how well would this work out for camp use?

R

richard j

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Apr 1, 2007
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i normally have to scrap part of the cultivator disc after cutting blanks from each one. i end up with a fairly good size piece but nothing good enough for a knife blank so i came up with this chopper. it measures 13 1/2" long x 3 3/4"
wide at its widest spot. its 3/16" thick. i'm not worrying a whole lot about the finish other than cleaning off some rust. i'm also going to cut the handle down some more. i'm undecided about the handle material. would it work out good in camp. i dont camp anymore but if it could be useful i might make a few more.
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I think if the edge was easy to sharpen in the field it would be a great tool. You would have the ability to chop, choke up for finer work, scrape and dice like an ulu...it certainly has possibilities for my usage!
 
Looks like it would be a good kitchen tool, camp kitchen too. Looks like a broader santuko.
 
it would be easy to sharpen in the field since its not as hard as the edges on the knives i make. the backside can be sharpened to bring up a burr on the front side and then removed. i'm going to give it a test to see how well the edge holds up to chopping. if it needs to be harder i'll heat treat it then.
 
I could go for one for veggie duty!! Looks neat. Put some micarta on it and go!:thumbup:
 
I think it's pretty cool. Like the others have said, this would be great to have in the kitchen at camp. What's the steel type on this?
 
i made it from a cultivator disc and the steel is 1075. if you look at the top picture you can see the marks from it cutting through the ground. i think i'm going to put a slot so you can grab it like an ulu. i made a few ulu's in the past and i have 1 left that i made from tool steel thats wicked in the kitchen. yesterday i did do a little chopping on a piece
of dry elm and the edge was flat but it still cut. i need to make a sheath of some kind before i make it scarry sharp.
 
Looks good! Except for the rounded hump on the back, it looks like basic "chopper" designs used thruout SE Asia and even Japan.
 
About that rounded hump on the back...does it make the blade a little handle heavy? Contouring that out and skeletonizing the handle might move the balance point further forward. That might make it better for both slicing (choked up) and chopping (weight forward).
Looks like a good project. I wish I had a local source of decent used steel...
Have you got someone picked out to heat treat it if necessary ?
This is what I'm thinking, but it's JMHO
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I like the roundness of it........very cool little tool...a little knife/ulu/hatchet all rolled together :D A creative way to use extra material and create a possible "nitch" tool.

Cerberus
 
Hey is that the "cleaver" thing you were telling me about? it looks awsome. I dont know about a camp knife but in the kitchen that would be perfect :)

kitchen handles should be micarta or G10
camp maybe some kind of wood.
 
i just posted a new picture in my first post of how it looks now. the handle wont be a problem when i heat treat it since i dont heat the whole blade. i could remove the handles if necessary.
 
I like the looks of it too!

Pretty handy. I think it is very versatile from Chopping wood to kitchen chores.
 
i finally heat treated the edge and put a handle on it. the other day i went to a friends who had some red elm logs laying around and he tried it out for me. i told him to give it a workout and dont hold back. that elm was hard as all get out but the chopper done a good job. we checked out the edge when he was done and it wasnt hurt. he liked it so much he wants one now.
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