- Joined
- May 21, 2001
- Messages
- 2,871
I've had this knife long enough now to write a preliminary review.
The Big Country Kampr is made in Seki City, Japan, and is a fairly large knife. The drop point style blade is 7 and 3/4 inches long, sports a full convex grind and a swedge grind about 2 and 1/2 inches long. Blade thickness is right at 3/16's of an inch. The blade has a full belly, which I think contributes to good slicing ability. One item of note. The website shows two versions of the knife. One has a large choil and the other a significantly smaller choil. I thought I would have preferred the larger choil for choking up on the blade, but when mine arrived it had the smaller choil. As it turns out, this was not a problem as my medium sized index finger fit the choil okay. Larger fingers may be a problem. The blade steel is AUS 8, with a RC of around 55-57, which seems about right for a blade of this size and intended use. The knifes overall geometry is very reminiscent of the Busse Basic line, particularly the Busse #7, as the handle drops in an arc from the blade's spine. The handle material is unknown to me, but it appears to be a fairly hard elastomer of some kind with a lightly stippled surface and (for me) excellent ergonomic shape.
One very positive addition to this knife is its sheath. The sheath is a large retangular leather pocket held together with brass rivets. Brass loops are set at the corners and in the middle of each of the rectangles longer sides. A strap with brass carabiner type hooks on each end allow the user to set up the sheath for a variety of carry methods. I found I preferred to carry the sheath horizontally under my arm, like a shoulder holster. This puts the knife readily at hand and avoids the problems associated with long sheaths attached to the waist and leg. The sheath holds the knife securely (and it fits my Busse Basic #7 too, added bonus).
The knife balances in the hand well, with a weight forward feel. Actual weight is similar to the shorter Busse #7 due to the Big Country's thinner blade. The knife came from the box hair popping sharp. I immediately took it out to a treed lot in need of some brush clearing. Chopping small branches and brush was fairly easy. I found I could sever one inch spruce and birch with a single wrist snap swing. Larger material took longer, about comparable to my Busse #7. Light brush would fall in clumps with full arm swings. After the chopping session, I examined the edge. It remained shaving sharp without any evidence of edge deformation or chipping, which is to be expected considering the kind of material cut. I used the back of the blade to pound in some wooden stakes. It functioned well in this mode, and I felt very little vibration through the handle. I did not notice any hot spots on my fingers or palm as a result of friction, but I did not chop for more than an hour.
Back at home, I stropped the edge on some new cardboard. This brought the edge back to hair popping sharpness. I preceeded to use the blade for kitchen chores and it performed well at chopping onions, slicing tomatoes, and slicing meat, although not as well as a flat grind chef's knife. Afterward, I simply wiped the blade and put it away in its sheath. Several days later I inspected the blade for signs of corrosion and could not find any evidence, although I did not use a scope to check the edge.
At this point I would consider the Big Country Kampr to be a good value in a big camp knife. The convex edge grind appears stout, and the AUS 8 is fairly rust resistant for those carefree camping chores. At its price point, no one should feel queasy about beating it up if the situation calls for it. Service from Knifeware.com was fast and trouble free. In fact, I recieved a personal call from Ken Warner to ensure he was sending the knife to the correct address. That was a nice touch.
The Big Country Kampr is made in Seki City, Japan, and is a fairly large knife. The drop point style blade is 7 and 3/4 inches long, sports a full convex grind and a swedge grind about 2 and 1/2 inches long. Blade thickness is right at 3/16's of an inch. The blade has a full belly, which I think contributes to good slicing ability. One item of note. The website shows two versions of the knife. One has a large choil and the other a significantly smaller choil. I thought I would have preferred the larger choil for choking up on the blade, but when mine arrived it had the smaller choil. As it turns out, this was not a problem as my medium sized index finger fit the choil okay. Larger fingers may be a problem. The blade steel is AUS 8, with a RC of around 55-57, which seems about right for a blade of this size and intended use. The knifes overall geometry is very reminiscent of the Busse Basic line, particularly the Busse #7, as the handle drops in an arc from the blade's spine. The handle material is unknown to me, but it appears to be a fairly hard elastomer of some kind with a lightly stippled surface and (for me) excellent ergonomic shape.
One very positive addition to this knife is its sheath. The sheath is a large retangular leather pocket held together with brass rivets. Brass loops are set at the corners and in the middle of each of the rectangles longer sides. A strap with brass carabiner type hooks on each end allow the user to set up the sheath for a variety of carry methods. I found I preferred to carry the sheath horizontally under my arm, like a shoulder holster. This puts the knife readily at hand and avoids the problems associated with long sheaths attached to the waist and leg. The sheath holds the knife securely (and it fits my Busse Basic #7 too, added bonus).
The knife balances in the hand well, with a weight forward feel. Actual weight is similar to the shorter Busse #7 due to the Big Country's thinner blade. The knife came from the box hair popping sharp. I immediately took it out to a treed lot in need of some brush clearing. Chopping small branches and brush was fairly easy. I found I could sever one inch spruce and birch with a single wrist snap swing. Larger material took longer, about comparable to my Busse #7. Light brush would fall in clumps with full arm swings. After the chopping session, I examined the edge. It remained shaving sharp without any evidence of edge deformation or chipping, which is to be expected considering the kind of material cut. I used the back of the blade to pound in some wooden stakes. It functioned well in this mode, and I felt very little vibration through the handle. I did not notice any hot spots on my fingers or palm as a result of friction, but I did not chop for more than an hour.
Back at home, I stropped the edge on some new cardboard. This brought the edge back to hair popping sharpness. I preceeded to use the blade for kitchen chores and it performed well at chopping onions, slicing tomatoes, and slicing meat, although not as well as a flat grind chef's knife. Afterward, I simply wiped the blade and put it away in its sheath. Several days later I inspected the blade for signs of corrosion and could not find any evidence, although I did not use a scope to check the edge.
At this point I would consider the Big Country Kampr to be a good value in a big camp knife. The convex edge grind appears stout, and the AUS 8 is fairly rust resistant for those carefree camping chores. At its price point, no one should feel queasy about beating it up if the situation calls for it. Service from Knifeware.com was fast and trouble free. In fact, I recieved a personal call from Ken Warner to ensure he was sending the knife to the correct address. That was a nice touch.