- Joined
- Mar 20, 2010
- Messages
- 96
Today I managed to head into Uriarra State Forest to try out my new camping companion, the Fletcher Knives Bush Operator XL (BOXL). This is my first custom blade. My first time (properly) into this forest. And it was my first attempt at making fuzz sticks. It won't be my last trip to Uriarra - I'm looking forward to going back when the weather cools down - saw one particularly large joe blake that I don't want to meet again. And it won't be my last custom. This is a great knife.
Specs: You can get the detailed specifications for the knife at Dylan's web site: www.fletcherknives.com He's a great guy to deal with. Briefly, I measured this one at 27.5cm long with a 14.5cm blade. It weighs in at a manageable 300g nude, or 400g with the kydex sheath. For the handle I chose a dark canvas mircata with red liners. The blade is a convex sabre grind and it's made from O-1 high carbon steel, I think. All up, the rig cost me US$232 with sheath (and tec-lok) and posting to Oz.
The knife comes with a certificate of authenticity (I managed to score #1 BOXL) and the kind of no BS warranty that I like - the same as ESEE, BRKT and Busse. If you break it, Dylan will repair or replace it. Simple.
I've also included some photos of my Spyderco Woodlander for size comparison.
http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb382/jamestreloar1/Fletcher Knives Bush Operator XL/064.jpg
Initial Impressions: In the hand for the first time, this knife feels hefty but well balanced. The balance point is towards the middle of the knife, just behind the guard area. The design of Dylan's work really appeals to me and in the flesh I reckon it looks even better than on the web (certainly better than my photos due it justice). The knife sat tightly within the sheath, with no rattle, though with a decent thumb push came away with no problems.
Straight out of the packaging it was very sharp. I don't expect a knife like this to cut through a single page of the Yellow Pages and I didn't try. It was plenty sharp enough to cut through some writing paper and take the hairs off my arm. The handles are comfortable and smoother than I thought they'd be. Straight out of the box it's the kind of knife you just want to sit and enjoy looking over it, getting a feel for it in the hand.
In the field: I walked down into a raviene to find a shaded spot to try out the BOXL on some felled timber. First up, my poor attempt at making fuzz sticks. The knife had no problem with this, and probably compensated for my crappy technique. I tried running the knife down the wood at all points of the blade and all worked well, though I found it easier to control the speed and the angle when running down closer to the guard.
I then did some light battoning. The knife killed it. It went though very easily. I did notice that although the top of the blade isn't sharpened, it did make a mess of a few of the branches I'd chosen to batton with.
Next up I tried to chop my way though a log. I think I was a bit ambitious here. Like trying to ski ice on fat twin tips or powder on skinny carvers, I think it wasn't the ideal tool for the job. Again, it wasn't the knife's fault, I think I was just a bit over confident and of course a knife this size isn't designed with this type of chopping in mind (I don't think). I wanted to try though to see if the knife could, if it needed to, do it. We got there in the end but it did take more than half an hour. Not a good use of energy obviously. I was sweating bullets by the end. Also I don't know what type of wood it was, but damn it was tough.
It was actually more for practice than anything else and I learnt a couple of things. After a long time of heavy use my hand had no blisters or hot spots. The handle works very well, even when my hands were sweaty. Second, O-1 is a great steel. I smacked two types of snot out of that log and afterwards the edge was still sharp. It had no visible nicks, dents or other blemishes. BOXL 1. Log 0.
Here are some pics of the edge afterwards:
Overall: this is a great knife. It is a high carbon steel, so it will need a little more care, but it's a good trade for the edge retention in my opinion.
After chopping with it, it's clear I need a lanyard on it. When fatigued, I almost lost it into the bush a few times. Also it was hot out today so I didn't need gloves. Not sure how it will go in the winter with largish gloves on as the handle isn't overly long.
Would I recommend it to my family and friends? Absolutely. I think it will be a great general purpose camp knife attending to chores from cutting 550 paracord, using the butt to knock in tent pegs, and of course wood prep.
I think it punches above its weight and it's the kind of blade that you'd want on you if you're out bush and things turn to crap.
Cheers,
JT
Specs: You can get the detailed specifications for the knife at Dylan's web site: www.fletcherknives.com He's a great guy to deal with. Briefly, I measured this one at 27.5cm long with a 14.5cm blade. It weighs in at a manageable 300g nude, or 400g with the kydex sheath. For the handle I chose a dark canvas mircata with red liners. The blade is a convex sabre grind and it's made from O-1 high carbon steel, I think. All up, the rig cost me US$232 with sheath (and tec-lok) and posting to Oz.
The knife comes with a certificate of authenticity (I managed to score #1 BOXL) and the kind of no BS warranty that I like - the same as ESEE, BRKT and Busse. If you break it, Dylan will repair or replace it. Simple.
I've also included some photos of my Spyderco Woodlander for size comparison.
http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb382/jamestreloar1/Fletcher Knives Bush Operator XL/064.jpg
Initial Impressions: In the hand for the first time, this knife feels hefty but well balanced. The balance point is towards the middle of the knife, just behind the guard area. The design of Dylan's work really appeals to me and in the flesh I reckon it looks even better than on the web (certainly better than my photos due it justice). The knife sat tightly within the sheath, with no rattle, though with a decent thumb push came away with no problems.
Straight out of the packaging it was very sharp. I don't expect a knife like this to cut through a single page of the Yellow Pages and I didn't try. It was plenty sharp enough to cut through some writing paper and take the hairs off my arm. The handles are comfortable and smoother than I thought they'd be. Straight out of the box it's the kind of knife you just want to sit and enjoy looking over it, getting a feel for it in the hand.
In the field: I walked down into a raviene to find a shaded spot to try out the BOXL on some felled timber. First up, my poor attempt at making fuzz sticks. The knife had no problem with this, and probably compensated for my crappy technique. I tried running the knife down the wood at all points of the blade and all worked well, though I found it easier to control the speed and the angle when running down closer to the guard.
I then did some light battoning. The knife killed it. It went though very easily. I did notice that although the top of the blade isn't sharpened, it did make a mess of a few of the branches I'd chosen to batton with.
Next up I tried to chop my way though a log. I think I was a bit ambitious here. Like trying to ski ice on fat twin tips or powder on skinny carvers, I think it wasn't the ideal tool for the job. Again, it wasn't the knife's fault, I think I was just a bit over confident and of course a knife this size isn't designed with this type of chopping in mind (I don't think). I wanted to try though to see if the knife could, if it needed to, do it. We got there in the end but it did take more than half an hour. Not a good use of energy obviously. I was sweating bullets by the end. Also I don't know what type of wood it was, but damn it was tough.
It was actually more for practice than anything else and I learnt a couple of things. After a long time of heavy use my hand had no blisters or hot spots. The handle works very well, even when my hands were sweaty. Second, O-1 is a great steel. I smacked two types of snot out of that log and afterwards the edge was still sharp. It had no visible nicks, dents or other blemishes. BOXL 1. Log 0.
Here are some pics of the edge afterwards:
Overall: this is a great knife. It is a high carbon steel, so it will need a little more care, but it's a good trade for the edge retention in my opinion.
After chopping with it, it's clear I need a lanyard on it. When fatigued, I almost lost it into the bush a few times. Also it was hot out today so I didn't need gloves. Not sure how it will go in the winter with largish gloves on as the handle isn't overly long.
Would I recommend it to my family and friends? Absolutely. I think it will be a great general purpose camp knife attending to chores from cutting 550 paracord, using the butt to knock in tent pegs, and of course wood prep.
I think it punches above its weight and it's the kind of blade that you'd want on you if you're out bush and things turn to crap.
Cheers,
JT
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