BOS-Basic Outdoor Survival Knife

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bearthedog

Joined
May 17, 2006
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Breeden C.U.B. and Pathfinder

A New Breed of Knives from Bryan Breeden

The C.U.B. Is Here
This knife is a result of about 100 emails and a few hours of phone conversations with my friend Bryan Breeden. Ok, they weren’t all spent talking about this knife; we talked about survival skills and hot cocoa. The fact is Bryan and I share a lot of the same ideas about what a knife should be able to do in the outdoors and in the kitchen. A knife maker that uses their own knives will be able to tell where all the uncomfortable parts are as well as the comfortable ones. I know Bryan is the ultimate field tester of his own knives splitting and whittling wood every night for his ritualistic fire and cocoa with the family.

The C.U.B. (Compact Utility Blade) knife was designed to be a compact knife able to accomplish the basics of survival. I just wanted something light that is easy to see in the forest. It is basic by design, but all function.

C.U.B. Specs:
Steel: O1
Blade Length: 3 3/4"
Blade Width: 1 3/16”
Handle Length: 4 1/4"
Thickness: 1/16", 3/32", 1/8"
Handle Material: Orange G-10

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The blade is a little shorter than my preferred 4-inch blade length but what little I gave up in length I get back in control. It has more of a stubby spear point look. The handle length is just right for me. There is not too much sticking out that does nothing but add extra weight and bulk, remember I wanted something compact. Bryan suggested a handle style that he uses on his PSKK and Peacemaker models, it worked out perfect. The orange handle was a given. It’s easy to see and that just makes sense to me.
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The blade is long enough to split wrist size pieces of wood. Here you can see there is enough tip area left to baton.
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I modified the handle with a simple hand sander to tapper the corners of the scales creating a slanted place for my thumb. This is very important for the many Bushcraft grips, yet I have only seen it on a few.
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The spine on all my Breeden knives are nice and square, perfect for striking a fire steel. I was also able to shave a handful of small thin shavings from an oak branch with the sharp spine.
 
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Outside
A notable feature on the C.U.B. is the wider blade. I went with 1 3/16-inch width instead of the typical 1-inch to 1 1/8-inch width on most blades. This is for a few reasons. It adds strength without adding thickness to the blade. When making long cuts on fabric and plastic a wider blade helps keep the cut straight almost like a guide. A narrow blade can get a little out of control when trying to keep the blade cutting straight. The most important reason why I wanting a wider blade is for battoning cross grain on a piece of green wood. The spine has more, exposed area, and this makes it easier to sink the blade in deeper while battoning. Make sure to whack the portion of the spine directly over the wood for better energy transfer. A narrower blade will penetrate a little less, and then you will have to baton above the point of contact (closer to the tip) which puts more stress on the blade since you are going against the grain unlike traditional splitting with a baton where the knife acts like more of a wedge splitting the wood. The extra width proved to be adequate enough to get clean deep cuts while notching into some semi-green wood.

As a way of killing two birds with one stone, and also to keep this review from being too long, I decided to save whittling wood till the end as a way of testing edge retension. The edge was sharp fresh out of the box. First I wanted to see how deep I could baton the knife into some wood, cross grain. After that I took down a small tree by bending and applying tension to the sapling. Next I plunged the blade in at a 45 degree angle and rocked the knife back and forth cutting the fibers. The end result was a nice clean cut that took about 6 seconds. When all the heavy work was done, I went on to make a few fuzz sticks for the fireplace. I was pleased to see how the blade held its keen edge. It felt like I was peeling potatoes, no effort at all.

Deep penetration is achieved with a flat grind.
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Notice how deep the wider blade can penetrate into wood and still have left over room to baton deeper. The narrow blade is limited in this area.
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Fresh cut sapling
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Fuzz Sticks
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Kitchen Work
I have given my JK Nessmuk a little rest for the last month. While it has been vacationing, I have been alternating between two other knives for the kitchen. One of them is the Breeden C.U.B. in 1/16-inch thickness.

Cutting up chicken first with the C.U.B. was a pleasure. A thin blade really shines in the kitchen and there is no substitute for steel that holds a great edge. Pot Roast was on the menu a few days later and I never let anyone use a regular kitchen knife when I am in knife testing mode. Potatoes, carrots, and meat were all cut with the C.U.B.. The meat and vegetables won’t wear the edge down but you better believe the wooden cutting board will. Still, I did not have to sharpen the BOS.
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Bryan Breeden sent me this picture with the Teal Green scales.
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My last Breeden went to Peru on a Jungle Survival Trip who knows where this one will end up!
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Pathfinder
I don’t know if you guys remember but this is the knife that started it all. The Breeden Pathfinder is the very first knife from Breeden Knives. It caught my eye and before you know it I had one in my possession for test and evaluation. The original Pathfinder I reviewed a few months ago was very different. It was made from 01 like all Breeden Knives, but the Pathfinder was made from 3/16-inch stock and had a 5-inch blade along with the signature, orange G-10 scales. The original design was a product of Bryan wanting a sheath knife that can be used to cut a path through all the trees that he cut down while on the job. It also needed to stand out among the brown and green landscape of the job site. The name Pathfinder was born.

At first glance the Pathfinder seems like it mated with a Grohman and Nessmuk. The truth is….it did! There is a small hump on the spine right in the middle. This can act as a thumb ramp or be used as a targeting point for cross grain batoning. My newer Pathfinder now has green micarta scales and a thinner profile. Blade length is 4 ¼-inches with a 4 ½-inch handle. This time around I went with 1/8-inch stock. The blade is flat ground with a very sharp V-grind. The tip is also a little pointier which is perfect for incising and drilling holes in wood.

Original Pathfinder in orange
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Comparison Shot
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Contact info
Breeden Knives
www.breedenknives.com

Get them now at:
http://offthemapoutfitters.com/category.sc?categoryId=2
 
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Awsome knives!Really good looking and as seen from the pictures - excellent performers ! :thumbup:
 
Damn fine design I like the drop to the edge. Personaly even though the orange micarta fulfills the purpose of increased visibility, I still just can't warm to the idea. I to prefer a wider blade that cuts deeper with less resistance. Fine and functional design.
 
Great set of reviews! They still seem like incredibly well designed knives for the outdoors! :thumbup:
 
What blade thickness is the BOS in the photos? Looks thicker than 1/8 inch. Nice looking tools.
 
Nice review BTD. I especially like your handly mod. I hope we start seeing that on more designs. That grip is VERY useful and can be used for some very powerful cuts.
 
Nice looking little knife. I'm a big fan of that handle shape. In fact, I've got a Breeden on order that has almost the same handle as this one--same length, shape, etc. The scales might be a different thickness, but I can't tell very well from the pictures. The blade shape a bit different, though ;)
 
Nice review, I see some commonalities with the BOS and the kat/pskk hybrid I had Bryan make for me. The slightly wider blade profile is a good idea and I have also observed how adding a little width to other knives stiffens them up remarkably for a given blade thickness. I think yours is an improvement in this regard.

I also liked seeing the BOS/Rat-3 comparison. Very similar blade shape and width there. I'm willing to bet the BOS has a somewhat more comfy (hand-filling) handle than the RC3. At least your photo gives the impression of somewhat thicker and rounder scales on the BOS. Personally, I like the feel of the RC-4 better then the RC-3 just for that extra thickness. The BOS looks like it has captured the feel of the RC-4 in an RC-3 sized knife.

I think it is a great looking and very functional design.
 
Great Knife reuben:thumbup:

I really like the width and oveall size of this one, I was really excited to see this one after hearing about it from you. Great cross grain baton pics.:thumbup: It looks like a well suited knife to all things outside, and inside. I would really like to own the BOS!!!:cool:

Nice work Brian, you did a great job putting this design into reality!!
 
Hi Bear, I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to "knife lingo", so all i can say is i hope to come up with a small knife with a comfy handle and a stubby blade. Bryan cut it out yesterday and so far i am happy with it. But thats as far as we got. ;)
 
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