Crazy Mountain 100 DNF Knife

Alongside making knives, long distance trail running plays a major role in my life and how I spend my time. I have come to enjoy the pinnacle experience of the 100 mile race. More and more at these races, the runner that comes in at the back of the pack, aka "Dead Fkn Last". Typically this runner has overcome the greatest odds of accomplishment, and often right at the cusp of the time cutoff. 

 

I attempted the Crazy Mountain 100 miler in July of 2023 and it split me in half. I only made it to mile 75, quitting with 17 of the 23,000 feet of vert behind me. I spent the next twelve hours watching people complete at the finish line. Of the memorable finishers was the DNF, who made the cutoff by just a few minutes. She was decades older than I and ten times the fighter. I left that race inspired and it has shaped my life since in alignment to a successful reattempt in 2024. In coordination with Megan DeHaan, the race director, I am pleased to present this knife to whomever comes in as DFL. 

I sourced the blade from a horse rasp that I found at an antique shop on the side of the highway in Texas. While uncertain of the specific alloy, I forged and heat treated the 6" convex ground blade according to the multiple quenched 5160 recipe and she proved herself a mean one through the testing. The nickel silver guard is soldered in place above horsehide leather and vulcanized fiber spacers, while the handle is a whitetail shed I found while helping a buddy pack out his bull somewhere near St. Regis, Montana.