Which bushcraft knife for me? In which grind? Which steel?

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Kirk_Ferentz

Joined
Feb 16, 2010
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589
I probably need another knife like I need another hole in the head, but I guess I'm preaching to the chior on that one.

I love my moras, and have always wanted a beefier version. I have eyed all of the following and they seem to be great options. I'd like something with a 4''-5'' blade. I'm guessing scandi grind since I like it so much on the moras, but then again, I have never used a nice convex ground knife, and some of these can be had with that profile.

1. Koster bushcrafter (here, 3V or 01?)
2. Off the Map (I think they have some convex ground versions and multiple steel options)
3. Fiddleback (I was looking at the buschrafter and the terrasaur)
4. Some of the BRKT bushcrafters (I'm guessing this would be in A2)
5. the spyderco bushcrafter
[Feel free to recommend others]

It seems like 01 is the standard for these knives, but there are other options. 3V is the one that sticks out to me. I have seen those CPM charts that basically show 3V as being better than 01 in every way (other than ease of sharpening I'm guessing), but is 3V really that superior? And how is it to sharpen? I use japanese water stones, and sounds like I would have to pick up at least one more stone to be able to handle the 3V.
 
I have the Koster in 3v and it sharpens fine with sand paper. Not sure about stones. All of the knives listed will work fine. It's more a matter of which one you like better.
 
Yeah that's the problem--I don't have any to try out ;-) Do you have any experience with any of the others or are you just giving a thumbs up to the Koster? Also, I should ask, is it the scandi grind Koster?
 
I am real happy with my 4", scandi, O1 Terrasaur from Brian Andrews(Off the Map).

I have knives from Fiddleback, so a Terrasaur from Andy would be great I'm sure.

I have heard that 3V steel would hold an edge much longer than O1, but I don't know
for sure. When my Skookum in 3V is finished, I'll let you know. I am at about 20 months
now, so I hope it isn't too far away.

Good luck with your choice, any of those would be a winner.
 
Can you give me an idea of how well the O1 terrasaur holds an edge and stands up to tough stuff like hardwood?
 
I don't have any of the five you've listed - though I'm sure they're all very fine knives and quite suitable for the tasks most commonly associated with bushcrafting.

I do have a knife to suggest for your consideration though: a knife from Gray Wolf knives. I currently own 4 of his knives and couldn't be more pleased with them. All 4 have the scandi grind and all 4 are perfectly suited for bushcrafting.

I did do a review on the first Gray Wolf knife I purchased (model #3) on this site. It's in the review section of the forum, if you'd like to take a look.

I also own multiple Helle knives, Moras, Ahti's, etc... - each of which would serve the purpose quite well, but my favorite knife is the Gray Wolf knife.
 
The gray wolf knives look nice ... the right dimensions and an excellent price. How is the heat treat on that 1095? How does it hold an edge for you?
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
Can you give me an idea of how well the O1 terrasaur holds an edge and stands up to tough stuff like hardwood?
Click to expand...

I have been happy with the Terrasaur in most everything I've used it for. I did get a little chip in the scandi grind using it to cut bamboo. Thinking back, the little chop I gave it was not very smart on my part. It has since sharpened out and works well for woodwork, food prep and general usage. I've made fuzz sticks with hardwood and it worked fine. It's very easy to sharpen, so I don't really worry about edge holding too much.

With that said, I prefer a convex grind for a general camp knife. Brian and Andy will both do the Terrasaur in multiple grinds.
A 5" knife i would recommend would be Nick Allen(NWA). My 5" camp knife is a modified version of one of his and I couldn't be happier.
 
All listed options will serve you well. However, the way a knife feels in your hand is so personal - you are the ultimate judge of what model works best for you.
I own most of the options you listed (except fiddleback).
If you choose to go custom, you can get exactly what you want (that means you know what you want) - and that's the best choice.
If you decide to go with a production knife: at this point I'm happy with O1 and a comfortable handle, therefore I would recommend the Spyderco Bushcrafter.
Aurora comes in a close second place (just a bit on the larger size overall). Liten Bror is also an excellent choice (3V steel, but handle is a bit small for me).
There is also the fallkniven F1 or H1 (the factory edge needs some work, but afterwords makes for an excellent knife).

Looks like you are on the right track. Good luck choosing the 'right' one.

PS All my scandis get a minor convex edge - same performance for my needs, no more rolling or chipping.
 
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Kirk_Ferentz said:
The gray wolf knives look nice ... the right dimensions and an excellent price. How is the heat treat on that 1095? How does it hold an edge for you?
Click to expand...

I've had no problems with the edge holding up. I always strop my knives after using them (at the end of the day) and that seems to be all the knives need.

I think Aaron (Gray Wolf knives) will use O1 if you ask, but I can't be sure since I've had all of mine made with 1095.
 
I have had all of the top three on your list. I like the Off the Map best. Handle comfort is important! the Fiddleback was pretty comfy too though. Any of the steels treated right will work!
 
I really like the spyderco bushcrafter. Although, I don't have any of the others for comparison. Spyderco does very well with their edges and this one is as close to a perfect scandi grind as I can imagine. However, it WILL rust. I had mine out on a weekend deer hunting trip this past fall and it was impossible to keep it dry as the rain was so pervasive. I was able to quickly and efficiently dress a deer with it, but when I got back home there was a pretty uniform line of rust along the edge of the blade, extending for about 2-3 millimeters up the blade. It didn't take that long to knock that off and give it a gleaming polished edge bevel and screaming sharp edge again, but it will require some preventative maintenance...

Mine is the one with the maple burl scales. It did have a couple of small cracks, but a bit of super glue and a few coats of tung oil have it looking great, and the cracks are invisible.
 
Like others have said, knives are a personal thing and we generally make our choices and then refine them in stages. For myself, I never was super keen on scandi's, but I recognize they work great at certain things and I think they work the best in a thinner blade. I'd suggest not getting any thicker than 1/8" thick if you are going to stick with a scandi grind. I have an B. Andrews in 5/32" which I really like but find has some disadvantages for its spine thickness. I supsequently went to a terrasaur/bushcrafter hybrid in flat grind in the same thickness and far prefer this configuration.

Steel has never panned out as being important to me. I have knives in 1070, 1095, O1, A2. It seems pretty similar when it gets down to how I use a knife and how I sharpen them. I've come to the conclusion now that I don't really worry that much what steel the knife is made out of aside from avoiding something like 420J or so called surgical stainless. I think when you have a high end bushcraft knife, with the right edge geometry, blade profile and good handle ergos, the composition of the blade never actually enters your mind.


Any in your top five would be a fine choice to make. I've accumulated a few B. Andrews' blades because he's a good buddy and lives across the ditch from me but also because I've really grown to trust and enjoy his knives.

I have one BRK&T and will be soon trading into another one. BRKT produces a really aggressive convex grind with a highly tuned edge. I was very surprised on handling them since I always assumed they would be more heavy given the rated specs on spine thickness. They know sharp and make great cutters, but this is also at a sacrifice of edge robustness. Still, I think BRK&T makes some excellent work.

I've only handled Fiddleback's work. Always seemed to excel at handle ergos and have a good edge. Given his reputation, I don't think you'd have any problems with his work. Check out Mistwalker's most recent review of his new one.

Can't comment from personal experience on the spydy or the koster, but they are generally well regarded here on the forums. There are of course many other options out there as well.
 
How about all five?

But seriously, check out the Northstar in 3V for something a bit more 'upspec' than good old A2. Or if you can hold on for a month or two longer you'll be able to get BRKT's flagship bushcrafter in CPM3V, the mighty Aurora! I can't wait!

You can also get the Canadian Special in 3V but I haven't test this one out yet in the field to get a good idea of performance. So far I'm of two minds on the handle.
 
HandofCod said:
How about all five?

But seriously, check out the Northstar in 3V for something a bit more 'upspec' than good old A2. Or if you can hold on for a month or two longer you'll be able to get BRKT's flagship bushcrafter in CPM3V, the mighty Aurora! I can't wait!

You can also get the Canadian Special in 3V but I haven't test this one out yet in the field to get a good idea of performance. So far I'm of two minds on the handle.
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But what real advantage would there be to paying $30 more for the same knife in a different steel? I'm not really referring to what the charts say here, but rather ask what will his knife actually do in a perceivable way that is different for the extra investment? Personally, I think a person would get more joy out of their fancy BRK&T by sinking that extra $30 into a unique handle material than they would with a steel with the only discernible difference being a little stamp on the blade. We obviously disagree on this point, because I see the steel game that BRK&T as more marketing than anything else. There is a reason why they keep pumping out their base models in A2. That is because A2 is a perfectly great steel that makes a great knife.
 
Any of those steels will work well as long as HT and geometry are right. Anything CPM is outstanding. Edge holding is unreal.
Scott
 
kgd said:
But what real advantage would there be to paying $30 more for the same knife in a different steel? I'm not really referring to what the charts say here, but rather ask what will his knife actually do in a perceivable way that is different for the extra investment? Personally, I think a person would get more joy out of their fancy BRK&T by sinking that extra $30 into a unique handle material than they would with a steel with the only discernible difference being a little stamp on the blade. We obviously disagree on this point, because I see the steel game that BRK&T as more marketing than anything else. There is a reason why they keep pumping out their base models in A2. That is because A2 is a perfectly great steel that makes a great knife.
Click to expand...

No I completely agree with you of the A2. Most of my knives are in that steel and they are all outstanding. The CPM 3V will however stain noticeably less and is much tougher allowing Mike to produce thinner spines at the same level of robustness. Either is more than adequate however.
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
Sounds like you prefer the O1? I have never used it, and my concept is that it is like 1095...
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I've looked at a couple of O1 knives, but always end up with 1095. One of these days I'll get an O1 blade to experiment with. I think that all I'll really find out is that 1095 is good enough for me.
 
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