What is a bushcrafty knife ?

O

old4570

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I mean , every knife has an edge right (?)
But what makes it bushcrafty ?
For me ( Me ) , it's a nice crispy spine that scrapes wood and ferro ..
Because , if it can't do that ! Than it's just a knife you take bush .
Surely a Bushcrafty knife has to be more than just a knife ? Who some one calls bushcrafty !
I mean , surely there has to be form and function (?)
So any knife that can scrape wood and ferro ( with the spine of the blade ) is bushcrafty ? = Yes ( Just my 20c )
 
Usually, the most basic tests are batoning, feathersticking and throwing sparks with a ferro rod. Beyond that, things like carving try-sticks, making traps, camp furniture and shelter, skinning, butchering, harvesting, food prep, and making fire without a ferro rod. A knife that can do all this well is a good bushcraft knife.
 
I think "bushcraft knife" was a marketing scam term, if not made up by knifemakers, then at least largely perpetuated by them.

I think so many people liked woodcraft, hunting, camping, "survival" and making the knife projects that go along with these things. Wanting to make their own knife was the next logical step.

But grinding a knife blade is hard and not everyone can do it. Enter the blade grinding "jig". It takes a lot of the human "hand ground" element out of the equation. It lets people grind nice even bevels that are repeatable and consistent. BUT it comes with limitations. It doesn't work so well on tall full height grinds and blades longer than 4".

So the present day influx of scandi ground "bushcraft" knives is reborn, along with the made up claims about them being superior to other grinds, "especially wood carving".....all to disguise the fact that without a grinding jig, they can't grind a blade and the jig restrictions them to low height grinds on short blades.

I believe this is probably the largest driving factor of the popularity of the "bushcraft" knife in today's modern knives.
 
Buschcraft knife to me just means a knife that excels with wood. The specifics of the blade are simply up to what you prefer and what your tasks are. Also if you carry other tools like axes and saws.
 
I agree that it's just a marketing term really. I grew up on property and spent my childhood in the outdoors mainly and would go on multiple 2 week long camping trips a year, and I'd never heard the term bushcraft until I got to Bladeforums. I'm personally still undecided on whether a scandi grind or a more traditional edge work better for wood carving. I haven't seen an amazing difference, like you'd think with all the hype, except for certain instances like taking the bark off a stick where you can kind of just lay the flat of the scandi edge against the stick and use it like a chisel. However I am still thankful for the trusty ol' inexpensive Moras, and if the scandi grind makes them less expensive to make then I'm all for it.
 
Fixed blade with an edge. Even a tanto will do a decent job if you know what you're doing. You can even do some bushcraft tasks with a karambit or a dagger if that's all you have.

Bushcraft is more about the user (you) and less about a knife.

Skilled person with karambit or a tanto will make a fire faster than unskilled person with that scandi grind sharp spine bushcraft knife all youtubers reccomend...
 
Tactical , field , survival , hunting , camping ...and now bushcraft !

Mostly a marketing term that is applied too broadly in order to sell stuff .

The individual users need to focus on their particular environment and probable tasks at hand .

The choice of knife should also consider what other tools are going to be carried .

Hatchet , axe , saw , other knives ...the combination should be complementary / synergistic .

If you try to have one knife to do it all , it won't do anything really well !
 
I’m of the opinion any knife can be used for bushcrafting. A good bushcrafter will understand the limits of their available tools and adjust their techniques to suit the tools.
 
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