- Joined
- Nov 27, 2004
- Messages
- 3,124
Hey all,
Last Wednesday, I joined a few colleagues for a ‘working retreat’ near a lake in Quebec, not far from Ottawa. We all had writing projects to work on, and we decided to get away from our respective offices and work on things in a more enjoyable environment. I’m pleased to say that we actually managed to get some work done, despite plenty of breaks for hiking, canoeing, fishing, rock climbing, and so on.
A few shots from around the lake. This rock face is part of a formation that was once mined for marble. Scrambling over the big rocks was a blast.
This outing gave me a great opportunity to put my new JK 7” Hudson Bay knife to the test in a wilderness environment. Previously, it had been confined to the kitchen, where it excelled - I reviewed it’s kitchen qualities here.
This past week, I put it to use around camp, chopping up kindling, batoning, carving fuzz sticks, and clearing a bit of brush.
Short version: I love this knife.
Thoughts on design, execution, and function:
This knife arrived shaving sharp. Upon initial inspection, I found the grinds (both the flat grind and the edge bevel) to be even and symmetrical. The handle is also symmetrical, with no gaps between the wood and the steel. Overall fit and finish are superb. John made this knife to my specifications, with a 7” blade (about 7 5/8” of edge if you take the curvature into account) of 3/16 steel, a ‘torched oak’ handle, and six brass pins. I asked him to leave a bit of ‘just forged’ finish on the flats. Combined with the overall design, the handle material, and the rustic sheath (with copper rivets), the knife has a wonderful traditional feel.
The blade is nice and wide, almost 2” at its widest points. It has a terrific flat (slightly convexed) primary grind that makes it nice and thin near the edge, but keeps a healthy amount of steel near the spine, which makes it a great chopper and a great slicer. The knife balances just over 1” ahead of the handle - forward enough to aid with chopping, but not so far forward as to make the knife unwieldy for other tasks.
The handle is thick, rounded at the edges, and comfortable. It was great to use bare-handed, but I expect it will really come into its own when I use my leather work gloves.
A few words about the sheath. It is a straightforward pouch design with traditional stylings, and it fits the blade like a glove - excellent retention. The shape of the blade, and especially the fact that the edge extends the full length, means that it does cut into the sheath welt a bit. It’s nothing serious, and I can’t really think of any way to avoid this, given the design. I’m sure an experienced tracker could follow my trail by picking out the tiny little bits of shredded leather left behind when I unsheathed my knife, though! The sheath rides comfortably on the hip, a bit higher than I’m used to. A dangler would be an interesting feature for future versions. The copper rivets are just plain cool. I look forward to watching them weather with time and age.
Thoughts on use:
On this outing, I used my Hudson Bay primarily for tasks related to fire making. It rained off-and-on on Thursday and Friday, with an almighty deluge on Wednesday, so the lake was high and the wood was damp. Starting and maintaining a good fire required lots of splitting, and plenty of curls and fuzz-sticks to get things going. This knife really came into its own here. Gripping the handle near the bottom allowed me to put quite a bit of force into a swing, chopping through branches or splitting logs. I didn’t find there to be any problematic hot spots. Batoning was straightforward, with the Nessmuk-ish bump towards the tip acting as a great target. The great part was that, having just finished a bunch of chopping, I could easily shift gears and carve long, thin fuzz sticks and curls, just by moving my grip up towards the front of the handle.
After a few days of moderate use, there was no need to touch up the edge. It remained shaving sharp, with no chips or rolls.
My Hudson Bay also saw some use prepping food around camp. Just as I had noticed when using it in the kitchen, the width of the blade allows it to act as a knife and scoop, plus an impromptu ulu, thanks to the hump. I liked having all of these features packed into one versatile tool.
In Conclusion:
This is a truly excellent camp knife. Combine it with a small fixed blade for eating and small cutting tasks, and you have an effective ‘duo’ for multi-day outings.
John tends to put out knives that adhere to a ‘wider, thinner’ philosophy, and I have to say that I have become a big fan of this approach. It lets you combine power and weight with a thin edge. Plus, it gives you a lot of steel surface to look at!
While my BK-9 will remain my go-to chopper for days spent clearing brush, I often leave it behind on hiking / camping trips, as it feels like overkill. Not so with the Hudson Bay, which is a bit shorter, a bit wider, and a good compromise between a belt knife and chopper. Its traditional appearance also makes it a good conversation piece, and I found that my non-knife-nut colleagues took an interest in it and warmed up to it in a way that they probably wouldn’t with a more modern design. I have a feeling that this knife will see a lot of trail time in the near future.
Thanks for looking!
All the best,
- Mike
Last Wednesday, I joined a few colleagues for a ‘working retreat’ near a lake in Quebec, not far from Ottawa. We all had writing projects to work on, and we decided to get away from our respective offices and work on things in a more enjoyable environment. I’m pleased to say that we actually managed to get some work done, despite plenty of breaks for hiking, canoeing, fishing, rock climbing, and so on.
A few shots from around the lake. This rock face is part of a formation that was once mined for marble. Scrambling over the big rocks was a blast.
This outing gave me a great opportunity to put my new JK 7” Hudson Bay knife to the test in a wilderness environment. Previously, it had been confined to the kitchen, where it excelled - I reviewed it’s kitchen qualities here.
This past week, I put it to use around camp, chopping up kindling, batoning, carving fuzz sticks, and clearing a bit of brush.
Short version: I love this knife.
Thoughts on design, execution, and function:
This knife arrived shaving sharp. Upon initial inspection, I found the grinds (both the flat grind and the edge bevel) to be even and symmetrical. The handle is also symmetrical, with no gaps between the wood and the steel. Overall fit and finish are superb. John made this knife to my specifications, with a 7” blade (about 7 5/8” of edge if you take the curvature into account) of 3/16 steel, a ‘torched oak’ handle, and six brass pins. I asked him to leave a bit of ‘just forged’ finish on the flats. Combined with the overall design, the handle material, and the rustic sheath (with copper rivets), the knife has a wonderful traditional feel.
The blade is nice and wide, almost 2” at its widest points. It has a terrific flat (slightly convexed) primary grind that makes it nice and thin near the edge, but keeps a healthy amount of steel near the spine, which makes it a great chopper and a great slicer. The knife balances just over 1” ahead of the handle - forward enough to aid with chopping, but not so far forward as to make the knife unwieldy for other tasks.
The handle is thick, rounded at the edges, and comfortable. It was great to use bare-handed, but I expect it will really come into its own when I use my leather work gloves.
A few words about the sheath. It is a straightforward pouch design with traditional stylings, and it fits the blade like a glove - excellent retention. The shape of the blade, and especially the fact that the edge extends the full length, means that it does cut into the sheath welt a bit. It’s nothing serious, and I can’t really think of any way to avoid this, given the design. I’m sure an experienced tracker could follow my trail by picking out the tiny little bits of shredded leather left behind when I unsheathed my knife, though! The sheath rides comfortably on the hip, a bit higher than I’m used to. A dangler would be an interesting feature for future versions. The copper rivets are just plain cool. I look forward to watching them weather with time and age.
Thoughts on use:
On this outing, I used my Hudson Bay primarily for tasks related to fire making. It rained off-and-on on Thursday and Friday, with an almighty deluge on Wednesday, so the lake was high and the wood was damp. Starting and maintaining a good fire required lots of splitting, and plenty of curls and fuzz-sticks to get things going. This knife really came into its own here. Gripping the handle near the bottom allowed me to put quite a bit of force into a swing, chopping through branches or splitting logs. I didn’t find there to be any problematic hot spots. Batoning was straightforward, with the Nessmuk-ish bump towards the tip acting as a great target. The great part was that, having just finished a bunch of chopping, I could easily shift gears and carve long, thin fuzz sticks and curls, just by moving my grip up towards the front of the handle.
After a few days of moderate use, there was no need to touch up the edge. It remained shaving sharp, with no chips or rolls.
My Hudson Bay also saw some use prepping food around camp. Just as I had noticed when using it in the kitchen, the width of the blade allows it to act as a knife and scoop, plus an impromptu ulu, thanks to the hump. I liked having all of these features packed into one versatile tool.
In Conclusion:
This is a truly excellent camp knife. Combine it with a small fixed blade for eating and small cutting tasks, and you have an effective ‘duo’ for multi-day outings.
John tends to put out knives that adhere to a ‘wider, thinner’ philosophy, and I have to say that I have become a big fan of this approach. It lets you combine power and weight with a thin edge. Plus, it gives you a lot of steel surface to look at!
While my BK-9 will remain my go-to chopper for days spent clearing brush, I often leave it behind on hiking / camping trips, as it feels like overkill. Not so with the Hudson Bay, which is a bit shorter, a bit wider, and a good compromise between a belt knife and chopper. Its traditional appearance also makes it a good conversation piece, and I found that my non-knife-nut colleagues took an interest in it and warmed up to it in a way that they probably wouldn’t with a more modern design. I have a feeling that this knife will see a lot of trail time in the near future.
Thanks for looking!
All the best,
- Mike
