Thoughts on Koster Bushcraft vs. Skookum Bush Tool Knives?

G

gehrm_73

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Jan 29, 2007
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I apologize if this has been asked and answered somewhere on the forum. I can't seem to find the search tools anymore.

I have been looking for a lightweight, all-purpose knife to take with me on backpacking and hunting trips. After lurking around these forums for a while, y'all have convinced me that a 4" or so bushcraft knife is the way to go. The two that have really caught my eye so far are the Koster Bushcraft knife and the Skookum Bush Tool knife. They both look great and I can see the major difference as the blade geometry with the Koster having more of a straight segment coming out of the handle and the Skookum having more curvature to the blade.

Does anyone have both and could send a compare-and-contrast review? Any thoughts on other similar knives?

As always, thanks for your help.

Matt
 
I have the Koster and so far like it...I got it with the smaller handle and I think I should have went with the wider handle. Anyway, it's very strong and cuts well. It's also about half the price of the skookum. I would also look at Bark River knives...many good knives there. Check out the F1 also...It's my do everything knife.
 
I have both and it is hard for me to decide which one I like better. Both came razor sharp and have easily maintained edges. I have used both for food prep, fuzz sticks, and just general puttering around. Both fit my hand very well and have sturdy sheaths. Both makers were easy to deal with....I actually spoke with Rod for about a half hour on the phone about bushcraft classes and sharpening techniques!
Good luck making a decision...or buy both!
 
I've been considering the SBT and Dan's Bushcrafter for awhile now. After reading and researching I pulled the trigger on the Kosterized Bushcraft last night. Now I'm back to being an anxiety junkie. Wait, wait, wait.;):D
 
i don't have either, but from picture i have seen the skookum is slightly thinner stock than the koster, if that is at all a concern.

i have not yet read an unfavorable reiveiw of either though.
 
Go back a few pages here on this forum and I compared the two, with pictures.

Yeah the elimination of the search feature is a big bummer.

To put my review in a nutshell:

Both have their strong points and I don't think either have a weak point really:thumbup:

The initial one I got had the scales ground too thin for me. It was great for fine work but when I tried cutting a lot of thick stuff the Koster fatigued my palm quicker. I like a more "egg shape" on the handle, wide on back and then still rounded but narrower where your fingers go around.

Anyway Dan sent me one with wide scales but unground so I could shape it myself. Now the handle is great:thumbup:

In my experience cutting thick tough stuff is the same with both now. The handles are both great. The skookum due to the design of handle accomodates a larger hand but I have no problem with the Koster.

The Skookum is a thinner blade than the Koster and I found there was a slight difference in slicing thick stuff the Skookum slicing cleaner due to it being thinner.

I really like the thumb notches on the Koster, not so much for the thumb but they are fan damn tastic on sparking a firesteel.

The butt capp on the Skookum adds weight but makes the knife great for cracking nuts and stuff.

The neck sheath for the Skookum is really a hand made neat thing. However on a 4 day trip I had trouble with corrosion on the blade from perspiration but we were carrying heavy packs and it was over 90 and humid. Also bending over to tie my boots, or pump the water filter, or set up the tent the heavy knife in the neck sheath was in the way.

The JRE sheaths for the Koster are far more useful for me and in fact they did one for my Skookum. But remember I bought the JRE sheath in addition to the Skookum. With the Koster you get a knife that is cheaper up front and a sheath that in my opinion is more useful:thumbdn:

I wonder what Rod would charge for a Skookum without the sheath? I know the sheaths have to be labor intensive.:confused:

Anyway on to the steel. The Skookum I have is 01. I know you can get it in 3v like the Koster but it cost (I think) $40 extra. But then again it's overtop of the base price.

The 01 is a lot easier to sharpen but the 3V for sure is way more durable.

A lot of times with the 01 Skookum if I'm cutting something tough, or with a bit of dirt I can see some micro chipping of the edge. Now this is no biggie and I can usually remove it with a loaded strop but it's there.

So far even trying I have been unable to get any micro chips with the Koster. And it even seems to have a slightly finer bevel.(although it's hard to say cause it's thicker) so it is for sure tougher. It does seem harder too and is much slower to sharpen than the 01 but you gotta figure if you take it out for a few days you might not even need a sharpener with you.

Hope that helps. Go back a few pages for the pics.
 
As always, thanks a lot for everyone's input. Very helpful. Sounds like I can't go wrong either way, but that the Koster might be a better value.
 
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