The JK Hudson Bay XL & fire making with the Phoenix.

[mykel m]

Last December John asked on his forum if we could get any of his knives which one would we want.
A bunch of us chimed in with our choices,then John came back & said he'd make our pick for us at a special xmas price if we really wanted one.
I couldn't pass up such a generous offer.
I had been thinking about getting a Hudson Bay so I put my order in for one,but I wanted it stretched to 9" vs the 7" standard.
I like the Hudson Bay design,but like my choppers with a 9" or better blade.
It's 3/16" thick 01 with the heat scale left on & has a rounded spine for beating on.(yeah,I'm one of those guys)
14" OAL with a 4 3/4" handle,9 1/4" blade,tan micarta w/red liners & brass pins & tube.
It weighs 1.25 lbs.,just about right for a chopper IMO.
So I got the big boy a couple of weeks ago & have been waiting for some decent weather to go give it a test run.
I went up to the Beckler River road where I went a couple of months ago & couldn't get up where I'd been before because of the snow blocking the road!
Dang Mother Nature can't make up her mind,winter or spring,spring or winter?
The mountains have gotten a lot of snow the past month,measured in feet not inches.
At least the ski resorts will be able to stay open longer this spring.
Anyhoo,I stopped at the snow line in the road & found a place to park & play with my newest JK.
I didn't get to beat on it as much as I wanted,but did manage to give it a good workout.

After testing the HBXL I drove down the highway a bit to the Money Creek camp grounds
which are closed till Memorial Day so I had it to myself.
I wanted to take a break & have a look around since I'd never been there before.
I also wanted to practice making a fire.OKOK I just wanted to make a fire period!
I found a big old Cedar tree & pulled a bit of bark off & used the spine of the JK Phoenix
to scrape it into some nice fine fibers,then shaved some fatwood & layed them on a piece of bark & had at it with the fire steel.

These are just some random shots of my wandering around the camp ground & further down the highway by Index.
The last 2 are Trout Creek as it flows out of the mountains & into the Skykomish River.

This is a pic I had to get on the way down to Index,sorry for the power lines,but awesome mtns.

I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did!

 

[JK Knives]

Glad to see it cleared up enough to finally get out! Looks like you had a good time.

 

[Mack]

Looks like fun. Great looking blade and you picked a beautiful area to play with it.
When I picked up for the railroad I had to go there every couple of months. I love it up there.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Great Photos

John makes an EXCELLENT Knife!!!!

 

[mqqn]

Hi mykel -

John's Christmas deal was excellent - that is where I ordered my Big Mack Cutlass as well!

Your Big Boy turned out wonderfully - it will be a great tool and it will last a lifetime and then some.

You sure have a beautiful place to explore - thanks for the great pictures!

Here is what I think of when you are talking about your Big Boy -

best

mqqn

 

[TheGame]

Looks like a great knife. Definitely a good looking area to play, too. :thumbup:

 

[GRIM 62]

Great knife to play with,looks kind of like my neck of the woods.

 

[Mack]

Hi mykel -

John's Christmas deal was excellent - that is where I ordered my Big Mack Cutlass as well!

Your Big Boy turned out wonderfully - it will be a great tool and it will last a lifetime and then some.

You sure have a beautiful place to explore - thanks for the great pictures!

Here is what I think of when you are talking about your Big Boy -

best

mqqn

For some strange reason I keep picturing this Big Boy with Snakewood handles.
Jus' sayin...

 

[kgd]

Great looking knife!

 

[mykel m]

Thanks men,it sure is an awesome chopper.

 

[mykel m]

Hi mykel -

John's Christmas deal was excellent - that is where I ordered my Big Mack Cutlass as well!

Your Big Boy turned out wonderfully - it will be a great tool and it will last a lifetime and then some.

You sure have a beautiful place to explore - thanks for the great pictures!

Here is what I think of when you are talking about your Big Boy -

best

mqqn

That's funny Andy,the camp ground I stopped at to build the fire has a RR tracks running right behind it & a couple of the big boys did roar through while I was there.

 

[mykel m]

Glad to see it cleared up enough to finally get out! Looks like you had a good time.

Thanks John,I'm lovin' the JKHBXL & did have a good time,but I bet you guys'll have a better time at the gathering next weekend.

 

[Mack]

That's funny Andy,the camp ground I stopped at to build the fire has a RR tracks running right behind it & a couple of the big boys did roar through while I was there.

Money Creek, huh. Beautiful place but yeah, the BNSF line can make a little noise through there.

 

[mykel m]

Money Creek, huh. Beautiful place but yeah, the BNSF line can make a little noise through there.

It's pretty alright,but dang it's got the RR out back & HW2 out front....... and people pay to stay there.
Oh well,at least they're getting outdoors eh.
On a side note..my foster dad was an engineer for BN back in the 70s & made the east/west run a couple of times a week.

 

[KYenglish]

looks like a great time was had thanks for taking us along, :thumbup: always nice to see the hudson in use

some amazing pictures there myke

 

[daniel4572]

Awesome.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[adamm]

Cool pics thanks for sharing

 

[mykel m]

looks like a great time was had thanks for taking us along, :thumbup: always nice to see the hudson in use

some amazing pictures there myke

Awesome.
Thanks for sharing!

Cool pics thanks for sharing

Old thread,but thanks ya'll.
Wish I still had the JK HB XL.It is a great camp knife.