Who has a BRKT Highland Special or Woodland SPecial?

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

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Mar 19, 2007
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Would love to see pics - dimensions - and overall feel for use in the bush.


Thanks in advance for the help - looks like a nice little knife.

TF
 
I have the Highland Special: 01 steel, 4" blade, 7 7/8" overall.
Works well for me, but some will think the handle is too short.

IMG_0006.jpg
 
I have the Highland. Good steel, cuts well, but if your hands are large you may find the handle a bit small. It's not just the length, the scales on mine are thin, so there is not much girth to it. You could always put thicker slabs on it, but note that this is the case. Also, it has a lot of belly. If you want something for game, it will work very well for you. But if you want it to do mostly woodwork, the shape may not be optimized for that task, even though it will work.

Other than that, it is pretty light for a 4" blade, so it is easy to carry.
 
Talfuchre, if you're pining over the Highland special ( or Bucklite max ) for that matter, check out the Esee's if you don't already have one. The 4 is great for a bushcraft knife , and you can go to a 6, if you want a bigger blade and handle.
I'm a recent convert, and love them. :thumbup:;)
 
BRKT Woodland Special:
Overall Length: 6.87 Inches
Blade Length: just over 3"
Blade Steel: A-2
Steel Thickness: .145 Inch
Weight: 4 Ounces
A bit on the small side, but despite that, it's a true, little workhorse. Very strong, full tang construction, yet light and useful with a convex edge. The ample belly comes handy for carving spoons and bowls or skinning. I really like it.
100_4434.JPG
 
G'day Tal

I don't own a highland special, so I can't comment on it.

I have recently been putting a test run of the Woodland Special in the Carpenter XHP stainless steel through some tests.

Scraping Fatwood & lighting it with a LMF firesteel
[youtube]4SHjFsAcDpM[/youtube]


Working rockhard seasoned hardwood
[youtube]hIBeZGpHL64[/youtube]


Batoning seasoned hardwood
[youtube]OXyb2OI_8hc[/youtube]


Opening Oysters
[youtube]HVOf14Z-HBo[/youtube]


In the kitchen
[youtube]ZUIVqyIZAQw[/youtube]


IMO, it is a lot of knife for the size :thumbup:

I've given up on making comments on the comfort of a knife in hand as everyone has their own criteria. What I now do is show people the use I have put the knife to & let them make up their own minds about whether of not the handle can be used.

BTW, I don't know what to make of this steel. It holds a working edge for a long time, with a highly refined edge it hasn't shown to be brittle at all and is ridiculously easy to resharpen :confused:

Hope this helps.



Kind regards
Mick
 
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"BTW, I don't know what to make of this steel. It holds a working edge for a long time, with a highly refined edge it hasn't shown to be brittle at all and is ridiculously easy to resharpen "------ + 1
 

XHP Woodland Special.


I have used both the Highland Special and the Woodland Special for a variety of tasks over the years.


I found them both to be a lot of cutting power in a small package. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:


For me the handles are not an issue, the size seems in balance with the size of the blades.



Big Mike
 
Mike, those scales look noticeably thicker than mine, and would make a difference. Mind you, I have used my Highland for cutting wood, batonning, etc., and it works fine, I just wish it had thicker scales. The length is not a problem for me, but I don't have large hands. Personally, I think the handle length issue is overblown with this model, it fits larger hands than you might expect. It is a light, strong, capable blade. The A2 takes a very fine edge and holds it well.
 
I've got a Woodland Special.

I ordered it directly from BRKT somewhere around 2003. They hadn't even started production of the Woodland and I waited almost five months to get it. It was worth every day of the wait.

Woodland1.jpg


Notice it's the older style with two hollow pins. The new Woodlands have solid pins and a lanyard hole at the rear.

2140912.jpg


Its almost neck knife sized. This pic is with a Koster Karda neck knife and its similar in size.

After handling and owning other BRKT knives I realized that my Woodland was a misfit. It had some ugly fit and finish issues. The grinds were uneven, the slabs were uneven, and the edge did not come all the way back.

Woodland5.jpg


Woodland4.jpg


Woodland3.jpg


Woodland2.jpg


I posted these pics where Mike Stewart would be able to chime in on them. He said that the knife was made when the company was starting up and that it was done by hand. THe newer models are CNC machined and less hadn made than the first BRKT's.
The performance isn't hindered by it so I just left it alone.

It's probably the homeliest knife they've ever built but I love it. It is my favorite and has been since I bought it. Its the reason I have not bought/sold/traded a lot of users knives. My only gripe is with how thick the blade is. I wish it were thinner but thats what Moras are for ;).

I'll get some comparison shots later.
 
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