Skookum Bush Tool vs Mature Bamboo

pict

pict

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Jan 7, 2003
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The Challenger, a grove of mature bamboo. Can the Skookum Bush Tool take down a giant?
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I had to head out to camp today to pay my caretaker, Ze, contact a buyer for a field I’m trying to sell, and make a social call in the nearby village. Of course the SBT went along for the ride.

While there I didn’t have a lot of time but decided to tackle one of the toughest tropical plants, mature bamboo. I don’t actually need any more bamboo but I really needed to field test the SBT. I asked my caretaker to pick out a nice mature bamboo for me. He did but then asked what I planned to cut it down with. I indicated the knife and he said, “Mac, you can’t possibly cut down mature bamboo with a knife. I’ll go get the axe. He took off and I started in making a hard two handed push cut with the knife. The SBT bit deep, I reversed the blade angled up, pulled hard and sliced out a wedge. I continued the process around the thick bamboo making about 20 cuts until I had it apart. Ze arrived back with the axe, “I don’t believe it!”

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Is this the optimum way to take down bamboo? No, it was a hard task for a small knife but the SBT took it in stride. Could I have batonned the blade into the bamboo to make deeper cuts? Yes, physically, but there was no room in to swing a baton, nor a machete. I used the axe to cut it to length.

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Mac
 
very nice test for the sbt, how did the edge do after the bamboo, i know that bamboo is very abrasive on blades and tends to dull them quickly.

alex
 
Bamboo and green coconuts are about the hardest stuff I have to deal with down here. I figure if the SBT can handle mature bamboo it can handle all lesser woods. Mature bamboo and seasoned bamboo are not the same, seasoned is much harder and I only work it with saws.

The SBT is still hair popping sharp along the entire edge, the mirror polish is slightly duller where I was cutting but it is hard to tell.

I was careful not to twist or pry with it in the cuts as, "A" this is bad technique for cutting bamboo and helps not a bit, and "B" it puts lateral strain on the thin scandi edge. I just made hard straight cuts and took my time. As long as you can cut wood away faster than a tree can grow new wood eventually you will take anything down with anything. Its just a matter of knowing the limits of the tool and keeping at it, WITHOUT BREAKING THE TOOL. It's the difference between beavers and buzzsaws.

Ze, my camp handiman, thought taking down bamboo with a knife was an exercise in futility. The bamboo didn't mess up the knife at all. That gives me confidence to use it on other woods for other tasks. Mac
 
Never had any problems with lateral pressure on a scandi edge. Always figured as long as the tempering was ok it would be ok. Is it a concern?
 
HD,

I've had a few of the stainless SWAK knives slightly ripple at the edge if they take an impact or get twisted in hard wood. The SBT is about 59-60 Rockwell IIRC. The steel right at the edge is thin on a scandi grind with no micro-bevel.

Is it a conern? This was my first time out with this knife doing a job that is a challenge for any small knife. I had to put alot of force into those cuts. With the knife cut in deep, a roll in the hand sideways would have put alot of pressure on the very edge with no gain in cutting the wood. Why make it a concern if you don't have to? I will say it is less of a concern now, the SBT is one tough knife. Mac
 
pict said:
HD,

I've had a few of the stainless SWAK knives slightly ripple at the edge if they take an impact or get twisted in hard wood. The SBT is about 59-60 Rockwell IIRC. The steel right at the edge is thin on a scandi grind with no micro-bevel.
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Interesting. Thanks for explaining:thumbup:
 
Gotta put these up :)

Opinel #10 vs mature bamboo ... :p

first cut

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second cut and its down ...

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yeah OK , we only cut two 18' long poles

going back to get more later tho ... opinels are tought little knives :)
 
I was going to try another couple knives but ran out of time .

I never realised how hard it is to do what you usualy do , but get good pictures of it ...
 
Myal,

Were you using a baton on that? That piece I cut was in so far I could barely wedge my shoulders in close enough to get both hands on the knife. If I could have used a baton it would have gone alot easier. Mac
 
Pict

It was a one handed effort , but a fair-ish effort , with a bit of blade rocking to get the cut down deep . ( Im a big bloke tho with long arms and a fair weight to lean onto the blade )

once the poles were down , I cut them straight across to shorten them into 6' sections , no baton , just a steady cut , turning the pole as I went , but it was cut at 90degrees to the grain , not a 45 across it as usual y is easiest .

I did read up on the skookum tool tho after I posted the pics , the big difference I believe is the width of blade , the opinel is a thin blade and used properly cuts deep into all kinds of things , I have sliced green coconut in halves husk and all with it . I have problems with thicker blades just cutting a plug from the coconut let alone slicing it in half ....

the opinel tho does fold the edge if I try to whittle mulga or other desert hardwoods here ..

that is where an Okapi comes into its own :)

but I also tried a hollow ground damascus folder

it did alsmost as easy a job as the opinel , but equally as effective
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Looking at your photos it seems like your bamboo must be softer than they stuff we have here. Here the green, younger bamboo is softer, but it doesn't hold up when you make stuff out of it. The piece I cut was very dry and hard.

Coconuts are definately easier with a thin, sharp, strong blade. I haven't used the SBT for one yet. I bought three the other day and my kids drank them before I had a chance! I usually use a coconut tool for them but I test all of my knives on coconuts. The Mora SWAK and Mora 2000 do a good job. My BK-7, and Pilots knife are way too thick and tend to bind, but they will do the job.

Where are you that you have coconuts and bamboo? Mac
 
The bambooo could be softer , its on a river bank , so it has a higher water content likely than the closer growing ones further back . they are green as in alive , but they are old enough they will not give problems when they dry out .

I learned the hard way about taking the easiest to cut poles :)

Im in Australia , but I roam around a bit here , we have all kinds of stuff here , from red sand desert to tropical jungle , and snow fields , or long white beaches ...

next week , I hope to be heading down south a bit to try some tree bamboo , I am building a shade house , I just like to get the materials as much as I can for free . Bamboo does good .
 
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