Ray Mears style knife

W

w00d

Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
91
Hi folks, I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to post. I am looking for a knife that is basically a copy of the knife that Ray Mears sells in the UK on his website raymears.com. I would love to own the real thing, but as I understand there is a 5 year waiting list and with the current exchange rate it's almost $500.

His knife is nothing fancy, just a 4 inch scandinavian-style full tang bushcraft blade in O1. I have even thought of making my own copy as a lot of people have, but I don't have access to the proper tools. I've looked at a few of the knives on Ragweed Forge and some there look pretty close to Ray's knife but it seems hard to find one with a full tang and decently thick. Obviously I want something that can take some batoning without breaking out of the handle.

I would love to hear some recommendations.
 
Crazy wait and money.

Simple answer though. The best Bushcrafting knife with full tang/scandi grind is Muskrat Man Knives.
-RB
 
Pics for you.
Puuko and Bushcrafter
IMG_8883.jpg

scandi005.jpg

scandi003.jpg

IMG_9068.jpg
 
if you dig around sheffield has a much lower priced version, made in england, and Im not sure about the steel, but it is a carbon. I think cloase to 1095.
 
There are a thousand good copies of the Woodlore. It really created the skandiébushcraft knife segment. I would recommend one of the bark River versions like the Aurora or NorthStar. I have a similar knife except it is the Mors Kochanski bushcrafter called
The Skookum bush tool. It seems that every outdoor writer has his own knife with the only commonality being they are over priced.

A great place to start is a simple 15$ Mora.

Spyderco is coming out with a Bushcrat knife that looks very good. It could take a few months but it will probably be every bit as good as the customs but cheaper.

The Koster Bushcraft is very nice.

The Fallkniven F1

There is a couple nice Helle that fit your criteria. The Anniversary knife is one of my favorites.

Since you mentioned the Woodlore and Ray Mears most of the knives I mentioned have the skandi edge he prefers but there is noting wrong with a good V grind either.

I downloaded the Ray mears Sweden episode from Pirate bay. It is a must see because in it he has a blade forged and makes the handle from natural materials. I also got his sharpening video but have not watched it yet.
 
That looks a lot like a Enzo blade,little shorter blade @ 3 1/2 inches,full tang, scandi grind and can be bought as a kit in O1-or have some one else finish it for you if you don't have the right equipment, lot cheaper than $500.
www.bensbackwoods.com

Dennis
 
Last edited:
Here are some bushcraft style knives made in the USA. All at a cost of only 1/5 to 1/3 the cost of the Ray Mears. Each will last you a lifetime, but you'll probably not be able to stop at just one...

Dan Koster Bushcraft knife

BRKT Aurora bushcraft knife. Convex-ground though.

ML Woods and Bush Knife or Kephart knife.

Blind Horse Knives. The best Tiger Maple you'll probably ever see on a knife.
 
Thanks for the replies. The Spyderco looks very promising. It seems to have everything that I am looking for, and in O1 steel, which I think is pretty rare for a production knife? I've always thought highly of their folders, even though I don't own one. The price should be good on that one. I am seriously thinking about that Enzo kit in the mean time. The price is right and I've done business with Ben before.

Unsub mentioned Ray Mears' sharpening video. It's on Youtube and it's a good one, shows the proper way to sharpen a scandi grind with a Japanese water stone. Video is here. There are parts two and three as well. All of Ray's videos are great and there are a lot of them on Youtube.
 
For something that really "looks the part" as well as performs, Muskrat Man's Bushcraft gets my vote.
MMK14.jpg

Here's a teaser of its baby brother:
MMKPSK03.jpg

http://muskratmancustoms.freehomepage.com/

Then, there is this one, a Shing, which I have not used yet. This one is 9 1/4" though - not typical. What you see was way under $100, SHIPPED from UK and the wait was something lik four to six weeks. Workmanshipp is excellent.
SHING01.jpg

http://shingcrafts.com/

Otherwise, there are a LOT of viable bushcrafters ot there that don't exactly look like a "Bushcrafter."
 
A lot of great suggestions here. I actually have one of the bushcrafters from the UK and it's a nice knife, although overpriced. It sharpens easily and it has the look you might be seeking. Mine came with gaps between tang and scales which I filled in with glue, sanded, and sealed the handle, it also tended to rust very easily so I gave it a mustard patina. Now it sees lots of duty! Mine is exactly like the knife in the link above provided by swedish viking. I bought mine off ebay.
There are plenty of other makers I would recommend before doing what I did-saving you time, money, and providing better quality. I have an Enzo-great knife and very cheap for the quality. Breeden, Koyote, Stomper, Fiddleback, a F1, all are good choices...most have been mentioned here already.
 
Last edited:
I have a MM and I love it - However I am selling it due to the fact that I like my Kosters Bushcraft.

In fact, I have not used my MM in the field and it is essentially new because of my Kosters. I had a nice sheath made for it as well - it is a little more comfortable than my Kosters - but I think it is a matter of personal fit.

TF
 
Dont forget to look http://swc-handmade-knives.com I bought just the blade for around 120.00. The craftsmanship is excellent and is an exact copy of the woodlore. I also have the enzo and muskrat man full tang puukko. Both are good knives, but not up to the quality of the swc in my opinion. If you dont want to spend that much money then I say go with the enzo trapper.
John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top