Scandi Bushcraft, Kephart or something else ?

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
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Here is one I'm just gonna throw out there, for general Bushcraft, camping and woods bumming what do you think is the ideal knife ?

A Scandi ground Bushcraft such as the Ray Mears Woodlore, Koster Bushcraft etc or the Kephart such as made by Stomper, Charlie ridge, Gossman etc ?

Or do you think it's something else entirely such as one of Breedens knifes or Fiddlebacks ?

Honest opinions please !!!
 
Hmmmm, I have a kephart made by Stomper, a knife I ordered from England that is similar to the Ray Mears knife, a nessie by Charlie, and a Pathfinder by Breeden. Any of them will do but I have used the Ray Mears look-a like the most. Maybe because I've had it the longest and know it's tried and true, sharpens like a dream, and can take a beating!
The others have seen some action with the nessie being the newest...I am going to take them out soon and give them a little cutting test, then give them a kitchen workout too.
 
It's a mora 510 for me. I've tried quite a variety of knives, but this is the one for me. The previously coveted Fallkniven F1 now collects dust. :D

I like it's thin stock, light weight, easy replace-abilty, good steel, easy of sharpening, ergonomic grip and relative toughness (never have had a problem doing pretty tough battoning during the 'test-the-new-knife phase' :))... among other things.
 
These Charles May knives really have my interest right now. His Scandis look really nice. Heres some pics. Only bad thing is the wait.
Big Hand Scandi
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Skifa Scandi
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Scandi Trace
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Handi Scandi
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I really like this Holt Collier too. Looks very comfortable.
Image_Knife.asp
 
Wabajack said:
It's a mora 510 for me. I've tried quite a variety of knives, but this is the one for me. The previously coveted Fallkniven F1 now collects dust. :D

I like it's thin stock, light weight, easy replace-abilty, good steel, easy of sharpening, ergonomic grip and relative toughness (never have had a problem doing pretty tough battoning during the 'test-the-new-knife phase' :))... among other things.
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Yeah Mora's are great for sure bro but I know that my Koster Nessie out cuts them, only pitfall is the narrow handle slabs on the Nessie causes hot spots after a while !:(
 
norcalblacktail said:
These Charles May knives really have my interest right now. His Scandis look really nice. Heres some pics. Only bad thing is the wait.
Big Hand Scandi
Image_Knife.asp
Click to expand...

Yeah I have looked at May's knives many times and drooled over the keyboard, I have been put off though by people talking about the narrow handle slabs, this is a big downfall for me !!!:thumbdn:
 
Love those Charles May,especially the Big Hand Scandi. I've looked at that one for quite awhile.

Anyway, pitdog, to answer your question, I don't there is an ideal knife. And if there was, how boring would that be? I think that any you mentioned or a ton of others would do the job quite nicely in skillful hands.

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Love those Charles May,especially the Big Hand Scandi. I've looked at that one for quite awhile.

Anyway, pitdog, to answer your question, I don't there is an ideal knife. And if there was, how boring would that be? I think that any you mentioned or a ton of others would do the job quite nicely in skillful hands.

Doc
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C'mon Doc ya must have used one and found it to make fuzz sticks etc better than the others !!!

Sure we could get by with any but some just blow ya away eh !!!!;)
 
pitdog said:
Yeah Mora's are great for sure bro but I know that my Koster Nessie out cuts them, only pitfall is the narrow handle slabs on the Nessie causes hot spots after a while !:(
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The Koster Nessie and moras are like apples and oranges though lol :D

The moras are definatley more suited to my uses so YMMV, but cutting performance is due to blade geometry so it could be change easily enough, but I've been having the oposite of a problems in the cutting department with my 510. :thumbup:

The Koster Nessie is also much wider and has a much blunter tip, not very good for carving. The Koster is a nice knife, but I don't really see as much of a bushcraft oriented one, but of course this is just my opinion. ;)

I usually pair my 510 with a Fiskars 14" or Pro Chopping Axe (both reground), almost strange it would seem that my moras have replaced knives such as the F1 and my Fiskars have replaced my Gransfors... :D Haven't found anything better in the bush for me than my 510.
 
Some people swear by Convex grinds and while they are impressive mine just don't compare to my scandi's as can be seen in these pics.....

P9250003-1.jpg


And then a scandi....

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Doesn't look a huge difference but in practice the scandi goes through with far less effort !
 
Here was my Mora against my Koster....close call, but again the Koster went through so much easier !

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And against another so called ' cutter ' my flat ground Temperance !

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I do realise that a lot of people on here don't wish to offend any makers and this does make it hard to determine what works the best !!!
 
pitdog said:
C'mon Doc ya must have used one and found it to make fuzz sticks etc better than the others !!!

Sure we could get by with any but some just blow ya away eh !!!!;)
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Pitdog, I've made many fires, no fuzz sticks - didn't know I had to. :rolleyes:

I love all the knives posted on here, and all the beautiful stuff made by our resident knife makers, however I don't own, nor have I handled most of them and there are so damn many, how could you choose anyway? Probably would change every day of the week.

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Pitdog, I've made many fires, no fuzz sticks - didn't know I had to. :rolleyes:

I love all the knives posted on here, and all the beautiful stuff made by our resident knife makers, however I don't own, nor have I handled most of them and there are so damn many, how could you choose anyway? Probably would change every day of the week.

Doc
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LOL !!! I've really whittled down what works for me and what doesn't now Doc and I'm hoping my next purchase will be my last till it wears out !!!!

Thin is really in and scandi's seem to be unbeatable for me but I don't own any thin convexed or flat ground blades !!!
 
I have 3 Charles May knives to date i am on his list once again. His knives are top notch ... and worth the wait
 
That top may knife is sim ilar to one I'm having made for me bye Koyote. It will use a convex grind but a thin blade. I'll see how it performs against my R-10.
 
I like both. Scandi's edging out on wood carving, but convexed doing the same with skinning chores. One style that is growing on me is the scandi grind with a very slightly convexed edge . Really works well for me. I think I saw someone here a while back that did them. Finally thought I'd give it a shot. I think it would be a close call, a lot to do with personal preference too.
 
I've noticed that a full flat ground blade "bites" too deep if whittling fuzz sticks. That's a chore best suited for a "scandi"-ground knife, where the edge angle is a bit more obtuse. Also sometimes a very slight secondary bevel aids in a bushy knife, but for the ultimate in cutting performance, a zero grind is best. If you're looking for good all-around bushcraft knives, have a look at some Finnish designs, available in USA from Kellam Knives I guess. Finnish puukkos are traditionally made for cutting wood and foods.
 
I have only one possible answer to a question like this. And it looks a lot like this:

Tommipuukko_PK_1.jpg


Any hand-made puukko from a good smith will be a great choice, as long as you get a good one. Scandi grind, of course. Nothing beats that for wood work.
 
Probably my 2 favorites for backpacking are my Skookum Bush Tool and my Dale Chudzinski Nessmuk.

For around my place it's my Charlie May scandi Swamp Oak.

I have that Charlie May Scandi Skifa i just got and I'm warming up to it too so it may be a favorite.

The only thing that holds me back some on the Koster Bushcraft and Both Charlie Mays on long trips is how slow they are to sharpen. I may take one or the other soon though just to see how much of a hindrance that is. Also the Koster is a bit thicker in the blade and I like the thinner Nessmuk, the Skookum, and the thinner blades on the Charlie May a bit better too.

That's also a bit of the reason a lot of my Bark Rivers don't go. They are fairly fat across the spine too.

L
 
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