Most knife shows lean hard toward classic fighter patterns, and it can be tough for an unconventional design to get a fair look from judges. That is what makes this result so satisfying: The Shrike, a custom fighting knife with a modern tsukamaki handle, took Best Fighting Knife in the novice division at the Cape Town Knife Show, with a certificate dated October 2020. The maker is glad the judges recognized designs that step outside the usual traditional fighter mould, and in my view that is exactly the kind of judging a show should do.
The build itself is a Pikal with a double-edged blade in 80CrV2 high carbon steel. The grinds are faceted, and the finish is hand-polished and hot blued, which sounds like a striking pairing with the bright metalwork on the handle.
That handle is where the build really shows its ambition. There are polished buffalo horn bolsters, exposed brass liners running along the tang, and textured crimson rayskin as underlays. The wrap is braided leather, finished off with a traditional knot, and the whole thing comes together with polished brass and horn scales plus crimson samegawa. The knife is listed at R10 000.00.
One point left open: the maker believes this is the first Pikal to win at a South African show, though that is a claim that would be hard to verify either way.