Ramcrest Hand Forged Damascus Skinner Knife with Ram Horn Handle & Leather Sheath | Compact Hunting and Collector Gift | RK-408

Seven inches overall with only three of them blade, the Ramcrest is the most compact skinner in the range and the handle is the reason. Five inches of ram horn against a 3 inch hand forged Damascus blade from a 393 layer billet gives you a knife you hold rather than one you wave. It is forged, ground and finished by hand, and the two parts are fitted so the knife sits balanced in the palm rather than nose heavy. For the actual technique in the field, see the field method.

Horn was the plastic of the pre industrial world. It is keratin, the same protein as hair and fingernail, laid down in layers around a bony core, and that layered structure is what makes it so useful: heat it and it becomes workable, press it and it holds the new shape, and when it cools it is hard, tough and waterproof. Before injection moulding existed, horn was made into combs, spoons, drinking vessels, powder flasks and the translucent panes of lanterns, which is where the word lanthorn comes from. Ram horn in particular is dense and heavily figured, and it has been a premium knife handle material for as long as people have been making knives worth putting a good handle on.

Forged and finished in the Czech Republic. It ships with a leather sheath, protective packaging and a working edge.

Specifications

Where the point sits, and why hunters argue about it

On a hunting blade the position of the tip relative to the spine is the single decision that changes everything, and there are three answers to it.

A trailing point sweeps the tip up above the line of the spine. That gives the longest possible belly for a given blade length and lifts the point as far as it will go from the cutting line, which is why the classic skinner is drawn this way. It is the fastest shape on hide and the worst shape for anything that needs a point.

A drop point brings the spine down in a gentle convex curve so the tip sits at or just below the spine line. You lose some belly and gain a strong, controllable point. It is the sensible general hunting blade and the reason most factory hunting knives are drop points.

A clip point cuts the spine away concavely and drops the tip lower still, giving a fine, thin point at the cost of strength. That is the Bowie answer, and it is built for piercing and detail.

A short skinner like this one lives at the useful intersection. Three inches of blade with a raised belly is still fast on hide, and because the handle is a full five inches you get an unusual amount of control for a blade this small. That is what makes it good at the fiddly end of the job: working around joints, freeing the hide at the legs, and caping where a long blade simply cannot turn. The five inch handle is not a mistake or a proportion error. It is what lets you choke right up to the blade and work with your fingers close to the cut.

Why Damascus and not stainless

This is real pattern welded Damascus, not an etched print. Layers of 1095 high carbon and 15N20 nickel steel are forge welded, folded and drawn out to 393 layers, so the pattern runs through the blade rather than sitting on the surface. Hardened to 58 to 60 HRC, it takes a finer apex than kitchen or field stainless and holds it through more work.

On a small blade the hardness matters more, not less, because there is less edge to spread the work across. A soft short blade goes blunt quickly. The trade off is that carbon steel will stain if blood, fat or salt is left on it, and will spot if it is put away wet. Wipe it as you go and oil it afterwards and it will not. That is the entire maintenance argument, and we set both sides out in Damascus versus stainless.

The ram horn handle

Ram horn polishes to a depth that synthetics only imitate, and it warms in the hand within seconds. It also has natural ridging and figure that gives a grip some purchase without needing texture cut into it, which is exactly what you want when your hands are wet. Because it is a natural material grown by an animal, colour runs from pale amber through to near black with banding in between, and no two handles are alike.

Horn does need looking after. Keep it out of long soaks and away from direct heat, radiators and sunny windowsills, because horn that dries out will check along its layers. A light coat of mineral oil or a soft wax once or twice a year keeps it fed and stable indefinitely. The routine is the same one we use on timber and it is written up in wooden handle care.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the handle. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us whether it goes on the blade or the handle. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On a 3 inch blade a short rune line or a set of initials reads better than a long phrase, and we will tell you honestly if what you have asked for will not sit legibly at that size. See the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Left wet it will spot. Dried and oiled it will look the same in twenty years. Wipe the blade as you work, wash it in warm water with a little mild soap afterwards, dry it completely including the join at the handle, and put a thin film of mineral or camellia oil on the steel before storage.

Sharpening a short curved blade is quick work but it needs care at the belly: roll the blade slightly as you pass so you follow the curve instead of flattening it. A 1000 grit stone raises a burr in a couple of minutes on a blade this size and a 3000 refines it. Hold the existing angle. Keep the knife out of the leather sheath for long storage, since vegetable tanned leather traps moisture against steel. Both jobs are covered in steel care and sharpening with a whetstone.

Made in the Czech Republic

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it out.

A note on handmade variation

The Ramcrest is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. Ram horn is one of the most variable materials we use, running from pale amber to near black, sometimes banded, sometimes almost clear, with ridging that is wherever the animal grew it. Two Ramcrests can look startlingly different side by side.

At 393 layers the Damascus pattern is fine and dense, and where it lands on the blade is decided by the hammer and the etch. The dimensions, the steel, the hardness and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the handle longer than the blade

Because control is the point of a small skinner. A five inch handle lets you grip properly with a wet hand and choke right up to the blade for close work, which a stubby handle on a short blade does not allow.

Is 3 inches enough blade to skin a deer

Yes, though it will take more strokes than a five inch blade. Where it wins is around joints, on the legs and in caping, where a longer blade cannot turn. Many hunters carry it as the detail knife alongside a larger one.

Can ram horn be repaired if it chips

Small checks along the layers can usually be stabilised with oil and left. A serious chip needs a new scale, which is a workshop job rather than a home one. Keeping the horn fed prevents almost all of it.

Does the horn smell

Not in normal use. Horn can smell faintly if it is heated or ground, which is what it is like during making, but a finished and sealed handle does not. Avoid leaving it somewhere hot.

Is this a good knife for small game and birds

It is very good on both. The short blade and long handle give the control that small game work needs, and the raised belly still does the skinning work faster than a straight edge would.

What arrives with it

The knife, a leather sheath cut and stitched to it, protective packaging and care notes. US shipping is free and returns are open for seven days from delivery.

What is in the box

• One Ramcrest Damascus skinner knife
• Leather sheath
• Protective packaging
• Care notes for carbon steel and ram horn
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the rest of the Damascus skinner knives, the hunting knives and the Bowie knives if you want a larger blade to pair with it. Technique and material background sit in the guides.