Nessmuk photo & discussion thread

FeralGentleman

FeralGentleman

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Nov 13, 2013
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While I don't consider it the most useful, a Nessmuk style knife has got to be one of my favorites. Allen has some great muk patterns - let's talk about them (or just share photos!)

I don't have reviews down to a science or have preferences down to hundredths of an inch. For me it goes more like; it cuts, it feels good, done. I apologize if the level of detail is lacking, this is not really a review, but I can answer any questions to the best of my ability if needed.

I was fortunate enough to get Allen's new Nessmuk pattern recently - The Rocky Mountain Nessmuk (RMN) in a beautiful Osage. I really did not know what to expect and only assumed the size to be around the Nessmuk from Fiddleback Forge. I did know the profile interested me ever since it popped up in Phillip's weekly sneak peak. After unwrapping, I was pleasantly surprised at the size, feel in hand (both in contour and weight) - pretty much the entire package. I must have been blessed with a good hand size in that I can find a comfortable grip on most handles large or small. Using hand tools that are pretty much rubberized sticks, you would have to be looking to find discomfort in a custom contoured handle for typical cutting tasks. Even with that said, this knife feels great and that Osage is going to age beautifully. I intend to be there every second this one ages, it won't leave my collection.

The size of the RMN is akin to the Fiddleback mini Muk, just slightly larger. At 3/32" this particular muk is a nimble slicer. Thin, no greater than 1/8", is just right on a 4" or less Nessmuk style knife in my opinion so I am happy to add this to the mix. My Fiddleback Nessmuk is 5/32" and I have wanted to find a thinner muk in that model for some time. This new pattern from Allen may have satisfied that want.

Quick series comparing the WA Surls Rocky Mountain Nessmuk with a Fiddleback Forge Nessmuk

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Fiddleback Nessmuk and Allen's new Rocky Mt. Nessmuk

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WA Surls Rocky Mt. Nessmuk on the left and a Fiddleback Nessmuk on the right

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WA Surls Kodiak, Fiddleback Forge Camp Muk, Fiddleback Forge Nessmuk, WA Surls Rocky Mt. Nessmuk, WA Surls hemp wrapped Shortmuk

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Here's a whole lotta muk both WA Surls and Fiddleback Forge, including and some of the larger "mukish" parang style profiles by Allen

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That is QUITE a ruby muk collection! Nice.

Thanks for the review. The Muk pattern has me interested but I'm not usually one for 'wide bladed' knives. The RMN looks great. I'll be watching for one that catches my eye.
 
Wow, this is great! The RMN is smaller than I thought, but in a good way. Now if Allen would only make one with natural bolster and ivory micarta I'd be all over it ;-) Come to think of it, anything in micarta may be enough for me to pull the trigger!
 
ShanghaiJer said:
Wow, this is great! The RMN is smaller than I thought, but in a good way. Now if Allen would only make one with natural bolster and ivory micarta I'd be all over it ;-) Come to think of it, anything in micarta may be enough for me to pull the trigger!
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Yup, I was pleasantly surprised. I was thinking it was going to be the same as the standard FB Nessmuk, but I am liking the smaller profile. The RMN I received in Osage feels just right, for me, and it weighs nothing. It will compliment a pack axe, SAK trekker/farmer nicely for a cutting trio. I hope to get it out and about soon.
 
Great looking set of muks! At the beginning of your post, you said you don't consider it the most useful. Why is that, and what is a more preferred blade shape or knife style that you find to be more useful and why?
 
adequacy said:
Great looking set of muks! At the beginning of your post, you said you don't consider it the most useful. Why is that, and what is a more preferred blade shape or knife style that you find to be more useful and why?
Click to expand...

Thanks. For me it's more of my general preference for a drop or spear point over anything else especially in that around 4" blade length. I love the shape, curves and that tall blade of most Nessmuk patterns. Judging by looks alone, a nicely profiled Nessmuk is a top knife for me. My first Fiddleback was a Nessmuk. I must have a thing for curves.

Muks get the job done. Really, any knife does. You could argue at the expense of weight, compactness, sometimes balance and/or having to reach for another tool if you wanted to say drill a hole in something. It's all trade offs and preferences. I have not hunted for nearing a decade since moving to the Northeast, so any field dressing experience I cannot comment on but a 1/8" Rocky MT. Nessmuk I imagine would do the trick. General food prep around a campfire along with any typical camp chores, I am under the opinion that any knife is fine. My two thicker Fiddleback Nessmuks have done well the handful of times we have taken them out with us, but I'd like one in 1/8" or less and a cpm154 muk would be amazing. I think the larger camp Muks/Kodiaks are pretty cool with the forward weight and wanting to do big knife things. The smaller knives like this Rocky Mt. Nessmuk would go well in cutting system, Nessmuk Trio or whatever you want to call it. I pocket carry the stubby muk from time to time just for something different.

My main problem is too many knives. I wonder how my opinions would change if I only had a couple knives and more opportunities to take them out rather than picking over them for another knife.
 
FeralGentleman said:
Thanks. For me it's more of my general preference for a drop or spear point over anything else especially in that around 4" blade length. I love the shape, curves and that tall blade of most Nessmuk patterns. Judging by looks alone, a nicely profiled Nessmuk is a top knife for me. My first Fiddleback was a Nessmuk. I must have a thing for curves.

Muks get the job done. Really, any knife does. You could argue at the expense of weight, compactness, sometimes balance and/or having to reach for another tool if you wanted to say drill a hole in something. It's all trade offs and preferences. I have not hunted for nearing a decade since moving to the Northeast, so any field dressing experience I cannot comment on but a 1/8" Rocky MT. Nessmuk I imagine would do the trick. General food prep around a campfire along with any typical camp chores, I am under the opinion that any knife is fine. My two thicker Fiddleback Nessmuks have done well the handful of times we have taken them out with us, but I'd like one in 1/8" or less and a cpm154 muk would be amazing. I think the larger camp Muks/Kodiaks are pretty cool with the forward weight and wanting to do big knife things. The smaller knives like this Rocky Mt. Nessmuk would go well in cutting system, Nessmuk Trio or whatever you want to call it. I pocket carry the stubby muk from time to time just for something different.

My main problem is too many knives. I wonder how my opinions would change if I only had a couple knives and more opportunities to take them out rather than picking over them for another knife.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed response!

I'm a drop point/spear point guy myself. Something like Andy's kephart is a bit too pointy for me, and I generally don't like too drastic upsweep on my blade shapes. I'm giving a fiddleback nessmuk a try though this week and wanting to just feel it out and see about the hype. It makes sense though, it'll definitely be a bit larger and heavier than some of my other 4" counterparts, but it should be fun and I do like the curves and look of them too. I can definitely see them being great for hunting, of course.

I think many of us around here have a "too many knives" problem, ha. I know for sure that if you had to narrow it down to just a couple you'd be very strict on your selection.
 
adequacy said:
Thanks for the detailed response!

I'm a drop point/spear point guy myself. Something like Andy's kephart is a bit too pointy for me, and I generally don't like too drastic upsweep on my blade shapes. I'm giving a fiddleback nessmuk a try though this week and wanting to just feel it out and see about the hype. It makes sense though, it'll definitely be a bit larger and heavier than some of my other 4" counterparts, but it should be fun and I do like the curves and look of them too. I can definitely see them being great for hunting, of course.

I think many of us around here have a "too many knives" problem, ha. I know for sure that if you had to narrow it down to just a couple you'd be very strict on your selection.
Click to expand...

Excellent. Let me know how you like the FB Nessmuk. I am kicking myself for not trying for that 3/32" muk from Friday, that was a beautiful blade.

Allen makes some nice nessmuk style knives as well. His shortmuk is a cool one, almost a scaled down FB nessie for someone who likes that Fiddleback profile but wants a more compact version. I have not given his Kodiak a fair shake to make any conclusions. I need to rectify that. I am growing pretty fond of his Rocky Mountain Nessmuk; I think this will become a favorite of mine in his nessmuk profiles. I have not seen a lil Ness pop up in a while, but I believe several other forum members have favorable opinions of it. It is the last of his muk style blades I have yet to try, but appears like it would make a nice utility type blade with a filling handle.
 
I had a chance to handle one of Allen's Lil Ness knives that came through for sharpening.

It is comparable in size to the Fiddleback Shortmuk, but with more elegant lines.
 
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FeralGentleman said:
Excellent. Let me know how you like the FB Nessmuk. I am kicking myself for not trying for that 3/32" muk from Friday, that was a beautiful blade.

Allen makes some nice nessmuk style knives as well. His shortmuk is a cool one, almost a scaled down FB nessie for someone who likes that Fiddleback profile but wants a more compact version. I have not given his Kodiak a fair shake to make any conclusions. I need to rectify that. I am growing pretty fond of his Rocky Mountain Nessmuk; I think this will become a favorite of mine in his nessmuk profiles. I have not seen a lil Ness pop up in a while, but I believe several other forum members have favorable opinions of it. It is the last of his muk style blades I have yet to try, but appears like it would make a nice utility type blade with a filling handle.
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the 3/32 bolstered muk from friday is the very one i went for. holy cow its a stunner. feels great in hand. cant wait to get a sheath for it so i can use it. ill update with thoughts and pics asap!!
 
Nice thread FG!

I really like the photos of the knives being compared over the layout of the 1/2" grid mat... Very helpful with the aiding of dimensions between the various patterns. :thumbup:

Out of curiosity... How did you manage to take the photo where you are holding a knife in each hand? Is the camera stationed up above using a tripod?
 
PolRoger said:
Nice thread FG!

I really like the photos of the knives being compared over the layout of the 1/2" grid mat... Very helpful with the aiding of dimensions between the various patterns. :thumbup:

Out of curiosity... How did you manage to take the photo where you are holding a knife in each hand? Is the camera stationed up above using a tripod?
Click to expand...

He's got it in his mouth. :D
 
PolRoger said:
Nice thread FG!

I really like the photos of the knives being compared over the layout of the 1/2" grid mat... Very helpful with the aiding of dimensions between the various patterns. [emoji106]

Out of curiosity... How did you manage to take the photo where you are holding a knife in each hand? Is the camera stationed up above using a tripod?
Click to expand...
Thanks PR. Yes, I had a tripod over the mat. I'm gonna try Odaon's guess next time, it would be a lot quicker [emoji57]
 
FeralGentleman said:
Thanks PR. Yes, I had a tripod over the mat. I'm gonna try Odaon's guess next time, it would be a lot quicker [emoji57]
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It would be quite the sight to randomly walk in on. Two knives in hand and a camera stuffed in your mouth. Haha!
 
What the red knife on the right from RM nessmuk on last picture )between RMN and hamp rapped?
What the dementione?
 
Taja said:
What the red knife on the right from RM nessmuk on last picture )between RMN and hamp rapped?
What the dementione?
Click to expand...
That's the Fiddleback mini muk, measurements below along with a couple of the others



Stubby Muk
5.750" -- 5 3/4" Overall Length
2.375" -- 2 3/8" Blade Length (tip to scale)
3.375" -- 3 3/8" Handle Length (longest distance)
2.523" -- 2 9/16" Actual Cutting Length

Mini Muk
7.344" -- 7 11/32" Overall Length
3.313" -- 3 5/16" Blade Length (tip to scale)
4.031" -- 4 1/32" Handle Length (longest distance)
3.406" -- 3 13/32" Actual Cutting Length

Nessmuk
8.625" -- 8 5/8" Overall Length
3.750" -- 3 3/4" Blade Length (tip to scale)
4.750" -- 4 3/4" Handle Length (longest distance)
4.063" -- 4 1/16" Actual Cutting Length

Camp Nessmuk
9.344" -- 9 11/32" Overall Length
4.313" -- 4 5/16" Blade Length (tip to scale)
5.000" -- 5" Handle Length (longest distance)
4.375" -- 4 3/8" Actual Cutting Length

WAS Knives Kodiak
9.719" -- 9 23/32" Overall Length
4.625" -- 4 5/8" Blade Length (tip to scale)
5.125" -- 5 1/8" Handle Length (longest distance)
4.688" -- 4 11/16" Actual Cutting Length
 
Do you have asp? I actually prefer asp over Nessmuk

I have both Kodiak and Camp Nessie and like Kodiak better

RM nessmuk looks interesting

does somebody have comparison photo to Hantsman?
 
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