The search for the perfect Bushcraft Knife - My story...

s2f said:
I haven't handled that many but I can totally relate. Cody also made my favorite knife that I always have with me:

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what is cody's last name, or company name?
 
I really love posts like this,thanks for taking the time to put it together buddy !

You make some really good points and ones that I too have discovered on my ' ideal knife ' journey.

I could wax lyrical for hours about what I have learnt regarding my own personal knife quest but basically the two most important factors for me was A) A thin blade and B) A large comfortable handle.It doesn't sound much to ask trying to get these two requests but as I found out it often was !!!
 
Those are all some great looking knives and sheaths! The journey to finding the "perfect" knife can be fun or frustrating. But my love of knives and the outdoors makes it a fun learning experience.
 
Good thread. The perfect knife just doesn't exist, though. If it did, we wouldn't be here right now. It is a never ending journey. Or, at least I hope it's never ending ;)
 
Here are my favs at the moment. Lots have come and gone to get to these four...heavy on the Koyotes! The smaller one is his EDC- small but awesome.

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I have a friend like you - no matter what high end pistol he currently has, he ALWAYS latches onto some inscrutably minor flaw ... and then ruminates on that until he convinces himself that the gun is not what he wants, and buys another. First he got a Glock, because he "did the research" and was convinced it had everything he needed; but then it had a flaw only an HK could solve, which had a flaw only an FNP could solve, which has now given way to Walther P99; within 3 days of purchase he had already found some silly little things to balk over.

That's YOU with bush knives. Every one of those blades would have served you exquisitely for the remainder of your days. IMO you are WAY too picky.
 
You have me figured out - for a man I never met. ;)

That USED to be me. Now - I own a bunch - and I like a lot of things about them all. Had I had a well stocked knife store - or even a huge blade show to fondle a bunch of a knives - I would not have had to go through all of this. But being in a place that does not have these - I had to buy to try.... Luckily I learned to make a decent sheath - so it was rare that I lost money on a purchase.

For the most part - hand me a Kephart - or an Arete - and I am happy. ;)

TF
 
For me knives are just one of those items in life that never seems to be a Holy Grail. I think the adventure to try something new is exciting…I would almost liken it to some poor unmarried sap that sees another beautiful girl around the corner and is never satisfied. Call it an unsatisfied soul, but there is “fun” in the journey to seek that perfect blade. I do concede that the search is only a small part of outdoors enjoyment. It’s hard to describe, but even though I have a handful of blades out of the many that I would consider primary picks, I’ll still continue to look and possibly try other designs and makers. Life, including the many adventures within, is the journey, not the panacea. If I ever tired of searching for the ideal knife, gun, piece of gear, perfected skill, etc…there would be another to replace it. I don’t consider that a listless and restless soul-searching dilemma, it’s just enjoying the “journey”.

Thanks for taking us along your journey Talfuchre; I think many of us here can relate, empathize and appreciate your journey.

ROCK6
 
I should have know better than to read your thread. :D You made me buy a White Bone Micarta Aurora when you posted about yours when you got it. Now you have made me lust after a bunch more knives when I am trying to convince myself not to buy too many more.

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Good post and pics.

I am glad you found what works for you. Knives in the size and style that you posted are my favorites of which the Skookum Bush Tool is my favorite - have you tried one?
 
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Longbeard,

In the spirit of not wanting to say anything that wasn't nice - I left a full review of the Spyderco out when I first got it. Here is what I learned about the Spyderco in my opinion:

The Spyderco Bushcraft was part of the first batch that came with stabilized maple handles. Many MANY of these came with cracked handles - or woudl crack soon after the user started using them. Mine came cracked - I sent it back and the second one didn't come cracked. It came covered in dried Linseed oil - which is tough to take off - of course the later G-10's are not like this - but that was mine.

One thing that drives me insane about Scandi knives are when the maker cannot get the grind right. Scandi grinds are supposed to be zero ground. Not convexed slightly and not have a micro bevel. Many makers can't get a scandi sharp quickly so they cheat with micro bevel - or they don't know how to do a proper zero grind - so they convex the edge slightly. The Spyderco, even though it was said to be a zero grind was actually slightly convex ground knife.

This knife was fine if you wanted to keep this angle on the knife and treat it sort of a scandi-vex. However, I wanted a Scandi knife - so I used a set of properly lapped Japanese water stones to make it into a zero ground scandi knife. At this point the edge rolled on me very easily and I couldn't keep a proper edge on it.

I have owned a few knives like this. I believe this has to do with the heat treat. I have owned plenty of 1/8th knives and others that could hold a zero ground edge at similar angles to the spyderco and others - in my opinion the Spyderco was not as billed (a scandi) and was not heat treated well (could not hold a proper scandi grind).

Further - the sheath was just odd. It was a leather sheath that was meant to be ambidextrous - but ended up just being very odd. It was HUGE, super stiff (it had a plastic insert on the inside) and edge coated with leather edge coat (a cheap way to try to make the edges look 'burnished'). In my opinion it was fairly useless.

With that all said - the shape, design, and fit and finish was awesome. The handle was, and still is, one of the most comfortable in the business. The blade was finished well and everything looked really nice on the knife. I wish the logo's would have been lazer etched instead of printed as I don't think they would last long. Further - I wish, for the price, they were made in America.

I have not tested the second generation of this knife - and don't know how it performed - but this knife was one of the greater disappointments in my knife career. So much potential - and so little delivery.

With all of that said - I think you could buy it - sharpen it with a slight convex and it would likely be a great knife for you now.

TF
 
TF, Thanks for taking the time to write and post this thread. A very enjoyable journey indeed. :)
Not to mention all that knife porn. ;)
-Bruce
 
So tal, you are done buying knives then :P
 
Joe - It certainly has been a while since I bought one. I am pretty happy with my collection. However... I have never owned a Terrasaur.... hmmmm.... do you know anything about the designer?


TF
 
Thanks for the write up. I am so happy to have been able to take advantage of your weakness by buying 2 of your Bark River HCF knives. These are my favorite all rounders. A little bigger than the Gunny and just the right amount smaller than the Aurora. The Skookum bush tool is my best for dedicated woodcraft though.
 
Saxon. If you still own the Black handled one - and want to sell it - look me up. ;)

I loved that knife too. I owned one in Desert Ironwood too - that thing was TOO pretty to use. Man what a knife for the price!

Longbeard.

I hope I am not wrong in my assessments - please do more research as my opinions may or may not reflect reality! ;)

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
Saxon. If you still own the Black handled one - and want to sell it - look me up. ;)

I loved that knife too. I owned one in Desert Ironwood too - that thing was TOO pretty to use. Man what a knife for the price!

Longbeard.

I hope I am not wrong in my assessments - please do more research as my opinions may or may not reflect reality! ;)

TF
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I still have, and use the black micarta and I got your desert ironwood too! BRKT really should make a run of these again.
 
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