Post by Pete1977 on Mar 13, 2009 17:05:35 GMT -5
Tanguay Custom prototype
2 years ago custom maker Scott Tanguay was designing a knife for commercial fisherman. The post can be found here: www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=461752
After several PM’s and emails back and forth he put a blade I designed onto a handle of his own design and this knife was born. It was originally meant to be made in 440 C. The prototype was made in O-1 and was given to a commercial lobsterman to test out along with another knife of Scott’s own design.
I had finished commercial fishing by then and had taken another job. It was 8 or 9 months before I talked to Scott again and I had started lobstering again. It thought it would be a good chance to test this knife out so I purchased the prototype from him. I used it for 2 or 3 months lobstering in Gloucester, Massachusetts, until the boat caught fire and took on water in December, 2007. After that I moved to Chicago to live with my girlfriend and work on a tug on the Illinois river. Company policy requires a folding knife with a locking blade of no more than 4 inches so I haven’t used this knife on board yet. I did however get a couple of months to test it out on the lobster boat. I had a lot going on and did not get to get back to Scott or to review the knife. I have it here with me and some time so I will post a little review now.
My intent was to design a double edged knife that had a plain edge and a serrated edge a la the SOG pentagon. I had this idea in my head for several years. I wanted a drop point knife with a plain edge and a sheepsfoot blade with a serrated edge. Originally I had intended to cut serrations on the back of a Dexter High Carbon 5 inch stiff boning knife. This would have made a wharncliffe blade with serrations and a drop point or upswept plain edge. I never got around to it. I also drew up a few similar designs to send to Spyderco. I never got around to that either. (sense a pattern?)
Then I stumbled upon the post by Scott and realized that he and I were looking for close to the same thing. I sent him a few blade designs and left the handle up to him. This is what we came up with.
When I finally decided to get the knife and test it for myself I was surprised at how comfortable and ergonomic the handle was. It did exactly what I intended for it to do and was a perfect mating with the blade. One could hold the knife in one grip and cut on a board (i.e. cutting bait or trimming the end of a frayed rope) or cut upwards with the serrations into the bight of a line without having to change the grip.
I used this knife for cutting rope, bait (mostly whole herring and mackerel, cod, haddock and flounder racks), prying, and any and all other cutting chores that are found on a lobster boat. The knife was nice and small and the sheath and clip made attatching it inverted to the hem of my oilskins a simple affair. It was easily accessible and the clip on the sheath was tight enough to keep from pulling it off with the knife. The red stood out from most anything else on the boat.
If I would change one thing on this knife it would be to grind the serrations a little thinner. They are ground at an angle that I find hard to sharpen or keep sharp. They are rounded (I got the idea from a dive knife I used to have and use when scuba diving), more like large scallops and I found this type good for cutting rope. Otherwise I would go with the smaller scallops Scott suggested originally and used on his other rescue knife, similar to the kind found on victorinox knives. A spyderco style serration would work as well.
The handle is amazingly comfortable with and without gloves and fits my hand perfectly. The grooves in the micarta provide for a secure grip even when the knife handle is wet or slippery. The fish mouth on the sheath allows for an easy draw by pushing the sheath with the thumb. There is jimping on the spine of the blade that combined with the handle shape makes a saber grip extremely comfortable and secure.
The knife is 7 inches overall with about a 3.5 inch blade. It is the perfect size to keep from snagging when clipped to oilskins or a belt.
Here are some pix:
2 years ago custom maker Scott Tanguay was designing a knife for commercial fisherman. The post can be found here: www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=461752
After several PM’s and emails back and forth he put a blade I designed onto a handle of his own design and this knife was born. It was originally meant to be made in 440 C. The prototype was made in O-1 and was given to a commercial lobsterman to test out along with another knife of Scott’s own design.
I had finished commercial fishing by then and had taken another job. It was 8 or 9 months before I talked to Scott again and I had started lobstering again. It thought it would be a good chance to test this knife out so I purchased the prototype from him. I used it for 2 or 3 months lobstering in Gloucester, Massachusetts, until the boat caught fire and took on water in December, 2007. After that I moved to Chicago to live with my girlfriend and work on a tug on the Illinois river. Company policy requires a folding knife with a locking blade of no more than 4 inches so I haven’t used this knife on board yet. I did however get a couple of months to test it out on the lobster boat. I had a lot going on and did not get to get back to Scott or to review the knife. I have it here with me and some time so I will post a little review now.
My intent was to design a double edged knife that had a plain edge and a serrated edge a la the SOG pentagon. I had this idea in my head for several years. I wanted a drop point knife with a plain edge and a sheepsfoot blade with a serrated edge. Originally I had intended to cut serrations on the back of a Dexter High Carbon 5 inch stiff boning knife. This would have made a wharncliffe blade with serrations and a drop point or upswept plain edge. I never got around to it. I also drew up a few similar designs to send to Spyderco. I never got around to that either. (sense a pattern?)
Then I stumbled upon the post by Scott and realized that he and I were looking for close to the same thing. I sent him a few blade designs and left the handle up to him. This is what we came up with.
When I finally decided to get the knife and test it for myself I was surprised at how comfortable and ergonomic the handle was. It did exactly what I intended for it to do and was a perfect mating with the blade. One could hold the knife in one grip and cut on a board (i.e. cutting bait or trimming the end of a frayed rope) or cut upwards with the serrations into the bight of a line without having to change the grip.
I used this knife for cutting rope, bait (mostly whole herring and mackerel, cod, haddock and flounder racks), prying, and any and all other cutting chores that are found on a lobster boat. The knife was nice and small and the sheath and clip made attatching it inverted to the hem of my oilskins a simple affair. It was easily accessible and the clip on the sheath was tight enough to keep from pulling it off with the knife. The red stood out from most anything else on the boat.
If I would change one thing on this knife it would be to grind the serrations a little thinner. They are ground at an angle that I find hard to sharpen or keep sharp. They are rounded (I got the idea from a dive knife I used to have and use when scuba diving), more like large scallops and I found this type good for cutting rope. Otherwise I would go with the smaller scallops Scott suggested originally and used on his other rescue knife, similar to the kind found on victorinox knives. A spyderco style serration would work as well.
The handle is amazingly comfortable with and without gloves and fits my hand perfectly. The grooves in the micarta provide for a secure grip even when the knife handle is wet or slippery. The fish mouth on the sheath allows for an easy draw by pushing the sheath with the thumb. There is jimping on the spine of the blade that combined with the handle shape makes a saber grip extremely comfortable and secure.
The knife is 7 inches overall with about a 3.5 inch blade. It is the perfect size to keep from snagging when clipped to oilskins or a belt.
Here are some pix: