Just a little note to introduce myself. Dutch, getting too old (67 at the time of writing), former member of the Backpackers Club (Dutch chapter, a very long time ago before GPS and mobile phones when a backpack had an external frame if was any good). Always had an interest in knives and their use and landed on the BushcraftUS forum some years ago mostly for that reason. Have a few blade reviews there. Discussing similar subjects closer to home with a more European outlook seemed a good idea.
Presently I live in France, in the Auvergne where there are a lot of hills and real mountains, a lot of forest and few people. I prefer large wide open spaces and interesting skies. Our little plot of rural land here is about 1.5 acres (6000 sqm) and has some 200 trees and substantial bushes on it so we need to do a lot of pruning, cutting, firewood prep for the woodburning stove and so on. Honestly, I don't camp in the woods anymore but can just walk into woodland and very nice spots from my home so my house is my camp.
Apart from hiking and cutting woody things I spend time in the air, as I'm a hot-air balloon pilot. Need a rescue knife for that which would be highly illegal in the UK, lol. And here in France the authorities are less paranoid about carrying knives, so I can walk around with a decent folding knife in a belt sheath...
I love smock style jackets, and regularly use a Terävä Skrama blade from Varusteleka, Finland for yard work.
Will be reading in and hanging out here to see if I can contribute something useful.
Presently I live in France, in the Auvergne where there are a lot of hills and real mountains, a lot of forest and few people. I prefer large wide open spaces and interesting skies. Our little plot of rural land here is about 1.5 acres (6000 sqm) and has some 200 trees and substantial bushes on it so we need to do a lot of pruning, cutting, firewood prep for the woodburning stove and so on. Honestly, I don't camp in the woods anymore but can just walk into woodland and very nice spots from my home so my house is my camp.
Apart from hiking and cutting woody things I spend time in the air, as I'm a hot-air balloon pilot. Need a rescue knife for that which would be highly illegal in the UK, lol. And here in France the authorities are less paranoid about carrying knives, so I can walk around with a decent folding knife in a belt sheath...
I love smock style jackets, and regularly use a Terävä Skrama blade from Varusteleka, Finland for yard work.
Will be reading in and hanging out here to see if I can contribute something useful.
