The American longhunters were 18th century explorers, hunters and adventurers who made expeditions into the American frontier sometimes for as much as six months at a time and gathered information about the lands in the 1760s and 1770s that would prove critical to colonists settling in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Many longhunters of the period carried a long knife for the purpose of butchering large game such as bison and elk, as well as taking care of daily chores around camp. Over time some of the Native population in contact with the longhunters began to refer to them as Longknife because of their carrying of blades similar to this one.
Knifes like this were an important tool used to settle the frontiers of early America and to help establish the rich history of the people who used them.
This knife was hand forged into shape from 5160 carbon steel recycled from the shock springs off a large truck, then hand filed into its final form leaving some of the forge and file marks in the steel to give a truly unique appearance.
The handle of this knife is made from the leg bones of a locally harvested Moose hand shaped and polished into a wonderful traditional style and secured onto the tang with brass rivets, the handle also has some checkering to help improve grip.
The tang of this knife also tapers to its base. This was done on original knives of this era to save metal and to make the knife a little lighter.
This knife has a blade that measures 8 3/4" a handle that measures 4 5/8" and an overall measurement of 13 3/8"
This knife also comes with a hand stitched leather sheath that has been made to fit the blade well.
