I ordered a Hossum Woodlander ....

vjb.knife

vjb.knife

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I ordered a Spyderco / Hossum Woodlander, does anyone else have one of the fixed blades in that series? If so what is your opinion of the knife and the sheath? I am thinking of getting a leather sheath made for it if the plastic one does not measure up.
 
I have the woodlander and its a tough, great looking knife, I don't think you will be disappointed as long as sharpening a convex recurve doesn't phase you. Small hands might have a problem.

The sheath is its weak point, I believe many people have had bad retention with them, but for the record mine seems to hold onto the knife just fine. I must admit I've thought of making another or modify it to have a strap to hold the knife in, but since I don't really carry it much (no wilderness to get lost in here) I don't really care a lot.

I like it so much that I thought of getting at least one or two of the other knives in the lineup, along with one of the Ontario Retribution folders (I won't buy from Ontario for various reasons, but this one has me tempted.) The handle shape is really comfortable, very beefy.

/MD
 
I appreciate the info, Monsterdog. I do have very large hands, so that is good I guess. I definitely have had some problems with very narrow or small gripps on knives and tools before. I will post some pics if I decide to get a sheath made for it
 
The Hossom are great knives, the kydex sheath it comes with is pretty nice....
 
I have the whole set. I took the largest on a raft trip to play with (not on the raft). Since the cap of the handle has a bit of a hook on it, it is quite possible to catch it on say a buckle or vest strap and unsheath such a blade from the factory sheath (which happened on the raft). I believe it would look quite handsome in a leather sheath. For serious outdoor hiking or moving through brush, I'd recomend a different kydex sheath, add a retention strap system to the existing sheath, or a quality leather sheath.

There was a video some time back that showed a foreign guy dismantling a shack using the Hossom knife. It is well made. :)
 
I bought a new Woodlander on ebay because it came with a nice leather sheath. The handle is big even for my xxl hand, could wear winter gloves comfortably. The kydex sheath is secure, but I don't like the scuffing where the front of the handle is retained.
 
I admittedly know very little about these knives, but I do love the looks of them. I'm surprised more people don't own them, or at least talk about them. And I've never heard of that steel before... N690CO, I think it is. Anyone care to share info., insights and/or experiences with that steel?
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
I admittedly know very little about these knives, but I do love the looks of them. I'm surprised more people don't own them, or at least talk about them. And I've never heard of that steel before... N690CO, I think it is. Anyone care to share info., insights and/or experiences with that steel?
Click to expand...

Highly regarded European steel, Austrian to be specific. The Italian knife maker Fox uses it some.
 
Which is appropriate considering that Fox is the ghost-manufacturer of the Hossom line. You'll note it says "made in Italy" ;)
 
I have the Forester and Dayhiker. They are something of a puzzle to me. When I first saw the video of the guy tearing apart a wooden shed with the Forester, I dismissed it as someone being stupid. When I first held the knife, I decided that video may have been a comment on his opinion of the knife, one which I came to hold when I started using it. As a knife, it makes a great crowbar. It can certainly take abuse, but the edge is about five times the thickness I prefer in a heavy-duty cutting tool. If I had a real use for a blade that big, I'd send it to Tom Krein and have him grind a knife out of it. Despite its excellent ergonomics, it can't hold a candle to my old Western W49 Bowie in side-by-side chopping and slicing comparisons.

The Dayhiker is marginally better after I spent half a day thinning the edge out on a Duckfoot diamond sharpener. Even after that, it won't win any competitions that include a Temperance I or II.

The two I have did not inspire me to complete the set, especially at the price they command.
 
yablanowitz said:
It can certainly take abuse, but the edge is about five times the thickness I prefer in a heavy-duty cutting tool.
Click to expand...

I can only speak for the Woodlander. Yes the edge is thick, but I believe the full flat grind and convex edge kinda sorta makes up for it, mine certainly is a very good slicer for having a 5mm spine, thick edge and being a generally big knife. I agree that It also seems like it would take a lot of abuse before the edge got messed up, but this I cannot verify.

vjb.knife: Did you get it yet? What do you think and what are you looking to use it for?
 
Isn't N690Co the only thing that Fox uses?

Anyways, I find these knives kinda expensive. Even though they're probably worth it...

Does anybody else see it that way?
 
I am a bit torn about it the knife looks fine but I am not sure it gets me anything that I don't have in a few other knives that I own. I really don't care much for the sheath and am not sure that I want to put the extra money into it to have a custom leather sheath made. The pro's are that the knife is sturdy and the grip is sure and it also has a very sharp edge out of the box. The fit and finish are also very nice. I don't think the blade is overly thick and "five times the thickness I prefer in a heavy-duty cutting tool" is quite an exaggeration unless you are using a strait razor for your heavy-duty cutting tool. In fact at 3/16" thick I would say it is minimal for that purpose. At about $165 usd I think it is reasonable for the quality as well.
 
You're right, it is an exaggeration. The edge on my Forester measures 0.075", the edge on my Western W49 measures 0.025", so it is really only three times as thick as I prefer. But the W49 went through my seasoned locust test log in a fifth of the time the Forester took, and I tested the Forester first.

Draw your own conclusions. ;)
 
Too expensive--you can snag a used Busse for not a whole lot more dough, and the Busse has better value retention.

It might be different if it were Golden-made, but I think they just want way too much for a Fox-subcontracted knife. Hossum must get a pretty substantial royalty for using his designs, since the Ontario made Retributions aren't cheap either.
 
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