Custom Bushcraft

Why such resistance to the very concept of a higher end bushcraft knife?
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No resistance at all. I love beautiful custom knives. I am merely trying to give my opinion to Lorien as to why he doesn't see more of them.

That certainly is not true in all cases
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Agreed, I don't think anything in this world is absolute. However, I think if there were that many people with beautiful custom bushcraft knives, we would see more of them. Does that make sense? I am not saying they shouldn't buy custom bushcrafts. I am merely saying the reason we don't see them is that the buying public at large is not willing to pay for them.
 
Perhaps the thing that makes "dressing up" a bushie seem so strange is that is is about as basic a knife as you can get. Full tang, no taper, no guard and a slab handle. Kind of a modern Green River. Dressing one up seems about like these kids today buying a cheap Honda Civic and pouring thousands up dollars into it building an "import tuner' car.
 
I would call this one, from our very own J. Neilson, high-end:
:thumbup:
 

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now that is what I'm talking about! Does it NEED an inlayed handle? Of course not! Does the inlay elevate the knife into an Artistic state? I'd say it does.
Thanks for the photo!
 
Skookum Bush Tool aka SBT by Rod Garcia.
tanknife.jpg

Gets praise from good friends that are into the genre.

Now from my point of view, 'the bushies' seem to be aligned with the form follows function doctrine.

Why not dress it up?
Dozier does stag and they sell well.


A stag SBT would be the bees knees in my book.
 
Lorien said:
I can see your point, but I have a feeling you're missing mine:)QUOTE]



Could be, stranger things have been known to happen.

My point is there are plenty of custom bushcraft knives. Some of the key factors in what makes a bushcraft knife deserve that name are; price, market, intended use and simplicity.

I can understand that you may view "bushcraft knife" as describing physical characteristics but I do not believe that to be the case. In the Northern region of Europe the concept of "bushcraft knife" is a bit different from what it is here on our continent. It is after all the customer that dictates what is what correct? Who here on this forum buys bushcraft knives? What all gets called a bushcraft knife?

Are you saying you would like to see the phrase redefined? What exactly would the purpose be in making such an arbitrary change?

I do not care either way as far as what gets called what. I am simply trying to explain that sector of the knife market. Even if a few guys started making super high end bushcraft knives I doubt very much it would change the view held by the majority of bushcraft users.

Thanks and take care.
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A custom bushcraft knife may be about more than just dressing it up (although there is nothing wrong with that).

In the example I posted earlier, the customer wanted a knife that incorporated some features he had seen on other knives. We refined the design a bit more until he got exactly what he wanted rather than settling for a factory knife that was close to what he wanted.

Few factory knives will let you choose the grind you want or will modify the design for you although some may give you a choice of handle materials.

Custom knives are about making it to suit your specifications and thankfully many are willing to pay for that.
 
steelshaper - is that J. Neilson knife posted above a bushcraft knife according to your understanding of the definition?

Roger
 
RogerP said:
steelshaper - is that J. Neilson knife posted above a bushcraft knife according to your understanding of the definition?

Roger
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Our British friends consider it as such, Roger. Mr. Neilson has sold a few knives to the BB guys.
I think that comparing the Scadinavian knives to the prototypical bushy is a bit difficult. The typical traditional Scadinavian knifemaker normally does not make the blade. He is, however an artist when it comes to making the handle and sheath. A smith makes the blade. The level of complexity on the handles of what are considered using knives over there canbe quite amazing.:thumbup:
The typical bushie is pared down to the bare essentials.
 
RogerP said:
steelshaper - is that J. Neilson knife posted above a bushcraft knife according to your understanding of the definition?

Roger
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I don’t know that’s a tough one. I am not sure I would call it high end though. I would guess it’s on the border of what could be marketed as a bushcraft knife. I would be happy to use it myself if it did not have a scandi grind. It does have some similar characteristics to some bushcraft knives.

I think it would be easier to market the Skookum bush tool as a bushcraft knife.
 
I make a "user-grade" bushcraft...and have definitely made "dressed-up" versions of it....fibermascus or Ironwood handles with liners and mosaic pins, etc...3V steel with a hand-rubbed finish...leather sheath with a firesteel & loop, etc.

But it seems that when I do that, I get many comments about it being "too pretty to use"...which kinda defeats the whole "bushcraft" mentality.

*shrug*




I think I kinda understand what you mean....but I'm confused by "high-end".

Does that mean damascus?

Or does it just mean expensive?

Sometimes, a maker's name causes the price to be higher...or the rarity....or the wait-time...




If we're talking more about puukkos (as your first post hints at) then I've seen plenty of those I would categorize as "high-end".



Great question and discussion....let's hear more ideas and chatter. :thumbup:


Dan
 
Daniel Koster said:
I think I kinda understand what you mean....but I'm confused by "high-end".

Does that mean damascus?

Or does it just mean expensive?

Sometimes, a maker's name causes the price to be higher...or the rarity....or the wait-time...


Dan
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That pretty much straight up sums it up.:thumbup:

And has been pointed out, demand will create the market. But why is there no demand in the high end for bushcraft oriented knives?

I sort of feel like the times are changin, and that bushcraft knife based designs will soon have their day in the sun. We've seen the rise of the chopper! It needs a companion!

Think outside the box! There is no rule to say exactly what a bushcraft knife HAS to look like, so go nuts! If you dare...
:)
 
Lorien said:
That pretty much straight up sums it up.:thumbup:

And has been pointed out, demand will create the market. But why is there no demand in the high end for bushcraft oriented knives?

I sort of feel like the times are changin, and that bushcraft knife based designs will soon have their day in the sun. We've seen the rise of the chopper! It needs a companion!

Think outside the box! There is no rule to say exactly what a bushcraft knife HAS to look like, so go nuts! If you dare...
:)
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The bushies have already had there day in the sun, albeit not in the US. Ihave heard a couple of makers from the UK state that they were frankly tired of making the knives because it seemed that was all that people wanted them to make.
 
Some would consider Nessmuks as bushcraft knives so how about this clip point integral Nessmuk by Todd Begg is it a bushcraft knife?

Begg_ClipMuk_01-ww%20%281%29.jpg
 
I think that Begg fits the criteria, as I broadly perceive it to contain, and has really interesting crossover appeal that speaks to its innovative nature.
I wonder what Mr. Begg would say about the intentions behind this knife. There are some obvious ones, but also some outside the box design work going on, that would be interesting to gain some insight on.
 
Ok. If you guys want highier-end bushcraft/woodlore blades, you need to check out Charles May's work. I think he might fit the bill of what you are talking about...

http://charlesmayknives.blademakers.com/

Go to the "Example Knives" section, and scroll around until you see the Skifa Scandi model he has pictured. Beautiful work, and a functional bushcraft blade in the same package.
 
The bushies have already had there day in the sun, albeit not in the US. I Have heard a couple of makers from the UK state that they were frankly tired of making the knives because it seemed that was all that people wanted them to make.

Poor custom knifemaker. Forced to offer what his customers want to buy. Don't they know he is artiest and needs the freedom to express himself?
 
check out this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=649543

that would be, what i would consider, a high end bushcraft knife. Made by Brian andrews on the forums. He also has a website www.offthemapoutfitters.com with several more bushcraft knives, both by himself and other makers . In my opinion, he and Mr. Koster do some great traditional bushcraft knives (by traditional, i just mean what one would typically think of when they think of bushcrafter, ie scandi grind with a spear point). I wouldn't be comfortable paying more than $150 for a bushcraft knife that is going to be used hard and often (unless i had specific handle material i wanted or somthing).
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
The bushies have already had there day in the sun, albeit not in the US. I Have heard a couple of makers from the UK state that they were frankly tired of making the knives because it seemed that was all that people wanted them to make.

Poor custom knifemaker. Forced to offer what his customers want to buy. Don't they know he is artiest and needs the freedom to express himself?
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Yes Sidehill Gouger, I agree with you! Personally, I make only one-of-a-kind knives and since 1988... The two knives I posted, are not for sale and here you could see some others (not for sale) As the song of the Iron Maiden:... "I am not a number, I am a free man!" :thumbup: A cordial regard from Venice :)
 
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