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Camp Knife Challenge Knives Thus Far !
- Thread starter pitdog
- Start date
Its the kind of knife that you really don't want to put down :thumbup:
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2008
- Messages
- 977
man i want all those knives!!! glad i got a job now!!!! thanks guys!
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
- Messages
- 9,680
I chose to get back to my roots on this one. As a custom maker, I tend to always wanna try something new. As we all know, new doesn't always mean it'll work. So I reached back and pulled heavily from my first design.... when I was a user trying to make the perfect camp knife.
This is the very first knife I ever made... I used it for 3yrs. The handle was off set from the blade so that the centre of it was inline with the spine of the knife. This allowed me to get behind the blade without over-extending my thumb. It also gave my fingers some clearance when cutting on a flat surface like a board or a log...
This is the original sketch of the contest knife. I took on the same handle config as my first knife and gave it a larger blade for chopping. The blade is actually upswept with a small drop point. I has some belly to it and the drop makes for easier skinning. I decided against the "bearing block" divot in the handle scale as they tend to burn out after time. I also removed the lanyard tube. In all my years of bushcrafting, I have never used a lanyard on a beltknife...
The final knife turned out very similar to the sketch other than the blade is a bit wider... The balance poing is just infront of the hemp wrap.
Rick
This is the very first knife I ever made... I used it for 3yrs. The handle was off set from the blade so that the centre of it was inline with the spine of the knife. This allowed me to get behind the blade without over-extending my thumb. It also gave my fingers some clearance when cutting on a flat surface like a board or a log...
This is the original sketch of the contest knife. I took on the same handle config as my first knife and gave it a larger blade for chopping. The blade is actually upswept with a small drop point. I has some belly to it and the drop makes for easier skinning. I decided against the "bearing block" divot in the handle scale as they tend to burn out after time. I also removed the lanyard tube. In all my years of bushcrafting, I have never used a lanyard on a beltknife...
The final knife turned out very similar to the sketch other than the blade is a bit wider... The balance poing is just infront of the hemp wrap.
Rick
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myright
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2008
- Messages
- 5,175
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 1,389
Rick, I hate to pick just one but if I had to I would say yours is my favorite. It just looks right. I really like everything about it and it sounds like you have put a lot of thought into the design.
I finished up the sheath for mine tonight. I was feeling a little creative and since I couldn't get out to the shop due to my daughter being sick so I spent a little time playing with the design. Nothing fancy, just fun.
I'll shoot a quick sealer coat on the sheath tomorrow and it will be ready to ship.
SDS
I finished up the sheath for mine tonight. I was feeling a little creative and since I couldn't get out to the shop due to my daughter being sick so I spent a little time playing with the design. Nothing fancy, just fun.
I'll shoot a quick sealer coat on the sheath tomorrow and it will be ready to ship.
SDS
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2007
- Messages
- 1,298
posted by Koyote:
I have made mostly hunting knives and smaller neck/EDC knives. This knife for this competition is actually my first camp knife and only the third knife I’ve made with a blade over 5”! My interpretation of a camp knife is that it is the SUV of knives – meant to handle some big jobs like chopping & batoning wood, but also nimble enough for finer work like field dressing game and fish. The knife I built has a thick handle so that doesn’t create hot spots when doing heavy work. The balance point is right on the index finger – about 1/8” ahead of the forward pin. This makes the knife more lively in you hand for the finer cutting tasks.
I was thinking of making an 8-9" blade at first, then decide to go with 7". The whole blade was hardened, then after double tempering the edge was placed in a pan of water and I used a propane tourch to draw the spine back to blue for a spring temper. This leaves the edge hard but softens the spine making it stronger for tasks such as chopping and batonning. I went with a drop point blade since that design seems to do a lot of things well for me. The spine was left square for striking firesteels (I should have put a loop on the sheath and included a firesteel). The combination of a flat grind with a convex edge seem to slice well and stand up to heavier chores.
The bocote handle has several coats of Tung Oil and finished off with a coat of pure bee's wax.
My knife went in the mail on Thursday and should arrive at Brian's either late this week or early next week.
Nice bear paw on the sheath SDS :thumbup:
I have made mostly hunting knives and smaller neck/EDC knives. This knife for this competition is actually my first camp knife and only the third knife I’ve made with a blade over 5”! My interpretation of a camp knife is that it is the SUV of knives – meant to handle some big jobs like chopping & batoning wood, but also nimble enough for finer work like field dressing game and fish. The knife I built has a thick handle so that doesn’t create hot spots when doing heavy work. The balance point is right on the index finger – about 1/8” ahead of the forward pin. This makes the knife more lively in you hand for the finer cutting tasks.
I was thinking of making an 8-9" blade at first, then decide to go with 7". The whole blade was hardened, then after double tempering the edge was placed in a pan of water and I used a propane tourch to draw the spine back to blue for a spring temper. This leaves the edge hard but softens the spine making it stronger for tasks such as chopping and batonning. I went with a drop point blade since that design seems to do a lot of things well for me. The spine was left square for striking firesteels (I should have put a loop on the sheath and included a firesteel). The combination of a flat grind with a convex edge seem to slice well and stand up to heavier chores.
The bocote handle has several coats of Tung Oil and finished off with a coat of pure bee's wax.
My knife went in the mail on Thursday and should arrive at Brian's either late this week or early next week.
Nice bear paw on the sheath SDS :thumbup:
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2007
- Messages
- 12,294
Rick, I hate to pick just one but if I had to I would say yours is my favorite. It just looks right. I really like everything about it and it sounds like you have put a lot of thought into the design.
I finished up the sheath for mine tonight. I was feeling a little creative and since I couldn't get out to the shop due to my daughter being sick so I spent a little time playing with the design. Nothing fancy, just fun.
I'll shoot a quick sealer coat on the sheath tomorrow and it will be ready to ship.
SDS
Shawn that sheaths awesome buddy, love it !!!!
:thumbup:
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
- Messages
- 10,040
wow..
those are some fine looking knives guys.... right on...:thumbup: i like them all, though there are a few that stood out quite a bit to me..
those are some fine looking knives guys.... right on...:thumbup: i like them all, though there are a few that stood out quite a bit to me..