I have been collecting knives for years, in part based on internet reviews, with the intent to do my own evaluation. Many of you have significantly shaped my opinions of what I should buy & use, and for that I have been grateful. I have ventured into the area of customs knives, but most were factory production. One of the most significant online reviews of custom knives was the Bushcraft Knife Challenge.
Most of these knives had never been used, except to slice paper to determine how sharp they were. All had their factory edges and none had been sharpened prior to this review.
My review consisted of fourteen knives, all with blades around 4. Two were custom, with the rest being factory made. I applied a series of eight tests, and made my own determinations based on these tests. I understand that blades are a personal thing what works for me may not for you.
My review of the individual knives:
1. Spyderco Bushcraft Excellent grip, but a less than stellar performance overall. I expected that this would be one of my favorites, but it was overshadowed by much less expensive knives.
2. Mora Classic #2 Great slicer, & very sharp. Thin blade, but not much weight in the knife which meant that more force was required when performing many tasks. The handle was not my favorite, but was functional. Good value.
3. Scrapyard 411 Great mudder grip, but the blade geometry and coating were a disadvantage for most bushcraft skills. However, it excelled at batoning.
4. Swamp Rat Howling Rat Little Mischief (HRLM) Of all of the knives I reviewed, this was the favorite of my teenage son, who was impressed by its tactical design. The micarta handles were very comfortable, but the blade geometry, coating and thickness were not conducive to bushcraft tasks.
5. Fiddleback Forge Recluse A very beautiful custom knife with ironwood scales and the best fit & finish of the group. The convex blade was very similar to the Fallkniven F1, but did not perform as well in most tasks.
6. SOG Field Pup Great in some tasks, like sharpening a point, but the recurve blade and grip werent ideal for most tasks.
7. Mora 510 Great little knife with a decent handle shape. Thin blade was a super slicer. The more I used it the more I liked this knife. Its probably the best value to cost blade in the bunch.
8. Becker BK16 The blade coating was a disadvantage as it slowed slicing. It also came from the factory with a blade which was less than ideally sharp. The handle ergonomics were great.
9. Gray Wolf Knives M-5 Super sharp scandi blade which excelled in many of the slicing tasks requiring a lot of force (fore hand grip). With a simple handle and overall design, this custom is a great value.
10. Mora Bushcraft Force This was my overall #2 favorite knife. With a thin blade, but not too thin, this knife sliced and diced. The grip was surprisingly comfortable, given that I did not have that opinion upon first examination. A great value knife, and highly recommended.
11. Marttiini M571 With a super sharp scandi blade, this knife was a great performer. In many tasks it performed as well as the Mora knives due to its blade geometry, and outperformed the Moras in others. A great value inexpensive knife, which I wish was more readily available.
12. Fallkniven F1 This was my favorite overall knife. While it was not always the best at all tasks, it consistently ranked in or near the top 1/3 of all of the tasks. The blade was thick, but super sharp and sliced very well, though the blade was a bit too short for most batoning tasks. The handle was surprisingly comfortable, and the knife was well balanced.
13. ESEE 3 Sharp edge, but the blade coating seemed to detract from performance. The handle didnt allow for many comfortable power cuts due to the thin flat scales.
14. Mora Companion Robust A lot of knife for the money. Was one of my favorite, performing consistently well in most tasks. The sharp blade wasnt too thin, and the handle was very comfortable. Highly recommended.
Tasks:
1. Sisal Rope Cut The Mora #2 was best, followed closely by the Marttiini M571 and Fallkniven F1.
2. Food Preparation In cutting potatoes, the F1 excelled, followed by the Mora Robust.
3. Sharpening Points The Gray Wolf M-5 was best with its super sharp scandi blade, followed by the Moras, especially the Force.
4. Notching The Mora Force performed best in part due to its handle ergonomics, followed by the F1 and other Moras.
5. Drilling Hole While many knives were too pointed or thick to perform this task well, the F1 clearly outperformed all others, followed by the Force.
6. Feather Sticks The Mora Robust was excellent at this task (or as much as was possible on this tough piece of red oak), followed by the Spyderco Bushcraft, due in large part to the excellent ergonomics of its handle, allowing for a good grip when cutting.
7. Bamboo 45 degree cut A unique task that I created, requiring a strong fore hand grip. The Mora Force performed best, followed closely by the Gray Wolf and F1.
8. Batoning While many of the thin bladed knives performed well in other tasks, those with thicker blades excelled here, led by the Scrapyard 411.
My new two favorite Bushcraft knives, the Fallkniven F1 and Mora Bushcraft Force
Most of these knives had never been used, except to slice paper to determine how sharp they were. All had their factory edges and none had been sharpened prior to this review.
My review consisted of fourteen knives, all with blades around 4. Two were custom, with the rest being factory made. I applied a series of eight tests, and made my own determinations based on these tests. I understand that blades are a personal thing what works for me may not for you.
My review of the individual knives:
1. Spyderco Bushcraft Excellent grip, but a less than stellar performance overall. I expected that this would be one of my favorites, but it was overshadowed by much less expensive knives.
2. Mora Classic #2 Great slicer, & very sharp. Thin blade, but not much weight in the knife which meant that more force was required when performing many tasks. The handle was not my favorite, but was functional. Good value.
3. Scrapyard 411 Great mudder grip, but the blade geometry and coating were a disadvantage for most bushcraft skills. However, it excelled at batoning.
4. Swamp Rat Howling Rat Little Mischief (HRLM) Of all of the knives I reviewed, this was the favorite of my teenage son, who was impressed by its tactical design. The micarta handles were very comfortable, but the blade geometry, coating and thickness were not conducive to bushcraft tasks.
5. Fiddleback Forge Recluse A very beautiful custom knife with ironwood scales and the best fit & finish of the group. The convex blade was very similar to the Fallkniven F1, but did not perform as well in most tasks.
6. SOG Field Pup Great in some tasks, like sharpening a point, but the recurve blade and grip werent ideal for most tasks.
7. Mora 510 Great little knife with a decent handle shape. Thin blade was a super slicer. The more I used it the more I liked this knife. Its probably the best value to cost blade in the bunch.
8. Becker BK16 The blade coating was a disadvantage as it slowed slicing. It also came from the factory with a blade which was less than ideally sharp. The handle ergonomics were great.
9. Gray Wolf Knives M-5 Super sharp scandi blade which excelled in many of the slicing tasks requiring a lot of force (fore hand grip). With a simple handle and overall design, this custom is a great value.
10. Mora Bushcraft Force This was my overall #2 favorite knife. With a thin blade, but not too thin, this knife sliced and diced. The grip was surprisingly comfortable, given that I did not have that opinion upon first examination. A great value knife, and highly recommended.
11. Marttiini M571 With a super sharp scandi blade, this knife was a great performer. In many tasks it performed as well as the Mora knives due to its blade geometry, and outperformed the Moras in others. A great value inexpensive knife, which I wish was more readily available.
12. Fallkniven F1 This was my favorite overall knife. While it was not always the best at all tasks, it consistently ranked in or near the top 1/3 of all of the tasks. The blade was thick, but super sharp and sliced very well, though the blade was a bit too short for most batoning tasks. The handle was surprisingly comfortable, and the knife was well balanced.
13. ESEE 3 Sharp edge, but the blade coating seemed to detract from performance. The handle didnt allow for many comfortable power cuts due to the thin flat scales.
14. Mora Companion Robust A lot of knife for the money. Was one of my favorite, performing consistently well in most tasks. The sharp blade wasnt too thin, and the handle was very comfortable. Highly recommended.
Tasks:
1. Sisal Rope Cut The Mora #2 was best, followed closely by the Marttiini M571 and Fallkniven F1.
2. Food Preparation In cutting potatoes, the F1 excelled, followed by the Mora Robust.
3. Sharpening Points The Gray Wolf M-5 was best with its super sharp scandi blade, followed by the Moras, especially the Force.
4. Notching The Mora Force performed best in part due to its handle ergonomics, followed by the F1 and other Moras.
5. Drilling Hole While many knives were too pointed or thick to perform this task well, the F1 clearly outperformed all others, followed by the Force.
6. Feather Sticks The Mora Robust was excellent at this task (or as much as was possible on this tough piece of red oak), followed by the Spyderco Bushcraft, due in large part to the excellent ergonomics of its handle, allowing for a good grip when cutting.
7. Bamboo 45 degree cut A unique task that I created, requiring a strong fore hand grip. The Mora Force performed best, followed closely by the Gray Wolf and F1.
8. Batoning While many of the thin bladed knives performed well in other tasks, those with thicker blades excelled here, led by the Scrapyard 411.
My new two favorite Bushcraft knives, the Fallkniven F1 and Mora Bushcraft Force
Thanks for your great post and efforts. :thumbup:
- Splitting.