Ben Akin Wapiti

This Wapiti design knife was produced by Ben Akin.  It was designed as a hunting knife which was also capable for camping chores.  The blade is 5" in length with a drop point design.  The spine is ground at a 90 degree angle for scraping ferro rods or hides.

The knife is exceptionally well balanced with the balance point being about where you second finger is at on the handle.  This makes the knife feel as if it weighs almost nothing despite being 9 3/4" in length.  This also ensures there is good control of the blade without any fatigue from use.

The blade itself is made from 01 tool steel which has been heat treated and oil quenched.  The blade them received a double temper cycle to improve toughness.  The flat grind makes the edge exceptional at cutting.  

The handle is made from bocote with black g10 liners and pins.  The handle is bonded together with Acraglas.  

I obtained this knife through a trade using an online forum.  When the knife arrived, it did not have the appearance of being maintained very often.  I spent some time cleaning up the flat edges with some 800 grit sand paper and then used a strop to clean it further and then perfect the edge.  A little Obenhauf's on the handle and sheath fixed them up to what is seen above from the starting point below.