Rifle Shooter – July 2019

http://www.rifleshootermagazine.co.uk 43

advent of reliable, accurate, magazine-fed firearms, hunting
was sometimes more akin to hand-to-hand combat than the
formalised countryside pursuit it has since become. To
compensate for this, we fashioned equipment such as the
European hunting sword, used as recently as the 19th
century. These decorated short swords would have been
employed to dispatch cornered or injured game, allowing for
additional distance between the hunter and dangerous
animals such as wild boar. Luckily, most of us nowadays
aren’t required to engage in such violent dispatch tactics
(apart from a select breed of young Antipodean men who
continue to pursue wild pigs with Bowie knives).

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As a society, we have developed a deep fear of knives; even
the ceremonial sabres wielded by officers in our military are
blunt – not just blunt, but square on the edges! As a
teenager, during the so-called rise of knife crime in the UK,
my own childhood interest in knives and knife-making was
often viewed with apprehension. But beneath the pervading
zeitgeist of anxiety, an enduring fascination with knives,
especially among the hunting and shooting community, has
lived on. I believe this fascination is innate. After all, our

reliance on knives has persisted for millennia. It’s only
recently we’ve become terrified of them. So, where does this
leave the modern hunter? What are we looking for in a knife;
indeed, what do we even need one for?
As a professional knife maker, a cutler if you will, I tackle
those questions frequently. I value my knife as highly as my
rifle. Indeed, my knife works a lot harder. My rifle does less
than a second of work when I pull the trigger, whereas my
knives might do hours of duty as I break down a carcass
ready for the freezer. Furthermore, I choose my blades as
carefully as my firearms. I need to know they will perform
when it matters most. When I started making knives, I did so
because I needed a knife that would perform beyond those
that I could readily afford (although the amount I have now
invested in tools and equipment to make knives
exponentially overshadows the amount I was reluctant to
spend on a decent custom knife all those years ago!).
The decade and a half I have invested in becoming an
expert knife maker has paid dividends in terms of the insight
I now have on knife design. Firstly, blade length. Contrary to
our childhood fantasies, bigger is not better when it comes
to blade length. Millennia of experimentation has shown us
that a 3-5" cutting edge is sufficient for most tasks; indeed,
being able to stretch out your index finger to rest at the tip of
the spine of the blade is essential for accurate work when
dressing quarry (a blade with a gut hook is for people who
have yet to discover this).
Of equal importance is handle design. A handle should be
comfortable, smooth and perfectly jointed to the knife’s tang.
Beyond that, it’s down to aesthetic preferences. The maker
or manufacturer should select a steel type for the
convenience of the end user, not the craftsman. Steel
should hold an edge well (not indefinitely), be easy to
sharpen and not too brittle. A blade that dulls a little sooner
is far more serviceable than a brittle blade that retains an

edge forever but is prone to chipping. And, of course, just as

you shouldn’t skimp on your rifle case, a good leather sheath

keeps your blade sharp and secure.

Can the modern hunter acquire these elements in a

good-quality mass-produced knife? In many cases, yes.

However, the purchaser will pay dearly and miss out on the

opportunity to own something entirely unique.

Commissioning a custom knife is about more than just

utility. When you invest in a custom knife, you buy something

that becomes a part of your personal hunting history, just

like your ancestors with their knapped flints. When you make

contact with that rare breed of craftsmen, the custom knife

maker, you begin a relationship that results in the acquisition

of an heirloom piece. A piece that represents the pinnacle of

the evolution of knife design. And furthermore, you’ll own a

knife that perfectly suits your needs, and all for less than a

quarter of the cost of a decent scope.

“MY RIFLE DOES LESS THAN A SECOND OF WORK; MY KNIVES

WORK FOR HOURS, BREAKING DOWN THE CARCASS”

ABOVE: According to

Phil, a knife is as

important as the rifle

to hunters

BELOW: A selection

of bronze age tools,

knives and weapons

• we’ve come a
  long way!

KNIVES WITH PHILIP SIDDELL

PICTURE:

GARY TODD

PICTURE:

DOM HOLTAM