A J Wright bushcraft knife

[JonBaker]

Any one else got experience of this knife.....

http://www.outdoorcode.co.uk/catalo...d=635&osCsid=c3b7b52e7aca516c598d575c046b2773

I cannot find any reviews on it but too me it is a good spec'd knife (very close to the Alan Wood Ray Mears knife) that doesn't cost an excessive amount and you can get pretty much next day - what more would you want?

I bought one a few months ago and it seems to work OK. It has kept a good edge and cuts very well. It is a very strong design – using 4.5mm carbon tool steel – I don’t think I need to consider buying another one any time soon.

Any views?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I am glad that you like it. Knives are a personal thing and models which suit one person might not suit someone else.

I handled one of the AJ Wright bushcraft knives a number of months ago and thought it was pretty rough. Having handled and used various Alan Wood knives including the Woodlore, plus the Wilkinson Sword version, I feel fairly confident in saying that the AJ Wright only bears a passing resemblance to the original Woodlore. The fit, finish, shaping and sheath were not as well executed as those on the Micarta handled Wilkinson Sword version, by a long margin.

I can't say how well it cut, but the one I handled, from the box, would have needed a fair bit of attention to remove flat areas at the tip and for half an inch forward of the plunge/ricasso, which, by the way, was excessively long and put the cutting edge too far from the handle, compared to the original design.

It is of course possible that I handled a particularly ropey model, but looking at the display of the same source, at the Midland Game Fair, it didn't look like there had been any change in quality.

With a little effort I reckon that a person could find a better made knife from one of the Scandinavian manufacturers, or, if they wanted the Woodlore style, they could find someone here or on BB to supply a blade and with only the most basic tools, come up with a more faithful rendition of Ray's handle shape.

 

[Gailainne]

I sent mine back for a refund. They may have got better, shrug.

Stephen

 

[JonBaker]

I agree - the knife is a factory production knife rather than a crafted knife and I think that makes the difference in some of the areas you are talking about. The handle is certainly not as well finished as it could be.

But in a way I think that is what I like about it - it a real tool that I don't mind getting bashed about a bit. If I'd pay £200 or £300 for knife and had weighted a year for it I think I might be scared to use it.

But you are right it is a little rough compared to other knives out there - but the blade on mine seems OK and the ricasso doesn't seem excessive - comparable to the original Woodlore Wilkinson Sword version I believe and the edge is good through to the point. I guess when a knife if simply made as part of a production batch it doesn't have the same TLC that a crafted knife will have so there will be variations in quality.

I did look at some Scandinavian knives - but couldn't find one that had a full tang (both to the butt of the handle and also the width of the handle) - may be a missed something in my hours of trawling the internet!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no expert in knives and accept your superior knowledge. If you know of a Scandinavia made knife with a full tang (as I described above) I would be interested to know about it.

 

[veldini]

Some other excellent bushcraft knives at very reasonable prices:

EKA W11 (4 3/4 " blade)
http://www.ragweedforge.com/w11.jpg

EKA W8 (3 1/8" blade)
http://www.ragweedforge.com/h8.jpg

Ahti Leuku 145 (3 1/2" blade)
http://www.ragweedforge.com/9609.jpg

 

[Shinken]

scandinavian knives can have full legth tangs which are riveted or screwed at the back of the handle material. this make for a strong construction.

in actual fact it has some advantages, the weekness of a full width and legth tang is that there is more surface area on the tang to cause problems.

both are good if well looked after though

 

[Andy]

I've got a test sample on the way though I'm getting them modified a bit. I'll try and send it to someone independant for a review. Part of the reason they trade with me is that I have good contacts with thecustomers so am able to give feedback

I feel I should point out it's not a AJ Wright knife it's a A.Wright knife

 

[C_Claycomb]

It is interesting that the A. Wright site shows it as £139.50. The one on the Bladetec stand was a lot less.

My apologies Jon if it sounded like I was saying that it was easy to find a Woodlore clone, or similar full tang knife from the Scandinavian makers. It's not. The fixation on the percieved superior strength of a full tang isn't something that usually extends to the Scandinavian makers or users, so it is hard to find anything that isn't some form of hidden tang. That is where a poke around on British Blades would pay dividends.

 

[Andy]

It is interesting that the A. Wright site shows it as £139.50. The one on the Bladetec stand was a lot less.

common practice
anything on www.sheffieldknives.co.uk is full RRP this means that you can buy the same knifefrom www.heinnie.com at the same price even though the factory could ship direct for less while making the same money
where I try and give people a good deal on britishblades with the stuff I sell is that I collect from the factory and reuse packaging. I also don't have shop overheads so can sell for a bit less. The downside is I have little stock and only really sell to members of these forums

 

[JonBaker]

I bought mine from here:

http://www.tout-lemonde.com/?page=s...34&CLSN_1892=119079464718929c6471e1c61739a35d

for less than the RRP - nice guy as well - he was happy for me to send the knife back if I wasn't happy and only charge £2 shipping:

and you can also get from here, for a bit less - not sure what the shipping costs are like:

http://www.outdoorcode.co.uk/catalo...d=635&osCsid=c3b7b52e7aca516c598d575c046b2773

Chris, after your comment about the length of the ricasso on the A Wright knife I did check it again last night - it is only about 6mm - may be 7mm in length which I think is typical. Admittedly in the Outdoorcode link photo it does look excessively long.

I do think that the quality may have got better recently. If you look at the photo of the knife in the Outdoorcode link compared to the photo in the Tout-lemonde link you can see a difference - especially in the length of the ricasso.

I still think it is a good all round knife - I am sure you can get more polished more crafted knives out there (not for the same price though) and I think it is well worth people going through the relatively painless exercise of purchasing and reviewing and sending it back if not happy.

 

[Andy]

I've asked for my test sample to have 3mm ricasso and they were interested to find out why this was as they hadn't had any negitive feedback on the length of it so we ended up having a chat about the way people (or at least I ) tend to use this sort of knife.

 

[John Fenna]

Why have a ricasso at all?
Many Scandi knives etc have none and I was under the impression a ricasso was invented for a choked grip on a dagger (and as a flat area for stamping the makers info).
So - why a ricasso on a bushcraft blade? Equally - why a choil? Is it design inertia or is there a purpose that I have yet to fathom?
Has the Wright knife got a big ricasso for a reason?

 

[Andy]

The maker is more used to producing knives in a very different style. If you look at a traditional Sheffield made clip point knife it will have a fairly large ricasso. I think it's a hang over from when they would be forged.

I asked for 2-3mm becasue I think it looks a bit nicer, also since it's almost impossible to sharpen the last 3mm as the handle gets in the way I see no reason why not too.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Ahh. Thanks for the new picture! That certainly does look a better length for the ricasso. The ones that I saw looked exactly like the one on the A Wright site (which is where Outdoor Code got the image). I reckon I could live quite well with a 6mm ricasso, if the edge started fairly quickly and the plunge cut wasn't too wide.

The handle still looks a little square, but that is something that is easily remedied.

As for the reasons for a ricasso, in most cases I think it probably is design inertia. The closer you put the plunge line to the end of the handle slabs, the more precise you need to be in how you cut and shape your parts, possibly an issue if you are trying to make a lot of knives in a batch. The ricasso is a handy place to put your makers' mark, but on a scandi ground blade it can go up near the spine almost as well. If you change the knife style, then there are more arguements for having a large ricasso and/or choil, but on a short bushcraft knife, I don't think it adds anything.

 

[sandbag47]

$orry guys ....but what is a ricasso or a choil

 

[JonBaker]

Choil... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife

ricasso.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricasso

I think they are names for the same thing - but I am sure I will be corrected if I'm wrong.

 

[John Fenna]

A choil is normaly indented - as big as a finger or as small as almost invisible - back from the edge.
A ricasso is just an unsharpened and unground section of the blade forward of the handle.
Both seem only practical features on fighting knives and un-nessessary on bushcraft knives.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I would have to add that a choil makes sharpening the very back end of the blade easier, and that either a choil or a ricasso that you can choke up on with your index finger, can, on the right knife, provide a very safe and secure grip when field dressing game.

Neither seem to sit well on a knife with a single scandi grind.

Finger choils, like finger grooves, and guards, can easily reduce the flexibility of how you can hold a knife, but they do add security when held as they were intended. Everyone has to decide for themselves what the right level of grip security/flexibility is, based on how they like to work. I used to like guards and big ricassos more than I do now, mainly because the things I use knives for now have changed a little.

 

[sandbag47]

thank you

 

[Zammo]

This probably won't sit well with some, but I use the ricasso on the knife I made to strike my firesteel (don't worry I haven't yet hit the blade). Mainly because it has a very square edge and produces a good spark and also because I couldn't bring myself to file the back of the knife.