Question for hunters only

My favourite is the Fällkniven H1-CM
good design, good steel and beautiful (but at about 440 US$ quite expensive).
10 cm blade, 5 mm strong, 21 cm overall, VG 10 steel, 180 gramm (sorry about the metric data, thats about 3,9" bladelengh, 0.2" thickness, 8.25" over all - do not have a calculator handy) The curve is ideal for skinning (my father received it as a gift and loves it.)
I think it is a good compromise of nordic style and modern steel/blade design.

h1-cm.jpg


bought it there, but is surely available in the US

fällkniven shop

Andreas
 
DH Russell knives can also be ordered direct from Grohmann's good prices, free shipping.

Thanks for cleaning up my doubling, Rusty!
 
The Grohmann's knives look interesting. (still not so good as the Fällkniven :) )
does anyone know if they have a distributor in Europe?
btw. never used a folder to skin game - isn't the cleaning up of a folder more difficult than with a fixed blade?

Andreas
 
as long as there's garden hoses and kitchen sinks in Germany you should do fine with either.




munk
 
dumb question for knife experts:

I know the nordic style blades have been used effectively for centuries, they have no handguard and this makes slipping under the hide much easier. On the other hand, you have to balance that against a safety issue of a handguard stopping your hand from slipping forward while cutting when wet with blood. If the knife is sharp, you shouldn't be slipping.

I'm a chicken and like some form of handguard, even slight.



munk
 
But can you IMAGINE this question being posted in a forum and getting only ONE answer?

The Cantina can provide answers to questions that haven't even BEEN ASKED!!!
 
"I know the nordic style blades have been used effectively for centuries, they have no handguard and this makes slipping under the hide much easier. On the other hand, you have to balance that against a safety issue of a handguard stopping your hand from slipping forward while cutting when wet with blood. If the knife is sharp, you shouldn't be slipping.

I'm a chicken and like some form of handguard, even slight. "

Not claiming to be an expert, but I'll be foolish enough to comment anyway.

Haven't used one for skinning, but the simple spindle-shaped handles are surprisingly easy to control and hang onto.

The Fallkniven pictured earlier does have a very slight indentation at the front of the handle that could act a little like a guard. Note the flared butt. Some of the more traditional Lap knives have a more pronounced flair. I think the cutting technique employed favors the use of draw strokes whenever possible, which is easier with cold or gloved hands. The palm of the other hand can also be used to push against the wide pommel when needed, like opening the body cavity. Probably safer with cold hands again.

The traditional sheaths are very deep form fitted ones which place constrants upon the shape of the handle or use of a guard. Retaining possesion of the knife was first priority, I guess. They adapted the cutting technique to match the knife they could count on having. If anybody knows the best way to skin reindeer/caribou it ought to be these guys, so I'm betting whatever they do works as well as anything else.

Also, I've read that the Laps traditionally carried several knives, optimized for different tasks.

This one, actually hollow ground, is said to be specifically for hunting. (Due to having the more fragile hollow grind and the bit more curve to the edge.)

3505.jpg


Heres a combination sheath, you can see how deep and close fitting the sheaths can be. Often a bladecatcher is inside the leather sheaths, they are sorta like a scabbard with leather top extending up to enclose the handle.

5629.jpg
 
Wish I could meet you in person some day Firkin. I like your style of enthusiasm for knowledge, let along the amount you've accumulated.



munk
 
Originally posted by firkin
[B
5629.jpg
[/B]
Click to expand...

I've just gotta get me one of these real soon!!!!

Here's some info off of Ragnar's site about the handles.:)

#5246-o; The Oltermanni is named after the old village elder, and this is a knife he would proud to carry. The stainless blade is a bit under 4" (10 cm.).

The stacked leather handle is about 4 1/4", and has the flared pommel which not only helps keep the knife in the hand when wearing mittens, but provides a comfortable surface for the other hand when pushing the point into something. (The Sammi sometimes butcher reindeer by severing the spinal cord this way.)

I think the sheath is stamped with a particularly attractive pattern. The basket weave on the lower part represents the traditional woven birch bark sheaths of past times. As you can tell, I like this one. The price is only $46.
 
Everytime you start talking like this Yvsa, I end up buying something.



munk
 
Originally posted by munk
Everytime you start talking like this Yvsa, I end up buying something.

munk
Click to expand...

Munk I just ordered the 5629 combination. At $97.00 it is a steal!!!! And I swore up and down that I would have that rig before the COBRA insurance ran out. May be the last ones I buy for a long time now, but that's alright. I have a flock of khuks that I can trade if'en I wanna.;)

What did you think about the way the Sammi slaughter their reindeer? I wonder if any of them have ever had a red nose?:p ;)
 
Thank you munk,
do not own a garden hose (no garden) and there are always cups and plates in the kitchen sink.... :rolleyes: will stick with the fixed blades I can clean in a small creek nearby...

There are some finnish/norwegian knives that have a guard actually, I own a Helle Jaktkniv - but it is made after a German design

025_jaktkniv.jpg


Martiini makes great fin-knives, some of them with guard

167014.jpg

20020522124811450012.jpg

230010.jpg


you see, I like the style very much.


They also have a leukku/puuko (double lapp knives): the first two with the darker sheaths are CARBON steel and for munk they a have this depression (right word??) in the grip that makes handling more secure.

295010.jpg


290011.JPG


290010.jpg


Andreas
 
Originally posted by munk
Everytime you start talking like this Yvsa, I end up buying something.
munk
Click to expand...

Me too, Munk. And it doesn't help that these sets are beauties.

Time to go down to the workbench and start carving those antlers.
 
I was just trying to be funny, Andreas. Everyone likes the elegance and strength of a fixed blade, but the folders have carry advantages and can be very strong, and really are not hard to keep clean. YOur photo's are breathtaking.

JUst remember I know guns and ballistics, a little hunting, and very little about knives. I'm mostly here for entertainment offerings and to learn, and the fellowship. Now that I'm recovering from a major concussion I'm also learning to talk again.

Yvsa, I can hardly believe cutting down the spine. Red nose indeed- how do you think of that stuff? In another life you were not an ndn, you were a jewish comedian. I have to observe that if your knife and hands could do it, dividing a beast like that would be very practical. Most people quarter animals, and sever the spine. I cut the ribs along one side or another of the spine if I choose to do that. But now I'm wondering; a khuk could do that in a heartbeat, couldn't it?

munk



munk
 
Sheesh Munk, accumulated knowledge??
Wish that was the way it worked, more often seems like something useless replaces something I should really remember.

Anyway, I've been using one of the cheapy red-handled Mora knives in the kitchen for a while, and haven't had any control problems with wet hands. I sanded down the handle so most of the paint was gone, stained and oiled it. Then a coating of furniture wax. Sealed the tang and fitting gaps with J B Weld. Works pretty good, but the plade is a little thick for slicing hard vegetables. It's the first thing I pick up for peeling things though. With a little thinning to knock down the sharp shoulder where the bevel starts, I think it would work even better.

Here's yet another similar knife from Brusletto (stainless)
nansen.jpg


But remember that some have a sheath retention stud protrudung from the pommel, like the one Sarge recently traded.:
troll.jpg


Suggests to me that nobody but silly knife collectors thinks that there's such a thing as a "do it all" knife, especially for "survival". Doubt that Pleistocene people sat around and debated the best "do it all" knapped flint.

Oh yeah, here's double puukko set that Ragnar started carrying that has an unusual pommel:
1776-o.jpg

"The Härmä Puukko is one of the more distinctive and attractive regional variations. The pommels are typical, and may have been used as scrapers. The handles are birch with a translucent red lacquer. The sheath is bound with brass and painted with a matching red panel."

Guess I ought to try and save some $$, I really want a forged puukko. After a coulple more attempts, maybe I'll trust myself to haft a spendier forged blade. The machine cut/stamped ones don't seem to have any distal taper--at least the ones I've seen. I think many are great bargains though.
 
... forged puuko? :eek:
firkin, where is such a thing available?
Just found this:
518018.jpg

They say it is forged carbon steel - but it seems to be the only forged knive they sell.
Andreas
 
Before DNR went into their frenzied Chronic Wasting Mode, I would make venison chops with a sabre saw and a pine-log blade..(about 5 inches long. Easier if you secure the bottom legs to keep them taut. Worked a charm.

Take the tenderloin out first, then saw away. Nothing like venison chops. As I said in an earlier post, My AK chipped a bit when I went to lop through a venison foreleg. Bone is DENSE.
 
Venison prepared right is downright OK, prepared wrong and it is gag material. I've seen both served at table. I do think cattle, elk, and moose all better eating though. Funny thing happened with the only antelope I ever took, stank like hell to dress it out, tasted great. Even people who swore antelope was disgusting could not believe my meals from that animal. If anyone wants to hear my signature Davy Crockett patent long miracle shot did-it-while-yawning- let me know. An ind bud named C Bear also harvested a good one. I kept coming over to his trailer while he fried hearts and such and every dang thing was finger liken good.
Bear said he didn't know why either.

A bone saw would be nice, Kismet. Five inches long? I guess too much longer and you aren't going to be cutting in the field, or maybe anyplace else either. I was thinking of one of those real butchers table saws.

munk
 
Originally posted by firkin
Suggests to me that nobody but silly knife collectors thinks that there's such a thing as a "do it all" knife, especially for "survival". Doubt that Pleistocene people sat around and debated the best "do it all" knapped flint.

Guess I ought to try and save some $$, I really want a forged puukko. After a coulple more attempts, maybe I'll trust myself to haft a spendier forged blade. The machine cut/stamped ones don't seem to have any distal taper--at least the ones I've seen. I think many are great bargains though.
Click to expand...

Doubt that Pleistocene people sat around and debated the best "do it all" knapped flint.

Why do you think that Firkin? I'm betting at least the flint knappers, ie the tool makers of the time did. There's actually quite a bit of difference in knapping the different materials used for tools way back when.
And I think the Good Ol' Oklahoma Flint that is a beautiful grey inside and often surrounded by a beautiful brown skin is one of the strongest of the old timey materials.
I know it's stronger than obsidian.
In the Time Life books I have on the different ndns of North America there's a few photos of the people holding different knives.
One picture shows a couple of men holding Oh My Gawd sized obsidian knives.
They look to have about 10" to 12" blades that are pretty dayumed thick!!!!
I've seen several in the different museums that have 5" to 6" blades, some double edged.
The material runs from some beautiful chert to the fine grained solid color grey flint.
I like the multi color flint the best.
One of my pride and joys is a very small hand held Oklahoma flint knife.
It's got the brown skin on one side and the solid grey on the other, the kids that were sifting through the cave floor didn't have a clue as to what it was.
I'm betting they thought it was just a waste flake and had no value as an artifact.
I scanned it once upon a time and posted it. It doesn't feel sharp, but it will cut wet deer rawhide in a flash!!!!:D
 
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