Recommendation? Downloadable best bushcrafting pattern?

[22-rimfire]

I understand what you mean. The Condor Kephart isn't a "one knife" or even what I would call a "survival knife".

My take on it was "steak knife" and it didn't do a very good job cutting steaks either. Not the knife I want to carry in the woods. Not much reason to chop if you have a folding saw unless you're doing it for fun. Yes to a hatchet if you are willing to carry it. For minimal saw cutting such as at an overnight tent site, a SAK One Handed Trekker saw works pretty well for stuff up to about an inch or so in diameter.

 

[Bad Ninja]

My take on it was "steak knife" and it didn't do a very good job cutting steaks either. Not the knife I want to carry in the woods. Not much reason to chop if you have a folding saw unless you're doing it for fun. Yes to a hatchet if you are willing to carry it. For minimal saw cutting such as at an overnight tent site, a SAK One Handed Trekker saw works pretty well for stuff up to about an inch or so in diameter.

I understand.
It does make a fine steak knife.

My needs also might not be someone else's.

My belt knife serves for food and game prep, skinning, light cutting etc. I don't usually have a need for a heavier knife, tho I'm not opposed to carrying one.

 

[NapalmCheese]

And I would be very appreciative and thankful for any such comments! I think the most important quality for a novice is a good dose of humility, and I got that. I firmly believe I can learn from everyone, here.

OK. I'll try to make a Kephart knife. The handle seems fairly simple to shape, and a full flat grind is not too challenging, either.

My point with the first comment was that a lot of people think 'bushcrafting' is something special and unique that requires certain specialized tools, it is not. You can cut a notch in a piece of wood with pretty much anything from a Swiss Army Classic to a Cold Steel pole axe. Long before 'bushcraft' was a term people like George Washington Sears and Horace Kephart spent time in the woods building shelters and fires and they both had some ideas one what makes a good knife. Long after them lots of other people did the same thing with various other knives. When I was a boy scout, building shelters and teaching myself how to set figure 4 deadfalls just so I could know how to do it, I did so with a Swiss Army Knife. It's less of a "you need these specific features" and more of a "learn how to cut notches, drill holes, make big sticks smaller, and not hurt yourself" sort of thing. To that extent I find spear point blades in the 5ish inch area to be generally useful, I like full flat grinds, I don't mind lanyards/thongs/retention things but generally don't use them.

By all means, if you have some other shape or size that interests you follow that. Pretty much any knife can cut, and just about anything that cuts will let you play in the woods. So please, make what appeals to you.

On a side note, that article I linked had some interesting points about the kephart, about how the blade as convexed towards the spin as well as convex to the edge, and how thin the handle slabs were and how they flared making sort of a bolster. I think it's neato.

 

[Bob6794]

All personal preference, find what works for you. Either buy or make your own to fine out what you like. And build from there.

I don't do bushcraft but if I'm using a knife hard or just using it for awhile a proper handle is essential. Material doesn't matter as much as handle geometry and you just can't get away from the comfort of a nice thick handle and fits your hand especially when you use multiple grip styles and have no hot spots. If it cant rest comfortablbly in your hand in use where you don't feel the need to do a death grip (slight exaggeration) than you probably need to go back to the drawing board in my opinion.

Personal preference but I would add checkering to the handle like they do to guns for added texture and grip. There are instructions online and downloadable files to print out a pattern. Could be fun to experiment with if it catches your interest.

 

[vonrichthofen54]

I'm very fond of my mid tech Bushfinger from Fiddleback Forge. It's not overly large, takes and holds a wicked edge, and has a great blade profile. My experience with it after having it for over a year now, is that there is not very much that it doesn't do well. It is very much an "all arounder".

 

[Natlek]

Dear all,


I made my son a knife from a Condor Bushlore blank (spare-part blade). While I like it, I was thinking of making the blade as well. I am going to use a 1095 steel bar as a starting point. So now, since I have complete creative freedom, I started wondering if there are downloadable knife patterns for a bushcrafting knife. Specifically, for nordic forests and occasional but infrequent game processing.

I am very open to your suggestions, and since we are all biased humans, I am very much also open to your personal preferences and reasons for specific features of a bushcrafting knife.

Details I am interested in are the outline of the blade, the outline of the grind, the outline of the scales, the position of the hole for a lanyard loop... and anything else I didn't think of.

choose one of this . . . . If you don t like it when you finish it , do not worry ..... you will make them more , anyway That s how I start . . .
http://dcknives.com/public/downloads/BC4 Template - DanCom-2014.pdf