New to this community, so late to this thead.
I own a Mears/Wood 'Woodlore' and a Bison 'Bushcraft'. I've had both for some time.
While they are designed for similar duty, they are different knives: both excellent in their own way. the 'Woodlore' is beefier and too heavy for comfortable day-long neck carry IMO. The 'Bushcraft' (Bison) is more compact and lighter round the neck. They're both good for tinder/kindling preparation and for green and seasoned timber whittling for shelter building, etc. Neither is absolutely ideal for game prep; fish filleting or fine slicing. The pointy puukko shape is also not ideal for skinning, but these knives will still manage adequately. Clearly the design emphasis was for these knives to be strong enough to stand up to the rigour's of wilderness living/survival unless stupidly abused.
All else being equal, a thinner blade is a weaker blade. There's no way it could be anything else. If you need to keep a blade strong enough to avoid accidental damage in a survival situation, it has to be stout enough. Inevitably this will be at some compromise to optimum slicing ability.
Some might suggest that the original 'Woodlore' is expensive, given its relatively simple design and materials of construction. However, with a waiting time well into 2004, the market doesn't seem to agree! Roger Harrington's knives have a slightly more rustic feel to them, but there is nothing wrong with the build quality. Since the 'Woodlore' is not offered with any variation (pace the new Wilkinson-made versions), it cannot be called a 'custom' knife. While Bison Bushcraft offers standard patterns, the customer can specify considerable variation at the time of ordering.
BTW, stainless steel will strike a Swedish Firesteel perfectly well, as my eleven year old young son can demonstrate all day long if you let him!
