My experience with knife steels are primarily with the basic 10XX steels, so I wont comment too much on that,
BUT, back in 1995(I think, its kinda fuzzy, but seeing this was somethin g you jut can't forget! At the time, I was buying
m first, custom made knife, matter of a fact, it was a MANN Made Knife!!!! Jerry Mann of Motngomery,AL !!! It just so
happened that Jerry was working on his Hawg Hunting Knife, this knife was MADE to dispatch a 400# Russian Boar with MUCH prejudice!!
I was fortunate enough to see the video of the hunt, ( I used that word loosely, as far as sportsmanship in it, there isn't much due to the inherent
danger involved with hunting hogs in this manner, even with 2 Pit Bulls that looked like they were actually sired by Arnold Schwarzenegger
or at the very least, were on the same STEROID TRAINING he was on in the 70's! These LOOKED LIKE KNIFE DOGS!!!! Anyway Jerry was given
specific instructions on how to do the deed, he was to walk up from the back side of the hog as quick as he could get there safely,
then he was to plunge the knife blade into the beast right behind the leg and shoulder, as the blade is going in, he was to start pumping it up and down,
just like you're "Pumping water from one of the OLD water pumps, to pump it up and fast hard and continuously!!! It was amazing to watch the video,
this hog went from furious to Angel in about 3, maybe 4 seconds once Jerry went to work, honestly, aside from the chase, it looked about as humane as
the way they were butchered for years, and probably still do in many places in the world.
Now about his knife, from what I can recall about it was that it looked a lot like a Loveless Design, it had bolsters and a pommel, I think it was Full-Tang
because that what he was told he should have, also it was almost a dagger, more of a really long Chute Knife, just like Bob Loveless made, only thing I
want to say I recall was that the blade was like 10" long! It had a really good guard that was more about function than it was about aesthetics. Don't get me
wrong Jerry makes some beautiful knives, but he also makes knives that are affordable, that just about anyone that wants a well made custom knife can get one with a little effort. Anyway, back to your knife, it sounds close, I said I wasn't going to get into the steels but one of the thingsI think would be mportant is a knife with a soft back draw, that was tough but would allow some flex, which to me screams 5160! Not a steel I've used much, still learning it and reading about it, but it sounds like a goo one, not that I'm knocking O-1, its been a go to steel for generations, its good stuff, but keep this in mind the entire time your working on it, YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON THAT KNIFE!!
Thats not joking, these hogs kill people every year, they are a menace! More so than destroying 100'2 of millions of dollars worth of crops every year, those tusks are razor sharp, and they have this little quick move that would make you think of the Matrix, with tusks that can be, well I have no idea how long they can get, I've seen some long ones, but I dont know if they ever stop growing at any point or if they keep getting longer and deadlier! Please be careful, its a dangerous thing, remain alert of your surroundings at all times. Hogs are as unpredictable as they are mean! Dont think they are dumb by any means, they have managed to all but take over a country they were dropped off on with NOTHING but their own instincts to survive! I think you will have a blast, but do see if yo can ocate someone and see if any of those suggestions sound familiar. Personally, I would build a knife with a 10" Dagger shaped blade, with a double edge atleast 6 inches up thebck side, maybe just go straight dagger, maybe with a kinda flare in the blade sorta like the Roman swords, I would do a clay coated HT on it, but I would use either 1084 or 1095, for the same reason you used O-1, its what I know! Good luck, Rex