Bushlore a knife by Rick Marchand of Wildertools (known here as Magnussen)

[Mistwalker]

Back in the latter part of this past summer I was given the opportunity to purchase and test this prototype Bushlore from our very own Rick Marchand, founder of Wildertools. Having a major fondness for leather handled knives and having both seen Ricks work and heard good things about it, I of course jumped at that opportunity.

Upon opening the package I was very impressed with the simple elegance of what I saw. I love the graceful lines of the Scandi style sheath which, while being simple in design,is obviously made by hand with painstaking care by a true craftsman with just enough small details as to be pleasing to the eye and not be overly busy or complicated. The stitching is done in superb fashion and the rivets are in perfect placement in the locations that will receive the most stress over time. I absolutely love the shades of the mottled color pattern which create a natural camouflage pattern which looks right at home out in the natural world.

Upon drawing the knife from it's sheath I was firstly very impressed with how perfect the fit was, Rick does an amazing job at forming his sheaths to their blades. Secondly I was immediately aware of how good the knife felt in my hand. The handle feels really comfortable in the hand and has a great shape for a firm but comfortable grip. Then upon feeling the edge I was very pleased to learn of Rick's ability, of which I had previously heard, to put an amazing edge on a blade. The density I feel in the hand forged 01 steel blade is fantastic and after moving it around in my hand a bit and feeling the heft that belies the size of the knife my first words were "now this is a knife". The positive energy Rick puts into his blades is obvious upon looking and to me even tangible in the feel. Even with the wonderful heft and density of the blade in the hand on the belt one could easily forget they are even carrying a knife except for the subtle movements while walking.

Since that day I have used this knife for many tasks and chores for which the angle of the blade to the handles seems to be perfectly suited...this knife is very user friendly.

I have used this knife to make tinder for may fire demonstrations...

and Sarah for whom the knife was originally bought (that could change :whistle: ) has used it to practice her fire craft a few times as well.

 

[Mistwalker]

I have used it more than once for food prep in my kitchen

and for whittling and notching cooking sticks for out door cooking

I have even used this knife in the gathering,and cutting of wild onions which I often use in my cooking.

and those are just the times that I had a camera handy. I have used this knife to cut cordage and rope, cloth and leather and as a steak knife on a couple of occasions. Yes this knife has gone on many hikes with me and performed many tasks in the past few months and I have been very well pleased at how well it performed them all. Hopefully it will get to process some fish for some fire grilling soon and we will see what all else after that.

Awesome job bro, very well done! Thanks for making such an outstanding tool.

 

[Dog of War]

Very nice presentation and review. :thumbup: I like the "rustic" appeal of the knife. My only concern might be the potential for rust/corrosion under the leather handles, as 01 is pretty prone to that, but that's relatively minor.

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks, and thanks for pointing out that I need to make a correction...it is W-1. This is a greaft bushcraft and camp knife I love working with it.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Thanks for posting, Mist...... I'm thankful for the great review.... I hope that "SARAH" likes the knife..... did I mention that its her's?....... yup thats right....

Dog......
The handle slabs were glued on using barge cement. It is impervious to oil, gas and water. It also flexes with the knife so you are less likely to break the connection. That and the rivets make it a pretty secure handle. I should also mention that the handle was dipped in a hot beeswax/lindseed/pinesap concoction to seal it from the elements.

Rust is the major drawback of carbon steels.... but a little preventative maintanance will keep it in check.

Rick

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for posting, Mist...... I'm thankful for the great review.... I hope that "SARAH" likes the knife..... did I mention that its her's?....... yup thats right....

Yup...she likes it almost as much as I do

 

[Mistwalker]

I know I bought this knife for my daughter....but since she's not here to complain about it , and since I have been studying techniques with smaller knives... I decided to work with it a little more. The more I mess with this thing the more I like it. I used it to make some tight little curls on some fuzzies with. Shoot with this...and the tiny bit that landed on the floor :foot: I could easily spark a fire to life. I'm really liking the handling and blade geometry, She better watch it...or watch me

 

[Rick Marchand]

I'm happy to see you still like it, Mist. Let's hope Sarah doesn't find out you've been playing with her blades again..


Rick

 

[Mistwalker]

I'm happy to see you still like it, Mist. Let's hope Sarah doesn't find out you've been playing with her blades again..


Rick

Ahh... she won't gripe too much...lol, she used to borrow mine all the time anyway, it's only fair that I get to mess with hers