• The Steel

  52100 is the Thoroughbred of steels

   

  • Think of everything you want out of a knife, and its already in 52100  Ball Bearing Steel. With nearly 150 points of Chromium it's easy to sharpen to a fine razor edge.   With over 100 points of Carbon, it holds that edge till the real work is done.
  • We use Rex Walters's 52100 , forged from 6" dia. solid virgin round stock. Tested to have an off the chart, fine and even grain structure. Starting life as a blade never had it so good!
  •  At any cost, we believe we're using one of the best steels available. Many Bladesmiths make claim to there steels, all having some good qualities. But not one of them can make 52100 sit in the corner.  In the real world of  all-round field knifes, 52100 wins hands-down  as one of worlds best all-around blade steels, period.

    Run a few searches for 52100  and you will see why we are so excited about it as a blade steel.

    
     

    
    

    Handles, guards and sheaths

     

    • Handles
    • Desert Ironwood (Olneya tesota)    Using trees that started life just after the fall of the Roman Empire, a pea like seed sprouted in the Sonora Desert. Growing for up to 1500 years the Desert Ironwood, trees  were around since time stood still. We use only naturally dead , legally harvested Desert Ironwood. Living for such a long time, this wood grows hard, hard as any we found! We love this wood for handles, it has a price, but we feel worth every penny!                                                                               
    • Mountain Scrub Oak (Quercus ajoensis) High up the windswept slopes of the  Rocky Mountain's  grows the Mountain Scrub Oak. The Oak we use sprouted from an acorn back some 175 years ago, back  when Mountain Men still traded for goods with beaver skins.  Standing at a stubborn full 12' against the elements, it stands the test of time! Half the weight of Desert Ironwood, we feel this might be a better choice for scouting if ounces are a concern.  We harvest standing-dead Scrub Oak on the ranches we visit to shoe horses. With the instructions to "take all of it if you want!" , yes, we can sell Scrub oak handled knives at a slightly better price.  
    • Guards: Understanding the full needs of a field knife. Nothing works harder then a horse in harness.  We developed a unique 'Horse collar' feel to keep your grip. Ground from a full 1 1/4" brass-bar stock, we can match the spirit of the blade to the way it performs, harnessed to your hand. click picture for a better feel.

    

    •  Sheaths: Pounding brush on a deer-drive, crawling that last 100 yards for that perfect shot, finding your vantage point on a pre-dawn opener. Pouch-sheaths are ideal.  Needing your knife when you need it, where you need it, one handed, in a pinch, is our goal. We make your sheaths in-house with use and function in mind. 12OZ. full-grained premium leather, hand stitched with sinew strength. Our sheaths are ready to go to work.

    

Craftsmanship

• Forging:  If there were a better way to shape  steel, we would use it. Look at just about every other tool you might own and if it tells you how it was made, it tells you it was forged, period, end of story.   
• Forge/Forging heat: The secrets out, 52100 is just to complex of an alloy to enjoy much heat and still maintain integrity. We modified our forge to maintain a soft oxygen deprived, consistent/manageable heat, and learned to work the steel at a lower temperature. Never said this was easy, but if it were, we would have a lot more Bladesmiths forging 52100 .
•  Cold Forging: The Free-Trapper in all of us should relate. Ask us something, and there is a good chance we will answer. Demand something, and there is a good chance for mixed results. Same with 52100 steel, it's as stubborn as we are. To much heat just demands to much from the steel. Horses are another example, force train a horse, demand the horse to yield,  and you will never get there respect or full potential from that horse. Work with a horse, earn there respect and yield, and you will get 110% , every time . Cold forging 52100 steel is asking it for it's full potential, our promise to you is 110% of what you thought a knife could be!

The Heat treat

• What's too hard? We all have seen knifes that take forever to re-sharpen, there as worthless as flip-flops, in the field.  
• What's to soft? We all have seen blades that don't keep an edge, not the end of the world, but a hassle to maintain. In every profession, the Craftsman is judged in part by the quality of there tools. Numerous stops to touch up a blade is not in our vocabulary.
•  What's just right? Backing our product with true Craftsman's pride. Pride with out integrity is price without quality. More simply put, see our Warrantee/Guarantee.

Have you ever visited Knife Links Unlimited?

http://www.knifelinksunlimited.com