New Design.... Nessmuk

[Tiley]

Cheers guys.

They'll start at £140 with a scandi grind like the one above... or £165 with a full flat. Same price as my other bushys.

Wow! That's amazingly good value! I am sorely tempted... but I mustn't... really, I mustn't... not this week anyway...

 

[CumbrianLad]

Great knife mate well done look forward to seeing the others

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[Hibrion]

Looks a good shape - not too severe, as some nessmuks can be.

The full flat would be my preference too.

 

[Muskett]

It has fine lines but I don't like any knife that doesn't have a guard to stop the hand going forward. So there are a lot out there at present that in truth I think are an accident waiting to happen. Maybe I'm going against the trend, but thats what I think.

 

[Herbalist1]

That is a very nice looking knife and for that workmanship, a really good price. Tempted even though I don't need any more knives.

As for Muskett's comment, well, we are all entitled to our opinion but I don't see the need of a guard on any knife that you are going to be using for cutting, whether it be a whittler, a carver, a kitchen knife or something heavier that you might be chopping with. Your hand is only going to be slipping forward if you are stabbing the point into something. And on a bushcraft knife a guard can really limit the variety of grips you can use.
Fighting knives - Bowie, Kabar, Fairbain-Sykes etc - have guards for a reason but I'm not planning to be stabbing my knives into anything. If I do need to stick the point of a knife into a piece of wood (eg to make a makeshift tool to cut thronging from a piece of leather), I'll do it by striking the pommel. No risk of hand slipping and more controlled than stabbing so less likely to damage knife as well.

 

[CumbrianLad]

That is a very nice looking knife and for that workmanship, a really good price. Tempted even though I don't need any more knives.

As for Muskett's comment, well, we are all entitled to our opinion but I don't see the need of a guard on any knife that you are going to be using for cutting, whether it be a whittler, a carver, a kitchen knife or something heavier that you might be chopping with. Your hand is only going to be slipping forward if you are stabbing the point into something. And on a bushcraft knife a guard can really limit the variety of grips you can use.
Fighting knives - Bowie, Kabar, Fairbain-Sykes etc - have guards for a reason but I'm not planning to be stabbing my knives into anything. If I do need to stick the point of a knife into a piece of wood (eg to make a makeshift tool to cut thronging from a piece of leather), I'll do it by striking the pommel. No risk of hand slipping and more controlled than stabbing so less likely to damage knife as well.

Very well worded reply mate glad you explained all that as I am not the sharpest tool in the box

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[Herbalist1]

Thanks CumbrianLad. I'm sure you're doing yourself a disservice but as long as you make sure your knife IS the sharpest tool in the box you'll do fine.

 

[Shinken]

Very nice, that design has been thought about. The trouble with traditional nessie is the handle being lower than blade, so not a makeshif kitchen knife. This knife is the opposit and would work well for that!

For me though, I would say this suits a full flat. I do not see the point (excuse pun) of a scandi on this design other that is what some people will want.

 

[Muskett]

A lot of my knives don't have a guard, but this size and build strength is one I do like to see at least a lower guard/stop. It doesn't have to be huge, but at least more than I see here. If the knife had a much finer thiner and lighter blade then it wouldn't be put to tougher tasks. But at this level of thickness it may well be used with some welly behind. Its not some wittler.
A stop guard for poking and digging.

I like the look of this threads knife but to me it just doesn't have quite enough as a hand stop.

I know I'm out of the fashion loop. All sorts of excuses are made like the guard might get in the way of certain tasks. I've not found it the case with small but adequate guards. I'm also not impressed with the fashion of so much thickness on knives that will be used for cutting and slicing. Build a tough knife then put a guard on it.
Much of this no guard fashion is its a lot easier to make a knife without.

I've witnessed when its gone horribly wrong, and I don't want to see it again.

Here is the minimum I would want to see:

 

[santaman2000]

I normally like a guard on larger knives also, but this one looks more than adequate with the handle shape acting as a guard in and of itself. I think Mark incorporated it seamlessly into the design without being obvious.

 

[mick91]

Nice clean lines there really nice looking knife. Top job as always Mark

 

[Herbalist1]

A lot of my knives don't have a guard, but this size and build strength is one I do like to see at least a lower guard/stop. It doesn't have to be huge, but at least more than I see here. If the knife had a much finer thiner and lighter blade then it wouldn't be put to tougher tasks. But at this level of thickness it may well be used with some welly behind. Its not some wittler.
A stop guard for poking and digging.

I like the look of this threads knife but to me it just doesn't have quite enough as a hand stop.

I know I'm out of the fashion loop. All sorts of excuses are made like the guard might get in the way of certain tasks. I've not found it the case with small but adequate guards. I'm also not impressed with the fashion of so much thickness on knives that will be used for cutting and slicing. Build a tough knife then put a guard on it.
Much of this no guard fashion is its a lot easier to make a knife without.

I've witnessed when its gone horribly wrong, and I don't want to see it again.

Here is the minimum I would want to see:

If you are going to be using a knife like this for heavy tasks like chopping, then there is a chance of hand slipping, esp. if wet. However, the knife is likely to slip forward out of the hand. For that reason, I'd always use a lanyard loop which I'd hoop my thumb through, run it round back of hand. If knife slips, it can't slip out of hand and potential for injury prevented.
I don't have anything against a shaped handgrip if that is preferred as long as I can still choke up as close to the cutting edge as possible.

i do have an MOD survival knife (I think knife is a loose term for this tool) and that does have a pronounced guard but then there is the expectation that squaddies will abuse it in every possible way including digging with it. Personally I'd never dig with a knife I was also wanting to cut with - quickest way possible to knacker the edge and snap off the tip. If I didn't have but needed a digging tool, I'd use my nice sharp knife to make a digging stick which is a much more efficient tool.
I'm not likely to start digging, poking or levering with my knife so I don't feel the need for a guard. I do use knives for cutting, chopping, batoning, carving and I've never had an accident due to hand slipping forward on to blade when carrying out these tasks. I've had plenty of cuts but not from this.
I guess people use knives in different ways and for different tasks and if a guard is going to keep you safe in the way you use your knife, then a guard has its place. Everyone is going to pick the knives that best suit their own needs which is fair enough.

 

[HillBill]

Cheers guys

This knife is only 3mm thick mate. So not much thickness at all... the next two will have full flats and will be very fine and slicey.

And as for guards... well, if you're stabbing a blade forward enough for your hand to slip onto the blade then you're definitely doing something wrong.

And the top two knives in your pics don't have guards at all. A guard drops lower than the cutting edge, yet doesn't on those two.

The Original nessie had no guard either... and that was a hunting knife

Its just as easy to put a guard on a knife as it is to leave it off.


[QUOTE=Muskett;1750558
I'm also not impressed with the fashion of so much thickness on knives that will be used for cutting and slicing. Build a tough knife then put a guard on it.
Much of this no guard fashion is its a lot easier to make a knife without.

 

[Muskett]

I've probably unnecessarily messed up this thread. 3mm is a cutting blade and should give plenty of feedback. I still like some kind of stop to my larger butchering knives, as found on Victorinox range.

I like a descent hand stop, or guard, on any knife that is going to have some real force exerted on it. Or anything that going to work with "slimmy". The examples I show are small work knives, slightly on the thicker side for robustness. The Harry Boden is a classic stalking knife for processing. For the next size up then I like to see even more stop/guard. Golock size then not so important again, as they are used in a different way.

The accident I witnessed was a Stalker dispatching a Red Stag. He was using the wrong type of knife and got it very wrong. It was a long way to A&E and several operations later. Hunting knives come in two types: hunting, or processing.
This is a hunting knife:

I don't use any kind of lanyard on any knife or hatchet. One they pick up muck, two they get in the way and three they catch on everything. Ingenious what people have thought up and I'm sure it can work; but not for me. One thing is paracord is too strong and can rip a hand off, or finger. A lanyard should break first before anything important. Just saying.

 

[santaman2000]

...... Hunting knives come in two types: hunting, or processing.
This is a hunting knife:

.......

That knife would be interesting against a charging buffalo herd.

 

[Countryman]

Mark has worked on a very similar knife for me. Darn I don't have a photo ( I'm in Piedmont at the moment)

However got to say, said stalker got his due. I would never use a knife to dispatch a wounded beast. It's possible with great skill to insert a blade at the atlas joint and end life very quickly but on a stressed animal this is difficult to locate, hard to penetrate and has the potential to turn very nasty.
Muzzle to eye and a follow up shot if there is and response is the way to go.


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[Shinken]

Regarding the guard thing, if you like a guard then buy a knife with one, if you do not like a guard then buy a knife without one simples

I look forward to the full flaties

 

[Dreadhead]

Oh I really like that! I don't like guards on knives (none of mine has one) but that's purely due to aesthetics and not a practical point of view in which case yes they are a good idea. So this is right up my street

 

[Muskett]

That knife would be interesting against a charging buffalo herd.

Charging Buffalo, I'll be up that tree.
It was made for hunting Razerbacks with dogs. Or for coup de grace on wounded Wild Boar grounded and covered in dogs.
The incident I was watching through binos. The weather was horrendous, full horizontal gale. The professional Stalker was going for the atlas joint. He had the wrong kind of knife. I was too far away watching from the valley floor; it was like watching a combat zone from afar. The stag was a Royal!

It will be interesting to see this design develop with the different grinds. Sorry to muddle the thread with two huge issues that I have at present with many knife designs.

 

[HillBill]

Full flats are under way!