Overview of a Scav Eng Knife
|| Exclusivity ||
All knives are handmade in Bremerton, WA. They are made from American Made 1095 High Carbon Steel. Each knife is 1 of 1, painstakingly made by hand, making each one totally custom and unique. Unlike most knife makers who do production runs of a style with different handles, each Scav Eng Knife is hand sketched on the steel first, with an overall theme or idea for that particular knife before it’s made. This is why each knife we sell has an individual name. That’s not the name of a product line or a group of blades, but the name of that individual blade.
This individualized care allows the shaping process, the heat-treating process, and the finishing process to be completely exclusive for that blade. These aren’t knife blanks with different handles, but a unique piece of functional artwork made to be 1 of 1 from shaping of the steel to the finishing of sheaths. This is a historically similar thought process for a Knight or a Samurai. Their main tools, their blades and their armor, were usually ornately adorned and made to exacting specifications. They were willing to sacrifice for something that was one of a kind, something that stood out, for their most important instruments.
1 of 1
All Scav Eng knives are 1 of 1, no production runs, and made in Bremerton, WA out of American Steel.
|| Scandi Grind ||
As of this writing, all of our knives sport a Scandi Grind, which is short for Scandinavian Grind and is also known as a Single Bevel Grind. This is the most popular blade geometry among wilderness survival and bushcrafting experts. They are excellent for tough outdoor use, and are the easiest type of blade geometry to sharpen, making them easily serviceable in the field. Learn more about Scav Eng Scandi Grind Knives here.
|| 1095 HC Steel ||
We use 1095 High Carbon Steel to ensure your knife is durable and easy to sharpen. We make sure each knife gets the correct heat treatment in order to make full use of the benefits of 1095 HC steel. Be aware that other knife makers might use a more stylish steel, but that’s an immediate indication that typically means a much more complicated heat treatment process. This creates more chances of things going wrong during heat treat and can result in an incorrectly heat-treated knife, negating any benefits they may have had by using that steel.
We certify our steel is 100% made in the USA for absolute consistency. This helps us ensure that it is heat treated correctly, as our heat treatment process is straight forward. 1095 HC Steel is an extremely popular blade steel, partly for this reason. 1095 HC steel is so popular in fact, that all standard issue US military combat knives are made from 1095 HC Steel (known as K-Bar). This steel can easily be sharpened to a razor’s edge, and all Scav Eng knives are shipped hair shaving sharp!
|| Full Tang ||
All Scav Eng knives are Full Tang. What this means is the steel that makes up your blade, is the same steel that goes all the way through the center of you handle (also known as scales) to the back of the knife forming the tang. Other knife makers only go partly into the handle, creating a possible failure point where the blade can actually break away from the handle.
Full Tang
The steel goes from one end to the other, ensuring each Scav Eng knife has maximum strength
When you look at a Scav Eng knife, the outline shape of that knife is the shape of one monolithic piece of steel. This means that you get an incredibly strong blade with no weak points. Even if you managed to completely remove the wooden scales from the knife handle, or in the case of a paracord wrapped knife, you remove the paracord to use it in an emergency situation, then you still have a completely usable knife. The steel handle will still be there and it will still get you through your emergency situation while still being entirely useable.
|| Sheath ||
All sheaths are handmade and fitted for each specific knife. That means, your Scav Eng knife will fit in your sheath like a glove. Sheaths made of Kydex will click in for retention. Sheaths made with leather will fit every curve of your knife. Each leather sheath is stitched, by hand, by the same person that made your knife. Each sheath will fit that knife’s styling, intended purpose, and overall design, as these are made to fit the overall theme of each 1 of 1 knife.
|| Extra Touches ||
Take your time to look at small details of your knife. There are many extra touches made on all Scav Eng knives that are not immediately apparent. One commonly noticed detail that we get asked about is the aggressive grooving on the blade edge (seen as the dark vertical striations in the image below) that is put on many, but not all, Scav Eng knives. This grooving acts as microscopic serrations as you cut through things. As the blade performs a slicing cut, these small grooves act to help cut and tear.
Extra Touches
Notice the black striations that act as a microscopic serrated edge to help you cut
Many times, we also leave some of the heat-treating slag in these grooves or on some knives in general, which is one of the things that gives them the black coloring. This acts as an extra barrier against moisture and rust. Both of these components will slowly go away as you use/sharpen your knife, so it’s normal to see them slowly fade over time.
