I batton it through a tough piece of wood and then trim my toenails with it. If a knife does both of these things well and bloodlessly then I'm convinced it can be used to do anything.
testing a knife
- Thread starter Gary
- Start date
Gary said:
Hi Gary, the best test of a new knife is to give it to a ham-fisted beginner like me to abuse for a while. If it can stand up to my amateurish attempts at sharpening, carving, battoning (I still have the bruises on my knuckles
) and spark generating then it would be a worthy tool indeed No-one is tougher on tools than an enthusiastic amateur in the early throes of his craft.....
Cheers,
Simon
btw I had a excellent weekend Gary, learned loads and totally chilled out.
BorderReiver said:
I will check balance by dropping the blade point down and allowing it to stick. I check *my* ability by grabbing it before it touches the intended target when I drop it. It's actually more of a test of hand-eye coordination and concentration. Both of which are critical in the bush. Keeping it safe is also of great importance to me and is also a critical to have in the bush.
simonsays said:Hi Gary, the best test of a new knife is to give it to a ham-fisted beginner like me to abuse for a while. If it can stand up to my amateurish attempts at sharpening, carving, battoning (I still have the bruises on my knuckles
No-one is tougher on tools than an enthusiastic amateur in the early throes of his craft.....
Cheers,
Simon
btw I had a excellent weekend Gary, learned loads and totally chilled out.
Good news mate that what the course is all about hope we struck a happy medium!!
As for the knife ..................
Keith_Beef said:
Yep, and they come in several different blade sizes and a couple of blade types and come with the same handle, leather sheath and 420 stainless blade. They can be had for about the same price as a SwAK or Clipper. I was looking at them on ebay and they manufacture one with a 3 1/2" blade that I'm thinking of picking up.
Gary said:
I can't think of a thing that I do as far as testing, that doesn't fall into the usage category. Well, except for my previous post.
I have to share that the two most important tests to me are whether I can accurately and comfortably use the knife when I choke up on the blade for fine wood work and whether the handle fits me well enough for extended use power cutting through 1"+ saplings.
RovingArcher said:
Agreed with the above - however I wouldnt recommend your previous post to anybody - in bushcraft we should always err on the side of safety!
Gary,
Well... I've had untested blades fail on me in emergencies and non-emergencies, but those who went through the ordeal never failed afterwards... yet...
I think most steels either endure the hardships with ductility/resiliency (and come back unaltered), or else they chip, roll, break, bend, or deteriorate in some permanent way.
Cheers,
David
Gary said:
Well... I've had untested blades fail on me in emergencies and non-emergencies, but those who went through the ordeal never failed afterwards... yet...
I think most steels either endure the hardships with ductility/resiliency (and come back unaltered), or else they chip, roll, break, bend, or deteriorate in some permanent way.
Cheers,
David
Well, I tend to carry two kinds of blades: typically, a razor-sharpened pocket knife and a coarsely sharpened axe (or mora/pukko-style knife).
For the razor type blade, the traditional tests of removing hair off the arm or slicing paper seem to work. For the more coarsely sharpened blade, chopping vegetation or wood is the thing.
For keeping them rust free, olive oil is great if the knives are in semi-regular use, otherwise it goes rancid. Usually, I tend to use petroleum jelly which doubles as a skin moisturiser and when mixed with cotton wool balls, becomes a great makeup remover...er...firelighter. Being a grease, it stays on the blade whereas oil might tend to drip off or evaporate.
For the razor type blade, the traditional tests of removing hair off the arm or slicing paper seem to work. For the more coarsely sharpened blade, chopping vegetation or wood is the thing.
For keeping them rust free, olive oil is great if the knives are in semi-regular use, otherwise it goes rancid. Usually, I tend to use petroleum jelly which doubles as a skin moisturiser and when mixed with cotton wool balls, becomes a great makeup remover...er...firelighter. Being a grease, it stays on the blade whereas oil might tend to drip off or evaporate.
I'd go along with paper slicing and alopecia of the arms!! If a knife does a few days of bushcrafting, along with all the normal tasks usually encountered on such a trip, without any need for hardcore sharpening, you're onto a winner.
Spamel
Spamel
I imagine you've already put it through its paces for delicate, intricate carving, esecially tight internal radius cuts, like on a primitive fish hook for instance.
That is particularly where the old helle lets me down.
Dave
That is particularly where the old helle lets me down.
Dave
MartiniDave said:
I never but Paganwolf did, he turned my broom handle into.... well a lot of shavings eventually!
Sorry to hear about your broom Gary, its been a good 'un, only had 3 new heads and 2 new handles!
MartiniDave said:Sorry to hear about your broom Gary, its been a good 'un, only had 3 new heads and 2 new handles!
had that broom mn and boy - swept many a parade ground too!!
