Nessmuk variations?

[JesseT]

Edit: Sorry this was so short before, I was locked in battle with tapatalk.

Greetings!

Lately I've been becoming more and more curious about Nessmuk-pattern knives. Up to now, I've been plenty happy with the more standard drop point and clip point blades for anything I use a knife for, and I haven't found them to be lacking. I know they have their diehards and their detractors, and I've been pretty ambivalent toward the profile until recently. The empiricist in me finally got the better, and I think it's time to give one a try (and since my experience with FF and associated knifemakers has been nothing short of magnificent, here I am). I'm curious what you all think about them and where to start. Especially, what are the differences between the Fiddleback Nessmuk and Camp Nessie, and the WAS Shortmuk? How do they differ in dimensions? What do you use yours for? What does each excel at over the other two? Any one I'm missing?

Cheers!

 

[Fiddleback]

Get the standard Nessmuk. Its the most functionally accurate of my knives. Sears' didn't have any guard or thumbrest. It was supposed to be a thin, light utility knife that he used for eating and other small camp chores. He also carried a small hatchet for heavier chores and a pocket knife for smaller chores. Sears was the father of ultralight camping. He wrote for an outdoor magazine, and a couple of books. They are a good read if you can download one.

 

[JesseT]

Thanks for the advice, Andy! I was leaning in that direction, but there seems to be a lot of demand for the camp nessie which got me wondering. Woods season is starting up here before too long (time to start scouting for spring turkey!), and what better way to celebrate the seasons than with a new piece of steel, no? Looks like I'll be picking up a standard 'muk to see how it treats me.

 

[Tim the Wizard]

The Camp Nessie could be used as a light chopper in a Nessmuk Trio. But many folks still prefer a mid sized Nessmuk or Bushfinger styled blade, a smaller pocket knife or fixed blade, and a hatchet or folding saw to process wood. It really depends on your needs and likes. Based on my experience you can't go wrong with either design.

 

[Fiddleback]

The Camp Nessie is a stylized bastardation of the Nessmuk knife. It really takes liberty with the design to make it serve as the light chopper part of a trio. It is not a true to function Nessmuk knife as Sears wrote about and used. If you want something that serves like his, get a thick handled 4" bladed nessie with no guard and a very thin (3/32") blade. It should be convex and the edge sould be proud of the handle when cutting so that it works excellent as a camp kitchen knife. It should whittle and the back can be used as a spoon to eat potatoes. Our 4" model is a good functional one, but the old one without the guard was more accurate to the design. I think the new one is sexier though.