iKnife Collector
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Need Knife Info
Tags: &, Fisher, Webb, and, iPAK
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by R. Curtin on
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I recently acquired both of these knives. I was unable to locate a similar iPak skinner on the internet. I believe the steel is D2, but I don't know what the handle is made from. Possibly bone or horn? The skinner has file work on the spine.
The small folding knife is marked Webb & Fisher. I was unable to locate that combination of names on the internet. The handle is wood and there is file work on the spine.
Any information on either knife would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin D on
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CFK iPak seems to really like using D2, so I believe that your guess of D2 is a good one. The other alloying elements in D2 should make it pretty straight forward to verify though.
The blade design is very similar to that seen in the 2003 movie The Hunted. Tommy lee Jones and del Toro were in it. (I really enjoyed that movie)
The laser marked 'logo' is a previous design from the current punisher one they are using now. So it is a couple years old at least.
As far as the handle goes? I am pretty sure that it is composite with a nice 5 layer spacer between the 2 main materials. The rear section I think is sheep horn. The front section is obviously wood. From the color, grain, and what I have seen CFK use in the past, I am suspecting it is one of the types of walnut. Two mosaic pins and two thong holes? I would have expected that front thong hole tube to have been another mosaic pin to be honest. But at least it is a form of mechanical connection.
Filework on the spine seems to be a standard offering on CFK (iPak) knives.
One thing that I am not very pleased to see is the apparent separation between the bone and the spacer material. Fortunately, there is a mechanical connection in each section of the handle material.
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Permalink Reply by Lars Ray on
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Oh - nice acquisition. Kevin is correct in that you have an older model of an iPAK knife. The blade style is a much copied variation of the Tom Brown "Tracker" by TOPS Knives. And true, this blade style was featured in The Hunted (super great movie too!). I also concur with Kevin regarding the handle material. As a proud owner of many CFK / iPAK knives myself, you gotta love that sheeps horn!
As pointed out - it appears that the handle material has suffered a bit of shrinkage, causing the slight gap in the material transition. Whether this has occurred since it was originally purchased or not is hard to tell. Praised and ridiculedat at the same time, CFK has always maintained the practice of selling all their knives as either New or Used - where Used means a cosmetic defect of some type in the blade, the steel, handle material, or construction that prevents them from selling it as New. This also applies to their sheaths if so equipped. The Used knives always sell - and usually for less than average - depending on the defect.
If the shrinkage is not severe or bothersome to the hand, then by all means use it!
If you want to really know your knife, consider engaging the team at CFK knives. Send a picture of your knife and ask them approximately when that logo was in use. They may even have the actual date of the knife - hard to tell. I engaged them once as I am describing here and discovered my knife in question was from 2014.
You can enage them through their eBay store (search on CFK Knives) or through their web site: https://www.customforgedknives.com/
I hope this helps...
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Kevin D, Thanks for all the valuable info. I do appreciate your time and knowledge. Do you know of anything that can be applied to the sheep horn portion of the handle to maintain it? Thanks.
Kevin D said:CFK iPak seems to really like using D2, so I believe that your guess of D2 is a good one. The other alloying elements in D2 should make it pretty straight forward to verify though.
The blade design is very similar to that seen in the 2003 movie The Hunted. Tommy lee Jones and del Toro were in it. (I really enjoyed that movie)
The laser marked 'logo' is a previous design from the current punisher one they are using now. So it is a couple years old at least.
As far as the handle goes? I am pretty sure that it is composite with a nice 5 layer spacer between the 2 main materials. The rear section I think is sheep horn. The front section is obviously wood. From the color, grain, and what I have seen CFK use in the past, I am suspecting it is one of the types of walnut. Two mosaic pins and two thong holes? I would have expected that front thong hole tube to have been another mosaic pin to be honest. But at least it is a form of mechanical connection.
Filework on the spine seems to be a standard offering on CFK (iPak) knives.
One thing that I am not very pleased to see is the apparent separation between the bone and the spacer material. Fortunately, there is a mechanical connection in each section of the handle material.
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Lars Ray, Thank you for the info. I do appreciate your time and knowledge. Do know of anything that can be applied to the sheep horn handle to maintain it? I do have the sheath. Thanks.
I forgot to mention to Kevin D that I also purchased an iPak kukri style knife. I believe the handle is possibly micarta.
Lars Ray said:Oh - nice acquisition. Kevin is correct in that you have an older model of an iPAK knife. The blade style is a much copied variation of the Tom Brown "Tracker" by TOPS Knives. And true, this blade style was featured in The Hunted (super great movie too!). I also concur with Kevin regarding the handle material. As a proud owner of many CFK / iPAK knives myself, you gotta love that sheeps horn!
As pointed out - it appears that the handle material has suffered a bit of shrinkage, causing the slight gap in the material transition. Whether this has occurred since it was originally purchased or not is hard to tell. Praised and ridiculedat at the same time, CFK has always maintained the practice of selling all their knives as either New or Used - where Used means a cosmetic defect of some type in the blade, the steel, handle material, or construction that prevents them from selling it as New. This also applies to their sheaths if so equipped. The Used knives always sell - and usually for less than average - depending on the defect.
If the shrinkage is not severe or bothersome to the hand, then by all means use it!
If you want to really know your knife, consider engaging the team at CFK knives. Send a picture of your knife and ask them approximately when that logo was in use. They may even have the actual date of the knife - hard to tell. I engaged them once as I am describing here and discovered my knife in question was from 2014.
You can enage them through their eBay store (search on CFK Knives) or through their web site: https://www.customforgedknives.com/
I hope this helps...
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Sheep horn is normally pretty stable. I wax mine up just to keep everything with a layer of preservation stuff on it. A light oil should work well on it as well. kind of like wiping a rifle down after you clean it after a day of shooting.
Just wipe the knife down after applying the wax or oil.
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Yep - again I agree with Kevin. Because horn, bone, and leather are natural materials, they have a "life", even when not serving as living tissue. It's important to think in these terms, which can be difficult to do in a world of synthetics. A good natural wax will serve the horn and bone well. Horn can shrink if utilized too soon after harvesting....just as wood does.
As for the gap...lots of factors to consider on this, so I will give you a simple solution from the perspective of "if this were my knife" -
If this were my knife and there were no historical considerations, family ties (belonged to my Dad sort of thing), and the knife has no exceptional $$ value because of it's rarity, consider taking it to a master jeweler - one who makes fine custom rings and jewelry, not just sells it. I had a stag/horn Colt knife with some transitional separation - my jeweler used some sort of jewelry-grade resin and expertly filled the gap, polished the knife, and charged me $30.00. The cost of the repair was worth it for me - as it made the knife usable, comfortable, and defect-free, and I made it my friend rather than storing it away because it had a nuisance gap.
But that's me. When I first approached a local Master blade smith in my area to do the work (a logical move), he explaind that for him to do it, he would have to totally disassemble the knife to effect the repairs. While I loved the knife...I didn't love it that much. I could have comissioned him to make me a new for the same cost. It was he that suggested I find a jeweler....and it paid off.
Now Kevin is pretty handy with such fixes...meaning he's been known to pull off a miracle or two...he might have some solutions to consider as well.
Again - lots to consider when making such decisions. Mix and match any other factors, and you may not want to even attempt a repair - it really depends on what you want and your value system. Ask yourself, "will the repair add to the value of the knife or detract from it? If the value lies in it's usablity, overall looks, and life span then by all means proceed. But if it detracts from the total value (cost + usablity + intrinsics), then I'd keep it as is.
As before - I hope this helps...
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Micarta is a composite of (we normally see cloth fiber) some sort of fiber that is saturated with resin and compressed. Because of the very high resin percentage, it is a super stable handle material as it does not absorb water or oil much at all. It also works almost as easily as wood, and has pretty good insulating properties both thermally and electrically. Because of the fiber reinforcement it is very resistant to cracking. Functionally, it is a great handle material! A lot of people like the aesthetics that is can have as well. Personally, I prefer the natural materials, but I do have to admit that most cannot be in the same conversation as micarta functionally.
I believe that I speak for many others in addition to myself when I request to see photos of the Kukri! :) The Kukri blade design has proven itself over time and in various conflicts. It has an inherent beauty to it that is hard to replicate correctly. The bevels are not constant as the depth of the bevel changes over the different areas of the knife. Cant wait!
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Oh Oh...me too!
In fact, consider joining and posting your knife to the KuKri group created by Dead Left Knife Guy (a.k.a. DLKG). It's been a while since anyone has posted there, so yours would be a welcomed delight. DLKG did a great job setting up the group, establishing some fab discussion points on the Kukri attributes, and showcases a nice variety.
https://iknifecollector.com/group/the-kukri-khukuri-group
You can also include your iPAKs in the sub group CFK/iPAK Knives, nested under BOX FULL OF KNIVES. Kevin and I both participate in that group with our CFK trophies.
https://iknifecollector.com/group/odds-ends/forum/topics/cfk-ipak-k...
And speaking of Micarta - here is my tracker-style Wilderness Survival Knife (WSK genre) complete with black linen micarta handle and....count them...three landyard holes in the handle!
I was informed by some internet article I didn't trust that the multiple landyard holes in knives marketed as WSK / Survival knives are for lashing the knife to a pole. Frankly, I fail to see the advantage of strapping a tracker-style blade to a pole - it's hardly a stabbing knife. If I need a spear, I'll take the traker and make one!
WSK by Ash Blades, Canada
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Wow! Again, thank you both for all of the information. I am new to the world of quality knives and knife collecting. Other than 2 Gerber knives I bought new back in the mid-80s, and the iPak I showed you, I don't own any quality collectable knives...yet.
I recently started selling military surplus tactical gear and vintage Carhartt clothing at local gun shows. I bought a box of knives from my military surplus source. That box included the 2 iPaks and the folding Webb & Fisher knife. Most of the others are a mix of folding Gerbers, Kershaws and CRKTs. I expected to sell all the knives at gun shows, but now I have the collecting bug. To learn more, I did an internet search of "knife nomenclature" and found the Fisher website. I had hoped to find my Webb & Fisher there, but was not that lucky.
I will post photos of my Gerbers and the iPak knife I called a kukri style.
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I have added some photos;
Some close-up photos of the iPak tracker handle showing the material gap appears to be consistent all the way around the handle.
A couple of photos of the iPak kukri style showing a close-up of the handle and the condition of the blade.
A photo of my Gerber Mark II. I bought this, new, in the mid-80s. I have never carried or used it. I used the serial number to research it on the internet. This was the first year of the Cordura sheath.
A photo of my Gerber Blackie Collins clip-lock. I also bought this, new, in the mid-80s. I have never carried or used it.
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