So I've had the pleasure to use this fine blade for the week and finally got a nice sunny day to give it a real test. Earlier this week I had used the knife for prepping veggies, cutting up snacks for my 2 year old, opening a few boxes and cutting them down to size and even opening some mail. Its compact size made each of these tasks a breeze, but when I took it outside in the back I found out what it could really do.
The handle fit my hand well. I wear a large size glove and I had a solid grasp on the handle at whatever chore I chose. It's nicely rounded at the edges and end so whittling, carving and cutting were comfortable. As it was mentioned in previous reviews, this handle is plump and hand-filling. Big Mike mentioned that the contours down the length of the handle didn't quite match his hand and holding the knife during different periods of time made me wonder if they would be problematic. I found out that they didn't make much difference to me in use. While drilling a hole for a bow drill setup, I realized that the butt of the handle fit perfectly in my palm and the concave part directly behind the first pin gave my fingers a great spot to grip and get the job done. Other than that the contours didn't make themselves known to any great degree. I guess it shows that the knife is a comfortable one that worked well for me.
I found a fallen tree in the area behind the house that needed to be taken apart. I tried chopping some branches, but it wasn't really happening. That's not the design or purpose of this knife, so I grabbed my Felco pruning saw and made short work of some branches. I decided to baton them into smaller pieces and the Bushcrafter was a champ. As long as the blade was sticking out from the other side of the log, I could whomp on it with wild abandon and it would simply do its job. The 1/8" thick blade parted the wood easily.
I split each piece a few times and within minutes had a nice pile of wood ready to burn. I then tried my hand at making fuzz sticks. I'm not yet capable of making the fine artistic fuzz sticks like others on the forum, but I'm confident that this blade would work fine for anyone using it. Here's a couple pics of some of my handiwork. The first one is on some softer mystery wood and the second is a Norway Maple branch. The knife digs in easily and I felt like I was always in control.
Overall, it's a classic design that John crafted into his own. It's an extremely useful knife that's light, but strong, capable, but beautiful (love those Tulipwood scales!) and compact enough to carry about all day. The sheath (included if you buy one for yourself) is solid, held the knife well and is as straightforward as the knife itself. No bells and whistles, just practical design that simply works as it should.
All in all I really like this knife. It held an edge very nicely and a bit of stropping on leather with green compound was all I had to do to keep its edge through all the work. I didn't do any kind of destruction testing since it's not my blade, but I didn't hold back when batonning whatsoever. I'm confident that it could be a fantastic companion for many years of bushcrafty fun. I like John's designs and have an order for one of his fine creations in the works as I type. His stuff seems like a really good value and his willingness to let you customize your knife is a great idea for those of us that want to tweak the design to suit the tasks. Nice one John! I'll send it on its way Monday.
The handle fit my hand well. I wear a large size glove and I had a solid grasp on the handle at whatever chore I chose. It's nicely rounded at the edges and end so whittling, carving and cutting were comfortable. As it was mentioned in previous reviews, this handle is plump and hand-filling. Big Mike mentioned that the contours down the length of the handle didn't quite match his hand and holding the knife during different periods of time made me wonder if they would be problematic. I found out that they didn't make much difference to me in use. While drilling a hole for a bow drill setup, I realized that the butt of the handle fit perfectly in my palm and the concave part directly behind the first pin gave my fingers a great spot to grip and get the job done. Other than that the contours didn't make themselves known to any great degree. I guess it shows that the knife is a comfortable one that worked well for me.
I found a fallen tree in the area behind the house that needed to be taken apart. I tried chopping some branches, but it wasn't really happening. That's not the design or purpose of this knife, so I grabbed my Felco pruning saw and made short work of some branches. I decided to baton them into smaller pieces and the Bushcrafter was a champ. As long as the blade was sticking out from the other side of the log, I could whomp on it with wild abandon and it would simply do its job. The 1/8" thick blade parted the wood easily.
I split each piece a few times and within minutes had a nice pile of wood ready to burn. I then tried my hand at making fuzz sticks. I'm not yet capable of making the fine artistic fuzz sticks like others on the forum, but I'm confident that this blade would work fine for anyone using it. Here's a couple pics of some of my handiwork. The first one is on some softer mystery wood and the second is a Norway Maple branch. The knife digs in easily and I felt like I was always in control.
Overall, it's a classic design that John crafted into his own. It's an extremely useful knife that's light, but strong, capable, but beautiful (love those Tulipwood scales!) and compact enough to carry about all day. The sheath (included if you buy one for yourself) is solid, held the knife well and is as straightforward as the knife itself. No bells and whistles, just practical design that simply works as it should.
All in all I really like this knife. It held an edge very nicely and a bit of stropping on leather with green compound was all I had to do to keep its edge through all the work. I didn't do any kind of destruction testing since it's not my blade, but I didn't hold back when batonning whatsoever. I'm confident that it could be a fantastic companion for many years of bushcrafty fun. I like John's designs and have an order for one of his fine creations in the works as I type. His stuff seems like a really good value and his willingness to let you customize your knife is a great idea for those of us that want to tweak the design to suit the tasks. Nice one John! I'll send it on its way Monday.
