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nessmusk compared to scandinavian knives?
- Thread starter hannibal lecter spyderco
- Start date
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- Feb 8, 2004
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- 4,208
Such good differentiation all around...I did the easiest thing and decided to carry both when outdoors
Both will work in the kitchen, cleaning fish/game, for bushcraft and wood carving...the scandi works better for me on any carving or bushcraft tasks. I love the Nessmuk in/around camp doing food prep or cleaning game. Find out what's more comfortable for you and what you plan on doing the most and go from there...with enough practice, you can make a scandi-ground Nessmuk do most bushcrafting tasks; any "bushcrafting" scandi blades will easily work in the kitchen or camp and I've cleaned a few fish with mine before. I think the difference is more in the culture, but the scandi knives have been refined for a niche in bushcrafting with different handling methods.
ROCK6
Both will work in the kitchen, cleaning fish/game, for bushcraft and wood carving...the scandi works better for me on any carving or bushcraft tasks. I love the Nessmuk in/around camp doing food prep or cleaning game. Find out what's more comfortable for you and what you plan on doing the most and go from there...with enough practice, you can make a scandi-ground Nessmuk do most bushcrafting tasks; any "bushcrafting" scandi blades will easily work in the kitchen or camp and I've cleaned a few fish with mine before. I think the difference is more in the culture, but the scandi knives have been refined for a niche in bushcrafting with different handling methods.
ROCK6
Personally, I don't like the Nessmuk knives at all in terms of function. I can see why some might like their looks, though. In fact, I think Nessmuk was a bit weird. A puukko styled fixed blade is a much better woodworking tool than any folder, and does general jobs like skinning better, too (and is less of a pain to clean). Compared to an axe of any size, it is far lighter and more precise in use. The axe and hatchet are much better for large work, and that's why the combo around these parts has always been fixed blade puukko and a largeish axe. Perhaps he didn't like his fixed blade either, since he didn't seem to use it for many knife tasks besides skinning and preferred to use a small folder and a hatchet for most things.
Pros of a Nessmuk style knife (although there seem to be endless variations, sometimes with handle higher than the edge and sometimes at the same height, and whathaveyou - I believe 'drop edge' might be the word) I can't really think of, except that it's bigger, so I guess if you like to use your knife for a spoon, it's somewhat better than most. But I'm not convinced the primary purpose of a knife is to be a spoon. Generally, the blade shape of the Nessmuks would make them a nice kitchen knife, or skinning knife. As I'm used to skinning with a puukko, though, I prefer to use one for skinning too, and find that the narrower, straighter blade gets in the way much less and is more precise (doesn't have a hump to get caught on things and make it harder to control the knife in small spaces). I'm inclined to think, though, that someone used to a Nessmuk type knife will find it better in skinning than Scandis. Whatever works for you is the main thing... A lot of this is a matter of tastes.
Overall, I far prefer a Scandi type knife to a Nessmuk. But then, I have a woodworking emphasis on things, and that is the domain of the Scandi.
I think there is some confusion outside Scandinavia on this topic. First, what do you mean with a "secondary bevel"? A bevel of the size typically seen on flat or hollow ground knives, for example? Or a very small microbevel that is difficult to even spot with a naked eye unless from an extremely close distance?
The word "Scandi grind" has no translation in any Scandinavian language that I know of. The way, for example, puukkos are sharpened and ground is what it is. It's not called a Scandi grind here. On the other hand, the common factor all such "Scandi knives" have in common is that normally they are essentially saber ground (to varying heights) with only a single large bevel. The shape of this one bevel may be a little convex, a little hollow, or a straight flat. There may be a microbevel right on the edge, but this is invariably a microbevel, very small compared to secondary bevels seen on typical non-Scandinavian flat ground knives for example, and barely visible - it is small enough to not remarkably upset performance in woodwork. A knife that has a notable secondary bevel, much larger than the usual microbevels, is said to have a "double grind". Such a grind isn't impossible on a Scandi knife, either - it may be used if the knife is intended for really heavy work and banging on stuff. So to sum that up, it's perfectly normal for a Scandi knife to have a small microbevel on the edge (hardly a real secondary bevel), or to have the primary grind a little hollow or a little convex. It's all good as long as there isn't a large secondary bevel, which will make controlling the edge in woodwork much more difficult. Non-Scandinavians seem to have a much tighter definition of "Scandi grind" than Scandinavians themselves do.
That said, I still wonder how you've managed to collect 40 Scandinavian made knives and only two have no secondary bevel.
I have a lot of Scandinavian made knives, and extremely few have a real secondary bevel, and less than half have even a microbevel.
Pros of a Nessmuk style knife (although there seem to be endless variations, sometimes with handle higher than the edge and sometimes at the same height, and whathaveyou - I believe 'drop edge' might be the word) I can't really think of, except that it's bigger, so I guess if you like to use your knife for a spoon, it's somewhat better than most. But I'm not convinced the primary purpose of a knife is to be a spoon.
Generally, the blade shape of the Nessmuks would make them a nice kitchen knife, or skinning knife. As I'm used to skinning with a puukko, though, I prefer to use one for skinning too, and find that the narrower, straighter blade gets in the way much less and is more precise (doesn't have a hump to get caught on things and make it harder to control the knife in small spaces). I'm inclined to think, though, that someone used to a Nessmuk type knife will find it better in skinning than Scandis. Whatever works for you is the main thing... A lot of this is a matter of tastes.Overall, I far prefer a Scandi type knife to a Nessmuk. But then, I have a woodworking emphasis on things, and that is the domain of the Scandi.
I think there is some confusion outside Scandinavia on this topic. First, what do you mean with a "secondary bevel"? A bevel of the size typically seen on flat or hollow ground knives, for example? Or a very small microbevel that is difficult to even spot with a naked eye unless from an extremely close distance?
The word "Scandi grind" has no translation in any Scandinavian language that I know of. The way, for example, puukkos are sharpened and ground is what it is. It's not called a Scandi grind here. On the other hand, the common factor all such "Scandi knives" have in common is that normally they are essentially saber ground (to varying heights) with only a single large bevel. The shape of this one bevel may be a little convex, a little hollow, or a straight flat. There may be a microbevel right on the edge, but this is invariably a microbevel, very small compared to secondary bevels seen on typical non-Scandinavian flat ground knives for example, and barely visible - it is small enough to not remarkably upset performance in woodwork. A knife that has a notable secondary bevel, much larger than the usual microbevels, is said to have a "double grind". Such a grind isn't impossible on a Scandi knife, either - it may be used if the knife is intended for really heavy work and banging on stuff. So to sum that up, it's perfectly normal for a Scandi knife to have a small microbevel on the edge (hardly a real secondary bevel), or to have the primary grind a little hollow or a little convex. It's all good as long as there isn't a large secondary bevel, which will make controlling the edge in woodwork much more difficult. Non-Scandinavians seem to have a much tighter definition of "Scandi grind" than Scandinavians themselves do.
That said, I still wonder how you've managed to collect 40 Scandinavian made knives and only two have no secondary bevel.
I have a lot of Scandinavian made knives, and extremely few have a real secondary bevel, and less than half have even a microbevel.