Raven PK1 Knife

[Something In The Woodshed]

Hows my Flandi coming along Duncan.
One thing I will add about a convex, like on a Falkniven H1 blade for instance, is that it really does bite into wood, almost too much and I sometimes find it less easy to control than the scandi grind.
M

 

[Elines]

actually full flat or Hollow is far easier to sharpen theres a fraction of the metal to remove to get it back to a good edge ................

Duncan

Ah - i can see that, but a lot of people, by which I suppose I mean me, have the difficulty of getting the angles right - and that is easier with a skandi (I'm beginning to sound as if I know what I am talking about - but don't be fooled)

 

[FGYT]

Ah - i can see that, but a lot of people, by which I suppose I mean me, have the difficulty of getting the angles right - and that is easier with a skandi (I'm beginning to sound as if I know what I am talking about - but don't be fooled)

no... a lot of people have been brainwashed into thinking that they cant learn to sharpen ... yes it does take a little while and a bit of practice to get the hang of but that's like any hand skill including any you use the knife for in Bushcrafting most peoples first few spoons arnt pretty

ATB

Duncan

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I was 'oddly' thinking about this last night.... In an ideal world, I would carry both a heavy convex camp/utility knife and a smaller scandi ground knife of some sorts....

The reason as mentioned above (for me also) is that even a very fine convex edge requires the spine of the knife to be raised a little more than a scandi to catch the surface you are cutting, or rather carving (as you have to get past the cheek of the convex). Its the main reason I have swapped to scandi's at the mo.

There's nothing wrong with either, they just have different purposes (for me) anyways.

Both seem pretty straight forward to sharpen, but you can loose the edge on both without care and attention.

 

[Retired Member southey]

My first spoons are in the Tate! in the impressionism rooms

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I've been told... Nobody carves a spoon like me!

(and not in a good way)

 

[Elines]

no... a lot of people have been brainwashed into thinking that they cant learn to sharpen ... yes it does take a little while and a bit of practice to get the hang of but that's like any hand skill including any you use the knife for in Bushcrafting most peoples first few spoons arnt pretty

ATB

Duncan

Yes - I can see that - but IF I were to buy an expensive knie I would go for skandi grind because I think I would be able to sharpen it (never tried to sharpen other grinds) so for me the main issues with the Raven PK1 remain:

the shape of the point

the value or otherwise of the choil

 

[JonathanD]

Yes - I can see that - but IF I were to buy an expensive knie I would go for skandi grind because I think I would be able to sharpen it (never tried to sharpen other grinds) so for me the main issues with the Raven PK1 remain:

the shape of the point

the value or otherwise of the choil

The large choil was dropped after the first prototype.

 

[Tiley]

It's pricey for sure but it's a good looking blade and I really liked and appreciated the narrative describing its evolution. I think I might sign up for one, probably in 01 though I am tempted by the RWL option, to have as a user. Mind you, the prospect of pitching the PK1 against the Deval Bushcrafter is exciting. Clash of the Titans? Doesn't really matter; the reviewing process will be enormous fun... Maybe, for the sake of even-handedness, I should opt for a PK1 in the RWL steel...

I'd better get in touch with the good folk at Raven.

 

[Elines]

The large choil was dropped after the first prototype.

Agreed, but a small choil remains and post 29 says:

"....choils, large or small, cause more problems than they solve."

So I was wondering what those problems might be

 

[FGYT]

Mind you, the prospect of pitching the PK1 against the Deval Bushcrafter is exciting. Clash of the Titans? Doesn't really matter; the reviewing process will be enormous fun... Maybe, for the sake of even-handedness, I should opt for a PK1 in the RWL steel...

Its interesting that 2 recipients of a coveted Woodlore Instructor knife have gone on to put a lot of time and effort in their own designs which tho different from the Woodlore and each other you can see the Blood line.

Also shows that their is no one right knife and every body wants and thinks different things about how and what they cut and what they prioritize a knife to do as at the end of the day a Bushcraft knife is a multi function jack of all trades type tool so has to compromise almost all areas of use but we as users will bias the compromise depending on our own preferences and experience.
playing with the design to get a result is one of the exciting things about this type of knife because you can change the direction you come at it and have a different result the same knife will be different just by changing the Grind not just in cutting but balance etc.

ATB

Duncan

 

[JonathanD]

Agreed, but a small choil remains and post 29 says:

"....choils, large or small, cause more problems than they solve."

So I was wondering what those problems might be

I wouldn't call that a choil. It's just a small cutout. Many other knivs have these, like Bayley knives. They are too small to be classed as a choil. Choils are large enough for a finger to gain purchase. Something this small has no effect on perfomance like a finger choil does.

 

[AlanW]

I once watched a guy badly cut his finger plucking deer hair from a choil while performing the gralloch. Such a thing is a crutch for makers who can't sharpen knives and imbues nothing to the user.

 

[Elines]

I once watched a guy badly cut his finger plucking deer hair from a choil while performing the gralloch. Such a thing is a crutch for makers who can't sharpen knives and imbues nothing to the user.

Thanks for clarifying the reasoning.

In so far as the risks posed by a choil arise from butchering of animals then they don't seem a relevant risk for me personally to take into account when considering suitability of knife designs (for me) as I am most unlikely to be cutting up animals.

So it seems that the importance/relevance of both adverse comments on the Raven PK1 (regarding shape of the point, and prescence of a choil) depend on whether or not you are likely to be using it for butchering.

I have never had a knife with a choil and so can't comment - on basis of personal experience - if a choil, small or large, helps someone to sharpen a knife (which was the stated reason for having a choil in the Raven PK1)

As noted above in the edit in post 39, I found a view that a choil can strengthen the blade at what might be a weak point - the blade/handle juncture. However in the Raven PK9 the choil seems to be AT the blade/handle junction and so arguably might weaken it

Compare the position of the small choil in the Raven PK1 with that on the knives in post 52:

Although it may be that in both cases the blade is weakened because the blade in both knives is narrower, and so less strong, at the choil. Or is this point on choils weakening a knife a totally spurious argument?

 

[johnboy]

Like a lot of folk I read the posts on the rough close meet and PK attending.. I suspect like a lot of folk I clicked the link on PK's sig line and looked at his blog and along with it is the review on the Raven PK1 knife (amongst other cool stuff).

My simplistic thoughts are:

Looks like a nice knife from an aesthetic perspective.
The cost is up there but in line with others
I wonder how many folk who'll buy one will actually use it to butcher with...? I guess some will and a lot may.
Is steel choice 'that' important??

So If I was in the market for a knife with a bit of UK Bushcraft personality endorsement made from a reasonably intelligent selection of materials and made to a good standard I'd probably take a look at one...

 

[auscam]

Has anyone tried contacting them lately? I've msgd re. the PK1, no reply.

 

[JonathanD]

Try contacting Paul directly.

 

[Murat_Cyp]

Nice, but way overpriced... and overly thick for the size and purpose.

 

[Chris]

Was just looking at this and it’s now seemingly about £1,200. Oof!

Huge fan of Paul Kirtley’s, but that price tag really puts it out of reach for me and I assume lots of others.

 

[hughtrimble]

Was just looking at this and it’s now seemingly about £1,200. Oof!

Huge fan of Paul Kirtley’s, but that price tag really puts it out of reach for me and I assume lots of others.

Likewise. Though the direct-from-Woodlore Woodlore knife has long been out of my fixed blade user budget too.

I've not held a PK1, but it looks like it will be a very hefty knife in hand, which alone would put me off regardless of how it balances in hand (if it is indeed as weighty is at looks). But Paul Kirtley is a rather more proficient user of knives than I am, so it must work in hand!