2018 BF Knife Poll 5.301 - Materials Battle Royale

Which handle material for the 2018 BF Knife?

  • Ironwood

    Votes: 137 38.8%

  • Elk

    Votes: 179 50.7%

  • Burlap Micarta

    Votes: 37 10.5%
  • Total voters
    353
  • Poll closed .
I am probably one of the very few who doesn't care too much how the elk turns out in regards to its appearance. Sure, it would be great to get an example with lots of character and some color but if that was all that mattered to me, I would have voted for Sambar which tends to run the gambit in terms of its "gnarliness", coloring, and overall character.

For me, I look at the cover options that have been voted for so far and I think about which one will embody the most soul.

Micarta is a rather soul-less material. It is a no nonsense, no frills, hard working material, there is no question about that. There is a reason that I prefer it on my working fixed blades, it gets the job done and I do not have to worry over its durability and aesthetics. I have never looked at a piece of micarta and thought, "Oh, that's pretty....". I have, however, picked up micarta and said, "Oh, that's nice...". It is grippy, tactile, and functional but it isn't pretty. I feel our forum knife transcends the whole function-over-form thing or vice versa. It really needs to embody it all, it needs to have soul, and micarta simply doesn't have it.

Ironwood is one of my favorite woods on knives, second only to good black ebony. I surprise myself a little in the sense that it still isn't my first choice in this poll. Oh, it has plenty of soul, never a doubt in that regard. Its chatoyance, its swirling grain, and depth of color can be immeasurably captivating on a knife. I have a few knives with it and each one is rather different than the other, yet I find that I do not necessarily prefer one over the other. It is also one of the more durable woods on a knife, needing no further stabilization. Perhaps my hesitance to get behind Ironwood this time around comes from the fact that the market has been pretty flooded with it lately. GEC has been producing a lot of it, Fiddleback Forge has been using a fair amount of it, and even Buck has it as an option in their Custom Shop (same with Elk).

I will admit, Elk was not really on my radar until I started digging into these polls. I think I kind of surprised myself on how passionate I have become in regards to this being my desired cover. I reside in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon. I spend a lot of time in the woods and mountains, hiking, hunting, foraging, etc. Every year I go out with my bow, a few arrows, and a pack in hopes that I can come face to face with a gloriously raging bull elk. There isn't an experience quite like it, having a bull scream at you from 30 yards away. Even when I am not hunting, coming across them on my hikes is an equally spiritual experience. If you venture out to the Tillamook area on the Oregon coast at night, you can sometimes come across whole herds of them. Watching them in the moonlight, hearing them move about, talk to each other, it is a noteworthy experience.

Elk are arguably some of the most majestic creatures in North America. I admire them for their beauty, toughness, and intelligence. The PNW would not be the same without them.

Elk antler may not be aesthetically pleasing to some here or even the majority, but it simply embodies the most soul out of the three options in this poll. When you consider the animal it comes from, the insane amount of abuse that these antlers endure before they are shed (or the animal is harvested), the location from where they are sourced and its proximity to the Buck Factory, it really isn't a hard decision for me at all.

Vote Elk and know that when you have it in hand, you have something special, something from one of the most beautiful locations in the world, from some of the most magestic creatures to walk in our forests.

LpiIpdd.jpg
 
afishhunter said:
I may be mistaken, but I suspect if Elk is the final choice, "No Shield" would win the shield poll.
@Will Power
If pins are an option, I'd prefer them, regardless, since glue can/does fail over time.
Click to expand...
I had a dream, poll winner was elk, then a shield. But elk broke when they tried to put that shield. So they turned to ironwood, but no tool was strong enough to machine the shield emplacement.
So burlap was the good option and wisely used. Alellujah brothers!
 
If I were buying any Stag sight unseen, which save for a Forum knife I will not do, I would say it would take 5 knives to in all likelihood get something acceptable while still just having a 50/50 chance to get a 'special' example.
Maybe Elk is more consistent than Stag? Still so many ways it can be less than desirable with bark, color, visible pith, and thickness all being so subjective, and that's if both slabs actually match in all respects.

That said I would vote Elk over that god-awful Burlap mess any day. At least Elk has an outside chance of being attractive.
 
Pàdruig said:
I am probably one of the very few who doesn't care too much how the elk turns out in regards to its appearance. Sure, it would be great to get an example with lots of character and some color but if that was all that mattered to me, I would have voted for Sambar which tends to run the gambit in terms of its "gnarliness", coloring, and overall character.

For me, I look at the cover options that have been voted for so far and I think about which one will embody the most soul.

Micarta is a rather soul-less material. It is a no nonsense, no frills, hard working material, there is no question about that. There is a reason that I prefer it on my working fixed blades, it gets the job done and I do not have to worry over its durability and aesthetics. I have never looked at a piece of micarta and thought, "Oh, that's pretty....". I have, however, picked up micarta and said, "Oh, that's nice...". It is grippy, tactile, and functional but it isn't pretty. I feel our forum knife transcends the whole function-over-form thing or vice versa. It really needs to embody it all, it needs to have soul, and micarta simply doesn't have it.

Ironwood is one of my favorite woods on knives, second only to good black ebony. I surprise myself a little in the sense that it still isn't my first choice in this poll. Oh, it has plenty of soul, never a doubt in that regard. Its chatoyance, its swirling grain, and depth of color can be immeasurably captivating on a knife. I have a few knives with it and each one is rather different than the other, yet I find that I do not necessarily prefer one over the other. It is also one of the more durable woods on a knife, needing no further stabilization. Perhaps my hesitance to get behind Ironwood this time around comes from the fact that the market has been pretty flooded with it lately. GEC has been producing a lot of it, Fiddleback Forge has been using a fair amount of it, and even Buck has it as an option in their Custom Shop (same with Elk).

I will admit, Elk was not really on my radar until I started digging into these polls. I think I kind of surprised myself on how passionate I have become in regards to this being my desired cover. I reside in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon. I spend a lot of time in the woods and mountains, hiking, hunting, foraging, etc. Every year I go out with my bow, a few arrows, and a pack in hopes that I can come face to face with a gloriously raging bull elk. There isn't an experience quite like it, having a bull scream at you from 30 yards away. Even when I am not hunting, coming across them on my hikes is an equally spiritual experience. If you venture out to the Tillamook area on the Oregon coast at night, you can sometimes come across whole herds of them. Watching them in the moonlight, hearing them move about, talk to each other, it is a noteworthy experience.

Elk are arguably some of the most majestic creatures in North America. I admire them for their beauty, toughness, and intelligence. The PNW would not be the same without them.

Elk antler may not be aesthetically pleasing to some here or even the majority, but it simply embodies the most soul out of the three options in this poll. When you consider the animal it comes from, the insane amount of abuse that these antlers endure before they are shed (or the animal is harvested), the location from where they are sourced and its proximity to the Buck Factory, it really isn't a hard decision for me at all.

Vote Elk and know that when you have it in hand, you have something special, something from one of the most beautiful locations in the world, from some of the most magestic creatures to walk in our forests.

LpiIpdd.jpg
Click to expand...
Nicely put!
I grew up around elk in SW New Mexico, and it is in my blood stream. To hear them bugle still raises the hair on the back of my neck!
 
skblades said:
I am working with Buck right now on some samples. It sounds like they can put some pretty strict guidelines on the type of elk and pairing, matching etc. that gets used. I'll keep you posted.
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If it's not too late, ask them about scale thickness on the elk. I'm willing to do a crap shoot if they're thin. Not so much if they're fat.
 
Last bull elk I stirred up was dying of chronic wasting disease. It's common here in Colorado. Poor thing was staggering around confused and was barely with it enough to stumble away from us. We got within 50 feet of him. He looked like hell. I saw him later from the rim with all four feet in the air, but on the way back to the car six hours later, he was gone. I voted ironwood. :)
 
GE Jr said:
Burlap should be the logical choice here. ;)

After all, there could be those naturally-occurring irregularities associated with Ironwood or Elk. :eek: I mean who wants to see a less than ideal pair of covers on an American Elk handled knife or a not quite perfectly-matching grain on a wood that is naturally stable, rot resistant, and almost as hard as the tools that shape it?

A coarse cloth and resin handled knife would be so perfectly uniform and free of any irregularities. And when we get them all in, there will be the need for only one posted photo! :rolleyes::p:D
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Seeing as we will get what we get and no picking what you want, like when a Northwood drops I went with burlap micarta. I don't want what ever comes in the mail to be a surprise.

,,,Mike in Canada
 
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Steven, will you refund or exchange those elk knives that are deemed unsatisfactory by the end user?
 
Sabercat said:
Neither option induces vomiting.

Elk is easily my top choice. Elk is not sambar stag, and rarely competes with it in a beauty contest, but for me it has a lot to do with what it is and what it represents, and not just what it looks like. But I find it very far from being unattractive (unless super chunky).

It's a strong, majestic, American animal that didn't have to die to make us a knife.

PS
I have lots of knives made from dead animals. It is a factor though that I do consider greatly when choosing my knives.
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I like Elk, too. But your point about dying animals is interesting. I always felt quite good about things like bovine and and camel bone. Making knives from their bones is a great example of using every part of an animal whose lives were ended for other reasons (meat production). Seems, if anything, more respectful. Anyway, I've only got one Elk knife and I think the Elk Buck has used in the past looks fantastic. I was considering sitting out this year's forum knife for a couple of reasons, but this process has been so great, I divided in.
 
The 2014 BF knife with the stag covers on the newly minted 77 frame were shipped at random with no buyer input, but the stag Eric's Jack done during the same year were offered individually with photos to allow buyer's choice; can this be done with the forum knife? I don't think it's practical, but returns/exchanges for the 77 were few since that particular knife was an exceptional bargain at $88? IIRC, or close to that figure, so that unsatified buyers opted to re-sell on the open market at a profit. Will the 301 appreciate in this way? Nobody knows at this time and space....
 
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