Redback 12″ Long 7″ Blade 12oz Damascus Steel Hunting Bowie Handmade Knife with Stabilized Wood Black Mamba Hand Made World Class Knives LIMITED LUXURY EDITION | BMK-1004-LQ

Description

The Redback earns its name at the handle. The scales are stabilized burl in a deep crimson that runs almost black where the figure is tightest, and the Damascus bolster in front of them is forged from the same billet as the blade.

Where it earns its keep: field work on large game, and a display case the rest of the year. Seven inches of blade at twelve ounces gives you the mass to work through a joint and the belly to skin without changing knives, and the finger notch cut into the ricasso lets you choke right up for the fine cuts near the end of the job.

The pattern is pool and eye, not straight ladder

Look closely at the flat and you will see closed loops and concentric rings rather than parallel lines. That comes from cutting into the surface of the billet before the final flattening, so the deeper layers get dragged up into the plane and print as circles. It is more work than a ladder pattern and it is why the figure changes as it crosses onto the bolster, which was drawn from a different part of the same bar.

Stabilized burl is not just dyed wood

Burl is the chaotic grain that forms where a tree has been injured, which is what produces the swirl. Raw burl is too soft and too porous to be a knife handle, so it is put under vacuum with resin until the voids fill, then cured. Stabilizing is what lets it take dye all the way through instead of only on the surface, and it is why a scratch on this handle will not show a pale line underneath.

Weight where you want it

Twelve ounces sounds heavy on paper. In the hand the Damascus bolster puts a good share of that mass behind the guard rather than out at the tip, so the knife feels balanced near your index finger and does not fight you on long cuts.

Care: the etched pattern is the thing to protect. That contrast exists because acid ate the 1095 layers faster than the 15N20 ones, and anything acidic will keep doing it unevenly — citrus, blood and marinade left on the blade will bleach patches of the figure. Rinse and dry the blade the same day you use it. A lightly oiled cloth over the flats is enough between uses. Never store this one in its leather sheath long term, because vegetable-tanned leather holds moisture directly against the steel.

Questions about the Redback

Can the pattern wear off? No — it goes through the full thickness of the steel. A heavy polish can flatten the contrast, and re-etching brings it back. Damascus knife care and sharpening covers this properly.

Will my handle look like the photo? The color will. The figure will not, because no two burl blanks run the same way.

Is this too nice to actually hunt with? That is your call, but it was built as a working knife. Our Damascus hunting knife guide is a fair place to decide, and the Yuma style bowie is a comparable size if you want a second opinion on shape.

Model: BMK-1004-LQ Redback