Karesuando Knife Kit

[Deaner666]

Hello all. I've just found my way back to these forums after a bit of a hiatus. I thought I'd kick things off by letting you all in on a project I've been working on that's tied in with me ramping up my interest in bushcraft.

Back along I bought myself a Karesundo knife kit from The Bushcraft Store. I didn't get a chance to work on it for ages, but in the last week or so I've finally got round to finishing off the knife. Here it is:

Pic 1
Pic 2

I have to admit, I've found the process quite addictive, and can't wait to start on the next project. I did struggle with some parts due to a lack of tools - particularly with grinding the tang down to fit the bolster, but having done a bit of research I'm surprised to see you can get hold of bench grinders for really cheap.

I was also surprised to discover how much I enjoyed making the sheath. Dare I say it, I may have found the sheath more enjoyable than the knife itself! I'm thinking of getting hold of some leather and making a few bits (like a small tinder pouch) that aren't anything to do with knives.

Let me know what you think and let me know how any of you have got on with similar projects.

 

[Peanut]

That's a really nice knife! Well done mate. I've been thinking of getting one of those kits myself but I always wondered whether it'd come out ok. Yours looks fantastic though. Congrats!

 

[Deaner666]

Thanks Peanut. The kit's not bad at all. It's a really cheap way of finding out if it's gonna be your kind of thing (less than £30).

The blade seems OK, although I haven't really tested it yet. It doesn't arrive amazingly sharp, but it's Sandvik Steel (carbon steel also available), so in theory it should sharpen up alright. Only thing is it has a sabre grind as opposed to a traditional scandi grind. I think this just means there's a micro bevel but I'm not sure. I'll probably just sharpen this away as it'll probably be a bit of a pain to maintain in the field but more research is definitely needed.

You would obviously get a higher quality finish by selecting your own individual components (a piece of curly birch with better figuring for example), but when you're starting out, and not really sure of everything that's involved in making a knife, these kits are a godsend for just getting started and learning from your (hopefully minor) mistakes.

 

[Dark Horse Dave]

Nice job Dave. I made up one of those myself a few weeks ago, and used it all week at the recent BCUK Bushmoot - just for ordinary stuff like food prep and general duties. It performed fine for those tasks. I still plan to scandify it fully on my waterstones, but hey, it's only a knife and works OK!

(Did a little post about it here if you're interested: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77834)

Like your handle. Good work, thanks for posting.

 

[Deaner666]

Another Dave - God there are tons of us eh?! Thanks for the comment, just about to head over to your thread for a look now...

 

[brancho]

Nice knife but I hate links please post photos in future
The sheath is very well made

 

[sasquatch]

Thanks Peanut. The kit's not bad at all. It's a really cheap way of finding out if it's gonna be your kind of thing (less than £30).

The blade seems OK, although I haven't really tested it yet. It doesn't arrive amazingly sharp, but it's Sandvik Steel (carbon steel also available), so in theory it should sharpen up alright. Only thing is it has a sabre grind as opposed to a traditional scandi grind. I think this just means there's a micro bevel but I'm not sure. I'll probably just sharpen this away as it'll probably be a bit of a pain to maintain in the field but more research is definitely needed.

You would obviously get a higher quality finish by selecting your own individual components (a piece of curly birch with better figuring for example), but when you're starting out, and not really sure of everything that's involved in making a knife, these kits are a godsend for just getting started and learning from your (hopefully minor) mistakes.

Nice work, I'd leave the micro bevel on as that's what gives the edge it's strength. Just try stropping it with some autosol and it should go razor sharp. It'll take ages to get rid of the microbevel then be prone to damage which will mean more time on the stones. Looks a lovely user, it is addictive stuff making knives!

 

[Deaner666]

@brancho I did try to embed the photos but it wouldn't work. When I uploaded them I just got a red cross next to the filenames with no way to insert them into the post...

@sasquatch Cheers for the tips on the sabre grind, I've not come across it before. So for it to be different to a scandi grind, there must be something more to it than just the micro bevel. Is the angle of the primary bevel different to the primary bevel on a scandi? I have noticed it feels 'thicker' than my Moras.

 

[sasquatch]

I'll be honest with you, I don't know all the terminology when it comes to knives and grinds. I figured the knife kit you have would be a similar grind to a mora, a scandi grind with a microbevel. A true 0 degree scandi wouldn't have this microbevel but I think that's more suited to wood carving and similar. An all round knife doing various tasks lasts better with the micro bevel.

If the bevels feel thicker on your new knife compared to a mora and you don't like it you could always get rid of the secondary then put your own microbevel on. It takes time but it's easily done. I took a mora to full scandi a few years ago then of course the edge started to roll and chip. It only takes a minute to put a microbevel back on and it's been fine since. All my knives including full flat grinds have microbevels, they work a treat in my opinion.

Robin Wood had a great thread a few years back that made far more sense than I can...

 

[Deaner666]

Cheers for the tips Sasquatch, I'll have a delve through that thread now...

 

[Deaner666]

Just as a follow-up to this, I've written about the Karesuando Knife kit and how I went about making it in the form of a tutorial at my blog. Hopefully it will be of use to anybody who's bought a similar kit.

 

[CAL]

The knife looks really great. I have one of these kits saved for this winter (will be my first knife kit) and I wondered how good it would look when finished. If it looks half as good as yours I will be really pleased.

 

[Deaner666]

Cheers Cal. I hope you have fun making your knife and become at least half as addicted to it as I did!

 

[TinkyPete]

nice knife put one of the kits on my christmas wish list I hope I get one to try