After years of carrying various multi-tools and SAK's I finally reached the conclusion that most of the time they were used it was for the primary blade. A blade that was invariably too small, difficult to handle, not very strong (I've snapped 2 leatherman micra blades) and most importantly not very secure. With this in mind I decided to buy a Svord peasant knife to use as an EDC.
NOTE...... This knife is not really a legal carry. The blade is a whisker over 3" in length. I take sensible precautions, dont carry it to the pub, have a 'reasonable' reason to carry and am generally presentable and polite to policemen. If you have concerns over legality it should be reasonably easy to shorten the blade a tad.
I picked the Svord because it was substantial, having a decent sized handle that passed the 'palm width' test. It also has decent quality carbon steel and because of the design would seem to be safe from accidently closing over my fingers when in use.
The knife came from Outdoor supplies in New Zealand. I ordered online and they delivered my goods in just 6 days. Outstanding service (UK retailers please take note). Because the pound is fairly strong at the moment I only paid £30 for *two* knives, two sheaths and delivery. The second knife is destined to be a fathers day gift.
I havent been able to include any pictures as my digital camera is out of order but there are pictures on the svord website and also on the outdoor supplies website.
The knife has a light coloured wood handle which has a fairly rough finish, held together with a brass pin and a couple of brass bolts that can be adjusted with a screwdriver to vary the amount of friction when opening/closing. There was a light coating of oil on the blade to prevent rust in transit. The blade is made of carbon steel and came convex ground with a small secondary bevel. Closed length is about 6 1/2 ", opened up the overall length is about 10". the blade is 1" deep at the handle end tapering to the point and is about 2mm thick. The sheath is soft dark brown leather, about 2mm thick with 2 slits cut in one side for a belt to pass through. A fairly basic design and not what you could call pretty
Before using the knife I decided to get rid of the secondary bevel and fully convex the blade. This took about half an hour using a couple of grades of wet and dry sandpaper and a mousemat.
In use the knife is very reassuring. Because of the design it can be opened and closed with one hand and once opened the blade cant close whilst the handle is being gripped in the hand. Once I had fully convexed the edge the knife was very sharp. Starting with some kitchen duties the peasant folder was able to do all the prep for a full Sunday lunch including carving the joint of beef. The curve of the blade, the convex grind and the handle shape really make for an efficient veggie slicer. Once I had bored SWMBO to tears by demonstrating my ability to cut transparent slices of carrot I moved on to some feather sticks... Whilst I never really intended to buy this as a bushcraft tool it still did remarkably well carving wood. I know some folks say a convexed blade is not ideal for feather sticks but to be honest I couldnt tell the diference between this and a scandi grind. I would say that it probably lacks the precision needed for fine detail carving. My attempt at a spoon was consigned to the fire (Like so many before it ) Perhaps more of a comment on my carving skills than the knife itself!
I finished of my little test by shredding cardboard, a fairly brutal test of edge retention. It took about 15 minutes of fairly constant shredding of thick corrugated cardboard before the edge started to lose its 'bite'. Restoring the edge took all of 30 seconds with my Hoodoo hone.
The only part of the package that I'm not really happy with is the sheath. It doesnt really hold the knife securely at all. Wearing it on my belt, the knife fell out just about every time I bent over and the slits cut for the belt to pass through have already started to split after a couple of hours use. I just use the sheath as a pouch now and keep the whole lot in my jacket pocket. Gents, if like me you possess a beer gut of any size its best NOT to keep the knife in your jeans pocket. Bending forward will introduce the protruding part of the folding assembly into your soft fleshy bits with painful results
Overall I'm delighted with the knife. Its robust, sharp, safe to use and very funtional. Cheap too
Simon
NOTE...... This knife is not really a legal carry. The blade is a whisker over 3" in length. I take sensible precautions, dont carry it to the pub, have a 'reasonable' reason to carry and am generally presentable and polite to policemen. If you have concerns over legality it should be reasonably easy to shorten the blade a tad.
I picked the Svord because it was substantial, having a decent sized handle that passed the 'palm width' test. It also has decent quality carbon steel and because of the design would seem to be safe from accidently closing over my fingers when in use.
The knife came from Outdoor supplies in New Zealand. I ordered online and they delivered my goods in just 6 days. Outstanding service (UK retailers please take note). Because the pound is fairly strong at the moment I only paid £30 for *two* knives, two sheaths and delivery. The second knife is destined to be a fathers day gift.
I havent been able to include any pictures as my digital camera is out of order but there are pictures on the svord website and also on the outdoor supplies website.
The knife has a light coloured wood handle which has a fairly rough finish, held together with a brass pin and a couple of brass bolts that can be adjusted with a screwdriver to vary the amount of friction when opening/closing. There was a light coating of oil on the blade to prevent rust in transit. The blade is made of carbon steel and came convex ground with a small secondary bevel. Closed length is about 6 1/2 ", opened up the overall length is about 10". the blade is 1" deep at the handle end tapering to the point and is about 2mm thick. The sheath is soft dark brown leather, about 2mm thick with 2 slits cut in one side for a belt to pass through. A fairly basic design and not what you could call pretty
Before using the knife I decided to get rid of the secondary bevel and fully convex the blade. This took about half an hour using a couple of grades of wet and dry sandpaper and a mousemat.
In use the knife is very reassuring. Because of the design it can be opened and closed with one hand and once opened the blade cant close whilst the handle is being gripped in the hand. Once I had fully convexed the edge the knife was very sharp. Starting with some kitchen duties the peasant folder was able to do all the prep for a full Sunday lunch including carving the joint of beef. The curve of the blade, the convex grind and the handle shape really make for an efficient veggie slicer. Once I had bored SWMBO to tears by demonstrating my ability to cut transparent slices of carrot I moved on to some feather sticks... Whilst I never really intended to buy this as a bushcraft tool it still did remarkably well carving wood. I know some folks say a convexed blade is not ideal for feather sticks but to be honest I couldnt tell the diference between this and a scandi grind. I would say that it probably lacks the precision needed for fine detail carving. My attempt at a spoon was consigned to the fire (Like so many before it
) Perhaps more of a comment on my carving skills than the knife itself!I finished of my little test by shredding cardboard, a fairly brutal test of edge retention. It took about 15 minutes of fairly constant shredding of thick corrugated cardboard before the edge started to lose its 'bite'. Restoring the edge took all of 30 seconds with my Hoodoo hone.
The only part of the package that I'm not really happy with is the sheath. It doesnt really hold the knife securely at all. Wearing it on my belt, the knife fell out just about every time I bent over and the slits cut for the belt to pass through have already started to split after a couple of hours use. I just use the sheath as a pouch now and keep the whole lot in my jacket pocket. Gents, if like me you possess a beer gut of any size its best NOT to keep the knife in your jeans pocket. Bending forward will introduce the protruding part of the folding assembly into your soft fleshy bits with painful results
Overall I'm delighted with the knife. Its robust, sharp, safe to use and very funtional. Cheap too
Simon
