got my Campanion - WOW!!

OccamsRazor

OccamsRazor

Joined
Apr 5, 2000
Messages
169
Had to post this...I got my Camillus BK&T Campanion yesterday fro mFred (knife outlet),
and WOW!! What a massive, impressive knife this is!! Very nice fit and finish.I haven't had much time to play with it yet, but I did chop off a couple of small wayward branches from a tree - great!!
This thing is a knife/ax/hammer/crowbar/shovel rolled into one! You could build a house with this thing...

If you ever really got lost in the wilds, there's enough steel in the blade and tang that you could melt down the knife, build a helicopter and fly yourself out!!
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Thanks Camillus for a great knife, and thanks Fred for a great price!
 
Congrats! I felt the same way when I got mine. Quite a little package, isn't it.
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That whole Becker line looks to be a great one, especially when you consider the great pricing. I can't wait to get the camp knife but then...I've said that before.
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------------------
Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
Folks who have picked up the Campanion have mentioned its heft -- certainly VERY stout.

So how much does it actually weigh? 12 oz, or more?

Glen
 
Thanks James and good guess Occam's Razor! 15 oz -- that's like carrying a big Maglite -- don't know of any similarly-sized knife at that weight.

Glen
 
First thing I noticed was the weight, too. But, after hooking it up to my LBE, it wasn't noticeable. Then again, my LBE weighs about 25+ lbs already!! Either way, I have no complaints. And neither does anyone who's borrowed it. This is a PERFECT example for the "sharpened prybar" theory of knifemaking.
 
Just got my Companion - and my first words were WOW as well. The blade and sheath make a complete package. I got mine at CR Specialties and the price was one of the lowest I have found (high $60's) and they are very nice to deal with. Shipped on time and received when they said.

 
Given the price and toughness, if you wanted a daily hard-use tool at a construction site or similar, this is THE contender
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.

What the heck is the steel, anyhow?

Jim
 
Hey Jim -- I beat you to the question. Check out this thread (w/link to *another* thread!)

www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/000263.html

... While this thread is still alive, I'm wondering: are any of you finding the Campanion TOO heavy for some duties? Or does it make "finer work" slightly more awkward?

IIRC, the Campanion's blade is 1-5/8" wide, and the grind is 1" from the edge. (Please correct if these #s are wrong.) That would mean that it maintains its .225" thickness for 5/8, correct? No doubt this adds considerably to its overall weight. Might the Campanion benefit from a slightly narrower profile and/or higher grind?

Just curious. It's design is very promising and steel sounds good so far, but at 15 oz that's twice the weight of a Basic 5 (8 oz) and even heavier than Fallkniven's A1 (10.75 oz) and Mad Dog's ATAK (12.5 oz). In fact, it just about squares w/Busse's Steel Heart II (16 oz).

(Have any of you tried soaking it in water yet? Maybe it'll expand into a small khukuri!
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)

Any thoughts? (Wishing one of these were available at Big-5, so I could walk in and handle it ...)

Thanks,
Glen

[This message has been edited by storyville (edited 04-15-2000).]
 
storyville,
check out my testing this weekend at: http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001613.html

I think the Campanion would do well on "fine" work, though I haven't tried it yet. It will take and hold a *very* sharp edge. I wouldn't want to dress a quail or a squirrel with it, but I think you could without a lot of trouble.

Yeah, it's a heavy knife, but it doesn't seem heavy once you're used to it. If I was going on a long hike and really worried about weight, I'd find another way to get rid of 7-8 ounces rather than leave the Campanion behind!

-Jeff

P.S. A higher grind would save some weight - but a lot of weight is in the full length, full width tang. This, along with the 5/8" full width on the blade, makes it an incredibly strong prybar as well...

[This message has been edited by OccamsRazor (edited 04-17-2000).]
 
It's the weight that makes it such a great chopper -- yet the balance is right on the forefinger, so it doesn't feel awkward for cutting.

If you eliminated the 5/8" (16mm) of full thickness at the spine and lightened the tang it would be more like other 5" (13cm) camp knives on the market -- okay for cutting, marginally useful for chopping. If you want to keep the weight down for backpacking and you're willing to compromise chopping performance there are plenty of knives available that'll suit your needs. If you're willing to carry the extra weight the Campanion is much more than a makeshift chopping tool; it really chops like a hatchet, and still cuts like a camp knife.

If you already have a 5" heavy camp knife that fits your hand well ... imagine if you added some lead to the spine, and put a lead pommel on it too so it'd still be in neutral balance -- make it so heavy it can chop like a hatchet ... but it'd still cut the same as always. That's the Campanion.

-Cougar :{)
 
I also got my knife from Fred. It was last Friday and after having it all weekend I have to say that I am truely astonished at what a tool it is. It is now the knife that stays in my truck at all times. It cut everything in my path, all I need now is a door to hack thru...........

This knife rivels any knife I own and I paid more for most of them. I had to put in my 2 cents.
 
Guys,
Cougar hits the nail on the head[at least its not a steel pipe this time]. We proto'ed the CAMPANION with holes lased through the tang to remove weight. The lighter handle compleately ruined the balance of the knife, to the point of making it VERY uncomfortable to use. Looks like Ethan Becker was right the first time
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The properly balanced weight of the CAMPANION is a planned asset of the knife, not an unplanned negative. Enjoy.

------------------
Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery


 
Good replies, and good comments on the Reviews thread, Razor. The combination of mass and balance is really intriguing -- I'm truly stumped to come up with another +/- 5" blade that even remotely resembles this design ... which is precisely what makes it unique, I guess!

That, plus its apparently "tweaked 52100B" definitely sounds like a winner. Will need to give one one of these a go sometime --

Glen
 
I played with a Campanion a little in kids' backyard in the Pacific Northwest. Hacked through a 4" log in the woodpile - twice. It took a lot more blows than a competant woodchopper would have needed, and I proved that I needed the exercise, but when I got any velocity it really moved wood. Then I split one of the pieces down the middle, using another piece as a club against the spine and also as a club against the butt end. Pried a few chips loose with the point too.

The black finish is a little streaked, but otherwise the knife was unfazed, and the edge still shaves. The test was highly unscientific, but I think this knife is a winner.


------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
It is surprising to me that it would chop even decently considering the balance point is so close to the center of rotation and the edge profile is rather thick as is the primary grind. For details see Cougars review :

http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001562.html


For those who rate it as a strong chopper, can you benchmark it against another decent 5-7" blade on a 2x4" sized piece of wood and describe your technique, grip as well as swing.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 04-20-2000).]
 
Cliff,
I can try it this weekend against a CS SRK and a K-bar....right now that's all I have to test against. You're correct, the center balance is a little strange to get used to at first. What I did to chop was probably closer to "punching" the wood, close to the balance point near the handle, rather than a swing type blow that you would do with a heavy ended hatchet. That is, rather than terminating the blow in an arc (like a hatchet), you arc at the start of the swing to build up velocity, then drive straight down like a punch at the end. This worked really well for me, and on average, drove the blade all the way to the top of the flat grind (about an inch).

I also found this method to be more accurate *for me*, so I "wasted" fewer chops...

-Jeff
 
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