Spurs and the Great West

[ffuries]

Yeah right, there's a reason it's called cutthroat, because that is exactly what I would do if I tried to shave with that.

Using straight razors to shave is an art all of its own........Those who can do, those who can't bleed to death!

[nrobertb]

Another railroad spike knife, from Northern Crescent, Flat Rock NC.

[nrobertb]

Burt Foster made this mosaic Damascus hunter with spalted maple handle. He also makes his own sheaths.

[nrobertb]

For all you SHTF fans,. here is the ultimate tactical knife. Anyone know what those gadgets do?

[nrobertb]

I'm a big fan of knives with antler handles. This one by Greg Wall features a sambar stag handle.

[nrobertb]

Another version of the railroad spike knife.

[LCPfraTN]

This is a very interesting and educational thread! However, the original title and first pages of the thread have certainly evolved into much more than Spurs. The thread might garner more interest if the title could be changed now that the content encompasses so much more than Spurs.


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[nrobertb]

This is Frank Bridwell's take on a French colonial trade knife.

[nrobertb]

This knife and sheath was made for me in 1970 by Francis Schneider at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where he was the elevator mechanic. The blade is a piece of scrap from the elevator control room. It isn't so obvious in the photo but the handle has a definite curve to it. I'm left handed and the curve fits perfectly into the palm of my left hand.

This is the knife I used to cut up mule deer for the research project that led to the big Carlsbad Deer Court Case, which I'll explain in another post.

[nrobertb]

Here is a pair of eagle spurs by Kelly.

[nrobertb]

THE GREAT CARLSBAD DEER COURT CASE
In the late 1960’s officials at Carlsbad Caverns National Park became concerned that mule deer were overbrowsing the park vegetation. Hunting was prohibited by the enabling legislation and there were few if any natural predators. There was also a side issue of cattle crossing the unfenced boundary to graze.

A Park Service biologist began a study to see what effect the deer were having. He built some exclosures, established reference points for time lapse photography and set up transects for pellet counts. In addition he was to harvest 50 deer from various locations over a period of several months. He would weigh the deer, take blood samples, weigh various organs, take samples of stomach contents, check bone marrow and look for parasites.

He recruited three of us park rangers to do the shooting and help with the sampling. Eventually I shot three deer with my Enfield jungle carbine and commercial .303 ammo.

As a courtesy, the park informed the New Mexico Game Commission of the study. They replied that first the park needed to get a permit from them, because they owned the deer. The park declined, saying that the deer were the property of the federal government.

So the state took the park to court. I received a summons and temporary injunction to cease shooting, from the New Mexico District Court. Also named on the injunction were the other shooters, the Chief Ranger, Park Superintendent, Director of the National Park Service, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Interior.

The District Court found in favor of the state. The case was appealed to the District Court of Appeals, which reversed the ruling. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case, so there it stood. The park legally owns the deer.

Of course the press had a field day, with headlines like “Feds leave deer to rot”. I transferred to another park and have never been able to find a copy of the final report to see what conclusions the biologist reached, but today the park vegetation is thriving.

[LCPfraTN]

Interesting story about Carlsbad.


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[nrobertb]

here is a nice piece with an interesting sheath, by Knife Community.

[nrobertb]

here is a mini-chopper by Michael Mattox. I don't know why he left the blade so rough.

[ffuries]

here is a nice piece with an interesting sheath, by Knife Community.

I like the knife a lot, but that sheath is awesome!