On our recent holiday trip to northeast Poland, we went for a weeks paddling along a river. Every night we put up camp on a different place, had a swim and after that we enjoyed the views as we sat eating our supper, chatting away before it was time for bed. It wasnt the best weather all the time: Sometimes sunny, sometimes dripping a bit, and sometimes it was absolutely pouring down.
For all of the camp-chores plus a bit of fun, I brought along one of my latest trios: A Gränsfors SFA, a BRK&T Mini Northstar and a Remington Lumberjack two-bladed moose.
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The Gränsfors has come along many times, so it was no surprise to me when I found that, once again, it handled all of the tasks I used it for with ease. This is a well-balanced, sharp tool and its truly a pleasure to work with.
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The Lumberjack was given convex edges before starting out, as the factory edge left a lot to whish for. This little fellow was used for when non-knife people was nearby, for whittling and (what surprised me) for getting that jam out of the jar and spread it on the sandwich. The round tip of the spey blade made it possible to reach that last bit of jam in the corners of the jar, and then to spread it nicely on the bread. The best bit with this knife however, was to see the happy face of my girlfriends niece as I gave her a mountain ash bark whistle that Id made with the help of the Lumberjack.
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The BRK&T Mini Northstar was new to me. I didnt know what to expect from it, but brought it along as a general purpose knife. I neednt have worried. This little guy stood up to all of the high expectations I had on it. I have rather smallish hands, so the handle of the Mini Northstar fits quite well in my hand. I never had the feeling there was any risk for slipping or not enough thickness for a firm grip.
The Mini Northstar was put to work on making fuss-sticks, preparing birch-bark for fire-lightning, as scraper for a fire-steel, making tent-pegs and skewers, preparing pot-holders and cutting string, cutting tarp- and tent-line anti-stumbling devices (read: a small branch with some leaves hung over the line so as to see the line better when its dark) as well as doing some relaxing whittling by the camp-fire. The Mini Northstar was also often used when preparing food. Cutting veggies, bread, sausages, cheese and meat was done with ease, and the results of this was thoroughly enjoyed at all of our meals.
This is one of the best all-purpose knives Ive ever had the pleasure to hold in my hand. The fact that its stainless fitted perfectly with the paddling tour, where its often very wet. The blade is not too thick, which means that preparing food can be done very well indeed. You cut the food instead of splitting it. The blade shape is perfect for general purpose use: A slightly pointy spearpoint with a nice, razor-sharp convex edge to cut with and a good point for starting holes in wood. The back of the blade had enough edge to make nice sparks from the firesteel. Admittedly, this is not a big blade, but for all of the large tasks the Gränsfors was there. Therefore, I never felt a need for a larger blade than this.
The only gripe I have about this knife is the pancake sheath, a style sheath which I have never liked. But I know this has been changed for the second batch of Mini Northstars, so maybe I can take this as an excuse to get me my second Mini Northstar.
One of my absolute favourite general purpose knives.
/ Karl
For all of the camp-chores plus a bit of fun, I brought along one of my latest trios: A Gränsfors SFA, a BRK&T Mini Northstar and a Remington Lumberjack two-bladed moose.
The Gränsfors has come along many times, so it was no surprise to me when I found that, once again, it handled all of the tasks I used it for with ease. This is a well-balanced, sharp tool and its truly a pleasure to work with.
The Lumberjack was given convex edges before starting out, as the factory edge left a lot to whish for. This little fellow was used for when non-knife people was nearby, for whittling and (what surprised me) for getting that jam out of the jar and spread it on the sandwich. The round tip of the spey blade made it possible to reach that last bit of jam in the corners of the jar, and then to spread it nicely on the bread. The best bit with this knife however, was to see the happy face of my girlfriends niece as I gave her a mountain ash bark whistle that Id made with the help of the Lumberjack.
The BRK&T Mini Northstar was new to me. I didnt know what to expect from it, but brought it along as a general purpose knife. I neednt have worried. This little guy stood up to all of the high expectations I had on it. I have rather smallish hands, so the handle of the Mini Northstar fits quite well in my hand. I never had the feeling there was any risk for slipping or not enough thickness for a firm grip.
The Mini Northstar was put to work on making fuss-sticks, preparing birch-bark for fire-lightning, as scraper for a fire-steel, making tent-pegs and skewers, preparing pot-holders and cutting string, cutting tarp- and tent-line anti-stumbling devices (read: a small branch with some leaves hung over the line so as to see the line better when its dark) as well as doing some relaxing whittling by the camp-fire. The Mini Northstar was also often used when preparing food. Cutting veggies, bread, sausages, cheese and meat was done with ease, and the results of this was thoroughly enjoyed at all of our meals.
This is one of the best all-purpose knives Ive ever had the pleasure to hold in my hand. The fact that its stainless fitted perfectly with the paddling tour, where its often very wet. The blade is not too thick, which means that preparing food can be done very well indeed. You cut the food instead of splitting it. The blade shape is perfect for general purpose use: A slightly pointy spearpoint with a nice, razor-sharp convex edge to cut with and a good point for starting holes in wood. The back of the blade had enough edge to make nice sparks from the firesteel. Admittedly, this is not a big blade, but for all of the large tasks the Gränsfors was there. Therefore, I never felt a need for a larger blade than this.
The only gripe I have about this knife is the pancake sheath, a style sheath which I have never liked. But I know this has been changed for the second batch of Mini Northstars, so maybe I can take this as an excuse to get me my second Mini Northstar.
One of my absolute favourite general purpose knives.
/ Karl
