My wife, Jacqueline, shared my excitement for my upcoming trip to South Africa and told some of her friends at work at a nearby college. One of the many she told was co-worker and part-time custom knife maker Darrin Totty, owner of Whitetail Forge in Columbia, Tennessee. He offered to make a knife to accompany me on this bucket-list adventure.
A few days later a visit with Darrin allowed me to share some ideas for the shape and utility desired. I’ve put a blade to more than 500 whitetails over the last half-century hunting the creatures, but this knife was themed for the Dark Continent. He asked what kind of handle material I wanted, but I responded that I would leave it up to his imagination.
Kukri-Inspired
I had more of an opinion on the blade profile, though. I shared my admiration of the Kukri-style blade and thought it could be modified for a fine skinner. The final profile borrowed from the deeper belly of the Kukri itself, and more closely resembled an upscaled rendition of a Karda.
I added a World War I Napal Kukri to my collection many years ago and was always intrigued by its profile and real-world capabilities. Accompanying this knife, and countless more like it, were two small knives with distinctly different purposes. The Karda was dedicated to fine utility tasks such as skinning small game. The Chakmak is a blunt-edged blade sharpener to keep the other two blades in good working condition.
For blade aficionados among our readers, modern-day Kukri’s are made from high-carbon scrap 5160 and 52100 vehicle suspension leaf springs. To balance strength and edge retention, Darrin chose to go with 5160 steel to create a full-tang blade that is just as durable as a traditional Kukri.
Handle material
Darrin selected a black-and-white Micarta laminate for the handle scales. Our conversation a few weeks before alerted him that my No. 1 hit list animal in Africa would be a zebra. He deftly ground the handle material to create useful sure-grip contours, which resulted in a handsome zebra-pattern finish.
Sheath Selection
Being right-handed, I elected to carry this knife in a cross-draw sheath on my left side. I do this for the same reason that my everyday carry gun rides on my left hip. I am right-handed, so I tend to carry heavy objects in my right hand. I don’t like banging a hunting rifle against a knife handle any more than I like assaulting my pistol with a chainsaw. Cross draw for a righty also keeps gun or knife away from a seat belt buckle when driving (IYKYN).
Darrin built a horizontally-carried sheath from Kydex and made the belt loop from matching black leather that he embossed with his sir name and logo. I carried this at the 10 O’clock position daily, and I forgot it was there until called into duty during my South African hunt.
Field Test
Already aware of the knifemakers brutal testing protocol this knife underwent back home, I wanted to see it in the hands of a master skinner. Willie, head skinner for Amathanda Hunting Safaris in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, would serve as the tester. He had just started work on a fine Burchell’s zebra that I took down with a Springfield Armory Model 2020 Boundary in 7mm PRC that morning. After a few photos and a brief chat about how much he liked the new knife, I left him to his work.
After the zebra, Willie skinned and caped a kudu, blesbok and an impala before I took it back prior to the afternoon hunt. The blade was never sharpened and the last cut was as smooth as the first, according to the long-time African skinner. I could tell from his expression that he hated to part with the knife.
Like a lot of outdoors folk, I have more knives than I can count. Many of them are high-grade customs, too. This Whitetail Forge skinner is my new favorite and will serve me well the rest of my life.
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