Interesting knife

I receive this knife yesterday, for Father's Day, and I thought I'd share, because I think the construction is interesting.

(When I say "received it for Father's Day", it's because I saw it in an antique shop the day before and asked my wife to pick it up for me....)


It looks home-made -- which is what appealed to me:  note the un-polished wooden grip, for example.  But the construction also appealed to me.

There's an extra piece of metal that forms part of the spine of the knife.  But it's asymmetrical:  in the above photo, you can't see it from the right-hand side;  viewing the knife from above, you can see that the extra bulk is all on the left-hand side.

And, here's the other side:  it looks a little primitive or un-refined -- which again, I'm fine with.

Anyone know if the extra piece of metal has a purpose or function, beyond simply stiffening the blade?  Is is there a purpose or advantage to having it asymmetrical?


I like the knife, by the way -- but it won't see much use.  I'll probably end up using it in my workshop as a utility knife, such as bevelling the ends of dowels.


UPDATE:  My brother suggests:  looks like it was made out of an existing blade that had a flange on it.  for example, my scythe blade.  or a lawnmower blade.  grandpa t made a machete pout of a lawnmower blade


Yep; makes sense.  Funny, though, how they couldn't be bothered to grind it off -- or at least blend it in a little.

It's still a charming, quirky knife, though.  :)


--GG