Felleskap!!

[Ed]

Right then... Who got one? What you gonna do with it?

Mine turned up in perfect condition (unlike some I've heard), It had a slightly hollowground edge where it look like the bevels had been ground on a wheel, but an afternoon with a bench stone soon prouced a lovely flat grind.... and this thing can shave the hairs off my arms after the course stone.... Hate to think what it'll be like after a fine stone/ceramic rod...

Not realy sure what handle material to use... I'm still making a list.

having loads of fun with this

Ed

 

[Jon]

Hi
I got one :-D
I thought I was being brave thinking about grinding the spine to sort out the tip. But changeing the bevels from convex to flat grind. It makes sense but now you've got me scared. That idea is going to go ticking around in my empty little head and convince me that I can do it without completely messing up the blade. It's going to end in tears.

Handle material I've ordered some Thuya Burl and some mosaic pins from Brisa, should be here any minute now. B & Q seems to be doing a roaring trade from me at the moment what with me buying rasps and sandpaper, and then "oh I'll be needing a vice", and "I'd better buy a coping saw while I'm here". So far I've avoided the power tools but willpower is failing.

So how many of these are there altogether ? Somehow I'm thinking about a dozen but I can't remember where I read that, maybe I just imagined it.

It will be interesting to see photos of what everyone does with them. I'm really enjoying thinking this through and descideing what to do.

It's kind of ironic that all this time and effort is going into making something that is designed to be taken out to a wood somewhere and beaten with a large stick to make it cut through another piece of wood. It's meant to be used hard. To be kept in a display cabinet seems like no life at all for the Felleskap or any woodlore style knife.

Who was it that said
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" William Morriss ??


Sometimes we can have both at the same time. Hopefuly this will be one of those times.

Jon.

 

[Martyn]

It's kind of ironic that all this time and effort is going into making something that is designed to be taken out to a wood somewhere and beaten with a large stick to make it cut through another piece of wood. It's meant to be used hard. To be kept in a display cabinet seems like no life at all for the Felleskap or any woodlore style knife.

Answer is simple - make 2 of em. You can keep one for best, abuse the other and justify the expense of power tools. Then you can get some flat ground O1 bar steel, a Bar-B-Q forge, an anvil and....

Ahhhh.... you see how it starts.

There is an old saying, good luck making your first knife, but dont worry how it turns out, cos it wont be your last.

 

[Jon]

Answer is simple - make 2 of em.

:-D :-D :-D

 

[Ed]

But changeing the bevels from convex to flat grind.

If it was convex grind I would have left it alone, but it was hollowground (like a cut-throat razor)..... couldn't have that ;-)

Ed

 

[Roving Rich]

Sorry Folks, but what the hell are you talking about?
I'am asssuming this is some blank you can buy for turning into knife?
Rich

 

[Keith_Beef]

Sorry Folks, but what the hell are you talking about?
I'am asssuming this is some blank you can buy for turning into knife?
Rich

Close. It's not what I'd call a "blank", it is a fully finished, full-tang blade. All you need to do is mount your own slabs on the tang. And maybe hone the blade.

But it's already ground and heat-treated, so at a push, you could even get away with just binding the tang.

Get yourself over to www.BritishBlades.com to find out more.


Keith.

 

[bothyman]

Sorry Folks, but what the hell are you talking about?
I'am asssuming this is some blank you can buy for turning into knife?
Rich

I was thinking much the same what is so special about it??.

Could'nt find any pictures of it to decide what the fuss was about??

I presume it is just the inthing to have a bit like the Woodlore Knife??

 

[Roving Rich]

Hang on, I think I remember seeing that on the britishblades site, was this someone in northern europe (over there) made a few, got alot of interest and you guys got a bit of a bulk order together to save postage...
Rich

 

[Martyn]

Sorry Folks, but what the hell are you talking about?
I'am asssuming this is some blank you can buy for turning into knife?
Rich

Following a discussion on the forum, one of the BritishBlades members, a Scandinavian bladesmith Trond Pedersen, has forged a series of "bushcraft-esque" blades for us. They are a departure from the traditional Scandi-type blade with a straight top edge and stick tang that Trond usually makes, more like the Alan wood "woodlore" knife. They are hand forged by Trond the viking, and exclusive to BritishBlades....

(trond, the viking bladesmaith, forging a sword in his smithy.)

....with bushcraft as a focus. He's selling them on BritishBlades and many members are using it as a sort of community/forum project. For many, this is their first attempt at making/assembling their own blades. Those who've made knives before are chipping in with advice and help, in some cases materials too. I think Colin is providing leather blanks for the sheaths & has put together a sheath making tutorial.

This is what it looks like...

The choice of handle material is up to the individual, all you get is the blank above. As you can see, it's a similar shape to the woodlore, with the traditional Scandi grind, about the same length, slightly thinner I think (about 0.5mm thinner). The blanks are hardened and tempered and pre-drilled for 1/4" bolts or pins, and a thong hole.

I guess the project has migrated over here too, naturally enough i suppose, as so many are members of both communities.

The initial project was referred to as Tronds Woody, but fearing that this may get us confused with some adult orientated material, we had a poll and the knife was renamed to Felleskap (roughly translated as fellowship or togetherness in Norwegian).

If you are interested, here are some related threads...

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1570
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1675
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1743
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1584
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1745
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587

Hope that clears up any confusion.

 

[bothyman]

Many Thanks Martyn.

Now I am up to speed with this one.

So may I ask what makes a Bushcraft Knife different from the others??.

What is different about the blade??

I am a member of BritishBlades but must admit I did not follow the thread.

 

[Martyn]

Many Thanks Martyn.

Now I am up to speed with this one.

So may I ask what makes a Bushcraft Knife different from the others??.

What is different about the blade??

I am a member of BritishBlades but must admit I did not follow the thread.

Nothing much, it just suits the purpose. The blade is essentially a Scandi blade, but the handle is full tang, so you've less concerns about about strength when whacking the blade with a batton. The scandi blade grind, just happens to be very good a woodwork type tasks. Aside from that, the shape and style is essentially a traditional Scandi knife. The shape of the finished handle, is up to the person who makes it.

 

[Ed]

Just to add to what Martyn said above.....
I pm'd Trond when the offer was first made and asked him if members of BCUK could take advantage of his offer, I thought there would be alot of interest. But..... as this is his first blade like this (he has made thousands of stick tang blades), he was worried that it may turn out to be useless and would give him a bad reputation as a naff bladesmith. so he made a limited few (numbered) for people to try out/play around with and give him feedback... and he will see where it goes from there.... he even thanked me for having faith in him doing something he had never done before.... very nice man and a lovely blade.


Ed

 

[silas]

OK, Where can I get one and how much are they?

Silas

 

[Roving Rich]

Likewise- I guess we've gotta wait until Trond is happy he's made some gooduns.
Rich

 

[Martyn]

email Trond..
trond@kniv.net

Tell him you want a Felleskap and take it from there.

I think they're about €80 Euro's or thereabouts.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Thanks for the photo. It made a strange thread into an exellent one! I want to build my own knife,and this is the first blank I've seen that looks like what I've been after! I have some split carvings that are made out of ebony that I was going to slice up for the scales,unless anyone here knows better? To avoid the work,(lack of time,not idleness!)i would happily swap some ebony for a decent 'bushcraft' knife or pukko!

 

[Stuart]

I hate to ask this but why does anyone want a scandi blade with a full tang??

the scandinavians have been using puukko's in the wilderness for an extreamely long time and always use a stick tang

you can hardly argue that they dont know what makes a good knife!

its more than strong enough (the scandinavians are known for using their knives for things we would only do with an axe!) and its lighter in the hand and more comfortable

Trond has never made a full tang before for a good reason, there no point!

only the british and the americans insist on a full tang and in doing so we show our ignorance

 

[sargey]

i suppose for many it's simply a woodlore clone at a more achievable price. that ray mears bloke seems to have a pretty good idea of what works on a camping trip :shock: and he's seems to be about the only survival expert who actually uses the knife he designed.

the other factor with a stick tang vs full tang is the question of heat transferal. you don't want to be hanging onto bare metal in the subarctic regions. so a full tang is more of a disadvantage for scandanavian folks than it is for us.

for me personally, i want a full tang, exposed a little at the pommel for splitting wood that's wet on the outside, but maybe dry inside, for firewood. it's easy enough to split short lengths of wood by laying the knife across the spine and batonning. if you don't have a saw to make short lengths, you can stick the point of the knife into the side of the branch and hammer on the pommel, when the knife has pierced the branch, you start hammering down similar to the first method. usually, the wood breaks at a convenient point, and you get alot more wood split for less calories. both techniques are easier if you have three arms. you could hammer the point through the firewood and into a log, then start beating the wood up the knife. it's a trick i learnt from old jimbo, and one well worth trying out.

i don't always carry an axe, depending on when and where i'm going. i reckon that if a day comes when i really need a fire, i'll be travelling light, and it'll be wet :roll: i once had a jungle survival instructor who's catch phrase was "you can't reasonably expect wood to burn if you haven't split it." bark holds the moisture in too well. you can often see jets of steam and bubbles coming out of the ends of damp wood on a camp fire.

that's one specific reason, i'm sure there's more.

cheers, and

 

[Doc]

I was interested to read Stewarts post about stick vs full width tang. Surely swords, cavalry sabres etc have a stick tang, and are likely to undergo rather greater forces and stresses during use? I suspect the Scandinavians have been right all along.

I bought a Brusletto laminated stick tang blade and made the handle from curly birch. I'm not good at woodwork, and had to scrap the first handle, but I'm pleased with the second attempt. As it didn't cost much, I've been pretty rough with it, and I've I've not managed to destroy it yet....