For those who are interested in purchasing this knife....
My first knife was a Gerber LMF II, which is the precursory BG Ultimate knife. After months of abuse, I was able to find A reasonably priced handmade custom scandi from Blind Horse Knives. I ordered a two of these, one as a gift for the old man, and one for me. I was excited at first, but after using it and careful inspection, I noticed that the grind was low and uneven. Which in my hands with my skill level meant it was better suited for chopping and batoning. Also I did not like the point of the blade, as it was too rounded for more delicate tasks, the finer the task, the less it performed for me. After a few months of scrubbing the forums, I was able to find out about the Spyderco. After reading multiple reviews by members who didnt even own the knife, but liked the Timberwolf design, I decided to buy one.
btw SiberianFury.... your review of the Timberwolf was a great motivator of mine
First impressions:
If you're looking for an 'artistic' show piece of a knife, this is not the knife for you. If you want a well constructed, middle of the road, well using knife that's not too expensive, congrats you may have found it.
Aesthetics:
1. As a production knife, I find the quality to be superior to other production blades, and to that of the BHK Bushcrafter.
2. The handle is very nice to look at as well as hold in the hand. If you have medium to largish hands, this knife will feel more like an extension of you than a knife. The palm swells and the swells near the ricasso and pommel make for a comfortably form fitting grip.
3. For those of you 'hole haters' after a little bit of using it, I don't even notice the hole anymore.
4. The sheath is indeed not something to be celebrated, however, it does make sense for a production knife to have a sheath that is ambidextrous. I have plans on making a sheath for it in the future. I also like the fact that it does not include a firesteel holder ( personal preference) I have noticed a tendency for those loops to become loose with use, and make it much more likely to lose your firesteel in the process.
5. The High scandi grind is even, and much more pleasant to look at than the BHK.
Functionality:
1. I personally do not advocate the use of battening for your knife, I have an axe and a saw, no need to spoil the edge. So with that parameter off the table I have put my knife through its paces over the last month. I have built snares, carved spoons, kuksas, made feather sticks, built shelters and almost every other imaginable task for bushcraft.
2. The factory edge was nice, but I went ahead and resharpened it using waterstones. It sharpened very nicely, and I was able to 'feather a sheet of writing paper.
3. On one particular outing, I used the knife for several hours, the edge did not roll, flake, or chip. While it lost some of its bite, it was still performing power cuts with relative ease.
4. A 5 min strop session on the back of my belt was all that was needed to reproduce a razor sharp edge.
5. After using it for several hours, and going thru a myriad of grips, my hand did not cramp or develop any hotspots.
Price/Availability:
1. I have read many concerns by people in the UK of the price of this knife. Here in the states I payed exactly $178.95, no tax or shipping fees.
http://www.thespydercostore.com/Spyderco-BushCraft-Plain-Edge-Knife-p/fb26gp.htm
2. I have also noticed that when I would like to purchase certain item fro the UK, I have to double the price + s&h, so it seems both sides lose due to inflation.
3. I have yet to see this item not in stock here in the US, almost everyplace that offers them has them in stock, which is nice to see because of the current trend of false advertising a product that you don't have in stock but will backorder for you.
4. I do not know if this particular knife is worth double the price for UK members, but it just might be to not have to wait 2yrs for another one.
Overall:
I am quite pleased with this knife, not just for the price, but for a production blade. As stated before, I was excited to receive my BHK, but after use became sorely disappointed with it. This is not the case with the Spyderco Bushcraft. It has been well used and well received, and after some hard use, only some scratches appear on the flat part of the blade, but that's to be expected. I do recommend this knife to just about everyone interested in bushcraft. From the 'salty dogs' to the weekend warriors, to the just getting involved crowd. This is my first review of a product, and recently lost my camera when the kayak flipped in some rapids, so sorry for the lack of pics. Know with everything said, I do believe that almost everything about a knife and it's usability is subjective, keeping this in mind, it is still a recommendable knife for its intended purposes. I thought I would take just a little time to review this because not everyone can go to the store and handle the knife for themselves in order to get a true feel of it. If this review helps you than I am glad, if you can't get over the hole, or the sheath, than that leaves more for the rest of us. As this is my first review, please be gentle, I plan to do more here over the few months, and constructive criticism is appreciated.
My first knife was a Gerber LMF II, which is the precursory BG Ultimate knife. After months of abuse, I was able to find A reasonably priced handmade custom scandi from Blind Horse Knives. I ordered a two of these, one as a gift for the old man, and one for me. I was excited at first, but after using it and careful inspection, I noticed that the grind was low and uneven. Which in my hands with my skill level meant it was better suited for chopping and batoning. Also I did not like the point of the blade, as it was too rounded for more delicate tasks, the finer the task, the less it performed for me. After a few months of scrubbing the forums, I was able to find out about the Spyderco. After reading multiple reviews by members who didnt even own the knife, but liked the Timberwolf design, I decided to buy one.
btw SiberianFury.... your review of the Timberwolf was a great motivator of mine
First impressions:
If you're looking for an 'artistic' show piece of a knife, this is not the knife for you. If you want a well constructed, middle of the road, well using knife that's not too expensive, congrats you may have found it.
Aesthetics:
1. As a production knife, I find the quality to be superior to other production blades, and to that of the BHK Bushcrafter.
2. The handle is very nice to look at as well as hold in the hand. If you have medium to largish hands, this knife will feel more like an extension of you than a knife. The palm swells and the swells near the ricasso and pommel make for a comfortably form fitting grip.
3. For those of you 'hole haters' after a little bit of using it, I don't even notice the hole anymore.
4. The sheath is indeed not something to be celebrated, however, it does make sense for a production knife to have a sheath that is ambidextrous. I have plans on making a sheath for it in the future. I also like the fact that it does not include a firesteel holder ( personal preference) I have noticed a tendency for those loops to become loose with use, and make it much more likely to lose your firesteel in the process.
5. The High scandi grind is even, and much more pleasant to look at than the BHK.
Functionality:
1. I personally do not advocate the use of battening for your knife, I have an axe and a saw, no need to spoil the edge. So with that parameter off the table I have put my knife through its paces over the last month. I have built snares, carved spoons, kuksas, made feather sticks, built shelters and almost every other imaginable task for bushcraft.
2. The factory edge was nice, but I went ahead and resharpened it using waterstones. It sharpened very nicely, and I was able to 'feather a sheet of writing paper.
3. On one particular outing, I used the knife for several hours, the edge did not roll, flake, or chip. While it lost some of its bite, it was still performing power cuts with relative ease.
4. A 5 min strop session on the back of my belt was all that was needed to reproduce a razor sharp edge.
5. After using it for several hours, and going thru a myriad of grips, my hand did not cramp or develop any hotspots.
Price/Availability:
1. I have read many concerns by people in the UK of the price of this knife. Here in the states I payed exactly $178.95, no tax or shipping fees.
http://www.thespydercostore.com/Spyderco-BushCraft-Plain-Edge-Knife-p/fb26gp.htm
2. I have also noticed that when I would like to purchase certain item fro the UK, I have to double the price + s&h, so it seems both sides lose due to inflation.
3. I have yet to see this item not in stock here in the US, almost everyplace that offers them has them in stock, which is nice to see because of the current trend of false advertising a product that you don't have in stock but will backorder for you.
4. I do not know if this particular knife is worth double the price for UK members, but it just might be to not have to wait 2yrs for another one.
Overall:
I am quite pleased with this knife, not just for the price, but for a production blade. As stated before, I was excited to receive my BHK, but after use became sorely disappointed with it. This is not the case with the Spyderco Bushcraft. It has been well used and well received, and after some hard use, only some scratches appear on the flat part of the blade, but that's to be expected. I do recommend this knife to just about everyone interested in bushcraft. From the 'salty dogs' to the weekend warriors, to the just getting involved crowd. This is my first review of a product, and recently lost my camera when the kayak flipped in some rapids, so sorry for the lack of pics. Know with everything said, I do believe that almost everything about a knife and it's usability is subjective, keeping this in mind, it is still a recommendable knife for its intended purposes. I thought I would take just a little time to review this because not everyone can go to the store and handle the knife for themselves in order to get a true feel of it. If this review helps you than I am glad, if you can't get over the hole, or the sheath, than that leaves more for the rest of us. As this is my first review, please be gentle, I plan to do more here over the few months, and constructive criticism is appreciated.
