- Joined
- Dec 17, 2005
- Messages
- 7,809
A custom, handmade knife is always a cool thing. Knowing that a person put their blood, sweat and tears into the tool your holding in your hand makes it a bit more special than a factory, production blade. But when that blade comes from a good friend it goes to a different level.
I was introduced to Luke Swenson (swede2207) by Lupawolf and Ghostwolf of Twowolvesoutdoors.com at a Texas Hoodlums gathering. First time I met him, he was sitting at a table all by himself with, literally, the most beautiful chopper and small blade combo I've ever seen. When I asked him about it and found out that he had made it I was completely awstruck. We hit it off and have been fast friends ever since.
The knife I've been carrying for the past week is a pattern that Luke worked up for Lupawolf. I just call it the EDC because thats exactly what I've been using it for and it so perfectly fills that role. Crafted of O1 tool steel with a 3.5in blade and an overall of about 7in., it rides comfortably and discreetly but is plenty big enough for most chores.
Anyone who knows him will tell you Luke is a perfectionist when it comes to his knives and it shows. Perfect grinds, no gaps in the handles, flawless leatherwork, if he's not 100% satisfied, it doesn't leave the shop.
So is this a survival knife? I guess not, not in the common sense of the word. No saw teeth, no compass in the handle, blades 13" too short. But in my world I'm much more likely to have a knife like this on me in a survival situation than anything ever touted as a survival blade so thats how I structured my review and that's why I posted this here.
So onward........
I'm planning on this being an ongoing review that I'll update periodically as I get the chance to use the knife for different tasks. Just to introduce and kick it off, I took it out into the Shotgunner ranch for some fire building, carving and general utility type work.
Spark based fire starting is always my perfered method. I cheated a bit this time and used some dryer lint..... Sorry, I'm lazy and short on natral tinders here.
I used the knife to make up some fuzz sticks and some shavings as secondary materials. No problems there.
I used the spine to strike the firesteel at first but got frustrated with the weak sparks and ended up using the blade. No damage at all, hardly even lost any sharpness. I was very impressed with this performance. I've had quite a few edges get very beat up by a firesteel.
And yes, It worked. Fire was had.
On to the next post!.....
I was introduced to Luke Swenson (swede2207) by Lupawolf and Ghostwolf of Twowolvesoutdoors.com at a Texas Hoodlums gathering. First time I met him, he was sitting at a table all by himself with, literally, the most beautiful chopper and small blade combo I've ever seen. When I asked him about it and found out that he had made it I was completely awstruck. We hit it off and have been fast friends ever since.
The knife I've been carrying for the past week is a pattern that Luke worked up for Lupawolf. I just call it the EDC because thats exactly what I've been using it for and it so perfectly fills that role. Crafted of O1 tool steel with a 3.5in blade and an overall of about 7in., it rides comfortably and discreetly but is plenty big enough for most chores.
Anyone who knows him will tell you Luke is a perfectionist when it comes to his knives and it shows. Perfect grinds, no gaps in the handles, flawless leatherwork, if he's not 100% satisfied, it doesn't leave the shop.
So is this a survival knife? I guess not, not in the common sense of the word. No saw teeth, no compass in the handle, blades 13" too short. But in my world I'm much more likely to have a knife like this on me in a survival situation than anything ever touted as a survival blade so thats how I structured my review and that's why I posted this here.
So onward........
I'm planning on this being an ongoing review that I'll update periodically as I get the chance to use the knife for different tasks. Just to introduce and kick it off, I took it out into the Shotgunner ranch for some fire building, carving and general utility type work.
Spark based fire starting is always my perfered method. I cheated a bit this time and used some dryer lint..... Sorry, I'm lazy and short on natral tinders here.
I used the knife to make up some fuzz sticks and some shavings as secondary materials. No problems there.
I used the spine to strike the firesteel at first but got frustrated with the weak sparks and ended up using the blade. No damage at all, hardly even lost any sharpness. I was very impressed with this performance. I've had quite a few edges get very beat up by a firesteel.
And yes, It worked. Fire was had.
On to the next post!.....
