Please splain Appaloosa?

[TripleF]

I have what I've seen on the Bay as a Parker Appaloosa smooth bone 4 blade knife:


Well, not wanting to bother you fellers I searched and searched Appaloosa to discover it is a horse. Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.....but give me a little time.

Now the real reason for the searching was to find out if the handle on this knife is horse bone from an Appaloosa horse?

Or is the pattern of the handle similar to the pattern on an Appaloosa horse thus.....the name for the handle stlye.

TIA!

[knives-are-quiet]

Found this on this site.
It is about CASE handle material but may help answer your question.

J W

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/wr_ ... terial.php

[Unk]

Hi Triple F,

I think the latter......it is plain old cow shin-bone.......the dye pattern is named appaloosa as it resembles the spotted rump of an appaloosa horse.

[tongueriver]

Unk is quite right; in the knife world, it just means speckled smooth bone. And it doesn't even faintly resemble the hide of an appaloosa horse. This does bring up another thought. I have read that the best bone comes from larger older cattle, as it perhaps gets denser. Giraffes subject their leg bones to heavy stress, and that makes better bone for knives. Same for camels. Horses have a bizarre cultural mystique in our country, and people don't tend to think of them in terms of parts for knives or meat, but I am guessing that their leg bones would be superior to cattle bone for knife handles. Much like camel or giraffe.

[johnnierotten]

Yep....spotted is the best way to describe it. .......nice sowbelly.