I was overwhelmed...

[444 Magnum]

in a good way. I picked up a Solingen made knife at an estate sale with stag grips. The blade was chipped, bent, and had been improperly ground. I liked the look of the handle so I bought it and took it to a local knife maker to see if he could "revive" it. It'll never be factory correct but for $25, it'll be a nice camp nice.

Upon walking into his shop, I was astonied by the number of elk antlers he had. Some were kills, some were shed finds. He had some pretty nice kills in the shop that were just hanging-not mounted.

After he finished with the knife, we went inside and these mounts were in the house. It's not a large house, so he must have a very understanding wife. The elk, mule deer and antelope are from New Mexico. The white tails are from Georgia. It looks like quit a few good memories.

 

[444 Magnum]

A few more.

I had no idea he was this prolific a hunter. There were more mounts, but I didn't photo them all. It was a very impressive collection for a man of modest means.

His 8 year old grandson did all the "decorating" on the mounts.

 

[ladder13]

Calling bigmtnman and opaul

 

[gjgalligan]

No picture of the knife?

 

[StrawHat]

No picture of the knife?

My thoughts also! And I like elk stocks!


Where’s the knife?

Kevin

 

[444 Magnum]

No picture of the knife?

Hahaha. I was going to post it. The only 'dings' I ever get on the forum are for threads that are said to be posted to the wrong area. So I left the knife out since I posted this in the Lounge! I didn't want this to be interpreted as a misplaced knife thread.

Here it is in all it's glory. It's nothing special. I just liked the way it looks and the stag "swell" is positioned to the right and feels good in the hand. This is a Soligen-made in Germany-knife, so I guess it's European stag?

 

[Onomea]

Wow! That's a lot of deer trophies and antlers! Impressive!

(Psst... Nice knife, too!)

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My B-I-L and I were in a pawn shop and there was a Solingen knife with an Elk handle, but it felt all wrong and not just us, but everyone put it down in "disgust". When I got to it, on my second viewing, I put it in my left hand, and I could feel the shape belonged. I'm not left-handed but #2 son is. That was his 24th birthday present. Half the antlers are left handed you know!

Ivan

 

[jeffrefrig]

All those antlers remind me of a brewery we did a tour through. The first room you go into, or the last, not sure, had the ceiling completely covered with deer antlers. It was either the Koehler Brewery in Erie or the Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio.

 

[Narragansett]

That knife should date to about the mid 60's. I bought one new, in about 65 everything is the same, except the blade has a bit more curve. It says buffalo skinner on it. It takes a razor sharp edge.. I passed it to #2 son a few years ago. 5 dollars I seem to remember the cost being

 

[Tom S.]

Hahaha. I was going to post it. The only 'dings' I ever get on the forum are for threads that are said to be posted to the wrong area. So I left the knife out since I posted this in the Lounge! I didn't want this to be interpreted as a miss-placed knife thread.

Here it is in all it's glory. It's nothing special. I just liked the way it looks and the stag "swell" is positioned to the right and feels good in the hand. This is a Soligen-made in Germany-knife, so I guess it's European stag?

OK, you asked for it!

Nice knife, BTW!

 

[kozmic]

Our new pup, Finn is an American Alsation from the Dire Wolf Project (All dog, no wolf). He has teeth like I've never seen before. The only chew toy he hasn't destroyed is elk antlers. Based on what we paid for them, this guy could retire a millionaire with a simple change in his business plan.

 

[Greyman50]

Knife guys house reminds me of a friends in S.E. Ga. He has 20+ acres he owns. “ Primes” the deer all year long, watching them grow then takes several each year for food, has them mounted and hung on living room, den and now guess in bedroom, LOL.

 

[CalifEd]

This guy must be around 5 foot nothing and wear leather apron and goggles in his work shop.
I would come out of there with several deep scalp wounds and body punctures.
BTW, nice knife.

 

[444 Magnum]

That knife should date to about the mid 60's. I bought one new, in about 65 everything is the same, except the blade has a bit more curve. It says buffalo skinner on it. It takes a razor sharp edge.. I passed it to #2 son a few years ago. 5 dollars I seem to remember the cost being

I've seen those on ebay. Nice knives. Mine says 'original bowie knife' on the blade (other side). I read that Soligen made knives were from the town of Soligen in Germany with as many as 35 bladesmiths contributing from the 1940's to sometime in the 1970's. I wasn't sure what time frame mine was- thanks for the info.

OK, you asked for it!

Nice knife, BTW!

Thanks Tom. I'm feeling the love.

 

[Bald1]

Those are some dandy whitetail. I guess all the talk of small southern whitetails is a myth.

 

[444 Magnum]

Those are some dandy whitetail. I guess all the talk of small southern whitetails is a myth.

I wouldn't call these typical. This man is a retired USDA ag agent and had access to prime areas through his farm contacts. Lots of plantation's down here with sophisticated deer management including food plots and mineral blocks for nutrition, controlled and selective hunting to cull inferior bucks and develop mature bucks with good genetics, and enough land to keep the deer within their area of influence. Big money.

The quantity and quality of these deer and the other animals he had are what impressed me. This, of course, is a lifetime collection. He said he had taken 16 New Mexico elk and countless whitetails. He does permit hunting for some of the plantations to cull deer during the summer. Weapon of choice is an M1A.