Tohatchi's Ongoing Bushcraft Review

[Tohatchi NM]

I just got my first-run bushcraft in the mail today. I'm going to post some detailed first impressions, and hope to add information as I get to use it.

Basic Specs (from the original thread, for posterity):

Steel = 0.135"-0.150" thick 3V, scandi-grind, 4" long, forged finish on flats, thumbramp on top.
Handle = 1/4" Green Canvas Micarta, bead-blasted finish, Aluminum Corby bolts and lanyards...4.5"
8.5" overall
Cost w/ Sheath and Shipping = $140

My measurements, via ruler:
thickness is about 0.15" (5/32nds)
overall length just under 8.5", 4.5" of micarta handle, 4" of steel, 3.9" of cutting edge

Mass = (to be filled in when I get to work and measure)

Sheath - JRE industries#1, leather dangler with firesteel loop


Visual Impression:

The blade steel is somewhat rough on the flats. The surface grain is apparent, as are several darkened surface spots and lines. Most of the spots are the size of a pencil point, with one large, shallow indentation the size of a pencil eraser. The bevel shows a regular pattern of fine striations. There edge itself seems to be polished or slightly micro-beveled. Koster K logo is a little bit fuzzy, probably due to the grain pattern in the steel.

The handle is a muted gray/green color, with some darker rings. The fabric pattern is prominent. The lanyard tubes are sunk below the level of the handle, and very small pieces of micarta fabric/fuzz are visible around the holes. The aluminum bolts have a nice, even, bead-blasted texture. The handle is curved a bit from top to bottom, and contoured from front (knife tip) to back. Going from front to back, the handle widens slightly to just behind the first bolt, tapers towards the second bolt, and widens again at the rear lanyard hole. All of these transitions are smooth and gradual. Widest point is just behind the first bolt, and narrowest point is just in front of the second bolt. The contours from spine to belly are similar, with the widest part of the handle behind the first bolt, and the narrowest before the second bolt.

Tactile impression:

Overall, the knife feels good in my hand. The micarta is smooth, with no hot spots, but the texture provides a good grip. The thumb ramp is nice and sharp. My pinkie finger locks in to the rear, narrow portion of the handle. Balance is slightly handle-heavy, with the balance point being somewhere near the first (tip-most) bolt. There's no wasted steel or handle here. I might like a little bit more of a guard/choil indentation at the index finger, but the current design seems adequate. I'll have to use it some to form a good opinion.

Sheath:

The sheath is a medium-heavy leather. It's a bit stiff now and the knife is difficult to draw, but I expect this will work in a bit. The dangler is long, and would probably put the knife below a pack hip belt. Also, the dangler loop is rigged in such a way that you could tuck the loop behind the sheath and utilize the attachment point as a belt loop. So it's like getting two sheaths in one. I don't have a firesteel yet for testing the firesteel loop. The JRE logo is nicely done, and appears on the back of the sheath and front of the belt loop. I would've left it off the front.

Sharpness:

Shaves hair OK. First cut into standard copy paper was a bit ragged - some small fuzzies on either side of the cut. A few passes on a green chromium oxide strop smoothed things out.

Overall:

Great knife that wants to work. I had to look for a few minor things to quibble about, and these were mostly cosmetic non-issues. The other thing (index finger indent) will prove itself in testing. I'm definitely happy with the outcome of the Bushcraft project right now, and looking forward to some real-world use.

 

[Daniel Koster]

Excellent review!


Honestly appreciated. :thumbup:



Please feel free to post more as you have opportunity to do more testing!

Dan

 

[Tohatchi NM]

Gnome carving -

One of the stated goals of the bushcraft knife was to do wood working - making trap pieces, fuzz sticks, camp utensils, things like that. Most of my whittling involves turning big sticks into little sticks, but I decided to try carving one of the little gnomes that shows up on this page -

http://www.spikk.no/index.html
(It's related to the Brusletto spikk carving knife, and has some neat, simple projects.)

I grabbed a small sycamore (buttonwood) branch from the yard, about a foot long and slightly bigger than finger-thickness. The wood was decently seasoned and reasonably soft for carving purposes.

The scandi edge on the Bushcraft performed really well. I was able to make long, smooth shavings. Much like a cabinet scraper, the surface is smooth without needing sanding. It was also easy to make thin shavings that curled up and didn't detach, so my gnome has fuzz-stick-like hair. The edge geometry is also good for stop cuts, like the bottom edge of the hat. Cutting down into the stick gives little resistance. Rather than drawing on the face, I poked some holes for eyes and whittled in a nose and mouth. Using the tip like a drill made a precise hole pretty quickly. The nose and mouth make him look like he ran into a wall, but that's my fault. The knife was easy to control for precise cuts using either the tip or rear of the edge.

Sharpness remained high through the project, and the blade still shaves hair all the way to the base. I did strop a few times on chromium oxide-loaded leather after finishing up.

The back of the blade provides a nice, broad surface to push against with your thumb. The edges are a bit sharp, and I'd probably round them somewhat if this were a dedicated carving knife. Some of the cuts were paring style draw cuts. In this case, the small steel guard tended to poke me in the thumb. Perhaps this is something to smooth down or cover with the micarta scale. The irritation was minor, though. It wouldn't be a problem unless I started doing draw cuts all day.

Finally, I cheated a bit and cut the base with a saw. The Bushcraft was then used to level out the base, leaving a polished, nearly finished surface.

In summary, the Bushcraft performed very well carving a soft hardwood. Edge retention and geometry were very good. Ergonomics were very, very good for both major cuts and fine details.

 

[Daniel Koster]

Great follow-up review! :thumbup:


Those gnomes are pretty sweet!

Gonna have to give that a shot myself!

:thumbup:

 

[Tohatchi NM]

As promised, the review is on-going. The Bushcraft has been seeing much kitchen use lately. The scandi edge works really well on vegetables, and is still sharp (shaves hair easily) after carving two gnomes and various other tasks. I have lightly stropped it a few times.

Vegetable performance: As noted, the edge slices very well. Softer foods, like broccoli, are no problem. With harder foods, the spine thickness becomes a problem. With carrots, the edge will bite in, then the wedging action of the wide spine splits it apart. This is OK, since obviously the Bushcraft wasn't designed to do the work of a thin kitchen knife. The handle is very comfortable for paring cuts. I have big hands, so others might find it difficult to pare with this wide of a blade.

So far, clean up has been better than I expected for 3V. The "as forged" finish on the flats picks up a bit of a brownish tinge, as do the grooves on the spine. This seems to go away with a good wipe or two with a soapy sponge, followed by careful drying. So far, I've avoided acidic foods like tomatoes, oranges, and onions, so there hasn't been a real test of staining or spotting. I'm happy with the rust resistance so far, and I know why Dan chose the rougher finish. However, I think a smoother finish - maybe bead blasting - would be easier to maintain, especially in more challenging environments and applications.

Bushcraft gets a thumb and a half up in the kitchen. For a knife that was not designed for the kitchen, and a design that would seem to have serious weaknesses in this environment (thick, wide blade, partial-height grind), it gets the job done. It would certainly work for camp food prep, but the sous chef would be whining if you made him use it all day.

 

[madborderman07]

I definitely second the motion of the bushcraft as a kitchen knife. I currently use the heck out of it in the kitchen. All the touching up is done on the finest sandpaper I found at wally world and and i use the mouse pad technique i learned on here. I need to get some stropping deals ( any advice from anyone on that will be appreciated ) so far the sandpaper and mouse pad has done its job. I sat out in the yard tonight and whittled down a pine log and the edge held up greatly.

 

[Tohatchi NM]

Some quick notes on the sheath:

I have a JRE dangler sheath, (leather loop dangler, not the clip).

- The dangler feels good worn under a pack waist belt.
- The dangler drops down so you can wear as a normal high-ride belt sheath.
- The firesteel loop is a good fit for the large diameter ("Army" model) Swedish fire steels. The smaller ferro rod falls out.
- Fit is snug, holding the knife securely but making removal a bit difficult. A lanyard helps.

I'm most excited about the dangler sheath under a pack hip belt. Typically, I don't wear a sheath knife while backpacking. I don't have much padding around the hips, and anything between my skin and the hip belt tends to cause rubbing. I'll typically carry a folder, and the sheath knife goes in or on the pack somewhere. This isn't the best solution, because it's easy to wander away from your pack and a primary survival tool. I'm also nervous strapping a knife on the outsize, because it could get caught on something and lost. On this particular trip, I was carrying a Golite pack with unpadded hip belt, and about 20 pounds of stuff - enough for a serious day hike in variable conditions, or a minimal overnight. I was happy that the leather dangler loop sat under my hip belt with no problems. Also, the knife was still accessible without removing the pack or unbuckling the belt, though it was a bit harder to get out of the sheath. A more padded hip belt might have rendered the knife effectively inaccessible.