The Mosquito Valley Forge Kayak Fishing Knife

I have been fishing with the prototype attached to my PFD since the end of April and am very happy with the knife design. Its ease of use, ergonomic grip, fully functional yet safe blade shape, and solid construction exceeded my expectations. In the picture above you can see it is lashed to my PFD in a leather sheath and has a handle made of wood. The finished product however will have handle scales made of water proof canvas phenolic and will be paired with a kydex sheath. 

Here you can see a side by side comparison of the initial prototype knife I have been testing and what I expect to be the first sell-able knife of this exclusive design. At the top of the picture is the original prototype which I finished with a rose wood handle just so I could get it on the water for testing. The knife at the bottom of the picture will be the first of its kind to be listed for sale once completed. Some improvements made to the final production knife include some small adjustments to the handle shape. For example the index finger groove was enlarged to make the handle more comfortable to grip regardless of the size of the user's hands and fingers. Also instead of wood handles which can easily become damaged over time on a knife intended for use in and around the water the new knife has handles made of water proof phenolic material. The finished product will also come with a kydex sheath which when combined with the phenolic handle scales and 420HC Stainless Steel blade and tang construction will make the knife fully resistant to long term exposure to wet conditions.

In the photo above you can see another adjustment made between the initial prototype knife and what will soon be the finished product. The prototype knife at the top of the photo had a spine thickness of 3/16th inch. Due to the durable 420HC stainless steel construction of the knife I decided that this was not needed and that the knife could be lighter weight for its compact size. For these reasons, the nearly finished knife at the bottom of the picture has a spine thickness of 1/8th inch and that will be the case for the finished product that will be listed for sale on our Leather And Steel page once it is completed.

This photo shows the Mosquito Valley forge Kayak Fishing/Water Rescue Knife in its Kydex sheath. This sheath is a perfect match for the knife itself for a number of reasons. The molded Kydex sheath is 100% waterproof and very durable and the knife can be drawn and sheathed with one hand because the Kydex is molded to the shape of the knife and therefore the knife "snaps and locks" into the sheath simply by being pushed into it. This means there is no strap or button required to hold the knife from falling out of the sheath even when in a vertical position with the knife blade facing upwards which is the main method of carrying this knife with the sheath either lashed to a PFD or hanging around the user's neck from some paracord if they prefer to wear an inflatable PFD.

This photo simply shows the knife in its molded Kydex sheath lashed to my PFD which is how I prefer to wear the knife. This puts the knife in a convenient location where it is never in the way and also can be unsheathed and sheathed with ease. For regular use of the knife to cut fishing lines and rig fishing rods this is a great carry option but it would also be ideal in an emergency situation where the ability to access the knife instantly could make a serious difference.

This photo shows that with a simple length of 550 paracord or similar material the MVF Kayak Fishing/Water Rescue Knife can be worn by individuals who do not have the option of lashing the Kydex sheath to their PFD. A great example is for those who prefer to wear inflatable PFD's that do not have a lash tab. The top two eyelet lined holes in the Kydex sheath are positioned so that the knife in its sheath can be comfortably hung around the user's neck with paracord or similar material. Because the combined weight of the knife and the Kydex sheath is only 5 ounces this is a good alternative for anyone who wants the knife positioned around their chest area for easy access of the knife but does not own a PFD with a lash tab.

In this photo you can see that the molded Kydex sheath can also be quickly and easily made to be worn on the user's belt in a horizontal carry configuration. Once again a simple length of 550 paracord or similar material will do the job. In this scenario the compact size of both the knife and the sheath make this a comfortable option. This is particularly a potential good carry option for when the user is not on the water but still wants to carry this all around useful knife with them. One thing to mention however is that because the sheathed knife is only 8 1/4" in length and 2" wide at its widest point and weighs in at only 5 ounces simply placing the sheathed knife in your pocket is always an option too.