- Joined
- Nov 14, 2005
- Messages
- 11,135
"Smooth", I muttered as the scandi edge sliced through the white onion almost effortlessly. Smooth is a term I would use to describe the entire knife that Mark Wohlwend, maker of Charlie Ridge Knives, sent me. Perfectly ballanced, light and quick in the hand, and one of the sharpest knives I have ever recieved from any maker. A Scandi bushcrafter has been a labor of love, and a long time in the maikng for Mark, and he got it right.
Mark has been making knives for quite awhile, he continues to hone his craft with input from experts like Wayne Goddard, whom he regularly talks with on the phone, and recently visited his shop. His stuff really flies under the radar, and I dont really know why..... I have owned several from Mark, and they have all been of the highest caliber. He is truely an "old world" style craftsmen, and a wizard with the heat treats. A fellow Missourian, Mark and I have forged a great friendship, and he has taught me lot about the knifemaking process, and what it means to properly heat treat a knife, and the labor of ove that goes into forging something out you are proud enough to put out there for people to own and use. That in itself has given me the upmost respect for every maker I come across.
When Mark and I spoke on the phone about this new model, I was honored that he wanted me to put it through its paces, and valued what insights I could offer up to him. I dont much consider myself an expert in anything by any means, but I do know a little bit about what works in the field.
I have never been a fan of traditional Scandi type knives. The Puuko and Leuko type blades just dont speak to me. I have never owned one, and dont much want to. I have also never owned a Mora. I have used the scandi ground bushcrafter and nessmuks that my man Dan Koster makes, and was very impressed with the ease of sharpening and generall upkeep of these style knives.
Here are some specs of this new model.
-Scandi ground blade of 1/8in water quenched 1095.
-Blade length of 4.5in
-handle length of 4.25in
-handle material of natural micarta, with brass tubes and pins
The scandi grind is very even, and has a nice polish to it.
I figured what better way then to get a feel for theknife in the kitchen. I put it through its paces slicing onion, mushrooms, and peppers for Fajitas. It sliced very well for a blade pattern that is not really meant for kitchen duty. I sliced up 3 Ribeye steaks as well, and had no issues with this. It cut through the meat with the precision or a scalpel. I wanted to see how far I could push it before it required a touch up on the edge. After kitchen duty, it still was able to shave hair off my arm with little effort.
Pics of the Kitchen trials.......
After I dined on the product of my efforts in the kitchen, I decided to pack me up a bowl Captian Black, grab a Coke, and move outside to see how I fared with some woodworking........
more to come.....
Mark has been making knives for quite awhile, he continues to hone his craft with input from experts like Wayne Goddard, whom he regularly talks with on the phone, and recently visited his shop. His stuff really flies under the radar, and I dont really know why..... I have owned several from Mark, and they have all been of the highest caliber. He is truely an "old world" style craftsmen, and a wizard with the heat treats. A fellow Missourian, Mark and I have forged a great friendship, and he has taught me lot about the knifemaking process, and what it means to properly heat treat a knife, and the labor of ove that goes into forging something out you are proud enough to put out there for people to own and use. That in itself has given me the upmost respect for every maker I come across.
When Mark and I spoke on the phone about this new model, I was honored that he wanted me to put it through its paces, and valued what insights I could offer up to him. I dont much consider myself an expert in anything by any means, but I do know a little bit about what works in the field.
I have never been a fan of traditional Scandi type knives. The Puuko and Leuko type blades just dont speak to me. I have never owned one, and dont much want to. I have also never owned a Mora. I have used the scandi ground bushcrafter and nessmuks that my man Dan Koster makes, and was very impressed with the ease of sharpening and generall upkeep of these style knives.
Here are some specs of this new model.
-Scandi ground blade of 1/8in water quenched 1095.
-Blade length of 4.5in
-handle length of 4.25in
-handle material of natural micarta, with brass tubes and pins
The scandi grind is very even, and has a nice polish to it.
I figured what better way then to get a feel for theknife in the kitchen. I put it through its paces slicing onion, mushrooms, and peppers for Fajitas. It sliced very well for a blade pattern that is not really meant for kitchen duty. I sliced up 3 Ribeye steaks as well, and had no issues with this. It cut through the meat with the precision or a scalpel. I wanted to see how far I could push it before it required a touch up on the edge. After kitchen duty, it still was able to shave hair off my arm with little effort.
Pics of the Kitchen trials.......
After I dined on the product of my efforts in the kitchen, I decided to pack me up a bowl Captian Black, grab a Coke, and move outside to see how I fared with some woodworking........
more to come.....
that is a cool looking knife.. i bet it was a lot of fun to use....
i thought it would have been here by now....
