Knife Of The Week Model 20

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The knife design that Bo eventually standardized as his Model 20 Yukon Skinner was initiated during 1959 by Ward Gay of Anchorage, Alaska. Gay was then one of the best-known guides and bush pilots in the region.... Bo once remarked of Gay, "He ran the only big seaplane base in Anchorage. Tommy Thompson kept his plane there and flew out of there on his bush pilot trips. He was a friend of Ward Gay's."

...We do know for certain that by January 1959 Bo and Ward were in communication.... After talking about sheaths, he got down to the part of his letter that is of major interest here, the design of a new skinning knife. He described what he did and did not like about a couple of knife styles, noting that he did "like the curve and design of your knife, model number four." As his imagination warmed up, he went on, "Some day I would like you to make one of the design I have in mind. Here is the way I would like it made...."

As Ward described the knife, the blade should be "4 1/2 inches from the hilt to the tip," and he didn't want much of a notch, or cutout, ahead of the hilt. The sharp point where the cutout met the cutting edge was the real problem. As Ward explained, "When skinning, we use the full blade to skin with, and this notch catches when you're skinning and stops the knife from cutting. In other words, the corner seems to catch. I prefer not to have it on a knife."

He wanted to keep the general style of the Model 4's blade, noting "the backward curve of the blade, as you have on your model number four is the right shape for good skinning." He also indicated that there should be a serrated thumb rest on top of the blade just ahead of the hilt, and the hilt extension should be made smaller, for use with pouch-type sheaths. About the blade thickness he remarked: "The blade should not be too heavy, either, for if you use it as a knife should be used to skin with, it doesn't have to be as thick as the head of an ax in order to keep from breaking it." He then sketched his dream skinner at the bottom of the letter.

Regarding the sales potential of such a knife, Ward's opinion was that "it would sell pretty good up here, as it is about what most trappers and hunters up here desire, that is the ones who use a good knife to skin with and do not use it in place of a hatchet or ax or throwing tool."

...Bo made the notch, or cutout, much smaller than on most Randall knives and totally eliminated the sharp point, or corner. Bo explained the fabrication necessities for having at least a small dip in front of the hilt on this type of knife. To meet Ward's desires, the blade grinding differed from his usual style for hunting knives. He described it thus: "This blade will have the full bevel = keen cutting, but also makes for a more easily chipped out, thin curving edge - not suitable for bone work..."

Bo was very interested in Ward's ideas for a new-style skinner but wanted to be sure all possible requirements got incorporated into the design. Therefore, he asked Ward to look over his sketches and the info in his letter, then make a more detailed sketch of his own, and send it to Orlando. The size of the hilt extension was a point in question. Bo proposed sending the first knife at no charge, so that Ward could try it out and make any suggestions for improvements....

[Ward] liked Bo's blade shape, but he shortened the length from 4 1/2 to 4 1/4 inches and added a notation of "not too thin a bevel" on his drawing. His major specification change was a Micarta handle, curved slightly downward from hilt to butt, with four finger grooves and a thong hole. The somewhat bird's-head-shaped butt didn't allow for any butt cap.

...It wasn't until the latter half of 1963 that this knife appeared in a catalog, the sixteenth printing. At that time Randall Made Knives designated it the Model 20 and named it the "Yukon Skinner." Ward received credit in the description: "An adaptation of our Model 4 especially designed for big game purposes by Ward Gay, famous Anchorage, Alaska, bush pilot."

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