Description
Ten inches of Damascus is a lot of knife. The Ranger is a fighting bowie from the Steve Layton bench, and the length is the whole point: reach for clearing, and enough forward mass to chop without swinging twice.
| Overall length | 15 inches |
| Blade length | 10 inches |
| Handle length | 5 inches |
| Handle | G10 |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus, 352 layers |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Weight | 15 oz |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Built for: clearing brush, splitting kindling, and anyone who would rather pack one large blade than a hatchet plus a knife. The clip point keeps a fine enough tip for cutting cord and opening boxes, so it is not purely a chopper.
What fifteen ounces feels like
That weight sits ahead of your hand. It is exactly what drives the edge into wood, and it is also what makes the knife tiring once you switch to fiddly work. Choke up behind the guard and the balance shifts enough for controlled cuts. Carry it on a belt all day and you will notice it by mid-afternoon. Full tang versus partial tang covers the construction that lets a blade this long take that abuse.
G10 in the hand
G10 is layered fiberglass set in resin. It will not swell, shrink, crack in dry heat, or soak up water and blood the way natural handle material does. It also never develops character. A G10 scale looks the same in a decade as it does the day it arrives. Grip actually improves when your hands are wet, which is why it beats polished wood on a working blade.
Care: both steels in this billet are carbon steels, so the blade will rust if you put it away damp. Dry it, oil the flats, and pay attention to the seam right in front of the guard where moisture hides. The handle needs nothing beyond soap and water. Store the blade outside the leather rather than in it.
Who should skip it
Skip it if you want something to carry every day, if blade length limits where you live are a concern, or if most of your cutting is small and precise. A two-ounce Damascus neck knife does that job better for a fraction of the money. If you are cross-shopping big fixed blades, the military knife buying guide is the place to start.
FAQs
How sharp is it out of the box? Shaving sharp. For the first months of light use you will be stropping it, not sharpening it.
Can I baton with it? Within reason, yes. A full-tang carbon steel blade this long handles seasoned wood. Leave knots and frozen rounds alone.
Is this a limited run? It belongs to the Steve Layton series, made in small batches rather than continuous production.
Model: SL-022
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