Survivorman and Helle knives collaboration knife.

Sport Hansa LLC said:
Interesting thread regarding Helle and Les Stroud. I work for Sport Hansa; we are the US / Canada distributor for Helle and have been working with the guys in Norway on this project. We expect to be a few weeks away from being able to share some preliminary design details and images which we will share when they are ready. If you are not familiar with Helle, they just did a video that explains their heritage which is worth having a look at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cuYnbWmEMY
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oh my, another press release, in the form of a new member. :eek:
 
Tye Possum said:
I don't think Les is much of a knife knut and the cutting tools he used on survivorman reflected that. He was usually using a Leatherman/SAK and later on Buck fixed blades. They're all decent knives/multi-tools that you can pretty much depend on (in normal use), nothing gimmicky, no cheap junk, but nothing really special either.
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This was pointed out earlier in the thread, but the format of the show dictated what Les brought out not what his preferences are. One of the tributes of Les is that he was all skill and not a gear hound. The scenarios of his show always placed him in a predicament that the common person would likely experience. It was usually a little ritual after the 'accident' that he'd take stock of his inventory.

In the end, I don't know what motivates Les on his choice of knife. His shows certainly don't give me a clue to it. I guess that is partly why this is kind of an intriguing release. People are interested in what he prefers and recommends on gear choices.

As to price point, if the Helle Harding goes for $80-100, I think you can expect a signature knife to for something in the range of $130-$160 with a MSVP of $200. Thats my baseless guess, and I'm sticking to it.
 
This was also mentioned earlier in the thread, but Les has mentioned that before shooting, he would walk into a store and go into the 'survival' isle to see what was available and run with it. I don't know if he does that with knives as well, but I don't think his choice in knives for his show says anything about his knowledge of blades.
 
KJlost said:
This was also mentioned earlier in the thread, but Les has mentioned that before shooting, he would walk into a store and go into the 'survival' isle to see what was available and run with it. I don't know if he does that with knives as well, but I don't think his choice in knives for his show says anything about his knowledge of blades.
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I really feel like that was an aspect of the show. To try out advertised survival products and use things the common person with little survival experience would try.

He does often use a Buck 119. Nothing wrong with that choice and certainly fits with a model that many hunters and outdoorsmen would buy.
 
Guyon said:
This only makes me respect and like Les Stroud more.

I got a Bear Grylls catalog in the mail the other day.
Apparently, that one will plaster his name on a caribou if it stops long enough to take a pee. :p
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Is that before or after he collects and drinks the caribou pee?

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I'm looking forward to seeing what Les and Helle come up with, and if it offers something that Helle's current range doesn't have already. They have a good selection!
 
That Viking model has been available at Ragnar's for a while now, I doubt that's it.

I'm very interested in this.
Not because I want to have something with Les' name on it (I hope they don't put his name on anything but the tag), but because I like to see what people (especially those who've proven their abilities as he has -- and I don't mean on Survivorman) see as their ideal knife.

I'm also glad he went with someone like Helle -- this won't look (and behave) like some Fischer-Price POS like a certain other knife we know of.

Price? I think a lot of people need to just go and buy a Busse. Just to pop that "expensive knife" cherry. Once you do that, you'll be like "$150?" <look over at your $500 BattleBasterd> "That's nothin'!"

As for the others not being able to make a great knife, I don't get it. Bear Grylls original knife looked quite good. Just because it was smokin' crack expensive doesn't mean it wasn't a good design. Ron Hood? He likes big knives and seems quite happy with his Hoodlum. So, it was a success. Just because one may not be a big knife fan doesn't mean it's a poor design.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Price? I think a lot of people need to just go and buy a Busse. Just to pop that "expensive knife" cherry. Once you do that, you'll be like "$150?" <look over at your $500 BattleBasterd> "That's nothin'!"
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Will never buy a Busse :p

But price is not really a reason as to why ;)

I am looking to see what Les can come up with. As long as it isn't another Grylls fiasco, I am good with it.
 
I love the look of this one !!!

lapland.jpg

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-08
 
pitdog said:
The video about their heritige is awesome,a real hand crafted product where people take pride in what they are producing !

On a downside I noticed how small the tangs were and so did a little digging, found a few cases of breakages as in this video. They all seem to be caused by battoning though so stick with the carving and they should serve you well.

http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/kit/reviews/helle-kvernstein-knife-review.html
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Great Post.

What is the point of having such a tiny little tang?

imo...Mora's have better builds for a lot less money, your post was eye opening to say the least.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
That Viking model has been available at Ragnar's for a while now, I doubt that's it.

I'm very interested in this.
Not because I want to have something with Les' name on it (I hope they don't put his name on anything but the tag), but because I like to see what people (especially those who've proven their abilities as he has -- and I don't mean on Survivorman) see as their ideal knife.

I'm also glad he went with someone like Helle -- this won't look (and behave) like some Fischer-Price POS like a certain other knife we know of.

Price? I think a lot of people need to just go and buy a Busse. Just to pop that "expensive knife" cherry. Once you do that, you'll be like "$150?" <look over at your $500 BattleBasterd> "That's nothin'!"

As for the others not being able to make a great knife, I don't get it. Bear Grylls original knife looked quite good. Just because it was smokin' crack expensive doesn't mean it wasn't a good design. Ron Hood? He likes big knives and seems quite happy with his Hoodlum. So, it was a success. Just because one may not be a big knife fan doesn't mean it's a poor design.
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I disagree on the Busse point, while I like the Busses alot, (the B11 is my go to chopper) they are more or less = to alot of knives of the same length, even within the family, they are done in at the price point by Scrapyard and Swamprat alot of the time...

The SOD is everything the ASH is at half the price. The Dogfather is everything the FBM is...

...so is the Junglas and Becker BK 9, it's hard to accept but alot of the mystique in the Busse knives is the idea that once the run is over the price goes up.


Oh, I know its BF blasphemy but it's my truth.

Now, the idea of having a big knife vs, a small knife, I will always choose big. Hell, you can lizard or a snake with an 11" knife, if you know what your doing and that is what you got at the time.
 
Here are some Helle tangs, I don't have a problem with stick tangs but prefer to see them with a little more meat on than these.

helleb.jpg

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-08
 
The 95 model in the above pic looks fine to me. The others are definitely on the thin side for anything other than carving though.
 
I am sure the Survivorman Helle knife will be better than the Bear Grylls Ultimate Knive I recently reviewed. As for stick tangs, I have batoned with the Mora 2000 and had no failures.
 
I did find Helle did makes at least one full-tang knife. Not so sure I like the design, but a combination of some of their older styles with a full-tang would be nice.

fire-full-tang.jpg

helle-fire.jpg

Images from www.ragweedforge.com

FortyTwoBlades said:
The 95 model in the above pic looks fine to me. The others are definitely on the thin side for anything other than carving though.
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95 from the tang pic is the Viking model and ragweedforge sells all of those as blanks.
 
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It's too bad that Cody Lundin has already stated that he doesn't need much more than a plain ol' Mora...or is it?

My motto is "Technique over technology."

That said, I'm sure Les will provide a design that will be a credit to his profession (which is entertainer), yet WILL work as an outdoors knife.
 
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