Gossman/Kiedaisch/Estwing fun

[silenthunterstudios]

Stomper has asked me to post a review of his Kephart, and I've been putting it off. I got the Kephart a couple months ago from him. I've done a little bit, like shave bark off of walking sticks, whittle a few things, slice up some scrapple. Cut some sourdough bread. Was it a suitable test for the WSS? I have also been thinking about a review for Scott Gossman. My first custom knife was a Gossman buffalo knife. I had a few more buff knives, a Tusker, a semi skinner I picked up from one of Scotts friends, a PSK Jr etc. Right now, I still have my workhorse, a PSK and a PSK SR and WTK.

Well, my fathers weeping willow collapsed under a recent ice storm, and literally split in two. A job for a chainsaw and an axe, but I wanted to play, and figured it would be a great time to do a test. I chopped some limbs off (almost mine, my dog barrelled into me while I was batonning, gonna throw him inside!), batonned, shaved bark, cut up some of the heartwood, drove the tip into the bark by hand. Generally goofed off. Took as many pics as I could, of my pups too.

This is not a comparison of these knives, just the models I use the most.

Time for a drink, then lets get started.

Well, this old girl stood for a long time on my fathers property, not much left. When I was a teen, my father told me not to cut on his tree. Now, he told me to take it down for him.

Ready for business. Estwing axe, Nalgene water bottle (fat diabetics get thirsty quick), and bag of evil.

Well, lets take a look at what I got from Stomper and Scott. Pics were taken with my Ritter Griptilian for scale.

Kephart, 4" O1 blade, cocobolo scales with a 4 and a half inch handle, big paws ya know. Next is the Hikers Backup, O1 again, with again, you guessed it, cocobolo scales.

PSK, O1. Started out as a cordwrap option, Scott put micarta scales on it for me. PSK Sr, O1 with black and green micarta. WTK, with A2, and black and green micarta.

 

[IUKE12]

Nice pics and some gorgeous knives there. What's your opinion of the 26 inch campers Axe, good, bad, or indifferent?

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Ol' Beau decided he would help out.

Remington was not interested... he said rawhide tasted better than wood

Beau was quite interested

 

[kgd]

Crazy how that tree split in two like that! Then again, I've actually seen split in two trees quite often in my little prairie park! Really nice handles on those JK's. Cute pups too!

 

[silenthunterstudios]

This was more an excercise in fun than anything else. I have faith in my knives, but haven't beaten the crap outta them, other than my PSK. The HB is getting a workout these days too.

When I first got the JK Kephart, I used a couple of different knives to shave bark off some branches I found in the woods. These are going to be walking sticks. The Kephart did not do as well as my scandis, and thinner edged knives. Today, I shaved bark off of the base of the tree, some limbs I batonned and chopped off. I also took some chunks out of a baton I made from a significantly harder piece of willow, laying at the base. It gave me some nice curls. My HB gave a lot nicer curls, but is of course thinner. Batonning through wrist thick branches was easy with the Kephart. For chopping, I had to remove the square knot lanyard, and put a lenght of paracord on to wrap around my wrist. While this knife isn't really my size for chopping, it did a good chop. I also grabbed some of the rotten wood from the base of the tree, and shaved some off. For the Hikers Backup, I batonned through a couple of branches, both dead and still "juicy". While it is too small for batonning in my opinion, it still did a good job. The HB I got is thinner than my Kephart, I will not be batonning in the future with it. Because it is thinner, I was able to get some really nice curls going. I did not think to take a pic of the continuous one I was able to get off of my baton. It also cut the rotten wood pretty well. My father had hung a few bird feeders off of the tree, and I used the HB to cut the thin rope he used to hand them. Sliced through like butter.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Nice pics and some gorgeous knives there. What's your opinion of the 26 inch campers Axe, good, bad, or indifferent?

A chainsaw and a maul/wedge are really all you need for firewood, but the Estwing is fun to use. I had a couple hatchets, but, while they have their purpose, they don't do much for me when I'm splitting firewood. However, I thought it was going to be a little light. For kindling, or deadfall, it's great. I could have gotten a heavier axe, but I wanted something to take camping. The handle is not as long as the maul, and it took a while to get used to the over the head swings.

Crazy how that tree split in two like that! Then again, I've actually seen split in two trees quite often in my little prairie park! Really nice handles on those JK's. Cute pups too!

Heres the new bub, Doc. He ran across the front yard this morning with a three foot long stick in his mouth. I think he would like to help, but he's sleeping right now.

Gossman review is up next. Errands and such right now.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Well, I have beat the heck out of my PSK in the past, and used that to baton today. It shaved bark with no problem, and I got some really nice curls on my baton. Again, with the HB, I will not baton with it. I have faith in Scotts work, and have availed myself of his great customer service, but the knife is just too small for batoning. The scales are not pinned on, but they held up great. As always, a great grip.

My WTK and PSK Sr performed great. Of course, the WTK has a pointier tip than the PSK Sr, and when trying to lift up bark without shaving it off the branch etc, the WTK did better. Both knives got some great curls, several long ones. Again, with chopping, the long square knot lanyards got in the way, and I had to replace them with paracord wrist lanyards. I was able to get some great depth with both knives. Batoning was no problem. Hair shaving sharp when I was done. Shredded some of the rotten wood of the willow.


I am planning on batoning some firewood quarters, with the PSK SR, WTK and Kephart. Also, deer steaks for dinner, and I will be cutting those up, both before they are cooked and when we chow down. Several others have mentioned spreading butter, cutting up meat, cheese and crackers. I plan on doing that over the weekend on a hike. Lots of real tests, not the playing around that I did, to perform. I would like to try my hand at the figure four trap, as well as make a spoon, and whittling a fuzz stick. Thought this would be fun, and was an opportunity to try out my new camera.

 

[Rockywolf]

I think the real tests are just as you mentioned-a few firestarting tests, some food prep, and general purpose duties are the bulk of what we need a knife for...thanks for posting!