Stuart Mitchell's Muntjac

While at Andy’s he showed me this sweet little stalking knife by Stuart Mitchell of Shefield.
Mr Mitchell is a legend on this side of the pond, I’ve coveted his work since I first saw some pix on BCUK years ago. This model, his smallest and most every-day-carry, is named after the smallest deer in the UK, which is also the species you can hunt 365 days a year.

Standing 20in/500mm tall these little deer are pretty cute, at a distance. A bit closer its a different story, they have FANGS, yep fangs! Long enough and sharp enough to pose a significant risk to everything more loveable than a pit bull. They are also extremely territorial and indeed aggressive.
Introduced by the Duke of Bedford around 1900 they’ve spread a long way in the last 100 years, even ‘swimming’ the Irish sea. I’ve hunted them unsuccessfully a couple of times, and eaten them very successfully a few more times.

To mention the price of commisioning an SM in the presence of wives past and present is to elicit shrieks of dismay. I think his prices are very reasonable when you consider his 30+ years of practice, and workshop full of machines, especially when you set them against the prices of some production knives.

So what’s it like in the hand? In a word, Ergonomic.
In a few more; fit and finish are so flawless as to be almost other-worldly.
Double want one.

Elfa “Think of the huntings you can do for that money”
SBW “Exactly, you’ve never eaten Muntjac have you? You’re gonna love it”
And people wonder why I put up with her!

More soon, your pal
SBW

Some pix of his work HERE
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