Carcass splitter

Stormcrow

Well-Known Member
Just dropped this carcass splitter off with my buddy Tobin Nieto to get a rawhide sheath built. I'll do final cleanup and sharpening when I get it back.







It'll be on my table at the Blade Show. More details when it's finished.

I can't help but get this maniacal grin when I pick it up. :D

 
I'm trying to come up with a better adjective than wicked. I get the same maniacal grin just lookin' at it. I've been wanting to build something really close to that for quite a while. BTW, what steel did you use and how much does it weigh?
 
Finished up the carcass splitter. It'll be on my table at the Blade Show. 17 1/2" blade, 20 1/4" handle, forged from 2" x 1/4" 5160. The handle is paracord over leather, with a three-strand paracord Turk's head knot, all impregnated with epoxy.





My buddy and fellow knifemaker Tobin Nieto of Stonehaven Knifeworks made the lined rawhide sheath for it. One of the avenues that led him to making knives was an interest in movie props and replicas of movie props. He perfectly captured the vibe that I envisioned for the overall project: something that would be carried by a boss character in a zombie video game or the antagonist of a slasher movie.

I had my hand in the sheathwork, though. Namely, the "blood splatters".







They're actually brick red India ink. :D

The chain is a shoulder sling. It originally was part of the mechanism for opening and shutting a heavy door in a huge slaughterhouse that my landlord's father worked in. I don't know what position he had, but he told me there were 600 men working under him, and he supervised when the slaughterhouse was torn down. The hooks are forged from a high-carbon farm implement tine.



The blood splatters look pretty authentic, huh? Like something Leatherface would have hanging above his bed. :16:



Here's one of the ways of wearing it with the sling.







"Forth, minions!"



One of the things I like about it is that although it is large and has plenty of power, it's still light and lively enough to wield one-handed.



I have some materials gathered for a little cutting demo video later on in the week, weather permitting.

Oh, Tobin plays guitar, too. :14:



 
Got a bit of cutting video. Unfortunately, the button didn't get pushed during the 2" x 4" chop. :( But it cut over halfway through with each swing.

[video=youtube;awGv1RY5uqU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awGv1RY5uqU[/video]
 
I got a chance to put the carcass splitter to the test doing the kind of work I grew up doing and which has informed my thoughts on cutting: dismembering a mesquite tree. I think it's a lot more informative than a water bottle test or trying to cut multiple coconuts (though that may be because I failed to cut multiples due to the blade deflecting).
But see for yourself. :)

[video=youtube;-Z3enZ_sADQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z3enZ_sADQ[/video]
 
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