Ladies and Gents,
I've been looking at the style of Bushcraft knife, typified by the AW/RM type I am guessing, and trying to work out what makes it so special for Bushcraft. To be very clear, I am not disparaging the knife or design in any way, rather saying that in my limited understanding of Knifecraft in the bush beyond game prep and basic camping, I can't see what it would offer over say a Falkniven H1/F1 or heavy duty Mora/Hultfors style knife.
Some background:
I have a few knives for hunting and the outdoors, custom and off the peg.
For small deer, bunnies and other small game not far from home, I tend to use either a SS Mora Clipper/Companion ( http://www.moraofsweden.se/morakniv/companion-mg-50.0.201.2?group=prod_prod_grp-s1%2F41 ) or a Hultafors Carbon ( http://www.hultafors.com/uk/products/cutting/knives/craftsmans-knives/heavy-duty-knife-gk/.
These are good because not being too deep in the blade they can get around small animal body cavities with more dexterity than heavier knives.
They take decent edges, especially the carbon steel variants, but dull relatively quickly. Say 2-3 Muntjac, 1-2 Roe or a Fallow buck or Red deer as I prefer a very sharp knife for gralloching. I am sharpening challenged so I tend to sharpen at home with the Lansky and take more knives with me into the field in case I need them.
When I'm further way from home, say a week in Scotland I will take my Custom hunting knife which is made of CPM 154 Stainless.
I have had a convex edge put on this and with the better steel, this will do half a dozen of more beasts before it needs sharpening. Frequently a session on the strop with some "Smurf poo" is all that's needed to put the edge back on, I have a small MDF backed strop that I take with me. This is flat ground knife of 80mm length and 28mm depth which is perfect for gutting, skinning and prep of deer and boar.
For the same sort of trips but dealing with bigger animals (Larger than Red deer) I will take a Russian made knife Of around 125 mm made from some sort of Russian equivalent to the CPM 154 steel, I like to tell the credulous that it's made from Tank barrel steel...
This is a scandi ground clip point with a secondary edge to give a kind of "stepped" convex edge effect. This will and has reduced a moose to a pile of meat without the need for sharpening.
I have more recently started to combine more of my hunting with bushcraft; two weeks camping in the Australian Outback, a week living out of a rough log cabin in Russian Karelia etc. and have been enjoying the camping almost as much as the hunting. In fact they mesh rather wonderfully to give an experience that is greater than their sum.
Am I missing a "Bushcraft" knife in my life for these activities is my question, what does a bushcraft knife do that my existing knives don't?
Again, this is not meant to be a thread for bashing one design or another, rather I would beg the indulgence of the experience of the membership in what I'm missing.
With thanks,
C
I've been looking at the style of Bushcraft knife, typified by the AW/RM type I am guessing, and trying to work out what makes it so special for Bushcraft. To be very clear, I am not disparaging the knife or design in any way, rather saying that in my limited understanding of Knifecraft in the bush beyond game prep and basic camping, I can't see what it would offer over say a Falkniven H1/F1 or heavy duty Mora/Hultfors style knife.
Some background:
I have a few knives for hunting and the outdoors, custom and off the peg.
For small deer, bunnies and other small game not far from home, I tend to use either a SS Mora Clipper/Companion ( http://www.moraofsweden.se/morakniv/companion-mg-50.0.201.2?group=prod_prod_grp-s1%2F41 ) or a Hultafors Carbon ( http://www.hultafors.com/uk/products/cutting/knives/craftsmans-knives/heavy-duty-knife-gk/.
These are good because not being too deep in the blade they can get around small animal body cavities with more dexterity than heavier knives.
They take decent edges, especially the carbon steel variants, but dull relatively quickly. Say 2-3 Muntjac, 1-2 Roe or a Fallow buck or Red deer as I prefer a very sharp knife for gralloching. I am sharpening challenged so I tend to sharpen at home with the Lansky and take more knives with me into the field in case I need them.
When I'm further way from home, say a week in Scotland I will take my Custom hunting knife which is made of CPM 154 Stainless.
I have had a convex edge put on this and with the better steel, this will do half a dozen of more beasts before it needs sharpening. Frequently a session on the strop with some "Smurf poo" is all that's needed to put the edge back on, I have a small MDF backed strop that I take with me. This is flat ground knife of 80mm length and 28mm depth which is perfect for gutting, skinning and prep of deer and boar.
For the same sort of trips but dealing with bigger animals (Larger than Red deer) I will take a Russian made knife Of around 125 mm made from some sort of Russian equivalent to the CPM 154 steel, I like to tell the credulous that it's made from Tank barrel steel...
This is a scandi ground clip point with a secondary edge to give a kind of "stepped" convex edge effect. This will and has reduced a moose to a pile of meat without the need for sharpening.
I have more recently started to combine more of my hunting with bushcraft; two weeks camping in the Australian Outback, a week living out of a rough log cabin in Russian Karelia etc. and have been enjoying the camping almost as much as the hunting. In fact they mesh rather wonderfully to give an experience that is greater than their sum.
Am I missing a "Bushcraft" knife in my life for these activities is my question, what does a bushcraft knife do that my existing knives don't?
Again, this is not meant to be a thread for bashing one design or another, rather I would beg the indulgence of the experience of the membership in what I'm missing.
With thanks,
C
