Defreest passed away in 2005, and if memory serves I acquired the knife in the late 1990's, as a tip from a hunter I guided. From the Internet research I've done (Defreest pops right up with a little Googling) he apparently used ATS34 steel a LOT.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
