A little Nessmuk love

Rotte

Rotte

Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
3,214
I've been a fan of the Nessmuck design (accident?) for quite a while. I have a couple from other makers, but the Fiddleback version dominates my collection and is my favorite:



While I've carried one on day hikes and motorcycle trips, honestly, I haven't found much need for one, or any other large knife on short trips. Overnight trips, yes. And even on day hikes I pack a fixed blade. But, need? Not so much.

However, over July, August, and September I've been out a lot, mostly car camping with a small trailer. Just haven't been doing the backpacking thing as much--getting old enough to feel taking it easy is perfectly fine.



My travels have taken me over Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. It's been a good summer. ;)








Now, normally I'd rotate through different knives, but since the Nessmuck with the Yellow Jacket micarta (middle in the above pic) is relatively new for me, I thought I'd be a little more dedicated to testing one knife. I decided to use it exclusively over the summer.

I made a high-ride pancake-type sheath for it, and it travels very well this way while seated, driving. This sheath also works well when wearing fishing waders or a day pack. It doesn't adapt well to use with a backpack that uses a weight bearing hip belt, in which case, it usually goes in a pocket. But I haven't been doing much of that, so it hasn't been an issue.

No surprise, but I love this knife design. And getting to know it a bit better through regular use has been a real pleasure. Maybe I mean that using it has become more second nature. I'm not going to say this is the 'ultimate camp knife', I don't believe such a thing exists (but tell me if I'm wrong about that. :o). But the Nessie design is incredibly versatile and useful as a general purpose knife. Especially considering it's relatively short blade length (4"). This model is 3/16" thick and I may prefer the 1/8" in comparison, but this is the model I chose to use for a prolonged period.

I didn't dress any game with it, but it has done just about everything else a camp knife needs to do, from spreading butter to cleaning perch to fire making. I'm not sure I have a more versatile knife. The 'belly' or curve of the knife makes it easy to use with a cutting board and gives a nice leading edge when making feather sticks. The broad blade means is tracks well when slicing food and serves as a tiny spatula when spreading butter or jam. The thickness of the blade gives me some peace of mind when battoning wood for kindling. Obviously mundane tasks like cord cutting and package opening are trivial for such a knife, but I'll add that getting a thumb behind the hump on the spine allows for tremendous power in a cut.

I know the Nessmuck is not the sexiest looking knife, in fact it's a bit ungainly, but I urge you to give one a try, and try it out for a while. I think you'll come to appreciate this odd knife.

 
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Man, Jack that was a sweet one. I still remember making it. 3/16 is thick for a Nessmuk, but as its an all purpose knife, I think it works. Lately, food on cutting board pics really make me smile. Maybe I'm just hungry all the time. Nice seeing you again my friend. You've been missed.
 
Thanks, Andy.

I haven't been taking as many pictures lately, so I don't have a lot of knife porn, but I'll try to get a few extra. Have a couple of trips coming up. The AP thickness of 3/16" has proved to be excellent. I'm tempted to switch to one of the 1/8" versions I've, got but I want to stick with 'one knife' for a while. Might turn into a year-long project.
 
great pics of some beautiful scenery. thanks for sharing.


you weren't kidding about the small trailer
 
Nice post Jack! I loved my Kephart, but it was at a bad time financially and it was one of the things I had to sacrifice to survive the winter in Michigan. I think it did a wonderful job in the food prep role. I had decided when I had to part with mine in tapered 1/8 that the next time around I would get tapered 5/32 if I could find one. I'm one of the few who like thicker blades, but I like them that way for all around woods knives for long term camps that I hope to get back too. I had no idea there was ever a 3/16 one made, seems most are 1/8. I really want one in desert ironwood or something similar and more traditional when I do finally manage to replace the one I had to let go. Mine was used in the kitchen quite a bit, and I really like how it performed in that role for all the reasons you listed.


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Awesome post. Thanks for sharing.

Love to see the outdoors and knives. Both are outstanding in this post!!!
 
Thanks, guys.

I'm going to continue to use this as my primary knife for the next 9 months to make this a year long project. As most of you know, Nessmuk (George Sears) envisioned using a belt knife in conjunction with an axe and a small folder. This is essentially the way I've used my Nessmuk as well. I usually carry a Swiss Army Knife (SAK) and either an axe or large knife (9-12"). I think for the next year. I'll focus on Fiddleback Nessmuk, SAK, and Axe, the better to evaluate the system. I'll post some updates here as I go.
 
I recently acquired a Nessmuk though she's been sitting in the safe up until now. I wonder if you might be able to post an image of that pancake style sheath sometime.


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Very simple sheath. Good fit though.



I put the belt loop low to keep the knife high on the belt for comfort while seated/driving. I may have used the term 'pancake' in an erroneous manner. It's not like a pancake holster for a pistol...but that gives me pause to think....

The light spot on the back is due to sloppy work with glue and not dying the leather before assembly. No functional impact....so far.
 
Rotte said:
Very simple sheath. Good fit though.



I put the belt loop low to keep the knife high on the belt for comfort while seated/driving. I may have used the term 'pancake' in an erroneous manner. It's not like a pancake holster for a pistol...but that gives me pause to think....

The light spot on the back is due to sloppy work with glue and not dying the leather before assembly. No functional impact....so far.
Click to expand...

I prefer a high-ride sheath myself. Especially when driving and with a heavier knife. When I wear a back with a waist strap I would rather have my knife in my pocket or on my pack strap than dangling way down on my leg.
 
Thanks for sharing. I wear a pancake holster daily and it's surprisingly comfortable. I like the looks of your sheath especially with the belt loop, and may try to replicate it. I'd really like my sheaths with the same size retention clip as my holster. Those smaller ones don't stay put for me.


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In my first post, I spoke in fairly general terms about the functionality of the Nessmuk. I'd like to be a bit more specific.

This evening my wife requested a roast chicken and I used the Nessie to prep the bird before it went on the grill. I like to 'Spatchcock' a chicken before grilling it. Doing so allows for more even cooking and the entire skin can crisp up.

Starting:



Ready for the grill:



This isn't a complex job, but does highlight the versatility of the knife. I normally use a Japanese Garasuki or a European boning knife for the task. Each has it's own virtues.



The Garasuki is a heavy bladed knife and is very adept at finding joints and cutting through small bones. The boning knife is more delicate, flexible, and suited for slicing, with a very precise point. Note that while both are larger, specialized knives, the Nessie performed equally as well.

To Spatchcock a chicken, I start by cutting out the backbone. The Nessmuk's point is sufficiently acute enough to 'feel' one's way through the rib joints, and the blade is strong enough to cut through joints and bones without difficulty. The boning knife can have some trouble here.

After the backbone is out, I remove the ribs from the inside. Sometimes the long, stiff Garasuki blade can be awkward doing this in a smaller bird. The Nessmuk makes quick work of separating the ribs from the thorax and cutting through the joints holding them to the sternum. Next I free the coracoid bones and disjoint them from the sternum. With a finger riding the point, more ergonomic to do with a short knife like the Nessie, it's easy to locate the joint and remove these bones.

Lastly, approaching from the neck side, I free and remove the wishbone. Again, the point is easily able to follow the bone down to the sternum. Then the knife can be flipped over and slipped up to the top of the wishbone. Being able to ride the point using the hump of the spine makes this simple task quite intuitive. Now the chicken can be pressed flat for grilling or pan-frying as with 'brick chicken'. And serving the bird is super easy; it's practically boned out at this point.

Spatchcocking a chicken is not a complex task and I think I could use most any knife from a Case slip joint to a Chef's knife to do it. But, the strength of the Nessie blade, blade length, and great point control make the Nessmuk as good at this task as the purpose-designed Garasuki. I think this simple kitchen task illustrates the surprising utility of the Nessmuk.

Finished chicken:



The grill was running a bit hotter than I expected, but the chicken came out juicy and was "just what I wanted" according to my wife. I'll call that a win.
 
varga49 said:
I'd really like my sheaths with the same size retention clip as my holster.
Click to expand...

I'm a new hand at sheath making and haven't tried making a sheath with a clip yet. It seems doable, though. You might try talking to a custom maker to get one made to your design. I'm kinda fussy about sheaths myself, a good sheath can make a knife and a bad one can lose it. All too often I see sheaths being give little more that a passing thought as to how an owner might use a knife.
 
I definitely will get in touch with my holster maker about a larger more suitable clip for my purposes. And then might try doing a simple sheath with some bark tanned Buffalo hide I have... you've got me inspired here. Thanks


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