The perfect Bushcraft knife!

[tomtom]

when you say functional.. what sort of tests are you putting it to?

20degrees sounds pretty thin.. its no bad thing if its up to the job but have you tried to batton it through a bit of seasoned oak?

 

[British Red]

Sal,

20 degrees should give about 8.6mm bevel. Based on your design spec of a 29mm depth of blade, thats what.......just under a third of the blade ground to a bevel. Of course it is 3mm rather than the 3.5mm you originally wanted. For me, thats not excessively fine, But I do prefer a "precise" blade. 58rc seems in the usual range so no worries there. I guess for me now, its going to be a question of edge retention, chipping and rolling of the fine edge.

I guess it wants to be used on some hard carving use, maybe jointing some fair sized bones and pehaps boring into a hard but knotty surface. If it takes all of that without damaging the edge and point, should be fine for me

Red

 

[sal.]

Hi Red,

What's a "slide rule"?



sal

 

[British Red]

Ahh yes - want a real laugh? How do you think I do the trig to calculate bevel depth

For those of you not smiling now and scratching your head thinking "what is that book about" my response is "oh to be so young"

My sine and log tables don't need batteries either

Red

 

[rapidboy]

 

[Brian]

Red,

Just don't spill tea on them, makes them very hard to read.

Brian

 

[Andy]

20degrees inclusive seems very thin to me, if the blade can handle it then fair enough but I found that with my mora which worked out at about 23/24inclusive the edge tended to roll and lasted much better after a little fine honing at 30degrees. That knife did seem very soft though, also the bevels were slightly hollow grind so I guess there wont have been quite as much steel behind the edge as their could have been.

you can always send one to me and I'll test it against other scandi knives and an F1

 

[riddleofsteel]

Overall length. 22cm
Blade length. 11cm
Blade thickness. 4mm
Blade depth 26mm
Blade material. 01 Tool Grade High carbon steel. 59 Rockwell.
Finish. Satin
Construction/edge. Full tang, Single bevel

Stewart Marsh Buscrafter

Although I have come to the conclusion that no single blade can do all Woodcrafting jobs. when I am gone overnight or on a canoe trip my kit includes a Norlunds camp axe, Bark River Northstar and Buck three blade folder. These five blades carry different levels of bevel and sharpness and perform the varied jobs of survival better than my single "Woodcrafter" knife.

 

[sal.]

Thanx Andy.

That was a concern of mine as well. Acutally I'd like more input on the grind angle of scandi grinds as I have no experience with this grind.

sal

 

[rapidboy]

PM sent Sal

 

[Ogri the trog]

Acutally I'd like more input on the grind angle of scandi grinds as I have no experience with this grind.

sal

My WL clone has an angle of about 35 degrees (estimated from the fact that it doesn't fit either angle of the Sharpmaker set exactly). Though not sure of the origin of those angles, it stikes me as a perfect camping companion, at best its a firestarters delight. I own no other knife that is as good at making feathersticks for fire lighting, nor is anywhere near as strong for battoning logs for the fire. Any sharp edge is going to help in procuring shelter, cutting cord or fabric so it'll cope adequately with that.
At a guess, in the Scadinavian countries, if you can make fire - then you are at least going to live through the night. When trying to do finer carving once you have warmth and shelter, then you'll probably reach for a tool with a narrower/finer grind as the Scandi does feel very agricultural when put to more delicate tasks.
And so, for me, if I'm out for a wander or going with a destination in mind, this is the blade that I keep with easiest access. I can rig shelter wherever I stop and get a fire going for a brew so long as there is fuel to be had.

Cheers

Ogri the trog

 

[uk ken]

Hello All

It is great that things have developed to this stage. A big thank you to Sal for being prepared to listen and to all who have contributed ideas :You_Rock_

Cheers, Ken

 

[British Red]

Ken,

Tiffers has a prototype sheath for sal to have at a look at but we are struggling to get an e-mail through - if you speak, could you ask him to contact Tiffers or me please?

Cheers

Red

 

[RovingArcher]

Hello

I was a member here some years ago but did more lurking/reading than posting. Some of you might recognise me from the British Blades Forum and other knife forums including Spyderco. Which brings me to the point, Sal Glesser, the owner of Spyderco is considering making a Bushcraft knife.

Martyn at British Blades suggested that I ask the question here.......What would be your perfect Bushcraft knife.

Steel........
Blade length.......
Handle length.......
Grind.......
Blade geometry.....Spear point.......Drop point......
Handle material......
Sheath......

I would appreciate any comments.

Cheers, Ken

12C27 sandvik
3.5"
4"
full convex
spear point
Full tang
wood, micarta and full bodied for good grip
formed leather pouch style that holds the blade tight

 

[sal.]

Hi Red,

I got Tiffers email. I've just been snowed since the blade show. I'm currently carving a handle.

I have also purchased, and am still doing so, a number of bushcraft pieces to study.

I'm also waiting for some outside designs from experienced bushcrafters. It might be fun to produce a number of pieces and see what the market sorts out.

sal

 

[Dunelm]

Interesting to see Riddle of Steel (a Manowar fan perhaps?) is taking a Northstar on his trip. I've had my Northstar re-scaled with bur elm and also had an internal lanyard tube fitted rather than the external lanyard loop. All this much looks nicer but the handle shape still has an uncomfortable bulge at the bottom which digs into the hand.
The blade is very good, although the point could be sharper but the handle leaves something to be desired - this from something that was touted as the "perfect" bushcraft knife.

I'm waiting for my Bearclaw Field Knife to arrive - I ordered #48 last July, and I've currently got a lovely hand forged Aage Fredriksen scandi blade away being made up by Dave Barker so I'm all knifed up at the moment. But I can be tempted...

 

[British Red]

Dunelm,

To me the difference this time is that sal has taken the time to ask the users what they want and to seek feedback on proposed designes etc.

Personally, I'm not certain there is a perfect knife for all tasks, its question of "the right tool for the job", however I'me delighted to have a chance to input into which tool I am given!

Red

 

[Hoodoo]

Hi Red,
It might be fun to produce a number of pieces and see what the market sorts out.

sal

Super idea Sal. The American market is long overdue for a good woodcraft knife. It's been dominated by hunters for as long as I can recall. Back in the early 1900s, a knife had to be both hunter and woodcrafter. We seemed to have moved away from that. Woodcraft is becoming a lost art. But with a little help from the knife community, maybe we can spark an interest in it. Next we need a good, lightweight Spydie hatchet.

Kephart cutlery

 

[tarmix101]

Super idea Sal. The American market is long overdue for a good woodcraft knife. It's been dominated by hunters for as long as I can recall. Back in the early 1900s, a knife had to be both hunter and woodcrafter. We seemed to have moved away from that. Woodcraft is becoming a lost art. But with a little help from the knife community, maybe we can spark an interest in it. Next we need a good, lightweight Spydie hatchet.

Kephart cutlery

Couldn't agree more Hoodoo. Well done Sal. Look forward to seeing the final prototype

 

[Andy]

I was wondering how this was going