Camp Kitchen Knife Thoughts

Mike Fitz

Mike Fitz

Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
1,223
Well, it's not in my hands yet, but by this time next week I'll have what I hope to be a great all-around camp and kitchen, or "Camp Kitchen" knife. I ordered this one from Eddie White of Shadow Knives to my specs and he sent me some pics today of the finished product.

I know Bryan Breedan has been working on something similar to this as well as a knife that can go from batoning up some kindling to chopping up some onions, peppers, and saugage for dinner. For me, that makes a lot of sense, but I love to cook!

4.75" 154CM drop point blade at 3/16" thick
Orange G-10 scales
Stainless pins and lanyard tube
Black right hand pouch sheath

The blade profile is dropped to take advantage of the full length and keep my knuckle from rapping against whatever I'm cutting on when chopping up veggies, sausages, cheese, or what not, and with help from the finger notch it will be comfortable to choke up on for delicate work.

4.75" should be enough for most camp chores and I'd likely have something bigger strapped to my pack for bigger wood chopping chores (GB small forest axe, Busse SARSquatch or NMFBM, etc.)

I'd be interested in any comments, thoughts, or suggestions for improvement you folks have on this style of knife.

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Looks perfect in every way. What a fine camping knife that will be! I see he has a similar one for sale on his website, but yours is better. Congrats.
 
wow,,very nice,,

id be going crazy for that blade too get to my house ,,
 
I love it! It just begs to be put to work dicing onions.

The handle shape looks all kinds of comfortable.

All the best,

- Mike
 
Thanks all- I'm jonseing to get my mitts on this one, Could it be "The One"? I've got this one on the way too and it's supposed to show up Monday. Yeah, I've got a thing for orange scales:

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Hi all,

Mike I love the Orange scales to LOL WOW 3/16" for the thickness I am interested in hearing how it works for the kitchen duties. I am making mine out of 3/32" thickness and hope to have it done this week.

Bryan
 
Now, you should know better than posting pictures of Dozier knives. Some of us are not strong enough to resist! That's a knife I've been eyeing for a LONG time.

I also like your new one! I like how the scales taper up towards the blade.
 
Knives that work well i the home kitchen also work best in the camp kitchen. A 5-7 inch santuko will excel.
 
Hey Mike,

I looked at this yesterday, and, well... I wasn't too excited, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's very clean and looks well executed. I, too, am looking forward to a review.

Lucky dog!

Doc

I guess I should specify - I was talking about the Eddie White although the Dozier is beautiful, as well.
 
Kinda hard to tell. Some aspects I immediately like. I have a fondness for 154CM / ATS 34 for a start, so that gets points. G-10 is one of my favorite handle materials, so points there too. I can't abide blaze orange, but that's just to my eye so ho hum.

As a general rule I don't dig on hollow grinds. That said, I think the bad press against them is totally overblown. I think much of it comes from ignorance that emanates through generalizing from bad examples. Because it is a load easier for a factory for stick on a hollow grind than some of the alternatives, and some factories that have utilized it produce crud, it does seem to carry an unwarranted stigma.[ I think the same applies to the AUS series of steels, and that gets pretty funny when you consider how the composition of the currently quite trendy 12C27 compares to them]. My opinion is that a hollow grind, especially when done on a big wheel, is a blessing on some knives. Aside from presenting a very keen edge I think a nice gentle hollow arc may actually be beneficial in braking the air lock when slicing starchy sticking things like potatoes.

The blade shape looks like a neat little drop point. For the most part I like drop points so no problems there. Having said that, if I wanted a blade that was principally dedicated to the field kitchen I think I'd like to have a go with what I described as the “Scramsax[ish] looking one” in a thread a few days ago. I also think I'd like the cutting edge to be slung down a little deeper. I know you have anticipated that and made provision, but I'd like to push that envelope a little further in a knife that I was primarily going to use for kitchen duties. I hate having to cut off the edge of things because I can't get my hand under, and that's even more likely if I was wearing a neoprene glove.

As to the handle, I think I'd have to try it to know. It appears to be a step in the right direction. The thing is I use a pinch grip for kitchen tasks that I hardly ever use for anything else. A handle optimized for a pinch grip is going to be very different to one I'd select for utility. The thumb on top power cut so necessary for me for other tasks is just the kind of thing that makes me burst out laughing when I watch someone cutting an onion. Same applies to the index finger on top for precision work vs the index finger on top when cutting onion. In sum, finding a shape that would be good mainly for the kitchen but also great for utility isn't an easy task, and I can't tell just from looking.

Anyway. Neat looking blade, and a refreshing departure from the ordinary in reasoning, materials and execution.
 
naked said:
Now, you should know better than posting pictures of Dozier knives. Some of us are not strong enough to resist!
Click to expand...


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Here’s a Dozier that sees a lot of use in my kitchen.

It is a Custom variation of Bob’s fillet knife.

It was made with butchering game in mind, but it works as well in the kitchen as it does in deer camp.

Granted it is a hollow ground edge cutter, but with a spine thickness of less then 1/8”, it excels at many slicing tasks.



"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
Good observations from everyone, I appreciate it! Since I haven't held it yet, I can't say for sure how it's going to work out, but it looks promising.

I agree with your thoughts on using a "pinch grip" baldtaco-II, I cringe when I see somebody trying to chop up an onion with their index finger stretched out along the spine of the knife. A disaster waiting to happen! I like the fact that the scales are tapered at the front to make it more comfortable to choke up on the blade with your thumb and curled index finger along the ricasso. Also a good point on the amount of drop on the cutting edge. It may work out fine with the cut for the fingers, or I may need to order another with even more drop and a few other refinements. Since this sort of a proof of concept, we'll see how it does and go from there!

Going a bit off topic on the Doziers, Ive got several others (Arkansas Traveler, Delta Traveler, GP, Small folding hunter), but I've wanted a Professional Guides knife in orange G-10 since Bob started using the material. I just couldn't handle the current wait times to order one. This one popped up for sale last week and I managed to snag it within a few minutes of it going up so I'm a happy camper!

Hey Bryan, looking forward to seeing yours when it's finished!
 
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