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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Koyote Knives Leuku Bushcrafter Passaround
- Thread starter tonym
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2005
- Messages
- 7,499
Rockywolf, I'm not quite done buffing out the next one. You'll hate it, so don't even look when I put pictures up
Yeah right. Put it up and I will take my chances! :thumbup:
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2005
- Messages
- 11,135
Great pics man. I look forward to the review, as yours are always a pleasure to read....
When Tony handed me the Koyote Leuku Passaround Knife at our impromptu wilderness skills gathering last week the first thing I noticed was the quality of the Koyote Girl leatherwork.
The other sheaths I have handled from this maker have all been very nice, but the fit and finish on this sheath is top shelf all the way.
Koyote Girl is not resting on her laurels, she obviously is working hard to improve her craft, and the effort shows.
Once I had the knife in hand I was a bit unsure of the handle.
Having had a chance to test Tonys Koyote Combo, I had used a Leuku very similar to this one, but the handle on Tonys knife is a different shape.
I immediately liked the front half of the handle; the integral self guard is very well done.
Its the back half or the handle that raised a few concerns for me.
It slopes from the spine in a constant arc that intersects the line of the bottom of the handle; it is not rounded like the earlier Leuku.
Heres a comparison photo of the two knives.
Just holding the knife it felt like the there was some thing missing back there, but as soon as I grabbed a stick and starting cutting with it the handle became a natural extension of my hand, if fact I think that the gentle arc let me apply pressure to the blade with a larger portion on my hand; any fears melted away.
The only downside I could find in this handle shape was that theres not much to grab onto to remove the knife from the sheath, but the addition of a small knotted fob solved that problem.
The blade is quite broad, with a straight spine and plenty of belly; I really like this style of blade.
The knife worked very well both in the kitchen and in the field, and the edge retention was excellent.
For use in the woods I removed the belt loop and carried the knife on my baldric rig, here are a few photos of that set-up.
The sheath can also carry the knife horizontally on the belt, and offers enough retention to keep the blade safely in the sheath for that style of carry.
The harder I used this knife the more I liked it, this is not a small knife, but I was very comfortable using it for both fine work and more heavy duty tasks.
I wish we could have had some better weather during the short period I had this knife, most days the temperature peaked in the teens limiting my time out with my dogs.
This knife reconfirmed my previous impressions of Christofs products; hard working tools that beg to be used. :thumbup:
A few comparison shots to follow.
The other sheaths I have handled from this maker have all been very nice, but the fit and finish on this sheath is top shelf all the way.
Koyote Girl is not resting on her laurels, she obviously is working hard to improve her craft, and the effort shows.
Once I had the knife in hand I was a bit unsure of the handle.
Having had a chance to test Tonys Koyote Combo, I had used a Leuku very similar to this one, but the handle on Tonys knife is a different shape.
I immediately liked the front half of the handle; the integral self guard is very well done.
Its the back half or the handle that raised a few concerns for me.
It slopes from the spine in a constant arc that intersects the line of the bottom of the handle; it is not rounded like the earlier Leuku.
Heres a comparison photo of the two knives.
Just holding the knife it felt like the there was some thing missing back there, but as soon as I grabbed a stick and starting cutting with it the handle became a natural extension of my hand, if fact I think that the gentle arc let me apply pressure to the blade with a larger portion on my hand; any fears melted away.
The only downside I could find in this handle shape was that theres not much to grab onto to remove the knife from the sheath, but the addition of a small knotted fob solved that problem.
The blade is quite broad, with a straight spine and plenty of belly; I really like this style of blade.
The knife worked very well both in the kitchen and in the field, and the edge retention was excellent.
For use in the woods I removed the belt loop and carried the knife on my baldric rig, here are a few photos of that set-up.
The sheath can also carry the knife horizontally on the belt, and offers enough retention to keep the blade safely in the sheath for that style of carry.
The harder I used this knife the more I liked it, this is not a small knife, but I was very comfortable using it for both fine work and more heavy duty tasks.
I wish we could have had some better weather during the short period I had this knife, most days the temperature peaked in the teens limiting my time out with my dogs.
This knife reconfirmed my previous impressions of Christofs products; hard working tools that beg to be used. :thumbup:
A few comparison shots to follow.
Last edited:
Heres a picture of it alongside a few Bark River knives, a Fox River (Custom Recurve version) and a Canadian Camp Knife.
And here it is next to my Stephan Fowler Stone Mountain.
Finally a shot of the Leuku pictured with my modded Bark River Gameskeeper II.
This knife has been sharpened and will be on its way to PB Wilson in the morning.
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike
And here it is next to my Stephan Fowler Stone Mountain.
Finally a shot of the Leuku pictured with my modded Bark River Gameskeeper II.
This knife has been sharpened and will be on its way to PB Wilson in the morning.
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike
I'm looking forward to receiving it!
I hear you about the frigid temps. I know there are forumites who scoff at single digit temps, but I have a hard time playing outside with my 2 year old in this kind of cold. I don't like it much myself. Luckily the weather here is in the high teens and low 20s. Just enough to keep me more comfortable, especially when weilding an extra-sharp instrument in my mitts.
Now I've gotta think of how I'll use it once it's here.
I hear you about the frigid temps. I know there are forumites who scoff at single digit temps, but I have a hard time playing outside with my 2 year old in this kind of cold. I don't like it much myself. Luckily the weather here is in the high teens and low 20s. Just enough to keep me more comfortable, especially when weilding an extra-sharp instrument in my mitts.
Now I've gotta think of how I'll use it once it's here.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2005
- Messages
- 11,135
Great review Mike, You take good pictures.
I cant wait to play with this one. It looks like a great blade.
I cant wait to play with this one. It looks like a great blade.
Thats a one of a kind Custom Bowie that Mike Stewarts Crew made for me. :thumbup:
The blade is 7.5 of .300 50-100B high carbon steel and the handle is huge chunk of IPE thats over 1 thick; a perfect fit for a little guy like me.
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike
- Joined
- May 12, 2008
- Messages
- 756
Where all the canadians at?
When you don't include them they get mad, when you do include them they don't show..................
Ther all righting hate mail to Ted nugent
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,440
I am really excited to get to use the knife. There are photo's of this knife in action where I like the looks - when it is just laid on the table - everything looks wrong to me.
I am excited to try this out. Christof and I have been talking about a separate project and I know he would not generate trash. I am hoping that his ideas on knives prove my aesthetic eye wrong.
It is cool to go into a project with this kind of mind set - I think often you can want to like a knife so much that you overlook its shortcomings. I wonder where I am on the list.
TF
I am excited to try this out. Christof and I have been talking about a separate project and I know he would not generate trash. I am hoping that his ideas on knives prove my aesthetic eye wrong.
It is cool to go into a project with this kind of mind set - I think often you can want to like a knife so much that you overlook its shortcomings. I wonder where I am on the list.
TF
Thanks Tony.
This knife is bigger then it might appear in the photos, I thought a picture or two of it next to some other knives would help put it in perspective.
I think the picture of it with the Fox River speaks volumes.
Heres another shot.
This is not a small knife, yet like I state in my review, it is very adept at fine tasks.
In fact, if youre looking for one knife to do it all, this knife would be hard to beat. :thumbup:
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2005
- Messages
- 7,499
Thanks Tony.
This knife is bigger then it might appear in the photos, I thought a picture or two of it next to some other knives would help put it in perspective.
I think the picture of it with the Fox River speaks volumes.
Heres another shot.
This is not a small knife, yet like I state in my review, it is very adept at fine tasks.
In fact, if youre looking for one knife to do it all, this knife would be hard to beat. :thumbup:
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike
This pic says it all for me. I love the bigger, tougher look of it.
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2008
- Messages
- 320
Thanks Big Mike
I just received this package from Big Mike today and have had only about 15 minutes to take a look, cop a feel and admire the handiwork of Christof and Koyote Girl. So far I like what I see.
Initial impressions:
Very comfortable handle. There's a good deal of meat up front and I can understand what Big Mike was saying about the back end of the handle. It seems to be a non-issue when I put my thumb on the spine. I'll see how it feels after giveing it a workout. It's smoother than the micarta on my Koster but feels grippy nonetheless.
Being made from relatively thinner stock (.095"), it still feels like a very strong knife. The height of the blade (spine to edge) might help in this regard. There's a lot of steel here, just not in thickness. It's the same thickness as my Mora 2000 and Triflex, but it feels MUCH more stout. It may make me rethink thinner blades...
It feels lighter than my Koster Bushcraft. Maybe it's the balance or maybe it's indeed lighter. Anyway, it feels nimble and ready to work.
The filework on the spine is not abrasive or painful to the touch. It does seem to hold my thumb securely though. Cool design with every other notch at an angle. Nice handmade touch!
It's my first experience with a convex edge other than my ham-handed attempts to hand sharpen my knives before I got a Lansky. It's really elegant and like a thinner-stock axe in profile. It must take a steady hand to craft something like this.
Finally, the sheath is great. I've yet to make one for myself but I have a big section of hide to work with. I hope to approach the crafts(wo)manship of this one. REALLY nice!
Anyway, I'll give it a workout this weekend and report back.
Initial impressions:
Very comfortable handle. There's a good deal of meat up front and I can understand what Big Mike was saying about the back end of the handle. It seems to be a non-issue when I put my thumb on the spine. I'll see how it feels after giveing it a workout. It's smoother than the micarta on my Koster but feels grippy nonetheless.
Being made from relatively thinner stock (.095"), it still feels like a very strong knife. The height of the blade (spine to edge) might help in this regard. There's a lot of steel here, just not in thickness. It's the same thickness as my Mora 2000 and Triflex, but it feels MUCH more stout. It may make me rethink thinner blades...
It feels lighter than my Koster Bushcraft. Maybe it's the balance or maybe it's indeed lighter. Anyway, it feels nimble and ready to work.
The filework on the spine is not abrasive or painful to the touch. It does seem to hold my thumb securely though. Cool design with every other notch at an angle. Nice handmade touch!
It's my first experience with a convex edge other than my ham-handed attempts to hand sharpen my knives before I got a Lansky. It's really elegant and like a thinner-stock axe in profile. It must take a steady hand to craft something like this.
Finally, the sheath is great. I've yet to make one for myself but I have a big section of hide to work with. I hope to approach the crafts(wo)manship of this one. REALLY nice!
Anyway, I'll give it a workout this weekend and report back.
Like Tony says, Christof’s steel is some tough stuff, well supported by that convex edge, don’t be afraid to use it hard;
...in fact I think the handle shape adds to the leverage you can get on the blade.
Enjoy testing it my friend. :thumbup:
:thumbup:
"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike
...in fact I think the handle shape adds to the leverage you can get on the blade.
Enjoy testing it my friend. :thumbup:
:thumbup:"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."
Big Mike