Description
Twelve inches long, and seven of that is blade. The Black Rat Snake sits at the top end of what leaves this shop, built as a limited run rather than a catalog line, with a dark wrapped grip that gives the hand something to bite on.
| Overall length | 12 inches |
| Blade length | 7 inches |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus, 352 layers |
| Handle | Black cord wrapped grip with a polished steel bolster |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Weight | 11 oz |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Suited to: camp chores at the heavy end and open display the rest of the year. Seven inches of edge gives real reach for limbing and for splitting kindling with a baton, and the 11 ounce mass does the work on a chopping stroke so your forearm does not have to.
What eleven ounces buys you
Weight is the whole argument for a knife this size. Momentum carries the edge through green wood and cartilage that a lighter blade would bounce off. It also means the knife is tiring to use for detail work, and it will not ride comfortably on a belt all day without a stiff one. Think of it as a small axe that can also slice.
Reach has a cost
A seven inch blade is a liability for anything close and precise. Caping around a skull, boning out a shoulder, trimming a knot on a rope: all of that is easier with half the length. Buyers who own one knife should not make it this one. Buyers who already have a four inch hunter and want something with more authority are exactly right for it.
The sheath and how to store it
The included sheath is hand-stitched leather, tooled and wet-formed to the blade. Leather is the correct way to carry the knife and the wrong way to store it: vegetable-tanned hide holds moisture and traces of tanning acid against the steel. Keep the sheath for the truck and the trail, and let the blade live on a shelf or in a slotted block.
Looking after it: Pattern-welded high-carbon steel will rust if you let it. Wipe the blade down after every outing, especially after contact with blood or sap, and oil it before storage. If a spot of orange does appear, it lifts off with a rag and oil long before it becomes a pit. Our note on whether Damascus knives rust goes into the specifics.
Common questions
Is this too big for hunting? For deer-sized game it is more knife than you need. Plenty of people carry one anyway for camp duty and pair it with something smaller for dressing. The hunting knife guide walks through how the two sizes divide the work.
Will it rust in humid weather? It can. If you want a large fixed blade that shrugs off moisture, a stainless option such as the Hyena 440C hunter asks less of you, at the cost of the pattern.
Can it be engraved? Yes. Engraving is done in our Memphis shop before the knife ships, and there is room on the flat of a seven inch blade for a full line of text rather than just initials.
Model: BMK-1002-LQ
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