Lets talk skill vs. tool

B

BushOgre

Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
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Feather sticks. I love making curls. But for some reason my curls with my BK2 are not that great. Sure, I am making great large tinder and/or tiny kindling but is this my skill with the BK2 or the knife itself?


Thoughts??
 
i've seen some pics/videos where folks making some pretty small curls with their bk2
so i am guessing your just not getting the hang of it with this particular knife

keep practicing and make sure the bk2 is as sharp as possible
 
Personally I think the blade is a little thick for feathersticks.A thinner blade would be easier but there are people doing it with their bk2's so maby my skill is not so great either.I need more practice.
 
My BK2 feathersticks better than any other knife I have. But it is heavily modified to full convex.
 
This isn't meant to attack you, but as constructive criticism. You probably need to improve a little more of both. Both your feather stick shaving and probably your sharpening of the knife. Just keep working at it and you'll get complete control over the knife.
 
So I grabbed a couple other knives and went after the same piece of wood. I think it might be the wood. Not sure what type of wood. Looks and feel like a cross between maple and dogwood. Could just be too dry. Grabbed some old dry oak and was able to make curls.

So there it is. It was a matter of skill, knife and the wood. Type to search the interwebs and see what kind of wood it was.
 
Can't make curls with my BK2 worth a darn. But I'm blaming that on skill.
 
I prefer thinner knives to make curls Can't really do great curls with my RC5(ESEE) but with a mora they are great. (I don't have a BK2, but the 5 is the same thickness)
 
I will be honing my edges this week. I don't like the idea of this certain wood not curling properly. I can make nice pig tails with it but that type of slicing wood be tiring after a while. I will give an update after I touch up my blades.

@CWL, no worries brother. I love constructive criticism. Without it we can't get better. Honestly, I don't know where my sharpening skills are at, I don't have much to compare with.
 
BushOgre said:
So I grabbed a couple other knives and went after the same piece of wood. I think it might be the wood. Not sure what type of wood. Looks and feel like a cross between maple and dogwood. Could just be too dry. Grabbed some old dry oak and was able to make curls.

So there it is. It was a matter of skill, knife and the wood. Type to search the interwebs and see what kind of wood it was.
Click to expand...

I was going to ask about wood types. I'm no wood expert, but there's a big difference in the way certain woods will curl. A thinner knife can do fine work without as much focus. The BK-2 takes for precision, unless you re-grind the edge. I may convex mine as well, I've done it to my Afghan, RD-4, and 12" machete.
 
My BK2 CAN feather sticks, but it does take modifying your actions some. Thicker does mean tougher to make smal curls with. Plus, until you get used to the weight, you are fatiguing muscles faster, means your grips gets sloppy. I know mine does. I can use smaller lighter knives to fuzz easier, but I can't split wood like a BK2 with lighter bushier craftier knife. Its a balancing act, literally. The BK2 is designed to hit the very middle of all, but its a heavy knife.

Oh, and I can't fuzz a stick worth a damn.

Moose
 
BushOgre said:
So I grabbed a couple other knives and went after the same piece of wood. I think it might be the wood. Not sure what type of wood. Looks and feel like a cross between maple and dogwood. Could just be too dry. Grabbed some old dry oak and was able to make curls.

So there it is. It was a matter of skill, knife and the wood. Type to search the interwebs and see what kind of wood it was.
Click to expand...
It sounds like your tree species are interbreeding to make some kind of super tree. Is this their way of trying to combat the ever growing BK2 army?
 
Idaho Guy said:
It sounds like your tree species are interbreeding to make some kind of super tree. Is this their way of trying to combat the ever growing BK2 army?
Click to expand...

The 2 split them with ease. They need more breeding before they can hope to stop being split. :)
 
This is actually something I have been working on as well, and find the solid grip and using the whole body tends to help. Reuben (Moose's friend) had a good thread about it recently that had a few pointers in it. Now whether that was here or over in ESEE land is another question, but if you look around you should be able to find it.
 
DerekH said:
This is actually something I have been working on as well, and find the solid grip and using the whole body tends to help. Reuben (Moose's friend) had a good thread about it recently that had a few pointers in it. Now whether that was here or over in ESEE land is another question, but if you look around you should be able to find it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, BeartheDog is a great knife handler. Better than me for sure. :D

Moose
 
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