The Yupik Knife

See VIDEO The Yupik Knife:  An Introduction

The DeEvolution Yupik knife is named after the indigenous peoples of Alaska. I had the privilege to live and work for years with the Yupik of South Central Alaska. They are renowned for their industriousness, toughness, resiliency, and eclectic outdoor skills. I learned a great deal about boating, wild game, and outdoor skills from them and their kindness and generosity left a deep impression on me.
The Yupik is designed with their skill set in mind and is the culmination of decades of knife use. Its design and collection of features is an amalgamation of the finest qualities of several of my favorite knives.

An excellent SBK (survival/bushcraft knife) is all about versatility and durability, and will hold up under heavy and varied use for lifetimes. It will be subject to repetitive forces, and must possess an excellent balance between edge retention (ability to hold an edge), toughness (ability to handle shock, bending and torque forces), corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening (ability to take an edge). Numerous tasks will be asked of it including to pierce, cut, slice, whittle, pry, shave, butcher, skin, fillet, split, dig, baton, spear and possibly fight (which would involve a series of jabbing, slashing and screaming). The Yupik is engineered with all the above actions in mind.

Yupik features:

• Individually made by Forged In Fire champion Scott Sweder. With over 35 years of experience as a blacksmith his style and philosophy perfectly align with that of DeEvolution - lower numbers of the most capable and highest quality gear achievable.
• Full tang. This is the part of the blade that is inside the handle and “full” means it extends all the way to the pommel. The importance of a full tang for a SBK is one of the only points of unanimity among knife authorities. The Yupik's tang is  extended beyond the pommel to avoid impact on the handle scales with batoning, and also to assist with simple digging.
• Elmax steel. Dozens of outstanding steels were researched and trialed. Elmax is produced by the European company Bohler-Uddeholm. Many consider it the most balanced and well-rounded of all the ultra-premium steels which is precisely why it was chosen for the Yupik. With its high chromium content it is considered a stain-less steel which I consider to be very important in an eclectic knife to be used in a variety of environments including costal. It is the easiest of the super-steels to sharpen, a feature that must not be overlooked. The edge retention and strength of Elmax is outstanding, but being able to touch up the knife edge in the field should be achievable.
• UltreX SureTouch handle scales. The handle should serve four vital purposes: It needs to firmly affix to the tang; provide extreme durability; be comfortable; and offer a secure grip when wet. Ultrex SureTouch is a patented composite of two materials: The brutally strong G10 made from compressing and pressurizing layers of fiberglass soaked in resin; with the addition of rubber veins for enhanced grip. It offers an excellent combination of features: Toughness, light weight, durability, imperviousness to moisture, and grip. Five color choices are available.
• Heat treatment. To transform the raw Elmax into a finished blade, the process of heating and cooling is required. Scott had to build a special kiln just to handle this steel, such is its amazing qualities. Heat treatment is complicated, requires skill and great experience, and is a critical factor in allowing the steel to perform at its absolute best. It is what determines the Rockwell hardness (RHC). RHC of 58-60 is a “general purpose” hardness and this is what The Yupik is tempered to. Wear resistance of the edge is generally termed edge retention, and is largely a function of hardness. Strength is the ability to take stress, like prying, without bending or breaking. Hardness, edge retention and strength all correlate. Toughness is the ability to take an impact, but above RHC of 60, toughness may suffer, resulting in chipping or cracking when subject to impact forces. Strength and toughness in general are inversely related. The Yupik with a RHC of 58-60 offers a good balance between strength and toughness.
• Finger guard. This protects the hand from being struck or more critically from slipping forward onto the blade. Severed flexor tendons of the dominant hand would be devastating and the risk greatly reduced by this simple addition. The Yupik finger guard is made from both the blade steel and overlying UltreX SureTouch scales, providing width and comfort.
• Clip point. This blade shape gives the appearance of the forward part of the blade being “clipped” off. Many clip point blades result in a concave shape to the point and a thin tip. The Yupik clipped point is straight, resulting in a more robust tip and contributing to its distinct look. Blade point location is then located at the knife center line. This provides for the ability to auger a hole while providing a generous blade edge belly.
• Flat grind. The blade grind, or primary bevel, refers to how the blade has been shaped. It is the geometry of thinning down to the cutting edge. The Yupik primary bevel begins downward from the spine, thus the ricasso extends onto the length of the blade. This maintains excellent strength at the knifes spine. The flat grind offers agility to the cutting edge, while avoiding excessive thinning that would compromise strength.
• Jimping. This is a series of small, smoothed notches to the proximal spine to prevent the thumb from slipping.
• Finger choil. Divisiveness regarding this feature provides for interesting reading on knife forums. Sufficive to say, there’s a love hate relationship with this feature. Advocates of the finger choil enjoy being able to “choke up” on the knife for finer carving-type tasks. Detractors feel it needlessly reduces cutting surface. With The Yupik, take your pick. It is offered with and without the finger choil.
• Sharp spine. This allows for two very important tasks: Scraping off fine curls of tinder, or Maya Dust, from fatwood; and emitting large molten material from the ferrocerium rod.
• Sheath. So often I’ve seen quality knives come with a sheath of such poor quality it would be condescending to the trash. A properly made quality sheath must protect the knife and protect you from the knife. It must house the knife with a solid purchase and in a manner that loss is not possible. It must be comfortable, functional and capable of holding and releasing the knife thousands of times. The Yupik comes with a custom sheath, the design of which came from the bowels of my brain. It is designed to allow for two carry options: Vertical side and cross draw. Available in left and right hand configurations and constructed by a master Montana leather-smith Buffalo Bob Giles. 

The collection of design, features, dimensions, construction and engineering resulting in The Yupik and its sheath have yielded the finest quality and function imaginable in a SBK. It is of heirloom quality but above all, is designed to be your ultra-reliable working companion. Your Yupik will come with a personalized Certificate of Authenticity.

Dimensions: Overall length 10”; blade length 5”; blade thickness of 5/32”; blade depth 1.5”; weight 8.5 oz.

These knives are made individually, only by Scott Sweder. It is not a quick process. Please allow at least several days and up to a few weeks for delivery.