L39 the story of the traveling knife

[Stay Sharp]

Back in 2013 I took an old knife that had been laying around for years in my shop in Wisconsin and I had an idea for what to do with it. I don't recall how I came to own this knife but I knew it deserved better than its dusty life in the corner of my shop.

The knife I talking about is a old Western Brand L39 made in Colorado. The vintage ad for these knifes speaks to big game adventures.

But sadly, this knife that ought to be experiencing grand adventure was sitting, rusted and damaged and neglected in my shop in Wisconsin.

The plan I had for L39 was to ensure it saw the sort of adventures it was designed for but Not in its current condition and without a sheath to carry it. The first step was to restore L39 to its former glory.

Then I had to make a proper sheath to protect L39 and the adventurers that would strap the knife to their hip as they travel the world.

I got some thick tooling leather and made a wooden blade form to shape the leather.

Back in 2013, I was not in a position to take L39 all over the globe on big game hunting adventures so I offered L39 to other adventurers on a hunting forum on the web. This was to be traveling knife program.

This is the letter that traveled with L39

"Thank you for volunteering to be a part of this traveling knife program. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I have in setting it up. The plan is to have this knife travel the world in search of adventure that I cannot provide. The plan is to send L39 on as many adventures as possible. When you have returned from your adventure, please send it to the next person before they embark on their hunt.

There will not always be time to return the knife to me to send to the next hunter so you will need to coordinate with the others to make sure L39 does not miss the boat or plane or truck. This knife is not meant to sit idle."

I also included a shipping container to get L39 from hunter to hunter.

 

[Stay Sharp]

I had not seen L39 since it left my shop in 2013 So where had L39 been over the last 6+ years? I was able to track down one of the adventurers that carried L39 and he knew the last hunter to carry it. I asked him to arrange the return of L39 for a couple reasons, First off, I figured L39 was in need of some TLC and I was curious of the adventures the knife had been on. When I first shipped L39 I included a list that I wanted the users to fill out so as to keep a running tab on the travels of L39. The list asked the hunters to list the locations they took the knife, the species they hunted and the dates.

I was surprised to have L39 returned to me with this list considering the travels and years.

L39 left Wisconsin and has been to

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Maine
Michigan
Newfoundland Canada
South Africa
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Idaho
Some of these destinations were duplicated by a variety of hunters.

Some of the species hunted while carrying L39 were
Whitetail Deer
Sitka Blacktail deer
Elk
Moose
Grizzly bear
Caribou
Snow Geese
Sturgeon
Monkey
Impala
Baboon
Wildebeest
Warthog
Kudu
Zebra
Gemsbuck
Waterbuck

Here is a sample of some of the pictures of the adventures of L39

 

[Stay Sharp]

Stabbed into the side of an African tree at sunset.

I'm pleased with the many people and places and species L39 has seen and pursued. L39 has seen some great adventures. This traveling knife programs is doing exactly what I had hoped it would when I started it in 2013.

 

[Stay Sharp]

Before I headed off to Hawaii for a bowhunt, I took L39 on a Michigan UP Russian boar hunt with my bow to do some product testing beofre taking those products to Hawaii. It was a very enjoyable time.

Then a month later In Hawaii chasing wild/feral, free range Vancouver bull on the big island.

I took L39 with me to the Big Island of Hawaii to hunt Wild Vancouver bull that also turned into a wild boar hunt at about 8,500 feet elevation.

It traveled with me on another bowhunting product evaluation. This time Water Buffalo and Eurasian boar.

Then to evaluate other bowhunting gear on a red stag bowhunt.

Red stag hunt

And it traveled on some whitetail hunts with me.

 

[6mm Remington]

That's pretty cool! You did a great job on the knife and the sheath bringing them back to life.

 

[SFC B]

Kick ass!!

 

[teej89]

That is an awesome idea!

 

[Lv2hnt]

If you'd like to see L39 get into the hands of some deserving guys this coming year, get in touch with me. We should do over 100 hunts again for disabled vets in Arizona this coming year ...

 

[dirtclod Az.]

If you'd like to see L39 get into the hands of some deserving guys this coming year, get in touch with me. We should do over 100 hunts again for disabled vets in Arizona this coming year ...

Good on you Lv2hnt nobody deserves recognition more then Disabled Vets.
Stay Sharp-been following you and that knife for the past couple years.GREAT STUFF!
Had that exact knife for years,now I can't find it anywhere.Must have gifted it to someone.Stupid.

 

[EYJONAS!]

That's a hell of a job redoing that knife. Very cool.

 

[LuketheDog]

Is that the knife that was on Bowsite? I'm inspired to make a sheath for an old Marbles blade my grandad gave me after seeing your work!

 

[Stay Sharp]

Yes, it was shared by many traveling bowhunters there and on other sites. Once it left my house, I had no control over who sent it to who.

 

[ol_spark]

That’s truly amazing. I have a couple of my father’s knives and often thought if only they could talk. This thread has enlightened me. Thanks Stay Sharp for your generosity and vision.