- Joined
- Sep 24, 2015
- Messages
- 70
*** This post is like Long Mass. Run away while you still can !
I got done with all my work this morning. Surprisingly, no clients had meltdowns and nothing wet the bed. So, in spite of the rain, I decided to head in to the woods behind my place to work on my pathetic bushcraft skills. Test some knives. And try making fire with everything wet. You know what they say. You don't need to know how to make fire until you really need a fire !
Normally, I play in the dirt with an Esee Laser Strike and a Mora. Thus far it's been the best of both worlds. The Mora handles all the light duty stuff and the Esee can be used to build a log cabin, or even cut someone out of a burning automobile.
I've tested a number of the Bushcraft style knives, but so far, have yet to fall madly in love with any of them. Some fine blades to be sure, but nothing that I felt outperformed The Twins.
I have had Spydercos off and on since forever. Great utility knives. And I've recently been picking up far too many. Along the way I kept stumbling across the Bushcraft UK. The first time I saw one, I couldn't help but be disappointed in Spyderco. It's not their primary market and therefore it initially appeared to be a cheesy marketing move to capitalize on a trend. Still, the knife continued to
to pique my interest. Enough that I actually stumbled across one and did a trade on it.
Back to this morning. I grabbed my pack and started to head out the door when I spied the BUK sitting on the shelf. Hmmmm. OK. WTH. I'll leave the Mora and Esee at home and grab the BushcraftUK and..........oh..........lets break something. I grabbed my Endura 4. I left the house feeling bit naked in terms of knives.
I meandered around looking for dry fire starting materials while checking out the scenery. The rain lightened up and it was gorgeous. I love the woods !
And here's what happened to the last guy that brought the wrong knife to the woods.
After cruising around a bit, it was time to put the Spydies to work and see if they could hang. I had no intention of asking the Endura to do anything beyond its design, but the BushcraftUK was going to get busy.
Finding dry fire making materials was virtually impossible. I did get lucky and find this.
I had to cut through a bunch of wood just to get to dry materials. Lots of cutting, scraping, and a bit of tip-splitting.
The first thing I noticed about the BUK was how comfortable it was in my hand. I've kicked a lot of bushcraft style knives to the curb before they ever left the house......all because of grip feel. The Esee's are so bad that to me, they are non functional without going to after market grips. But the BUK was fantastic, with or without out gloves. It felt balanced and beefy enough to inspire confidence, while never feeling like I was wielding a iron girder. My hand never did get fatigued in spite of the workload.
The second thing I noticed by accident. I was making fuel/tinder shavings and was doing so absentmindedly. I wasn't even making fire sticks. Just shavings. When I looked down, I couldn't believe how thin the shavings were with little to no effort. It's not like I was trying to make like an electric meat slicer. Interestingly, when I started paying attention, I could get shavings half the thickness of these !
Gratuitous pre-pyro shot !
I'd be lying if I said that I got the fire started on the first strike. And there may or may not have been some swear words that scared the wildlife. But finally, TA DA !
As I headed home, I had to admit that Spyderco really did do their homework. The BushcraftUK is a joy to use in the field. And while I'm not implying that its the be-all-end-all for bushcrafting, I will say that it gave me enough confidence to leave the Esee and Mora at home. And that's saying something!
If you're a Spyderco fan and also considering a woods utility knife, you absolutely can't go wrong with the BushcraftUK. It's a well designed competent tool in the field.
Before I get accused of being a pure fan boy and not being critical enough, I do have one SEVERE DISLIKE. The shealth is horrid at best. Installing those pieces of plastic in the bottom was asinine. It can potentially trap water. And, because they appear to be pressed in, you have to be extremely slow and deliberate when sheathing the knife or you end up trapping the tip outside of the plastic. Like many other knives, having a quality sheath made will really make all the difference in the field.
I apologize for being long-winded. Just thought I'd share with everyone.
I got done with all my work this morning. Surprisingly, no clients had meltdowns and nothing wet the bed. So, in spite of the rain, I decided to head in to the woods behind my place to work on my pathetic bushcraft skills. Test some knives. And try making fire with everything wet. You know what they say. You don't need to know how to make fire until you really need a fire !
Normally, I play in the dirt with an Esee Laser Strike and a Mora. Thus far it's been the best of both worlds. The Mora handles all the light duty stuff and the Esee can be used to build a log cabin, or even cut someone out of a burning automobile.
I've tested a number of the Bushcraft style knives, but so far, have yet to fall madly in love with any of them. Some fine blades to be sure, but nothing that I felt outperformed The Twins.
I have had Spydercos off and on since forever. Great utility knives. And I've recently been picking up far too many. Along the way I kept stumbling across the Bushcraft UK. The first time I saw one, I couldn't help but be disappointed in Spyderco. It's not their primary market and therefore it initially appeared to be a cheesy marketing move to capitalize on a trend. Still, the knife continued to
to pique my interest. Enough that I actually stumbled across one and did a trade on it.
Back to this morning. I grabbed my pack and started to head out the door when I spied the BUK sitting on the shelf. Hmmmm. OK. WTH. I'll leave the Mora and Esee at home and grab the BushcraftUK and..........oh..........lets break something. I grabbed my Endura 4. I left the house feeling bit naked in terms of knives.
I meandered around looking for dry fire starting materials while checking out the scenery. The rain lightened up and it was gorgeous. I love the woods !
And here's what happened to the last guy that brought the wrong knife to the woods.
After cruising around a bit, it was time to put the Spydies to work and see if they could hang. I had no intention of asking the Endura to do anything beyond its design, but the BushcraftUK was going to get busy.
Finding dry fire making materials was virtually impossible. I did get lucky and find this.
I had to cut through a bunch of wood just to get to dry materials. Lots of cutting, scraping, and a bit of tip-splitting.
The first thing I noticed about the BUK was how comfortable it was in my hand. I've kicked a lot of bushcraft style knives to the curb before they ever left the house......all because of grip feel. The Esee's are so bad that to me, they are non functional without going to after market grips. But the BUK was fantastic, with or without out gloves. It felt balanced and beefy enough to inspire confidence, while never feeling like I was wielding a iron girder. My hand never did get fatigued in spite of the workload.
The second thing I noticed by accident. I was making fuel/tinder shavings and was doing so absentmindedly. I wasn't even making fire sticks. Just shavings. When I looked down, I couldn't believe how thin the shavings were with little to no effort. It's not like I was trying to make like an electric meat slicer. Interestingly, when I started paying attention, I could get shavings half the thickness of these !
Gratuitous pre-pyro shot !
I'd be lying if I said that I got the fire started on the first strike. And there may or may not have been some swear words that scared the wildlife. But finally, TA DA !
As I headed home, I had to admit that Spyderco really did do their homework. The BushcraftUK is a joy to use in the field. And while I'm not implying that its the be-all-end-all for bushcrafting, I will say that it gave me enough confidence to leave the Esee and Mora at home. And that's saying something!
If you're a Spyderco fan and also considering a woods utility knife, you absolutely can't go wrong with the BushcraftUK. It's a well designed competent tool in the field.
Before I get accused of being a pure fan boy and not being critical enough, I do have one SEVERE DISLIKE. The shealth is horrid at best. Installing those pieces of plastic in the bottom was asinine. It can potentially trap water. And, because they appear to be pressed in, you have to be extremely slow and deliberate when sheathing the knife or you end up trapping the tip outside of the plastic. Like many other knives, having a quality sheath made will really make all the difference in the field.
I apologize for being long-winded. Just thought I'd share with everyone.
Last edited:
