the tang into a jaw bone? I like the look and since my son and I collect skulls I always seem to have a good supply of large dog breeds we've found. Deer jaws are a dime a dozen round these parts.

 

[roger fisher]

Thats got a real good look to it. Post again when you make a sheath !

 

[50cal.cliff]

A friend was trying to hammer in some authentic looking forge marks into an Ontario/Old Hickory and broke this knife. He sent me what was left, I got this blade, another very small blade from the tang, and an arrowhead from the bits. Set into a coyote jaw with a brass pin, the gut hafting is at points where grip will be greatest. Enjoy!

Bones

What you done with it looks good but I can see why he broke it. Tell him to look up pictures of forge d knives and he will see where he went wrong with his marks!

Also once a knife is hardened you can't beat on it with out annealing it and then re-hardening. Harden steel becomes brittle and doesn't like side ways pressure. By the looks of the blows its lucy it didn't break all too pieces!

 

[VTdeerhunter]

Real nice knife...thanks for sharing!

 

[tonybones]

New Guy, I know of no tutorials except your own instincts. Cut the jaw joint flat as you see here. I use hacksaw blades, not the saw, but buy the blades and cut by hand. Take a Dremel and cut the rough shape for the inside of the bone. If you got a tough enough drill bit you can drill a 1/8 hole, I don't and file a slot. Set it in with epoxy mixed with fine ashes(cigarette ashes are great), Indian glue turns black over the years. Now, you can do as I do, use the real Injun epoxy. Heat pine sap and mix with hide glue, mix it like epoxy and add fine sifted/ground dried deer feces. Fill it in fast, it sets up hard as a rock. You can get gut hafting from Moscow Hide & Furs or NATIVEWAY. If you go the natural glue you can seal the face with like I do, cactus juice to waterproof or use flat finish tung oil. every Injun/mountain man needs at least one jawbone/legbone knife. I'm camera challeneged right now, you all ain't seen nothin' yet, I do have a pic of my Buffalo Warrior Society dagger.

Having a pair of matching jawbones can make a cool handle too. In The Mountain Men with Brian Kieth and Charleton Heston, Steven Macht played the Indian, and it takes a real quick glance to see it, he had a knife with a pair of bear jawbones with the tang sandwiched between, you have to be precise with the drill and know something about wet-rawhide wrap.

New Guy, I use ever jaw I get my hands on, you got any discards, aim them Wild Injun's way.

Bones

 

[tonybones]

Fisher, I'l love to find a piece of coyote skin with the fur, I'd make a liner for it, decorate it with coyote teeth.

Bones

 

[tonybones]

I may put the rust to it Cliff, it does look a little fakey.

Bones

 

[tonybones]

Glad you enjoyed it VT.

Bones

 

[LaBonte]

Nicely done Tony.... :hatsoff:

Having a pair of matching jawbones can make a cool handle too.

they sure do - here's some made with coyote which - bear parts are illegal in a lot of states so check your laws before hand...

New Guy - here's some basic shots of an in work piece using a 15,000 year old cave bear jaw bone from Russia - I drilled the bone out CAREFULLY with a carbide drill bit for the tang and then cast a pewter bolster and the pewter acted as the glue as well. Hope it helps...

and here it is all finished up with the sheath

 

[tonybones]

That's museum quality LaBonte, I salute you. :bow:

Moscow and Lars Eidenes ships me anything I pay for. I was In Tipp Trading Post one day with Bear Knife(undergoing a spear point mod at the moment). Some guy tried to spoof that he was an Ohio State Game Warden and would have to confiscate my knife. I told him as being part of an artifact it was perfectly legal and he could have the knife with sheath for $1250. I and my mother lost our home and collectables/antiques to the tune of $350,000(I had the first 8 Spiderman comic books) when she was forced against her will into a nursing home. I was not in a very good mood that day per confiscation of property, and told this numbskull he could have Bear Knife for free. Point first. One of his buddies rushed him out of the shop.

I want to someday to duplicate the Sorby Sheffield "Northern Plains" dagger.

Bones

 

[PA.1740]

NICE!!! :thumbsup:
Have Fun
Phil

 

Any excuse to show your "products" again, and again, and again. "You made a knife? Here's my products!" Embarrassing highjack IMO. :shake:

Nicely done Tony.... :hatsoff:

Having a pair of matching jawbones can make a cool handle too.

they sure do - here's some made with coyote which - bear parts are illegal in a lot of states so check your laws before hand...

New Guy - here's some basic shots of an in work piece using a 15,000 year old cave bear jaw bone from Russia - I drilled the bone out CAREFULLY with a carbide drill bit for the tang and then cast a pewter bolster and the pewter acted as the glue as well. Hope it helps...

and here it is all finished up with the sheath

 

[The New Guy]

Any excuse to show your "products" again, and again, and again. "You made a knife? Here's my products!" Embarrassing highjack IMO. :shake:

Since I asked Tony for advice it can be assumed that I would like to try and make one of these. I believe LaBonte was simply posting his works (and a pictorial of a work in progress) in this thread as nothing more than additional ideas since it would be assumed I was following this particular thread. Which I am. I appreciate him adding something worthwhile to the thread and I do like the idea of a matched pair handle. I might not have considered doing that had he not posted. Since I also mentioned that I collect skulls, he could have very well assumed that I would have a matched set of mandibles lying around. Which I do. The only thing I see embarrassing about this thread is the one post that has nothing to do with this particular topic.

 

[The New Guy]

Thanks for the pics LaBonte. Those are some awesome knives. I have a couple of questions though.

On the dagger in the third or fourth pic, How did you get that aged look and how is the skin attached? Is it glued, sewn at the seam, or pined on the opposite side as some of the others?

How did you mold the poured pewter bolster after the knife was assembled?

I also love your beadwork. Absolutely beautiful!

 

[The New Guy]

Thanks for all the info Tony. I think I might try my hand at making one of these. I am pretty good at making my own glues, since I enjoy teaching primitive skills to my Boy Scout Troop. I have the bones and I'm sure I can come up with an appropriate homemade dye to get that "well worn aged" look. Now all I need is to find me a blade blank. Send me a PM with your address and I'll send you a couple of jaw bones. BTW, what length of blade would be considered appropriate without looking odd? Thanks again.

 

[tonybones]

NG, I don't know Jack or LaBonte, I got no conflict with either of them. I've been members of many of these forums and there always seems to be a contention somewhere.I am still a member of a certain computer game forum where several of the guys made fun of the fact I got my copy of the game at a thrift shop rather than paying 100+ bucks when it was new. I'm on SSI Disablity from being t-boned by a 16 year old who was smashed. Feces occur. I've done floors, cleaned toilets and was proud of it, put autopsied infants back together in funeral homes, was a coolector for a loan shark. I'm a Ted Nugent conservative but I don't recognize either social or economic classes.I've been aware of LaBonte's work for several years now, I've Google searched primitive knives and have the pictures he posts here before I joined this forum. If he wants to show his wares for whatever reason, I don't mind. If Jack objects, he can do that too. This forum is not going to be one that I'm going to be drawn into contentions however, or cliques. I joined this forum for the sole reason to find a source of parts for some rifles, You guys are pretty cool and helpful above and beyond the call of duty, I'm gonna fill out my profile and hang around.

I'm gonna let LaBonte reply to your questions, I'll give you my methods: I cut the rawhide to shape, make sewing holes with an awl, and sew the hide into place. I lay down a layer of sinew so the rawhide don;t slip, and the leather is sewed on over a layer of hide glue. I would guess the pewter is cast before the rest of the work is done, then shaped and polished afterwards, I'll let LaBonte give you his tecniques. I have not done lead/pewter casting, I don't have the space to do it.

Indian crafts are great for Boy Scouts, I could keep the kids working round the clock, lol.

I'll be in touch my friend.

Bones

 

[tonybones]

Forgot to tell you NG, you have to soak the rawhide in water for several hours. Cut it just barely under the size you need, it shrinks as it drieds, that grip is not going to come off whatever.

Bones

 

[tonybones]

Duh, I forgot another one, New Guy. On an adult coyote jaw 7 inches would not be outrageous. When you make an Indian knife, don't think like a white man, don't think odd, think primitive, think savage, think practical. Being 1/4 Indian don't give me access to "ancestral memories"; I used to email with a friend, about a 200 year old Sioux, I'd ask him what looks Indian. He said, what looks good to you. He also told me to research as many primitive anythings I wanted to make. :thumbsup:

Bones

 

[Claude Mathis]

When you make an Indian knife, don't think like a white man, don't think odd, think primitive, think savage, think practical.

Without knowing the historical evidence, I've often wondered how "practical" it would have been to choose a handle with sharp teeth sticking out, as opposed to a plain piece of wood or antler? Is this a modern concept, or is there evidence of them having been used?

I've held those handles and they are not comfortable. I can see it as a ceremonial piece, but nothing to be used as a working tool.