Some reenactor blades..

[ironglow]

Here are some knives I made years ago, for some reenactor folks. The point being, to make them much the way a frontier blacksmith would have made them.. Strictly utilitarian, and made from "repurposed' steel.

[gene_225]

Middle one looks like Green River knives I have seen except the blade seems thicker.

[ironglow]

ote that all have skinning capability in their design...I particularly liked the middle one, and almost hated to part with it.  Yes..you saw it..  All three are thicker than the Green River blades.  The frontier blacksmiths made their blades from high carbon steel, if and where they could find it..and sometimes did their best to hammer some carbon in as best they could.

   As I recall, the top two were made from a lawn mower blade, while the bottom one was forged from a heavy file..

  I like to think that by leaving them in a less that 'show' state, lends a sense of frontier authenticity to them.

  Note that all three have skinning capability designed into them. I particularly liked the middle one, and almost regretted parting with it!  The especially heavy blade and with the handle narrowing toward the center, allowed for
   a terrific grip on the knife..

[gene_225]

Yes, I saw that. I have a Green River knife a friend gave me about 15 years ago. A bit rusty but sharpened up really fast. My dad had one when I was growing up, but I didn't know what it was then. Years later I asked about it but he no longer could remember it.

[ironglow]

Although they are not the same steel used in the original Green River knives of the 1830s, they are still high quality b8lades.
  The originals were of high carbon steel, while today's Green River blades, are of a high carbon stainless steel.

  It has been said that among the mountain men, when a fellow trapper showed up with a new blade that his contemporaries didn't recognize, first question was ...."Is it up to Green River?"

  ..So obviously, the Green River blades were respected by the mountain men.

[Ranger99]

The GR's I have are definitely
not stainless at all

[gene_225]

Ditto

[ironglow]

I stand corrected..

   i was going by info I had when I was in retail cutlery business in the 1990s.  My sources then, furnished only high carbon stainless.
   It looks like they have now gone back to plain high carbon blades...good for them !