First Impressions of the Helle Temagami Knife

L

leomitch

Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
296
I preordered this knife a couple of months agao and it has now been released. I am buying solely because of the name...Temagami,named after my old hunting, fishing and SCUBA diving areas during the 1950's and early 60's. It helps that it is a good looking knife and that Helle has a great reputation.
It came well packaged and the knife itself was in a cloth bag tied shut with a leather thong., which I quickly placed in the lanyard hole for now.

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The knife has a Masur Birch handle and is nicely figured. The blade is awesomely sharp...about as sharp as I have encountered out of the box.

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Here is a different angle

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Here is the tang along the upper edge of the scales

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My general impressions are these...the blade and edge are both superlative workmanship and the utmost sharpness.
The handle work fit and finish is, to use a friends words, 'rural' . At first I was underwhelmed but as I got used to it, I was OK. It does not meet the standard of Fallkniven and Bark River but then I am paying $60 or more for those knives than for the Helle.
As for the sheath, I do not have confidence in it to protect from that blade. It looks very nice but the leather seems too flimsy to me and there is no reinforcement where one would expect it to be. I will have a new scabbard made for me.
Just for fun I butterflied some chicken breasts, cut some para-cord, cut some flimsy paper and shaved part of my arm with this knife...did all of that without any effort or catching, the cuts just materialized smoothly. All in all a very nice knife. My thanks to Paul Robinson at BushcraftCanada.com for his prompt and excellent as always service.

Best to all
Leo
 
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That is a beautiful knife ! F&F off a little ? Fix it ! :D

A little bit of time custom sanding to your specs and it's good to go , definatly looks worth $60. I have never liked those Scandanavian style sheaths , while I'm sure they do the job they do not do much for my eye.

Thanks for sharing.

Tostig
 
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It's an awesome looking knife. Probably one of my favorite designs that Helle has produced.

That knife just doesn't seem up to the usual fit and finish for a Helle product though. I've seen photos from a couple of sources so far, and both knives have the same...problems? For lack of a better word. I think that they rushed to get them to market.

It definitely doesn't affect it's usability and you don't have to feel bad about putting beauty marks on it. :D
 
I like the looks of it and especialy the tang construction compared to other Helle knives.
 
I like the simplicity of the knife, and I have been happy with Helle's knives in the past. However I think the fit and finish should be a little nicer than what is shown.

The Spyderco Bushcraft is a similar knife at about the same price, actually a little less; and comes with a beautiful fit and finish and strong leather sheath.



Tostig said:
A little bit of time custom sanding to your specs and it's good to go , definatly looks worth $60.
Tostig
Click to expand...

It's more like $160
 
Tostig said:
That is a beautiful knife ! F&F off a little ? Fix it ! :D

A little bit of time custom sanding to your specs and it's good to go , definatly looks worth $60. I have never liked those Scandanavian style sheaths , while I'm sure they do the job they do not do much for my eye.

Thanks for sharing.

Tostig
Click to expand...

Hi Tostig
60 dollars you say...try $189.00 Canadian.
Yes the handle could benefit from a little sanding, but I am going to leave it for a bit and see how I feel about this rougher finish.

Leo
 
cramsey3006 said:
It's an awesome looking knife. Probably one of my favorite designs that Helle has produced.

That knife just doesn't seem up to the usual fit and finish for a Helle product though. I've seen photos from a couple of sources so far, and both knives have the same...problems? For lack of a better word. I think that they rushed to get them to market.

It definitely doesn't affect it's usability and you don't have to feel bad about putting beauty marks on it. :D
Click to expand...

I too love the design. I expected better F&F from Helle. The broad three quarter tang is much appreciated over the rat tail tangs on a lot of Helle Knives. I have had too many bent blades and breakage over the years due to rat-tail tangs from all brands. I will not buy a knife with such weak tangs anymore no matter how desirable the design is.
As to usuability, I think you are right except for one point and that is the poor fit of the tang into the handle will allow water, blood, other fluids up into the handle and eventually one will get a rotten wood interior or a badly weakened tang.

Cheers
Leo
 
Thanks for the review, personally I think you can do better for your money right here in the exchange. Awesome custom fixed blades are sold here for way less money every day.
 
Looks like some corners were cut to rush this out. Too bad.

Is there a plastic liner in the sheath? Should be.

Helle has always been about performance over cosmetics, so I hope that the knife performs to your expectations over time.
 
There is no apparent liner of any material. The knife is well designed and sturdy, the wood handle is beautiful if rough here and there, the sheath is really below the standard I expected.
Win some and lose some eh!

Cheers
Leo

Correction:
There is indeed a half-length liner in the bottom of the sheath. Thanks for making me look!!
Leo
 
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My bad! There is indeed a hard liner in the bottom half of the sheath. Apologies to all. Now I feel safer!

And my deepest apologies to Helle for this serious omission on my part.

Best to all
Leo the blind old fa*t
 
Beautiful knife, thanks for posting the review. I think first gens always have some issues.
 
Thank you for the review however If you paid $190 for that knife and your saying you're paying $250 for something from Fallkniven or BRKT I will not agree with that statement. You can get alot of knife for less than $190 from both companies that imo will be more durable than that Helle. And then of course there are lots of makers on here that will make you a custome knife for less than $190 as well.

Again if you love the knife that's fine, I'm just saying I think it costs to much for what you get.
 
leomitch said:
Hi Tostig
60 dollars you say...try $189.00 Canadian.
Yes the handle could benefit from a little sanding, but I am going to leave it for a bit and see how I feel about this rougher finish.

Leo
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Nice reviewor a nice looking knife

Oh , yea I dont know where I got the price mix up for , in another thread about this knife they said it was near $200.
My response was that $200 for that is waaaaay overpriced IMO. Especially with rough fit and finish !! How in the Helle do they justify that price ? ( get my joke ? :D )

By the way , it is a beautiful knife , it looks like a pleasure to use and own. I just think the price is silly.

Tostig
 
Hi Tostig

I have stopped being concerned about the cost of the knives I buy. I am 75 now and I have decided to spoil myself and buy the knives that appeal to me. I have a fairly nice collection now but unfortunately due to poor health, I only get to use them around the house and the yard. I also use them to teach my grandson the care and use of knives. I have taught him how to baton and make fuzz sticks and the proper way to start a fire with a fire-steel and some dryer lint. He has learned how to cut safely with a knife and how to use it around the yard to help his aunt with the gardening. He has also learned the use of the compass and some map reading using home made maps and burying treasure around the yard, following directions and using the compass. His last treasure was a BR Gunny knife which he will actually get to use unsupervised when he is older...he is 8 years old now. Next for him is his first archery experience. He seems to be interested.
The collection I am building will go to him and my son later. Cigarette smoking ruined my lungs...add to that arthritis and repeater kidney stones and you don't have much energy to go on. But I love knives and have for many years now since I was a young 15 year old...I took Defendo as taught to Canadian special forces during WWII from an ex-commando and he got me started with the knife love.
The Temagami appeals to me even though the handle work and scabbard disappointed me. The design, the steel and the edge are superb. In a sense the blade and tang alone are worth the money spent to me. Others may think it a waste but that is their option. I am going to have Reid Hyken from SharpShooter sheaths make me a sheath for this knife after I have a custom Honduran Rosewood Burl made for it. My mind is made up and I have a set of blank rosewood scales sitting here ready to go.
Anyway I am rambling but then what do you expect from an old geezer like me! ;)

Best to you
Leo
 
leomitch said:
Hi Tostig

I have stopped being concerned about the cost of the knives I buy. I am 75 now and I have decided to spoil myself and buy the knives that appeal to me. I have a fairly nice collection now but unfortunately due to poor health, I only get to use them around the house and the yard. I also use them to teach my grandson the care and use of knives. I have taught him how to baton and make fuzz sticks and the proper way to start a fire with a fire-steel and some dryer lint. He has learned how to cut safely with a knife and how to use it around the yard to help his aunt with the gardening. He has also learned the use of the compass and some map reading using home made maps and burying treasure around the yard, following directions and using the compass. His last treasure was a BR Gunny knife which he will actually get to use unsupervised when he is older...he is 8 years old now. Next for him is his first archery experience. He seems to be interested.
The collection I am building will go to him and my son later. Cigarette smoking ruined my lungs...add to that arthritis and repeater kidney stones and you don't have much energy to go on. But I love knives and have for many years now since I was a young 15 year old...I took Defendo as taught to Canadian special forces during WWII from an ex-commando and he got me started with the knife love.
The Temagami appeals to me even though the handle work and scabbard disappointed me. The design, the steel and the edge are superb. In a sense the blade and tang alone are worth the money spent to me. Others may think it a waste but that is their option. I am going to have Reid Hyken from SharpShooter sheaths make me a sheath for this knife after I have a custom Honduran Rosewood Burl made for it. My mind is made up and I have a set of blank rosewood scales sitting here ready to go.
Anyway I am rambling but then what do you expect from an old geezer like me! ;)

Best to you
Leo
Click to expand...

No rambling , I enjoyed your story a lot. :) It is a really nice looking knife that I think anyone who appreciates cutting tools would be happy to own.

Tostig
 
I'm definitely interested in this knife as I have a Helle Nying that I have had for probably 12 years and I love it. I also got a Helle fjellkniven which is one of my favorite knives. It is very close to being perfect...but there are some things I would change here and there.

The temagami addresses some of those issues. Though I'm not sure why it's so expensive compared to the fjellkniven (can be found for around $60...which is a great deal IMO). I'd imagine it has something to do with Les Stroud being involved in it's design.

But you guys are right that say a custom knife can be made cheaper. I'm gonna get in touch with a local maker and have something made thats similar to the fjellkniven and the temagami, except I want a full tang, micarta handle, and a few other features they don't have. I'm hoping to have a fixed blade that will last me forever. But I might have one or two extras made just in case :)
 
Graywolfknives.com. You can get one for around $100 or so, in 1095 or O1, with wood or Micarta
 
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