Description
Walnut burl is what happens when a tree goes wrong in an interesting way. A burl is a growth caused by stress or injury, and the grain inside it swirls rather than running straight, which is why the scales on this knife have that rippling, almost liquid figure across the palm. It is harder to work than straight-grained timber, it moves unpredictably under the belt, and it is worth the trouble every time.
| Overall Length | 7.5 inches |
|---|---|
| Blade Length | 3.5 inches |
| Handle Length | 4 inches |
| Blade Steel | High carbon steel |
| Blade Finish | Matte gray satin |
| Blade Style | Sheepsfoot bull cutter with notched choil |
| Handle Material | Walnut burl wood |
| Fittings | Brass pins, lanyard hole |
| Tang | Full tang |
| Sheath | Handmade tooled leather belt sheath (included) |
Shape and purpose
The Mesa Drifter is a bull cutter, which is a pattern most people meet for the first time on a ranch or in a butcher’s hand. Straight edge, blunt front, short and stiff. There is no point to speak of, and that is the design working as intended rather than a limitation. You get a knife that cuts with its whole edge, that will not stab something you are reaching past, and that is short enough to keep close control of when your other hand is holding whatever you are cutting.
The choil is notched so you can choke up onto the ricasso. The spine is left square with a slight break on the corners, so you can put a thumb on it and push without it biting.
High carbon steel, plainly finished
Simple high carbon steel, taken to a satin finish that runs the length of the flat. There is no pattern welding here and nothing decorative about the surface; it is a plain blade that does its job and sharpens in minutes. Carbon steel in this class gets sharper than stainless, gets there faster, and gives it up faster too. For a knife that lives in a sheath on a belt and gets touched up on a stone every few weeks, that is the right side of the bargain. The brass-lined lanyard hole through the butt takes a wrist loop or a length of paracord.
The scales are pinned through a full tang, so the steel runs the entire length of the handle. That construction is the reason you can lean on this knife without worrying about the join.
Made in Memphis
Forged, ground, hardened, handled and sharpened by hand in our Tennessee shop, then fitted to a hand-tooled leather belt sheath with a decorative border stamp and a wide loop. If you are curious about what separates work like this from a knife stamped out at volume, we wrote about it at length.
Burl needs a little more thought
Figured wood is beautiful and slightly temperamental. Big swings in humidity are what move it, so the enemy is not water so much as a hot car in July followed by a cold shed in January. Keep the knife somewhere stable, wax the scales twice a year, and it will stay put. The blade is plain carbon and will take a grey patina from onions, meat and citrus; that patina is protective and there is no reason to scrub it off. Dry the knife rather than letting it drip. Our notes on storing knives properly cover the sheath question, which matters here because damp leather against carbon steel is the one combination that will actually cause you problems. If you would rather have a synthetic handle that ignores all of this, the Dust Devil is the same pattern in micarta.
Model: BMK-1148
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