Bushcraft Knife Challenge results!!!

[tonym]

Scout Knives.by Chuck Cook

Here is another knife that I didn’t feel has a bushcraft / woodcraft look to it. Looks more like a camp Kitchen knife to me. However the maker obviously feels it would make a great woodcraft/ bushcraft knife so I was excited to use it.

Fit and finish was pretty good. The handle was fit to the tang perfectly and all the pins were flush. The wood had a nice finish to, not very polished as to leave a good grippy texture.. The curves of the handle were nice and subtle and made for a comfortable grip. The handle was wide and not too thick allowing for a very secure grip with gloves on in the sub freezing temps in which we tested it. The maker took care to round off all parts of the handle, which made it extremely comfortable in all the grips I use for Bushcraft.




The blade had a full flat grind which was very nicely done. The stock was about 1/8th thick and evenly tapered down to the secondary bevel. The secondary bevel wasn’t perfectly even, but the maker knocked off the shoulders and made it very very sharp!




The sheath was very nice. A deep pouch style with some nifty tool work. It had a great finish and the stitching was good.




From the time we started testing the knife it was clear that the maker made this knife to be used. It went through the cordage very quick. When it came to battoning the smooth thin grind pushed right through the hard maple. In whittling the thin edge bit in petty deep and didn’t need allot of pressure behind it despite the wide blade. The tip was pointy and sharp. The maker took care not to thin the tip too much, so it was strong. The knife drilled really well.

The balance of the knife and shape of the handle made for quick and easy transitions between grips.









Again I still look at this knife and see a camp kitchen knife, however it performed very good at all the tasks we gave it. I would have total confidence if I had this knife on my belt for an extended outing in the woods. Great job Chuck Cook!


I loved the look of the wood on the handle, however I if I owned this knife I wood have to make sure I oiled it frequently. Due to my dry forced air home there was a bit of shrinkage in the wood. The maker has had the knife back for a couple of weeks and has already reported that the wood has started to come back. So that’s great news.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Wildertools
Puukko S Curve
by Rick Marchand

My name is Rick and everyday, I’m doing what I love to do. I could tell you that my job is making outdoor gear, knives and leather goods… but that just doesn’t describe it, fully. For me, whenever I pick up a tool… whether it’s a hammer, needle or scissors… I see it as vehicle, though which I can express myself. There is a bit of me in everything I make. That may sound cliché to most but when I look at a finished piece, I can remember back to what I was feeling and thinking during its creation.
I quit my “normal” job a few years ago to become a fulltime stay-at-home dad. When my kids became old enough for school I attempted to ease back into the working world. It was important to me to be available for my family when needed. Working from home was the only logical conclusion.
I have always had a passion for the woods and have studied with several wilderness skills instructors including Canada’s, Allan “Bow” Beauchamp. Over the years, I have either made or modified my equipment to suit a variety of conditions and environments. In 2007, I met ABS Master Smith, Wally Hayes, who’s friendship and generous guidance has been invaluable to me. This, coupled with 14+ years of experience in the tool, die and fabrication industry have provided me with the skills necessary to bring my creations to life.
There are few “original” ideas out there. I draw inspiration from the “tried and true” designs that many have used before me. I see what works and attempt to break it down to the raw essentials. While my artistic pieces allow me the joys expressing my creativity, my true passion lies in shaping and refining “Bush Tools” meant for hard use.

1084 Material
8 1/2″ OA
3 3/4″ Blade
4 3/4″ Handle
3/16″ Spine
Tapered tang
Handle is leather backed, hemp wrapped and epoxy soaked. Turks head is handmade grass cordage.
Sheath is 10oz hand stitched, riveted and wax dipped.

I was very curious to get to handle and use one of Rick Marchand’s knives. I have been following his evolution in skill and style for a few years. More than any other maker that I know, Rick’s knives ride a Zen wave from concept to creation. Along with respecting the elders and letting designs flow into him from the universe, Rick seems to reverse engineer his knives from an actual cut.

When I first received the knife from Tony, one of the first things I noticed was the level of commitment to an idea and to the most flawless interpretation of that idea. One would think that when going the rustic route, there would be quite a bit of room for error, but if this knife is any indication, Rick takes none of that room. The knife is a work of art. The sheath is a solid, secure, stylish and simply beautiful.

In the hand it is very nimble and well balanced. The grip is very secure. There were other knives tested that were more comfortable. I feel that for me it was a matter of thickness and that is subjective. The only issue arose when I was drawing the knife with cold hands. The texture made my palms feel a bit raw. Aside from that I was able to perform all tasks with panache. That’s right I said panache on WSS.

The blade performed so impressively. The continuous curve and virtually no ricasso make the most of its 3 ¾” length. Super sharp with its slightly convex grind and mirrored micro bevel, it has the right geometry for easy cuts, carving, whittling, sapling cuts and batoning. There was no perceptible loss of sharpness after all of our testing. One of the most interesting aspects is the diamond cross section, allowing a maximum of lateral strength while keeping the weight to a minimum. It is a feature that could easily have been omitted and probably not even be noticed but embodies a maker’s integrity.

Overall this is one very impressive package. It was a true pleasure to use, carry and test this knife. I have to be honest here and say that it was the knife's looks that attacted me but its performance is its true beauty. This is a tool that will give you a lifetime worth of service and would be an heirloom to pass on to the next generation.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Big Mike's review oF Rick's knife

Wildertools.

I had trouble getting my hands on this knife, from the beginning Tony made it clear that he was in love, and I think Marcelo had to use slight of hand to get it to me; it is a Savage Package, the blade, the handle, the sheath, everything about this knife looks great and works well; the biggest surprise was the handle, it worked better then I expected, it did not seem to attract or trap debris, and contaminants like blood and Tony's drool washed off easily; I will own one of Rick's knives some day soon!
　

 

[tonym]

Wildertools by Rick Marchand.


I had the pleasure of meeting Rick a few months ago at the Custom Knife show in N.J. That was the first time I got to hold this knife. Allot of things went through my head when I got this knife in hand, but apart from how unique and beautiful the knife looked, I mostly couldn’t wrap my head around how natural it felt in hand. I was always under the impression that a cord wrapped handle was going to be too thin and uncomfortable to use, boy was I wrong.

Lets talk fit and finish. I have handled a few fully forged knives before but never one as nice as this. The grind was perfectly tapered from spine to edge. And that edge, from pics you may think it has a secondary bevel, but it does not. Rick spent allot of time hand sharpening this knife polishing the very edge. I do that with allot of my knives, but I can never get it as perfectly even as he did. The finish on the knife was excellent. It had texture, and a look as if this knife was made a hundred years ago. I have never had a knife with so much character built into it.



The handle was what really got me. It was wrapped completely in hemp, extremely tight and perfectly even through out. Inside the hemp was a strip of leather on each side which gave the handle some girth and contour. The maker then finished it off with some cordage made from grass from his backyard and tied in a Turks Head knot. The whole handle was epoxied and hardened.



The sheath completed the package. The leather was very thick and finished to perfection. The stitches lie perfectly even in their own channel. Large copper rivets help secure it and add a touch beauty. The opening of the sheath was designed in a way to increase tension, and is slotted in the back end so that the knife will not cut into it while withdrawing the knife. It is form, meets function, meets beauty in one package.




Okay, yes I think this knife had the best fit and finish of the bunch, but a good woodcraft/bushcraft knife has to be allot more than pretty. It has to cut good, offer control, be easy to use, carve very good, have a sharp, but strong tip, and most importantly to me be comfortable while doing all those things.

In cutting this knife was outstanding. Again with no secondary bevel to hang it up, so it went through cordage with minimal force behind it. The continuous curve from tip to ricasso made for a very strong performer in slicing and power cuts. It bit deep in to wood when I wanted it to and was easily backed off for finer whittling. The grippy texture of the wrapped handle aloud for smooth transitions between grips and lets talk grips. The back curve of the handle was oh so comfortable in the hammer grip and reverse grip. The slight contour and smooth tapering made the chest leaver grip a pleasure. The thin profile of the handle and the blade made choking up on it a dream. If your one of those guys that likes a guard, the Turks head knot acts like one!

This knife was extremely easy to use and performed about perfectly in all tests I put it through. It was second in comfort for me only to the Bruce Culberson.

Since Rick has won these challenges in the past and I knew I was going to buy this knife, I beat on this knife pretty hard. I crossed battoned some nasty maple, smashed the butt of the handle with a batton, while driving the tip into wood. I even did a little prying. This knife is not all looks, it is built to be used! The wrapped handle is very strong and resiliant.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

G3 knives
Sojourn
by Gene Pinault

This is a thick, heavy, bombproof, butterscotch handled, post-apocalyptic beast of a knife that truly captures the essence of its creator. When I finally held it, I said [man alive], this thing can cut! I had chatted with Gene a few times about the design and he shared with me his thoughts on what he wanted his knife to be and do. From the curves and contours of the generous full size handle, to the continuous curve of the blade, to the bail notch on the spine, to the transitioned full convex grind, every aspect of design that went into this knife is the product of Gene’s experience as a tradesman and an outdoorsman.

The overall construction is solid; no gaps anywhere, even grinds, sharp edge, pointy point. The final sanding could be a bit more precise and even, but what the eye noticed, the hand did not. The handle is very comfortable is all grips used. There are well thought out swells, curves and scallops throughout the handle, allowing for precise control when needed and maximum power when called for.
The sheath is a heavy duty, fold-over pouch; spartan in its finish. The cut edge is left rough. Gene explained to me that it functions much the same as the tips of an owl’s feathers designed to keep it silent and stealthy while in motion. This was however after a bit of mead and a great deal of ale. There is no retention other than gravity to hold the knife secure. In all honesty, one more line of stitches near the top would solve this issue. This sheath is actually in its third incarnation, cut down from a larger and yet an even larger sheath. Very green, Gene.

The blade just makes me smile. During the push cuts, it took a bit more effort to get through the fibers than the top cutters but after a slight adjustment in technique; that is by holding the knife further back on the handle and just letting the blade just fall onto the rope, it went through effortlessly. There is a slight yet noticeable difference in the grind near the notch; it is sharper and thinner there and works well for whittling and carving. The belly of the blade has a more robust working edge that while still cuts, works well for power cuts and, yes, chopping. While it isn’t the longest blade, this is the only knife I chopped with. In batoning, what can I say, the wood literally jumped apart. The squared spine makes nice sparks on a ferro rod. The point is one of the better drillers in the test, while giving absolutely no fear of breakage.

One other incident that made me smile was when I gave him back his knife. Gene’s face lit up with parental joy and he literally started talking to it. Of course later he was talking to his beer so perhaps not so remarkable a thing to witness.
Overall, this knife fared much better than I originally expected. I really like the design and I’ve asked Gene to make me one in 3/16” or 1/8” stock. Terrific work Gene.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Big Mike's review

Gene Pinault.

I've met Gene and this knife reminds me of him, not pretty but a very capable beast; that fully convexed blade cuts better then a quarter inch thick blade should; this knife begs to be battoned in any direction, I could use a set of these to access my tree stand; sorry Gene but the sheath sucks.
　

 

[tonym]

G-3 Knives by Gene Pinault.

I have known Gene (Gunknifenut) for a few years now. We have camped together, drank together, and shared outdoor skills together. We have allot of differences and don’t agree on many things, but when it comes to the outdoors he knows his stuff and I find it an honor to call him a friend. That said, he knows he is not getting a sugar coated review out of me. I am going to tell it like it is.

Gene’s knife is a straight up beast. ¼ of an inch thick is no where near my ideal bushcraft knife thickness. Everything else about this knife I can live with. I am not sure the style falls into my criteria for a bushcraft knife, it would kick ass in the “survival knife" category.

Lets talk fit and finish. This knife has a ruff finish, that’s for sure. However, the handle is fit to the tang and the convex saber grind is pretty even as well. He made the cutting edge thinner on the blade closer to the ricasso for carving and left it thicker from the belly to the tip for chopping and harder work.




I loved the handle contours on this knife. It was very comfortable in all positions. If it wasn’t so damn heavy it would have been perfect. The micarta was all sanded smooth although not evenly sanded. I can only imagine how long it took to do by hand. It was very grippy, just not pretty.





Gene rushed a sheath and sent the knife in that. So the sheath was scored, and lets just say it held the knife as long as you didn’t turn it over… As for the finishing of the sheath, we will just say, it makes the knife look like the Mona Lisa…

Enough of that, lets talk about what this competition was about. PERFORMANCE, and this knife was designed to perform. From the good carving edge to the sharp robust tip. The knife worked and worked pretty damn well. It’s obvious that with it’s full 5” length and ¼ thickness that it was the best at battoning. You may also conclude that it wasn’t that great at whittling, however you would be dead wrong. The knife whittled really good. It made excellent feather sticks. Notching was easy as well. The push cuts through cordage was better than many in this competition. What can I say, Gene can put an edge on a knife. More than that look at the design. A notch in the spine for a potholder, rear and front curves in the handle. A continuous curve from tip to ricasso. Also a thumb indent on the spine for more leverage. There is allot going on with this knife that makes it a great performer.
















So my feedback to Gene is simple. Make that knife in 3/16ths and it would be awesome. The only performance issue I had with it was the weight. The balance was good, right at the first pin. On a bushcraft knife I would say that it is too blade heavy, but with this design the weight forward helped it’s chopping capabilities. Which I did chop with this knife, and it did realy good for a 5” knife.

I am glad Gene is making knives, he has allot of good ideas and definitely put them to use in this design. Great Job Geno!

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

place hold for Laconico specs, bio, and my review

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Big Mike's thoughts.

Ray Laconico

Where do I start, as with every Laconico I've had my hands on, this knife is just about perfect; this very fine tool is a pleasure to behold, a pleasure to use, a great performer, showed savage edge retention, and excelled at food prep; it earned top points in my testing, what more can I say.
　

 

[tonym]

Ray Laconico

Simplicity at it’s best. There has never been a Laconico knife made that I didn’t want. This knife is probably my favorite of his yet.

Fit and finish in a word is about as perfect as one can get. Ray said he rushed the knife, but my untrained eye couldn’t find a flaw.





Ray’s leather sheath is good, but IMO it doesn’t do his knife justice. It is quite functional, and his stitching is good and usually tight. However in this sheath the tip of the knife did wind up sliding through between the welt and the leather. This is not the case on any other Laconico sheath I have owned, and I have owned a fair share. I still would like to see Ray bump up his game on his leather work. Maybe a slimmer profile and some nicer finishing. However, I am sure that would bump his pricing up a bit, but that is something I am willing to pay for.



Lets get back to the knife. I absolutely love this design.

Look at how simple that handle is. However as simple as it looks there are still features to it that make it a great bushcraft knife handle. First off it’s large, which gives you allot of purchase for the gloved hand and the big handed people out there. Then there is the rounded pommel, which makes changing grips easier and enables you to comfortable palm the butt of the knife. There is no thumb ramps but the handle is slightly tapered toward the ricasso, so chest leaver grip is comfortable. The width of the handle is just right for this size knife and the smooth edges makes the hammer grip and reverse grip very comfortable. There is also the ever so small guard to protect your hand from running down the blade.




The blade shape again simple, but well thought out. It reaches the full 5” length of this challenge, but remains superbly balanced and easy to control. The spear point is executed perfectly, and leaves the tip inline with the center of the handle. There is a slight continuous curve from tip to ricasso, which by now you all know why I like that. Ray’s full flat ground is perfect, and ends in the ever so small convexed micro bevel.



In performance this knife flat out rocked. Easily one of the best performers of the bunch. Every chore I gave it the knife did great at. Not much more to say…

If the knife blade had been an inch shorter, I would have begged Ray to sell it to me also.

The only feed back I have for Ray is, great work buddy. I would love to see your knife sheaths look as good as your knives some day.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Place hold for C. Brant knife specs, bio, and review

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Big Mike's review

C. Bryant.

An interesting design, one of the more unusual entries; I like some belly in a blade, though this straight edged knife seemed handy enough; one main problem, the edge on this knife was just not up to par and as such hurt it's performance numbers; the handle and sheath were also a bit below average in this group; a good start but more work is needed.
　

 

[tonym]

C. Bryant.

C. Bryant is a new maker which I have allot of respect for as a member of this community. His knife making skills are good and I am sure this competition will advance his skills even further.

I though it interesting to see a sheep’s foot style blade entered into a bushcraft knife challenge and looked forward to giving it a try.

Fit and finish was not up to the level of most of the knives submitted thus far, but that was to be expected on a new maker. The grind wasn’t too even, but not horrible. Allot of tool marks can be seen as well as glue residue. The secondary bevel left some flat spots in the edge.



The handle was pretty good. Pins were nice and flush and the scales were seated well to the tang. The scales weren’t symmetrical, but not to bad. He did a good job on rounding off the edges of the knife, and I liked the texture of the wood handle.



Marcelo and I got this knife after Big Mike gave it a whirl. Apon inspection the edge had a few flat spots. It had problems cutting paper. So we gave her some sharpening. We did not reprofile the edge, and I am sure if we did it would have helped the knife greatly. But a little sharpening helped a little. It did suffer in performance do to the edge. The knife was thin enough to get through wood, but it required allot of force.. I did not like the sheep’s foot style for drilling. The thin knife held up fine to battoning. On grainy wood it had a little difficulty, but it got through.

The handle was well rounded and pretty comfortable with bare hands. It is on the thin and small side though. With gloved hands it wasn’t too secure.



For a little utility knife it would be fine, there were even a couple of grooves in the spine which gave a good grip for your index finger if scoring something. I am not crazy about the design for bushcraft/woodscraft knife though. The spine did work really well for striking a fire steel.

I hope Mr. Bryant takes this feedback in a positive way, as I mean no disrespect. I think he has a lot of potential and will only benefit from this info and participation in this contest.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

place hold for Ban Tang bio, specs, and my review

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Big Mike's thoughts.

Bantang Knives.

Not a stranger to Bantang Knives, the ones I've tested in the past where all much thicker, and they all cut like lasers; this thin Bantang is no exception and proved to be a friggin' savage slicing machine; I found the handle a bit small in extended use, but it does offer good control; this would be a great hunting knife for field dressing game; considering it's small size it managed to excel at food prep; it size also made it very easy to carry; a great knife form a maker worth watching.
　

 

[tonym]

Bantang Knives.

I always wondered what “stupid sharp” meant, and now after using this Bantang knife, now I know. This is hands down the sharpest knife I ever have used. Couple that with the edge holding ability of the CPM-3V he used, it will probably degrade to just a good working edge sometime around the year 2036…



Fit and finish on this knife was perfect. I loved the satin finish on the blade and the highly polished edge. The convex grind was perfectly executed and came to a fine razor sharp edge.
The handle had nice even contours and perfectly symmetrical scales. The micarta was perfectly bonded to the orange G-10 inlays. The finish was on the micarta was not only pretty, but grippy as well.





Ban’s kydex was great. I am not a kydex fan, but this was done to perfection. The only thing I don’t like is how high it rides on the belt with the tek lock. I would love a drop loop for this knife.

The simple drop point blade shape proved to have just enough belly, and plenty of tip. This blade cut and cut, and just kept cutting. Push cuts through cordage were with out effort. Notching wood and shaving wood was a breeze. The knife did everything great, the only thing I felt it did not do as good as a couple of other leading blades, were power cuts through small branches. It got through small branches, it’s just that I couldn’t get the leverage do to the small handle to do it easily. The handle I believe was under 4”. It was very comfortable and super easy to control when working it for whittling and notching and other detailed tasks. It just didn’t feel natural to me power cutting through things. Weird ha… This knife didn't have that continuous curve either, so that may have hindered it also..





Anyway, the contours of the handle and thumb ramps were expertly done and extremely comfortable. The handle was pretty fat also, which helped in the comfort. If the handle was ¾” longer, I would have probably been out even more money..

Anyway, this knife knocked a few knives down a notch in performance. It was so easy to whittle with, I questioned the edge strength. So I cross batonned some nasty wood, and hacked away at some other wood with it. The edge held up perfectly to the extra abuse. Ban’s convex geometry is awe inspiring.!!

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Place hold for C. Cody review, specs, and bio

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Big Mike's posts

Chris Cody.
　
I really like this knife.
　

　
The overall look appealed to me; the handle contours where a bit tight for my large hand, but it still worked well for me in use; the tip worked well in the drilling test, and I was about to score it top marks when I noticed it had rolled the edge a bit near the tip (see photo below); other then that I gave it high marks in performance testing, and it excelled at food prep; a very nice and well made sheath rounds out the package.
　

　
Even with points off for the edge damage, this knife finished it the top three in my personal points tally.
　
I really like the thin convex edge geometry, I know that Chris is starting to use CPM 3V in some of his new blades and I believe that will allow him to maintain that thin edge (and point) geometry knowing it would be tough enough to last in hard use.

 

[tonym]

C3 knives by C. Cody

In my videos I keep referring to this knife as Earth Borne Knives, which is Mr. Cody’s partnership with another maker. So please disregard my screw up with that.

Anyway, when I saw a picture of this knife, I really wanted to get my hands on it. The handle looked oh so comfortable and I was right, for once..

Fit and finish was good, but not perfect. The convex grind was spot on, and wicked sharp. It tapered down to a very thin even edge from tip to little sharpening choil. The blade finish had a worn look to it which gave it some character. The handle was fit to tang nice and flush, and the pins were flush also. There was some glue residue near the ricasso and some minor tool marks on the tang.
The handles were beautifuly contoured. All the curves were subtle and very well rounded off leaving no sharp angles. The handle scales weren’t perfectly even, but not way off.
The wood had a beautiful finish to it and was very pleasing to the eye.





The simple pouch style leather sheath was very nice. Thick supple leather was used and stitches were perfectly even and tight. The knife was held very securely in this classic style sheath.



The spear point blade shape is definitely a favorite of mine in this type of knife. This knife was a great driller. The thin edged made short work of the fibrous cordage, and it whittled wood like a champ. The full 5” length batonned great as well. Definitely no complaints in the cutting department.



The handle was very comfortable. In all positions the knife felt secure and offered good control. It really was a joy to use this hand filling knife. I normally prefer no guard, but the lack of large ricasso and the way the guard was shaped allowed for good control in carving.





I love a good thin edge, and this knife gave it. However, some spots might have been taking too thin. Marcelo and I used this knife after mike and it was still cutting great. However in drilling Marcelo snapped a very small piece of the tip. It was not a knife failure, as even with the 1/16th of tip missing, the knife still drilled better than some others.






This knife still did very well in all aspects of performance. I would like to see future knives from Chris Cody with slightly more robust tip. He is definitely a maker that peaks my interest, as this knife proved to be a great user.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Mud Creek Forge place hold