Passaround = Koster BushMaster
- Thread starter Daniel Koster
- Start date
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- Oct 12, 2006
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- 370
Link for review of the Bushmasters: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=559635
Thanks Dan!!!
cocomen69, I need your address so I can send the knives for your review.
Thanks Dan!!!
cocomen69, I need your address so I can send the knives for your review.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 2,437
I just received notice that it is my turn for the passaround. This would usually be great but I am leaving on Sunday for Ohio and will be away for a full week. If possible I would like to be moved to the bottom of the list. If not, please just pass me by and I will not be able to take part in the passaround.
Sorry to one and all.
dczippo
Sorry to one and all.
dczippo
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2007
- Messages
- 15
If it seems like these blades spent a little too much time in RIC, you are correct. I had a couple of emergencies here at work and was out of town when these beauties arrived. Basically, I opened them up on Thursday and chopped a couple of chunks out of my desk before heading out again only to return last night. . .
Here are my thoughts:
These things are SUBSTANTIAL and BEAUTIFUL!! The balance is perfect on both. The tapered tang model is a bit quicker in hand and the full tang version brings the heat when chopping on the ol' desk here. For crafting, I'd choose the Tapered model and for "Survival" I'd probably choose the Full Tang version. Given the choice, I'd buy both!!
They are on their way to CT as I speak.
Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!
Here are my thoughts:
These things are SUBSTANTIAL and BEAUTIFUL!! The balance is perfect on both. The tapered tang model is a bit quicker in hand and the full tang version brings the heat when chopping on the ol' desk here. For crafting, I'd choose the Tapered model and for "Survival" I'd probably choose the Full Tang version. Given the choice, I'd buy both!!
They are on their way to CT as I speak.
Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
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- 20,978
Thanks for the update!!! :thumbup:
Dan
Dan
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2006
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- 203
Being towards the end of the pass-around, I'd like to try and add comments not already posted. So, I'll focus on the fit (according to my hand size) and a bit about MY personal preferences regarding the finish details (just because).
I cut, chopped, sliced and diced and love the blade. Many favorable comments mirror what has been said earlier regarding it's cutting abilities.
I have large hands however my fingers are narrow. The scales, handle length and overall thickness feel a little out of proportion to the blade. I find myself not having the control I'd like for detail work. This goes for both slab/tang versions. A shorter (by 1/2 to 3/4 inch) handle with less mass to the overall grip would be best (again, for me).
I prefer the Ironwood and tapered tang version. I have other maker's Micarta knives similar in size to the Bush-Master so I NEED a prettier woods knife. I do miss the file-work/fire-steel striker on the spine of the Micarta version. I think this is a must have for the Ironwood version. To me it both looks, ads a nice touch of detail and of course functional.
For either version, I'm not loving the fact that the tubes are not flush with the scales. Perhaps it is not possible with the design however in addition to the look, it seems like the end grain is prone to accumulate gunk. Also, I like the more contemporary look of stainless (instead of brass) pins and tubes (even on wood). Again, just my taste.
All three sheaths are very well made however this is a personal choice. The drop loop sheath posed the most effort grasping the handle (sort of a 2 finger pinch). The dangler has the easiest draw.
So, there ya go. Knives are already off to Tohachi NM in Mass.
I cut, chopped, sliced and diced and love the blade. Many favorable comments mirror what has been said earlier regarding it's cutting abilities.
I have large hands however my fingers are narrow. The scales, handle length and overall thickness feel a little out of proportion to the blade. I find myself not having the control I'd like for detail work. This goes for both slab/tang versions. A shorter (by 1/2 to 3/4 inch) handle with less mass to the overall grip would be best (again, for me).
I prefer the Ironwood and tapered tang version. I have other maker's Micarta knives similar in size to the Bush-Master so I NEED a prettier woods knife. I do miss the file-work/fire-steel striker on the spine of the Micarta version. I think this is a must have for the Ironwood version. To me it both looks, ads a nice touch of detail and of course functional.
For either version, I'm not loving the fact that the tubes are not flush with the scales. Perhaps it is not possible with the design however in addition to the look, it seems like the end grain is prone to accumulate gunk. Also, I like the more contemporary look of stainless (instead of brass) pins and tubes (even on wood). Again, just my taste.
All three sheaths are very well made however this is a personal choice. The drop loop sheath posed the most effort grasping the handle (sort of a 2 finger pinch). The dangler has the easiest draw.
So, there ya go. Knives are already off to Tohachi NM in Mass.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
- 2,844
Bushmasters hit Mass on Thursday. Stay tuned for review.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
- 2,844
Here are some first impressions of the two knives:
Natural Micarta:
The handle fits very well in my hand. The width and length are both good, the shape fills my hand, and the contours are comfortable. Overall balance seems neutral, or very slightly handle heavy. The micarta has darkened more or less uniformly, though the front end nearest the blade is whitish. I like the more pronounced guard (versus the Bushcraft guard), as well as the high grind. The short thumb grooves on the spine are well placed -the tip of my thumb falls right on the jimping, so I can apply maximum force without rubbing or blistering further down the thumb. This one has definitely seen some use - the blade has many small scratches, and there are a few dings in the micarta. The spine shows some wear. The "PROTOTYPE" side shows most of the wear, with the square edge starting to round off around 2 inches from the tip. Looks like someone has been batoning, or possibly a lefty striking a fire steel. There is minor discoloration - looks like most of this is surface residue, though there might be a spot or two of rust. The black color has worn off both etchings. This is an improvement for the Koster "K", IMO - the K is shiny, with a recessed, frosted background. The etching is much cleaner than on my Bushcraft. Most of the "as forged" finish has worn off. Cosmetically, I like the way the knife looks in a used state. Grinds around the finger guard are very uniform. Not quite perfectly symmetric, but very, very good.
The edge is serviceable. First two inches towards the tip are in worst shape. The tip is very slightly rounded, and there is a small but noticeable notch 3mm from the tip. The rest of this area shows smaller notches and regions where the edge is rolled. The edge is good towards the guard, with a few bright spots. All of these "problems" would be fixed with a decent sharpening, possibly even stropping - which is what I'm going to do before cutting tests. The small tip notch might take two sharpenings before it disappears. The knife cuts newsprint smoothly, with slightly more difficulty in the last 2-3 inches. The 2" of edge near the guard will shave hair.
Ironwood -
The handle has darkened, obscuring most of the grain in medium-low room light. More of the depth is apparent under bright light. Keep in mind, I didn't see the knife new, so I'm comparing the real thing now with Dan's original photo. The handle has picked up some character - dent on the K side, small scratches on the "Proto" side. Blade coloration has changed in a similar way to the micarta model. The brass pins seem to take a higher polish than the aluminum (?) on the Micarta. Pins near the guard have cosmetic scratches, those near the butt are still very polished.
The handle is again very secure and comfortable in the hand. The tapered tang is impressive - the taper is even, and the butt is very thin. The handle is more rounded from spine to edge, and is a bit narrower near the guard, while the Micarta handle is more flat. I prefer the contours of the wood handle. Balance also feels neutral, but feels distinctly different from the Micarta model. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the weight in the Ironwood seems to be right at the index finger. Picking up the Micarta after handling the Ironwood, the Micarta handle seems to be heavier along the length of the handle.
Edge is in better shape than the Micarta model, but shows a similar wear pattern. Slices more cleanly and shaves hair along the length of the edge. There appears to be a small portion of the tip missing, less than 1 mm. There is also a pronounced roll, about 1 cm long, about 3 cm from the tip. Again, nothing that couldn't be worked out by sharpening. Possibly preventable by matching the edge geometry to the work you want it to do - easier to do with your own knife than in a passaround.
One thing that struck me as I opened the box is that both blades seem to have a subtle belly - a bit wider near the tip, and narrowing back toward the guard. My brain connected this with the Marbles Fieldcraft, even though they don't look anything alike.
Cutting tests to come.
Natural Micarta:
The handle fits very well in my hand. The width and length are both good, the shape fills my hand, and the contours are comfortable. Overall balance seems neutral, or very slightly handle heavy. The micarta has darkened more or less uniformly, though the front end nearest the blade is whitish. I like the more pronounced guard (versus the Bushcraft guard), as well as the high grind. The short thumb grooves on the spine are well placed -the tip of my thumb falls right on the jimping, so I can apply maximum force without rubbing or blistering further down the thumb. This one has definitely seen some use - the blade has many small scratches, and there are a few dings in the micarta. The spine shows some wear. The "PROTOTYPE" side shows most of the wear, with the square edge starting to round off around 2 inches from the tip. Looks like someone has been batoning, or possibly a lefty striking a fire steel. There is minor discoloration - looks like most of this is surface residue, though there might be a spot or two of rust. The black color has worn off both etchings. This is an improvement for the Koster "K", IMO - the K is shiny, with a recessed, frosted background. The etching is much cleaner than on my Bushcraft. Most of the "as forged" finish has worn off. Cosmetically, I like the way the knife looks in a used state. Grinds around the finger guard are very uniform. Not quite perfectly symmetric, but very, very good.
The edge is serviceable. First two inches towards the tip are in worst shape. The tip is very slightly rounded, and there is a small but noticeable notch 3mm from the tip. The rest of this area shows smaller notches and regions where the edge is rolled. The edge is good towards the guard, with a few bright spots. All of these "problems" would be fixed with a decent sharpening, possibly even stropping - which is what I'm going to do before cutting tests. The small tip notch might take two sharpenings before it disappears. The knife cuts newsprint smoothly, with slightly more difficulty in the last 2-3 inches. The 2" of edge near the guard will shave hair.
Ironwood -
The handle has darkened, obscuring most of the grain in medium-low room light. More of the depth is apparent under bright light. Keep in mind, I didn't see the knife new, so I'm comparing the real thing now with Dan's original photo. The handle has picked up some character - dent on the K side, small scratches on the "Proto" side. Blade coloration has changed in a similar way to the micarta model. The brass pins seem to take a higher polish than the aluminum (?) on the Micarta. Pins near the guard have cosmetic scratches, those near the butt are still very polished.
The handle is again very secure and comfortable in the hand. The tapered tang is impressive - the taper is even, and the butt is very thin. The handle is more rounded from spine to edge, and is a bit narrower near the guard, while the Micarta handle is more flat. I prefer the contours of the wood handle. Balance also feels neutral, but feels distinctly different from the Micarta model. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the weight in the Ironwood seems to be right at the index finger. Picking up the Micarta after handling the Ironwood, the Micarta handle seems to be heavier along the length of the handle.
Edge is in better shape than the Micarta model, but shows a similar wear pattern. Slices more cleanly and shaves hair along the length of the edge. There appears to be a small portion of the tip missing, less than 1 mm. There is also a pronounced roll, about 1 cm long, about 3 cm from the tip. Again, nothing that couldn't be worked out by sharpening. Possibly preventable by matching the edge geometry to the work you want it to do - easier to do with your own knife than in a passaround.
One thing that struck me as I opened the box is that both blades seem to have a subtle belly - a bit wider near the tip, and narrowing back toward the guard. My brain connected this with the Marbles Fieldcraft, even though they don't look anything alike.
Cutting tests to come.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
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Micarta Version:
Summary - easy to sharpen.
Four sharpening steps were used:
Norton India oil stone - Coarse
Norton India oil stone - Fine
Round alumina rod - white, 1000 grit (Crock Sticks)
Leather strop loaded with green chromium oxide
The whole process took about 30 minutes, but could've been done faster. The 8"x2" bench stone was a good size for this blade. The coarse Norton stone quickly took out all of the small chips, rolls, and other irregularities noted in the First Impressions post. I paid a bit more attention to the first 2" of the tip, because this is where most of the edge damage was, and I had to be more careful about getting the tip curve to evenly contact the stone. The most prominent "chip" was removed easily. The fine india stone polished things up a bit and raised a more or less uniform wire edge. I noticed at this point that there is a very subtle recurve to the edge, which makes it not contact the flat stone evenly. This isn't a huge problem, and wouldn't be noticeable if I wasn't being careful. The crock sticks are at a slightly wider angle than the edge, so this step knocked off the wire edge and polished up a nice micro bevel. A few strokes on the strop finished things up. The knife now slices newsprint nicely along its whole length and shaves hair. About 1/2" of the edge near the guard isn't perfect, but still slices smoothly.
Summary - easy to sharpen.
Four sharpening steps were used:
Norton India oil stone - Coarse
Norton India oil stone - Fine
Round alumina rod - white, 1000 grit (Crock Sticks)
Leather strop loaded with green chromium oxide
The whole process took about 30 minutes, but could've been done faster. The 8"x2" bench stone was a good size for this blade. The coarse Norton stone quickly took out all of the small chips, rolls, and other irregularities noted in the First Impressions post. I paid a bit more attention to the first 2" of the tip, because this is where most of the edge damage was, and I had to be more careful about getting the tip curve to evenly contact the stone. The most prominent "chip" was removed easily. The fine india stone polished things up a bit and raised a more or less uniform wire edge. I noticed at this point that there is a very subtle recurve to the edge, which makes it not contact the flat stone evenly. This isn't a huge problem, and wouldn't be noticeable if I wasn't being careful. The crock sticks are at a slightly wider angle than the edge, so this step knocked off the wire edge and polished up a nice micro bevel. A few strokes on the strop finished things up. The knife now slices newsprint nicely along its whole length and shaves hair. About 1/2" of the edge near the guard isn't perfect, but still slices smoothly.
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
- Messages
- 20,978
Great review - nicely detailed!
I do think I am going to hit these on a scotchbrite belt before glue-up (on the flats) so that it comes "already rubbed off"...:foot:
The as-forged finish on the O1 doesn't "stick" as well as some of the other steels...mostly because it comes surface ground....so it's smooth already.
Either that or I'll probably finish it out (on the ironwood version).
Dan
I do think I am going to hit these on a scotchbrite belt before glue-up (on the flats) so that it comes "already rubbed off"...:foot:
The as-forged finish on the O1 doesn't "stick" as well as some of the other steels...mostly because it comes surface ground....so it's smooth already.
Either that or I'll probably finish it out (on the ironwood version).
Dan
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
- Messages
- 20,978
timeless design - thanks for the review!
I bevel the holes so that the lanyard tubes don't cut the lanyards. then I handsand the holes and round off the edges.
Dan
I bevel the holes so that the lanyard tubes don't cut the lanyards. then I handsand the holes and round off the edges.
Dan
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
- Messages
- 20,978
Ok guys...the BushMaster is now a reality. Check it out here:
[url="http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=570140]Official Order Thread for the Koster Knives BushMaster [/url]
[url="http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=570140]Official Order Thread for the Koster Knives BushMaster [/url]
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2006
- Messages
- 4,302
Got lots of pics just need to download them to photobucket.
First impression: Great designm, feels great in the hand. The knife needs a thicker tip, but otherwise its just right for me, perfect balance, just an overall great knife.
I chopped through a 2x4 and it did a great job considering its size. I also did some splitting of 2x4's and it did not do so good. The knife probably needs a thicker spine, to really split great. It cut food with ease and the comfortable handles allows for great control over the blade.
Overall: The knife performed all of its tasks that were thrown at it with great comfort and ease. I would rate this an overall A.
Pics to come.
First impression: Great designm, feels great in the hand. The knife needs a thicker tip, but otherwise its just right for me, perfect balance, just an overall great knife.
I chopped through a 2x4 and it did a great job considering its size. I also did some splitting of 2x4's and it did not do so good. The knife probably needs a thicker spine, to really split great. It cut food with ease and the comfortable handles allows for great control over the blade.
Overall: The knife performed all of its tasks that were thrown at it with great comfort and ease. I would rate this an overall A.
Pics to come.
jgkelly
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2006
- Messages
- 816
I think I'm next in line but I haven't seen them.
