New Handle as of 8/9/2021.
The Daovua
Bunka Style Knife is the most recent addition to a new line of knives from a young barefoot bladesmith we discovered working in Vietnam. He uses car and truck leaf springs as his steel of choice. This is not quite as crazy as it sounds because these car parts are made with some rather good high-carbon steel. In fact, most leaf springs are made from 5160, which is excellent blade steel.
We asked him to make us some unusual shapes that resemble traditional knives and this fun
bunka style blade is one of his responses. The blade runs approximately 180mm at the edge and has a very curved belly starting just a couple of inches from the heel. Obviously, every blade is going to be slightly different in these dimensions.
Let’s make no mistake here. These knives do not possess the best fit and finish in the knife world! Rustic is a word that definitely comes to mind when looking at them. But the other word that comes out when you experience them is SHARP! These knives have an amazing edge on them that if not perfect out of the box, gets there easily with a few strokes on your favorite stone.
While the handle is also not perfect, it actually feels really nice in hand. A bit of sanding and some varnish or oil will take it to a very acceptable level. We think these knives are perfect for projects, new sharpeners, or anyone looking for a really low-cost cutter that has personality and uniqueness in spades. Watch the video below to see how they're made. Please remember these are made under crude conditions with used steel so you should expect that they're rough and have imperfections that exceed most of our other knives. Expect dents, scratches odd sizes, different handles etc. If you're into great fit and finish or are overly particular run away! If you want to try a cool piece of living history and you're not uptight about a crude but cool cutting tool then you'll love it.
Weight: 4.2 oz/ 120g
Blade Length: 187mm
Overall Length: 310mm
Spine Thickness at Heel: 2.1mm
Blade Height at Heel: 50.8mm
Edge: Double Bevel 50/50
Handle: Octagonal (wood varies from knife to knife)