Beat the Dead Horse - Bushcraft Knives

[panzertroop]

So I am sitting here pondering all the knives I have bought, sold, traded and owned. It seems like the vast majority never fit the bill for what I had intended. So I am going to resurrect the dead horse and flog him one more time. Why not!

For me a woods knife needs to baton, scrap wood and ferro rods, shave shavings like butter, keep and edge, not chip or roll or need tons of maintenance in the field.

Of all the million of choices what fits that scenario in your opinion.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Some I have tested recently

The overall Winner of ALL the knives I have tested in the last few years is the Siegle SAR 7 Second from top below

I just flat out cuts whatever I need cut.Feels better than any knife that size I have ever held too.

 

[sicily02]

Any of the ones I make. I could not resist lol.

Here is a few as of late.

anyways

Bryan

 

[JV3]

have you tried a mora yet? my vote goes towards the spyderco bushcraft:

 

[panzertroop]

Nice stuff guys, Always admired your work Bryan.

 

[pitdog]

My Bryan Breeden Woody still takes some beating for me, it's nearly always the first knife I grab nowdays.

 

[schmittie]

 

[jimh0220]

Wow, so many differences in the pictured knives, yet all the same? Bushcraft is a maketing ploy. Put the name on a knife, and viola, every wannabe Grizzly Adams (screw Mors, the Griz was a REAL Outdoorsman. Mors would be eaten by the bear for taking its berries, Griz made it his bi*ch) sales a plenty. But any knife can do bushcraft BS, aka roughing it a bit, with the skilled hand. Bushcraft knife, psssh.

 

[JV3]

Wow, so many differences in the pictured knives, yet all the same? Bushcraft is a maketing ploy. Put the name on a knife, and viola, every wannabe Grizzly Adams (screw Mors, the Griz was a REAL Outdoorsman. Mors would be eaten by the bear for taking its berries, Griz made it his bi*ch) sales a plenty. But any knife can do bushcraft BS, aka roughing it a bit, with the skilled hand. Bushcraft knife, psssh.

you know what a nessmuk knife looks like, right? how about a fillet knife? or a sushi knife? a bushcraft knife is just a description for a certain style of knife that differentiates it from the others...so when people ask for bushcraft knife recommendations, a kukri, pairing knife, box cutter, etc. doesn't get suggested because we have some idea of what the poster has in mind...not sure what the big deal is? i don't see anyone complaining when someone asks for machete advice (another style of knife, like bushcraft).

 

[schmittie]

you know what a nessmuk knife looks like, right? how about a fillet knife? or a sushi knife? a bushcraft knife is just a description for a certain style of knife that differentiates it from the others...so when people ask for bushcraft knife recommendations, a kukri, pairing knife, box cutter, etc. doesn't get suggested because we have some idea of what the poster has in mind...not sure what the big deal is? i don't see anyone complaining when someone asks for machete advice (another style of knife, like bushcraft).

Agreed.

 

[Daniel Koster]

Oh, I don't know....I would think that certain attributes lend themselves more to bushcrafting than others. Should be a certain size/weight to make it very easy to use/manage/carry. Should work with a firesteel. Should be able to make great fuzz sticks. And should work for light camp-kitchen duty.

I don't think you can say that about just any ole knife.

Bushcraft is different than Survival, IMHO. It encompasses survival, but is more than just surviving.


my 0.02

Dan

 

[panzertroop]

Thanks Daniel and JV3. I feel the same way. Any knife can do most chores. But most are designed for specific types of work. I made my wishlist in the original post and it follows how I define a blade for Bushcraft/Wilderness work.

Always an interesting subject that has been covered a million times.

 

[Samon]

have you tried a mora yet? my vote goes towards the spyderco bushcraft:

The spydie bushcraft looks nice, but I've heard alot of stories about this particular knife failing when being batoned.


I think it's fair to say the grind is very important for effecient carving, and the best generally being a scandi for those specific chores, a full flat-secondary convex being the better all round grind for a outdoors knife. The only 'bushcraft' knife I still have is my limited edition mora 510..

but one I really really liked was the Enzo trapper in 01, it is such a lovely knife with well balanced and well though out design! (I swapped it though, as I was getting precious over abusing it!)

and the only 'fancy' one I've owned was this one, a Bernie Garland custom bushcraft knife in 01. Nice chunky knife that alot of people I know use regularly, but one that I only used lightly then sold on (didn't want to ugly it up and I needed money!)

If I were to buy another, it would be another Enzo trapper. It is an amazing knife for the low price tag (£100ish)!

 

[wildmike]

Bushcraft is a set of skills....not a knife. I have used a hatchet as my bushcraft knife, and a Kukri, an F1, several customs, a Swamprat RMD, and Swamprat Rodent Solution, a ZT0121, several folders (even tacticals heaven forbid). Oops nearly forgot my KSF Scagel medium hunter (one of the best performers).

These knives, and hatchets cover a very wide range of designs....some perform better at some tasks than others. All did the job. With a bit of thought and skill.

The skill set is more important than the tool set.

 

[Daniel Koster]

I grew up using a hatchet to make fuzz sticks - that was just what we all did. Used it to taper stake-ends and make notches too. Pretty much all outdoors chores except ktichen duty. I had to keep it sharp, and had to learn control...but it did most of what I needed just fine.


That said, if I had been shown one of my own Bushcraft knives back then...it's a no-brainer. Much easier to use, sharpen, keep clean, carry, multi-task, etc.

Dan

 

[sisk61]

Although batonning isnt a very strong suit of the scandi grind, i HIGHLY recommend Brian Sargent's Model 3... its been the best knife for bushcraft ive ever owned. Ive had Fiddlebacks and others (which are also incredible blades) but i like Brian's knife a lot more..

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1020827-Sargent-Model-3-review

 

[Samon]

Although batonning isnt a very strong suit of the scandi grind, i HIGHLY recommend Brian Sargent's Model 3... its been the best knife for bushcraft ive ever owned. Ive had Fiddlebacks and others (which are also incredible blades) but i like Brian's knife a lot more..

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1020827-Sargent-Model-3-review

I've never had an issue with battoning a scandi knife, if you think about it logically it is likely to be better than most of the others due to the wide cheeks and relatively thick blade (only the edge is thin) seperating the fibres of the wood without the edge ever coming into prolounged contact with anything. Like an axe, wide cheeks(/and weight) doing all the work.

Infact the only times I hear people complaining about the scandi is when the chip the blade by cutting into rabbit bones and stuff, which isn't advised with any non butcher knife, so..

 

[sisk61]

I've never had an issue with battoning a scandi knife, if you think about it logically it is likely to be better than most of the others due to the wide cheeks and relatively thick blade (only the edge is thin) seperating the fibres of the wood without the edge ever coming into prolounged contact with anything. Like an axe, wide cheeks(/and weight) doing all the work.

Infact the only times I hear people complaining about the scandi is when the chip the blade by cutting into rabbit bones and stuff, which isn't advised with any non butcher knife, so..

Well then... Thanks for that info! I just found it easier to take along a convex blade when i need to batton.

Thanks!

 

[sicily02]

Thank you for the kind words PanzerTroop.


Yep I agree the skills come first then it comes down to what blade and handle shapes and handle colors you like.

It is fun though to try out the different handle and blade shapes and the different grinds.

After trying out some of the different blade and handles shapes a person can really find out what they like and dislike.

Take care all,

Bryan

 

[Daniel Koster]

I agree with Samon.

I've never really had issues with batoning with a Scandi-grind. On the contrary it does the job very well compared to other grinds - when blade thickness is constant.

I think people tend to abuse their scandi grind knives more since they are generally very trustworthy, and that's why we see the occasional blade damage.

I don't understand why one might think the edge is more delicate. I grind mine at 13 degrees per side now - which results in 26 degrees overall. Many folks sharpen their knives at 30 degrees....so, how does 4 degrees (2 degrees per side) make the edge more fragile?

Others have tested knives here on Bladeforums with edges much more severe...even down to under 20 degrees inclusive (10 per side).

Dan