Copper Age Skinning Knife:

If anyones interested in owning one of these I would love to make one to whatever specifications you need. They are great as decorative ceremonial type accessories as well as being reasonably functional. Anyone can have a steel dagger, but where else can you find a copper dagger, right? Email me at: mike@fantasyprops.com

Construction Notes:

Copper is cool because it looks good shiny or aged and also because it's fairly soft which makes it easy to cut/mold/shape with limited tools. This was a gift for a hunting friend of mine. He is very spiritual and I knew he would appreciate a 'ceremonial' type tool. The blade itsself has a hammered texture with a built-in 'gut-hook' on the back side. Copper cannot be hardened by annealing like many metals because of it's unique structure, so the only way to sharpen it is by hammering the blade edge, which is what I did on this knife. It's sharp enough to be useful, but just like it's ancestors, it will need to be re-hammered and filed to an edge in short order. The Handle is genuine deer antler which is fairly easy to find here in northern Michigan. I bought these pieces at a Native American Pow wow.

Tools: 6" x 1.5" x 3/8" Copper slab, antler, ball peen hammers, anvils, soft grip vise, jewelers saw, files, dremel tool, sandpaper, Japanese saw, 2 small steel nails, gunmetal blueing compound, and heavy-duty marine epoxy glue.