Back from the trip to our cabin in Austria. I took my new OSF, the Woodlore and my Eklund knife to get a feel of the differences and similarities. With 2 small children there are other entertainment priorities, but I did get to use the knives on several small projects. I made several pictures, but had problems with a faulty memory stick, so I lost a couple of shots.
I always like to carry a fixed blade when I am there. One simple reason is that the line of kitchen knives we have over there are all very cheap and blunt. My family rents out the cabin and we have found that more expensive household stuff will get damaged some way or another over the years. I used the Eklund in the kitchen for most of the time. The OSF and Woodlore did get some kitchen time, but cutting meat and vegetables would not tell me much about the edge, beyond that they would both do that well.
TASKS
For the comparison, I used both the Woodlore and the OSF for cutting notches in several pieces of dead mountain ash for a fireboard project and cutting drills. Furthermore, I made 4 of figure-4 traps and several promontory pegs for my 'trap line'. (pictures lost). And finally, I split a mountain ash log with my SFA and made a couple of feathersticks with both knives. Both got about the same workload. The used wood (mountain -ash, -cherry, -rose) was pretty dense.
SHARPENING
Both knives where flat sharpened before use on my flat stropping board before the initial use. I use a wooden board that has 500 grit, saturated wet& dry paper taped on one side (on a cardboard layer) and chrome-polish saturated leather taped on the other side.
The higher grind on the OSF makes this knife even easier to sharpen than the Woodlore.
EDGE HOLDING
Before reprofiling I got slight edge rolling on the OSF, where the Woodlore still shaved hair. My initial fears that the 1/2 grind on the OSF would be too thin seemed to be correct. I think that each new knife has a 'breaking in' period in which you further fine hone and polish the standard edge. I proceeded with my stropping board and put a slight convex on the knife. This made the edge strength on par with the Woodlore. Still, it took me two weeks of use before my confidence in the OSF grind was back. Overall, after the initial convexing of the OSF, both knives did great.
I made another firebow set later on and after that, the OSF still shaved:
HANDLING THE KNIVES
As the picture shows, the handle on the OSF is larger that the Woodlore. I specified a handle to Jamie that went as far as possible towards the edge. This also allows to apply far more control in detail work. The handle proved to be large enough and more comfortable than the Woodlore for my hands. They are still a bit on the thin side. I have an OSF blank to finish and the maple has arrived for that, so I will try to make that 'perfect' fit myself.
The slabs on the Woodlore are a bit short for my taste and I am thinking about rehandling the knife (blasphemy?) later this year. I never understood why Ray Mears never specified that when designing this knife. So much control can be won with this simple configuration.
While the scales on the Woodlore did not look so nice as the stabilized redwood burl, I found them -as handle material- to be better, even stickier than the Redwood burl. The stabilized scales feel very solid, almost like an artficial material. This is just a comment from someone who is fortunate enough to have them both. They are both excellent choices, so this is just nitpicking.
CUTTING
The half grind on the OSF -when convexed- is the more comfortable cutter. Looking at the grind, this is no surprise. When using the knife, I came to understand why the Finnish people are so fond of their huge flat grinds with that tiny secondary bevel. To me, the OSF more resembles a full tang, drop point Jukka Hankala knife than a Woodlore. It would be interesting to compare them. For woodworking, the knife balances and slices exceptionally.
The Woodlore has a charm of its own. It is a bit more crude, but the flat grind will bite into the wood very well. I really like the wide to length ratio of the blade and the overall balance of this knife. It looks and feels like a solid workhorse.
Regarding the points, The OSF has a thinner point. But I found that the point proved to be sturdy enough to cut out drill-points into the fireboard (my only prying task). The Woodlore point performs well enough for that, but it also requires a bit more force. The Woodlores point sure looks if you could throw more abuse to it. For prying wood apart -leaning to abuse- the Woodlore would be a better knife.
SHEATHS
The OSF sheath is of excellent quality and fit. I noticed however that I do not like the high carry. You constantly feel the presence of the knife and as a result, I ended up carrying the Woodlore more than the OSF. For my other OSF blade I will make a sheath that resembles the Woodlores.
The Woodlore sheath is of a thinner leather stock, but holds the knife very well - the knife 'snaps' into it. How well it stays that way will only time tell.
CONCLUSION
Both knives are excellent for bushcraft-related tasks. I liked the OSF a bit more due to the higher grind and the more comfortable handle. The convexing of the OSF gave the edge just a bit more strength and it did not result in much performance loss. As a result, both knives 'bite' into the wood at about the same angle, but the thinner stock behind the OSF edge makes it a great slicer. This is noticable when cutting those notches in fireboards and slicing feathersticks. The OSF needs a better sheath however.
-Emile
I always like to carry a fixed blade when I am there. One simple reason is that the line of kitchen knives we have over there are all very cheap and blunt. My family rents out the cabin and we have found that more expensive household stuff will get damaged some way or another over the years. I used the Eklund in the kitchen for most of the time. The OSF and Woodlore did get some kitchen time, but cutting meat and vegetables would not tell me much about the edge, beyond that they would both do that well.
TASKS
For the comparison, I used both the Woodlore and the OSF for cutting notches in several pieces of dead mountain ash for a fireboard project and cutting drills. Furthermore, I made 4 of figure-4 traps and several promontory pegs for my 'trap line'. (pictures lost). And finally, I split a mountain ash log with my SFA and made a couple of feathersticks with both knives. Both got about the same workload. The used wood (mountain -ash, -cherry, -rose) was pretty dense.
SHARPENING
Both knives where flat sharpened before use on my flat stropping board before the initial use. I use a wooden board that has 500 grit, saturated wet& dry paper taped on one side (on a cardboard layer) and chrome-polish saturated leather taped on the other side.
The higher grind on the OSF makes this knife even easier to sharpen than the Woodlore.
EDGE HOLDING
Before reprofiling I got slight edge rolling on the OSF, where the Woodlore still shaved hair. My initial fears that the 1/2 grind on the OSF would be too thin seemed to be correct. I think that each new knife has a 'breaking in' period in which you further fine hone and polish the standard edge. I proceeded with my stropping board and put a slight convex on the knife. This made the edge strength on par with the Woodlore. Still, it took me two weeks of use before my confidence in the OSF grind was back. Overall, after the initial convexing of the OSF, both knives did great.
I made another firebow set later on and after that, the OSF still shaved:
HANDLING THE KNIVES
As the picture shows, the handle on the OSF is larger that the Woodlore. I specified a handle to Jamie that went as far as possible towards the edge. This also allows to apply far more control in detail work. The handle proved to be large enough and more comfortable than the Woodlore for my hands. They are still a bit on the thin side. I have an OSF blank to finish and the maple has arrived for that, so I will try to make that 'perfect' fit myself.
The slabs on the Woodlore are a bit short for my taste and I am thinking about rehandling the knife (blasphemy?) later this year. I never understood why Ray Mears never specified that when designing this knife. So much control can be won with this simple configuration.
While the scales on the Woodlore did not look so nice as the stabilized redwood burl, I found them -as handle material- to be better, even stickier than the Redwood burl. The stabilized scales feel very solid, almost like an artficial material. This is just a comment from someone who is fortunate enough to have them both. They are both excellent choices, so this is just nitpicking.
CUTTING
The half grind on the OSF -when convexed- is the more comfortable cutter. Looking at the grind, this is no surprise. When using the knife, I came to understand why the Finnish people are so fond of their huge flat grinds with that tiny secondary bevel. To me, the OSF more resembles a full tang, drop point Jukka Hankala knife than a Woodlore. It would be interesting to compare them. For woodworking, the knife balances and slices exceptionally.
The Woodlore has a charm of its own. It is a bit more crude, but the flat grind will bite into the wood very well. I really like the wide to length ratio of the blade and the overall balance of this knife. It looks and feels like a solid workhorse.
Regarding the points, The OSF has a thinner point. But I found that the point proved to be sturdy enough to cut out drill-points into the fireboard (my only prying task). The Woodlore point performs well enough for that, but it also requires a bit more force. The Woodlores point sure looks if you could throw more abuse to it. For prying wood apart -leaning to abuse- the Woodlore would be a better knife.
SHEATHS
The OSF sheath is of excellent quality and fit. I noticed however that I do not like the high carry. You constantly feel the presence of the knife and as a result, I ended up carrying the Woodlore more than the OSF. For my other OSF blade I will make a sheath that resembles the Woodlores.
The Woodlore sheath is of a thinner leather stock, but holds the knife very well - the knife 'snaps' into it. How well it stays that way will only time tell.
CONCLUSION
Both knives are excellent for bushcraft-related tasks. I liked the OSF a bit more due to the higher grind and the more comfortable handle. The convexing of the OSF gave the edge just a bit more strength and it did not result in much performance loss. As a result, both knives 'bite' into the wood at about the same angle, but the thinner stock behind the OSF edge makes it a great slicer. This is noticable when cutting those notches in fireboards and slicing feathersticks. The OSF needs a better sheath however.
-Emile
, I have it myself. The saw could be better and the steel is too soft. But it is proven to break thick glass without breaking the tip and breaking up things, very efficiently! I can't get an edge on it. :?:
