BK7 Bushcrafting (picture heavy)

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YellowSwiss

Joined
Sep 28, 2015
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So, as I have stated in a previous thread, I have been very eager to get out and hit the woods. Having gotten back into "fighting shape" this year, I began preparing myself for an outdoors adventure and one of the big items on my list was finding a great knife. Personally, I find that a knife is a definite must have in a survival or bushcraft situation (heck, ANY outdoor adventure to be honest). I know the folks here share that sentiment.

So I spent some time studying what type of knife I should get (not that I did not have many, many knives already). Truthfully, I wanted to get a blade that I would consider "big league" when it comes to bushcrafting...as close to the "one knife for all occasions" that I could get. After a great deal of study and research, I ended up with a BK7. I quickly ended up with a BK16 as well, but my latest excursion was to put the BK 7 to the test.

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Like every BK7, mine started out with the coated blade that I quickly stripped and refinished. I thought a while about what I wanted to do (patina, polished blade etc) but ended up using gun bluing on both the BK7 and the BK16. I like to blue the blade as it adds a little protection, yet allows the carbons steel to develop its own personality over time. I see the wear marks and imperfections that develop over time as reminders of each small adventure.

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I wish I had taken a picture of the blade BEFORE I used it, but my enthusiasm got the best of me. The BK16 above still wears the unused bluing.
 
Sweet. Bk 7 & bk16. Great combo. That's some beautiful scenery there. Thanks for the picks. Get out there and chop something lol
 
Sooooo, how did it perform?

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Obviously it is great at chopping. Is it a hatchet? Nope, but if I had space issues in my pack (and who doesn't) this knife definitely serves well in a pinch.
 
And for those who just HAVE to see some batoning action (hahaha).



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I even did some cross-cut batoning.

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Fire making? Check!

Feather sticks (which, yes, were used to make my fire).

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Also harvested some good tinder with the spine.

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Also harvested some fatwood. Tough stuff and I had to do a tad bit of prying to get to it. Not my favorite action with a knife, but the BK7 handled it well!

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Detail work was not as much a chore as many would think when they first see the BK7. As many here have said, a big knife can handle small chores better than a small knife can handle large ones.

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So I also used the BK7 to make a deadfall (and yep, it worked) but was not sure about showing any pictures (they are not TOO graphic). It handled food prep quite well and I was again surprised and such a large knife being so easy to handle. Although I had other knives with me (including my beloved Swiss Army Knife...yellow scales of course) I found myself loving the BK7 so much that I didn't use anything BUT the BK7!

So, there are other excursions coming and more challenges for myself and the BK7. Folks, my thanks to all of you for leading me toward the BK7! This one is definitely a winner!.
 
Nice pics; looks like the 7 performed great for you. Nice piece of land to play on as well. Thanks for sharing!
 
Great thread. Thanks for sharing. 'Heads, we need more threads like this.

I would like to see the deadfall trap pictures. I understand your trepidation.

Jeremy
 
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Here is a PG version. I laid a couple of the sticks back in place to show notching. I cheated a bit and used some peanut butter as bait.

This coming weekend, the adventure continues.
 
Great thread. You really know how to break in a new knife!

Yeah, peanut butter is definitely cheating when targeting squirrels and chipmunks. I had HOURS of fun as a kid baiting chipmunks with PB when camping with my family. All catch and release, and some of the most sustained laughter in my life. :D
 
I thought I read here in the forum that using gun blue on a knife used for food preparation was a "no go." I had plans of blueing my bk14 until I saw that. I'll try to find the post to clarify. Anybody know for sure?
 
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