I wanted to make myself a good sized chopper to carry for clearing shooting lanes, general bush work, and because I like really big knives. I was a surveyor for many years (and still am sometimes) and swung a machete for a long time, so using a big chopping knife is just something I know how to do. Granted, this knife isn't as light or nimble as a machete, but man it can chop!
Overall length of 22 inches, blade length is just north of 13 inches and the handle is big enough for two of my hands (I have smallish hands). Pretty sure it's 15N20 steel from a 3/8 inch thick, 6 foot sawmill blade my dad scavenged from a strip mine of all places. I didn't forge it, but I did heat treat it in my solid fuel forge. It's not as hard as I'd like it to be, but hard enough to chop and split wood. I tested it on a little hickory bat and then whacked through a deer antler. Got a little kick in the blade when I went through the antler and into a screwhead in my workbench, but it sharpened out just fine. Working on a sheath now. It will be seeing a lot of woods time.
