Camp knife design

Matt Rochester

Matt Rochester

Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
1,864
I've never done a camp or bushcraft knife so I figured I would give it a shot. It will be stainless and I'm either going to do a scandi grind or a high flat. I already have some .140" but may get some .187 or so. I'm not sure it's big enough to need .25". Also, I have a small hatchet that I carry backpacking so I don't plan on chopping trees with it. Handle will be micarta or something similar. I would like some input on the design. What should the edge thickness be on something like this that will see some abuse? .015" or so? Anyway, let me know what you think.



So, I finally got around to this camp knife I asked about a while back. Just finished it before heading in to work. I went with 440c, .140". I tried my first small false edge and think it turned out ok. It's 10" OAL with a 5 1/4" blade. Thanks for the advice. This is definitely one of my favorites so far. I'm slowly realizing that the more I do by hand, the better the end result!
 
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I like the design, too! I've made 10 just about exactly like that for one customer alone, and he loves them. They were FFG, not saber grind, tho. With lanyard hole too! A knife like that, I would say stick with the 1/8" steel. I think 3/16" is ok, but 1/4" is really too thick, IMO. You said you carry a hatchet/axe with you, so there shouldn't be a need for a thicker knife. The oversized 1/8" (.140") will work very very well and is plenty thick enough.

What stainless did you have in mind for this camp knife?
 
I already have some 440c but might order something else like ats34. I like 440c but haven't really abused any so I'm not sure how well the edge holds up in a tough environment. Seems to be a lot of mixed feelings on it. What about edge thickness?
samuraistuart said:
I like the design, too! I've made 10 just about exactly like that for one customer alone, and he loves them. They were FFG, not saber grind, tho. With lanyard hole too! A knife like that, I would say stick with the 1/8" steel. I think 3/16" is ok, but 1/4" is really too thick, IMO. You said you carry a hatchet/axe with you, so there shouldn't be a need for a thicker knife. The oversized 1/8" (.140") will work very very well and is plenty thick enough.

What stainless did you have in mind for this camp knife?
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It's a very nice design, especially if it's meant to be paired with a hatchet or big knife that will handle heavy chopping tasks (which is a wise way to go :thumbup:).

440C at 58 or 60Rc, .140" (or preferably thinner) with a FFG will cut very well. .015" at the edge is on the thick side, in my opinion.

(ATS-34, CPM-154, S35VN, etc will all work nicely for a blade like that, too.)
 
All those steels are tougher than people give them credit for. As long as you're not chopping concrete blocks or prying open car doors with them, they stand up quite nicely to various camping tasks.

Here's an example of a slightly larger knife (5 1/2" blade, 1 7/16" wide, 3/16" at the spine, FFG, approx .010" behind the edge) in CPM-154 @ 58Rc. I fouled up the maker's mark on it, so I've been testing and using it as my personal knife for about a year now.

[video=youtube;hXCXlYJfS_E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCXlYJfS_E[/video]
 
Good video James, I looked at your YouTube page and I have to say, I was especially entertained by the trout video ;0)
 
John Katt said:
Good video James, I looked at your YouTube page and I have to say, I was especially entertained by the trout video ;0)
Click to expand...

I may or may not have had a couple beers down by the river before making that trout-cleaning vid :o :D
 
I normally go to .010 at the edge but for some reason thought a little thicker may make it tougher. But hey, that's why I ask. The fella that does my HT gets 440c to 59 or 60 so that should work well. Thanks.
james terrio said:
It's a very nice design, especially if it's meant to be paired with a hatchet or big knife that will handle heavy chopping tasks (which is a wise way to go :thumbup:).

440C at 58 or 60Rc, .140" (or preferably thinner) with a FFG will cut very well. .015" at the edge is on the thick side, in my opinion.

(ATS-34, CPM-154, S35VN, etc will all work nicely for a blade like that, too.)
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Sounds like a good plan to me, Rookie. If you find the edge is a little chippy (which I doubt), it's easier to knock it back and make it a little thicker, than it is to re-grind the whole blade to make it thinner. :)
 
I also am going to try my first sheath for this knife. We will see how it goes. It's going to be a simple pouch sheath. I will post some pics.
 
If you put as much thought and care into the sheath as you obviously did into the knife, I'm confident you will be successful. Keep up the good work! :)
 
Looks good. Nice clean design and construction... I really like those blonde composites. Not used enough IMO. Glad you went with a high flat instead of a standing grind as well... Much more utility.

Just a thought... If you would bump the ricasso up just a hair above edge height and add a small semicircular choil, you'd increase the edge's contact with the work surface (comes in handy if you use it for kp duty in camp) and the number of times you can sharpen the blade before the edge degrades above the ricasso making a heel on the blade.

Cheers.
-Eric
 
Nice work! Not exactly what I was expecting after the sketch but definitely a good final product. I too love that "light" look when done right. Makes the overall knife somehow look cleaner. (Now go get it dirty!:D)
That clip point turned out well, I never seem to make them look good.

:thumbup:
 
LucyCustomKnives said:
Looks good. Nice clean design and construction... I really like those blonde composites. Not used enough IMO. Glad you went with a high flat instead of a standing grind as well... Much more utility.

Just a thought... If you would bump the ricasso up just a hair above edge height and add a small semicircular choil, you'd increase the edge's contact with the work surface (comes in handy if you use it for kp duty in camp) and the number of times you can sharpen the blade before the edge degrades above the ricasso making a heel on the blade.

Cheers.
-Eric
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I have another one profiled that hasn't been heat treated. I will give those a try. I could still move the ricasso up on this one with my grinder, but I only have a chainsaw file for choils. So I guess thats out of the question.
 
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