Light duty camp knife for small hands?

Mora also offers a ffg blade from the factory. I believe its called the craftline flex? Ben (owner of baronyx knife co) has raved about it since he got his first one. I'd check it out.

Also, the Ag Russell bird and trout might be close to the right size, and the woods walker is a great knife as well, but with a smaller blade.

Good luck :).
 
Checkout the Kershaw 1895 LoneRock (fixed blade version). Haven't tried one, but seems pretty nice. I don't think it comes in stainless though.

Also, just throwing it out there as something different, is the Mora Light My Fire. Good for smaller hands and has a "modified" Scandi.
 
average gimp,
Searched a little further and it appears he did up a variety of styles and colors. Most are sold out though, including orange. My wife wants the black Companion. Sent an email inquiring when/if more to be had. I would PM here but at that point I might be stalking?
The FFG HD Companion MG would be a pretty handy Bush knife. I have worked the heck out of my HD Companion MG and it is none the worse for wear.
He has a Classic 2 and 2.0 (I think?) In FFG. I am tempted to put the shorter one to work the kitchen as my paring knife.
 
on ocnLogan, I got my son the new Pro Basic version of the 511, when it came out last year. For some reason my wife does not like it? It appears the flex has a rubberized version of the same handle.
That bird and trout is not bad.
 
goalie39, gotta be stainless. She thinks patina looks dirty. She does not know why anyone would choose to oil a blade when stainless is available.
The Light My Fire knife is not out of the question. REI is clearing them out right now.
 
hariph creek said:
Searched a little further and it appears he did up a variety of styles and colors. Most are sold out though, including orange. My wife wants the black Companion. Sent an email inquiring when/if more to be had. I would PM here but at that point I might be stalking?
The FFG HD Companion MG would be a pretty handy Bush knife. I have worked the heck out of my HD Companion MG and it is none the worse for wear.
He has a Classic 2 and 2.0 (I think?) In FFG. I am tempted to put the shorter one to work the kitchen as my paring knife.
Click to expand...

If you are handy with a sharpening stone, it's a matter of 15 to 30 minutes work with a course stone to turn the Scandi grind on a Mora Companion to a convexed sabre grind. I like full flat grind in the kitchen. Slices potatoes better. But I hugely prefer a convexed sabre grind for wood working, as it allows me to make more controlled cuts with less edge dive like I get with full flat (or hollow) grinds. I also find a convexed sabre grind to be much more versatile than a pure scandi (it slices a lot better) and easier to maintain on small stones (normal sharpening applies).

I have both the Companion HD and a stainless Companion. The handle on the Companion is smaller in girth at the palm swell and better for all 'round use for me, and I have XL sized hands. The grip on the Companion HD comes into its own during long carving sessions with harder woods. In that case, the extra palm swell is a bonus, but only a small one. Once convexed, the regular Companion is an excellent all rounder, balancing slicing ability with wood working ability nicely. I wouldn't toss a full flat ground Companion in the garbage but for all round use, no question, I prefer blade convexed for the kind of uses you're describing.

This is not the best picture and I've since polished up this blade, but this will give you an idea of how I convexed my HD.

image by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
pinnah, not a bad idea. I have kicked it around before. Do not know if I trust me ability? I am looking at acquiring a 1" belt sander soon...

I prefer the grip on the HD (L-XL glove), for heavy work. However after playing around with different Moras I have found I prefer a thinner blade for a Scandi grind. You are right, a convexed-saber HD would work pretty well. I just replaced my HD Companion with a L.T. Wright FFG Genesis. This moved the HD to "back up" status. Doing the convex conversion would be nice.
I like my little 510 for a little carving and whittling and will keep it Scandi for sure.
 
So to anyone interested (and did not read the entire thread).

It is either a stainless Mora Companion:
- FFG
- Modified convex-sander grind
- Standard Scandi

Or a Bucklite 679 (assuming she likes how it feels in her hand).
 
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At $15, you can probably afford to screw up a Mora or 2 in learning. I good course stone is pretty inexpensive. I have DMT that I got for about $40 but I think you can get a Norton 2 sided stone for about $25, which seems like a good investment.

The Moras are relatively easy to convex as it's very easy to just rest the shoulder of the scandi on the stone. Scrubbing back and forth on the stone will naturally convex it. Cleaning it up to polish can be done with wet/dry sandpaper on wooden backing with increasing grits.

The Bucklite Max is another really solid choice but I find hollow grind best for meat. I thin my hollow grinds too, although it's tougher sledding and only helps with slicing. Nothing fixes how they dive when working wood, as there's just no shoulder to use as a fulcrum.

Here's an old hollow ground Schrade that I flattened. Much better in the kitchen.

Schrade 6OT by Pinnah, on Flickr

IMO, I think the Companion would be better for your wife, unless, as you mention, the thinner handle of the Bucklite Max just feels better in her hand.
 
pinnah, agreed on all points.

I used to be a die hard stone guy. For the last several years though, I have moved over to diamond sharpeners. Now I am dabbling in the wet/dry paper and mouse pad, for some applications.
 
Congrats on the ideas, I saw where the AG Russell Bird and trout was already mentioned too.
 
Just heard back from Baryonyx, he will do up a FFG black Companion for me, when he gets them back in stock. I may replace my daughters old style blue 546 with FFG, too? Well maybe? For her it is basically just her "camping' steak knife.
 
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Hariph,

I just got around to take a shot of my convexed (non-HD) Companion. Here it is with my horizontal dangler mod to the sheath; 3/4" webbing sewn in a tight loop and secured to sheath with epoxy.

I'm a crappy photographer but hopefully I got enough of the reflection along the convexity to give an idea where the shoulder rolls over. I prefer keeping the shoulder low, similar to the original grind line. Obviously, with work, one could take it higher and thinner towards an Opinel style grind and eventually full flat. But this is what I meant as a balance between wood working and slicing.

Mora Companion by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
pinnah, I follow what you are saying. I found and read your thread on your HD convex mod, too. I think I may fool around and see if I can modify, my HD like that. I still think 1/8" is too thick for a Scandi. Except for dedicated heavy duty wood reduction.
 
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neffarious, I am not being sarcastic here. I totally do not understand? Please clarify.
I am only familiar with the carbon Companion. The stainless has a different grind or height or angle or secondary bevel or ...?
 
hariph creek said:
neffarious, I am not being sarcastic here. I totally do not understand? Please clarify.
I am only familiar with the carbon Companion. The stainless has a different grind or height or angle or secondary bevel or ...?
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I am equally confused.

All of my Moras (2 stainless, 1 carbon) have the same grind. Scandi. As far as I can tell they have a zero grind, which means there is no microbevel either (which is also how I sharpen them). The only outdoor style Mora blade that I know of that doesn't have a Scandi grind is the Craftline Flex, which is FFG.

And I wish the old AG Russell Deer Hunter was still in production. That is the ideal knife for what the OP is asking for in my mind. The Bird and trout is smaller, but the same design. It might just be too small of a blade/handle though.
 
Consider the Grohmann #2 Trout and Bird. Excepting the price ($50), it's an excellent choice meeting your criteria.

Grohmann%2520D.H%25232%2520Bird%2520%2526%2520Trout.JPG
 
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