How Do You Test Your Woods Knives?

[Sulaco]

I have a pretty simple test which tells me quickly how a knife will perform on wood (the way I use it anyway). I keep some Sassafras or Yellow Poplar saplings drying and use them.

Neither wood is overly hard, but they are easy to work and hard enough for me to tell a bit about the knife I'm using. I can easily roll a true Scandi grind (thin knife like a Mora) in the Sassafras so it's not soft like pine.

Anyway, I just do some simple things like carving, cutting notches, drilling with the tip, things like that. This tells me very quickly how the knife will perform for the most part. I guess through experience and trying out lots of different designs helps also.

Once I determine a knife to be suitable, I'll take it out on a trip to the woods and usually my initial findings are right. Once or twice I've been wrong though. I recall one time a particular knife caused me to develop hotspots and eventually blisters and at first I didn't think it would have. Another time a steel performed very well but then in harder woods like Oak and Hickory it rolled and dented badly. I believe this was due more to a softer heat treat than anything else though.

Anyway, this has been a good way for me to tell a lot about knives and what works best for me.

How about you? How do you determine what works and what have your findings brought you to?

For me, I prefer a flat grind with a secondary v-bevel. I used to prefer convex but they are hard for me to keep sharp in the woods for some reason. I can actually keep a v-grind sharper on a rock than I can a convex (which makes no sense but it's true!). I also prefer a length of around 4-6". A little longer than most, but I have long fingers and it works for me. I also prefer a handle which doesn't roll in use and an integral guard. Though I'm quickly warming up to the guard on my KA-BAR MK1. This thing is really good.

 

[co556guy]

I take them car camping and use them like I would if it were my only tool for the job until I decide if I like it or not. This way I have my old stand-by handy so that if it doesn't work as desired I am not left hanging.

IMHO, real world is the best testing ground. If it's not been proofed in the woods that I'm going to be using it in, it's just a decoration piece to me.

 

[wjswiger]

Much like the OP, I keep various hard-woods drying to use.....my favorite is maple. I chop, whittle, carve and do feather sticks to determine quality....that's around the homestead in New Hampshire and then I take the knife into the woods and beat the snot out of it in every way possible....including taking her winter camping and using on frozen wood. At that point, I can determine quality....'course by that time I've come to love the knife so I guess I try to do a lot of previous research before buying to ensure I love the knife by this point!!!!

 

[Myal]

I use them .. shredding tinder , making kindling for the wood heater in the house cooking , eating .. just use them

when I take them out first time , I use them for whatever I had in mind when I got them .. hunting , clearing paths , whatever ..

Break them in the way youre going to use them . my theory

 

[neeman]

Feather sticks tells me the fine control of the blade
Light chopping tells me the direct cutting of the blade, and if the edge will chip or roll
Both of these will tell me the comfort of the handle

 

[Foilist]

I have a "camp" set up out behind my house near the edge of the woods with a lean to and fire ring. When I want to try a knife (or other gear), I go out there, make a fire, do some shelter improvements, and maybe prepare a simple meal. These tasks involve almost everything I typically do with a knife.

 

[Shotgun]

I use them .. shredding tinder , making kindling for the wood heater in the house cooking , eating .. just use them

when I take them out first time , I use them for whatever I had in mind when I got them .. hunting , clearing paths , whatever ..

Break them in the way youre going to use them . my theory

Me too. I don't believe my survival hinges on which knife I have, or even having one at all, so I just take them out and use them.

 

[bigghoss]

I take a walk up the creek bed that runs near my apartment and find a nice spot to try them out where I won't be spotted and scare the passers-by. Then I just grab whatever wood is handy (I haven't the foggiest idea what it is but most of it has been waterlogged and then dried) and cut on it for a while, try and give myself a half-decent idea how it'll work. They usually get a real workout on a car-camping (or truck camping rather) trip where I'll bring a bunch or blades to go through.

 

[22-rimfire]

I don't believe my survival hinges on which knife I have, or even having one at all, so I just take them out and use them.

My survival depends almost entirely on my ability to keep the house weather tight, bills paid, and money for groceries. Realist here... It didn't used to be that way but I live in the suburbs now.

I just use them for whatever knife uses I have. I'll take a different knife or three hiking and play around with them along with basic cutting tasks. Eventually I settle on my favorites and then I buy some more.... seems to be the pattern.

 

[Codger_64]

Me too. I don't believe my survival hinges on which knife I have, or even having one at all, so I just take them out and use them.

Likewise for myself. Having been caught out without a knife several times when one was needed, I made do with improvising what was at hand. A piece of broken glass, a chert rock shard, even a piece of a metal can, I've used all for cutting, even dressing and butchering a deer. When I have a new knife, bought for a particular task, I use that knife for that task. And, having been caught out several times without a knife at all over the years (forgotten or lost), I tend to keep a tiny knife of some sort stashed in my gear. I have proven to myself that my survival doesn't depend on a particular knife, or any knife at all. Having a knife just makes a lot of tasks much easier.

 

[TheGame]

I take them in the woods behind my house for a few nights and only use that one tool. After several trips out with them I decide if I like it or not. Most of the time I do. If not, it gets to stay at the house for a house tool when I need something for a more dirty job.

 

[Mastalerz]

I do the bear test. I take the knife out into the wilderness and track down a grizzly bear. I get he grizzle all worked up until he or she charges me. Right before it gets to me I yell "STOP!" And then I take out the knife and ask the bear if he thinks it's a good knife, then I base my knife on his or her opinion.

In all seriousness the best way to test a knife is just to use it, whether it be out on a trip or in your backyard. Watching YouTube videos where other people have reviewed and tested them can be helpful. But like any tool it can break at any time, so you can test it all you want and see how well it works but just like that it can break, so It's always good to bring a backup any where you go if you plan on using a knife for a lot of tasks.

 

[Sulaco]

Seems to be a bit of conjecture here and there, but thankful for the input from all, regardless...

I enjoy using my knives much more than just relying on them as a "tool". Else I wouldn't be spending time on this forum, that's for sure. Either way, it's nice to see how others approach usability as opposed to just "having" one around.

 

[Mannlicher]

Out back of the house, in my "bushcraft studio", I have a variety of wood to work with. Green as well as seasoned. I spend a lot of time playing with, er, testing my knives.