You know what frustrating is? Frustrating is going to a gun show, having plenty of money to buy whatever gun you'd want to buy, and not finding anything worth buying. I didn't even find any reloading junk or books that I wanted. I did walk around with a couple of noobs who are getting into guns (this was their first show, she wanted to window shop for revolvers, her next purchase). BTW, she is very interested in historical pieces. I suspect she'll end up collecting old M&Ps, hand ejectors, etc. Her boyfriend seems more interested in larger bore guns (wants a 1911 in addition to the S&W M&P 9mm he just got, wants a shotgun for clay games, also likes my 44mag). I think we have a couple converts.
Anyway, while wandering around with them (actually, waiting for her because she got into a long winded discussion with a dealer about some of his older guns such as a pepperbox
), I stumbled upon these guys:
http://www.blindhorseknives.com/They had a table set up with a selection of their wares including their "Apprentice's Knife", which was significantly cheaper than the "regular model". We chatted for a few minutes about the steels they use (mostly carbon steels such as 01, 4140, D2, etc). I ended up leaving with one of the Apprentice's Knives with 4140 steel and a green micarta handle. The fit and finish is nice and it feels good in the hand. It has a nice heft for such a small knife and feels like it will hold up well to hard use. I asked if I could get one of their regular sheaths instead of the dangler style it normally comes with, to which they agreed. I think a small knife like this would really benefit from a pocket sheath or a horizontal belt sheath. It would make a dandy EDC fixed blade (the blade is a bit shorter than the one on my Small Sebenza).
I'll likely use it as a "woods loafing" knife, something to use when I'm not hunting large game and just want a handy, yet stout blade. It'll probably do a good job on small game and general cutting chores at home or camp.
I should have bought two.
Chris