PLEASE NOTE: As this is such a long post I have had to split it into two posts. The review continues in a following post.
Many people who practise Bushcraft, at some point find themselves searching for the perfect Bushcraft knife. This is a tall order as we expect the one knife to perform a whole host of tasks. Anything from woodcarving to filleting fish, skinning and preparing game to splitting wood for kindling or even peeling potatoes. This means that without a doubt you will have to come to a compromise as one knife alone can never be the best tool for every one of the many Bushcraft tasks. Many mistakes can be made trying to fulfil this goal. I have myself used many different knives over the years, trying to find the One and at last for me at least, it seems I have found it, in the form of the Bearclaw Field Knife (BFK).
About a week ago my much anticipated Bearclaw Field Knife arrived by Royal Mail Special Delivery. Sent by Gary of Bearclaw Bushcraft. It was well packaged in a padded jiffy bag and included with the knife was an information sheet, covering such topics as:- instructions for the safe use of the knife and sheath, maintenance, warranty and knife law. I thought this was a nice touch, and especially helpful for a first time knife buyer.
Fig 1:The Bearclaw Field Knife.
The aesthetics of the BFK are gorgeous. Unlike some other Bushcraft knives which can come across as plain and utilitarian looking the BFK oozes character. It has the look and feel of a traditional Scandinavian design crossed with the best aspects taken from modern Bushcraft knife designs. The handle slabs are beautifully figured curly birch which are held in place by two brass pins, the curly birch slabs are lined with black nylon liners which not only give the knife that extra touch of class but also give a good watertight seal between slabs and tang
The handle is shaped so that it filled my hand perfectly and its contours gave a very firm and comfortable hold in all the various grip positions. At the rear of the handle the slabs flair which helps to promote a sure grip even when your hands are cold, wet or even when wearing gloves. The rear of the handle (pommel) is capped by a 2mm thick brass butt plate which has been very securely fitted (more on this later)to the tang itself.
The blade is a single bevel edge drop point with flat grinds and has the makers mark etched on one side and the Bearclaw Kodiak bear logo on the other. All in all the BFK is very pleasing to the eye. Fit and finish is excellent throughout. On the knife I have there are no rough edges, no perceivable gaps between materials or any imperfections in craftsmanship, so hats off and a big thumbs up for the bladesmith Gerd Jorgensen who is producing the BFK for Bearclaw Bushcraft. The BFk is the first of Gerds work I have seen in the flesh and I am very impressed.
Fig 2: Tang, handle slabs and black nylon liners.
The BFK comes in a full grain hand stitched leather sheath. The sheath is wet moulded to the knife to give a good secure fit. This is also aided by the fact that the knife sits right down inside the sheath with only about an inch of the knifes handle protruding.
Fig 3 BFK with sheaths.
The sheath is of a very simple pouch design yet it is very clever in its simplicity. Not only can it be easily converted from a belt to a neck sheath, it is also ambidextrous. At the mouth of the sheath where the knife slides in there is a vertical slot at the rear of the sheath. Around the neck of the sheath there is a partly braided strap the two ends of which feed through the vertical slot. One of the ends has an eye cut into it. The other end is pushed through this eye and then tied in a knot to form the belt loop at the appropriate length.
This is extremely useful as you can set the knife to dangle from your belt at varying heights. This means that it is possible to wear your rucksack with the waist band done up and your knife can still be on your belt as you can set it to hang comfortably below the rucksack waist belt. The dangler system also means that the knife is comfortable on your belt when sitting around the campfire and even when driving as it does not ride up and dig into your ribs. To convert the sheath from a belt sheath to a necker simply remove the leather strap from the sheath and thread a suitable length of paracord etc. through the vertical slot. You can then wear the knife simply around your neck or even across your body Baldric style..
Lets now move on to the important aspects of a Bushcraft knife its specifications and even more importantly Its performance.
Specifications
Blade length 100mm.
Blade thickness 3mm.
Steel Sandvik SS1807 high carbon steel.
Hardened to Rockwell 58C.
Handle material Scandinavian curly birch with black nylon liners and 2mm brass butt cap.
Handle length 112mm + 2mm butt cap.
Sheath handmade full grain leather belt sheath which is easily convertible to neck carry..
When thinking about reviewing the BFK I decided that as this knife had been specifically designed by Gary to be used in the field performing the various Bushcraft tasks, the only sensible approach would be to test the knife in the field and report on how it performed.
Many people who practise Bushcraft, at some point find themselves searching for the perfect Bushcraft knife. This is a tall order as we expect the one knife to perform a whole host of tasks. Anything from woodcarving to filleting fish, skinning and preparing game to splitting wood for kindling or even peeling potatoes. This means that without a doubt you will have to come to a compromise as one knife alone can never be the best tool for every one of the many Bushcraft tasks. Many mistakes can be made trying to fulfil this goal. I have myself used many different knives over the years, trying to find the One and at last for me at least, it seems I have found it, in the form of the Bearclaw Field Knife (BFK).
About a week ago my much anticipated Bearclaw Field Knife arrived by Royal Mail Special Delivery. Sent by Gary of Bearclaw Bushcraft. It was well packaged in a padded jiffy bag and included with the knife was an information sheet, covering such topics as:- instructions for the safe use of the knife and sheath, maintenance, warranty and knife law. I thought this was a nice touch, and especially helpful for a first time knife buyer.
Fig 1:The Bearclaw Field Knife.
The aesthetics of the BFK are gorgeous. Unlike some other Bushcraft knives which can come across as plain and utilitarian looking the BFK oozes character. It has the look and feel of a traditional Scandinavian design crossed with the best aspects taken from modern Bushcraft knife designs. The handle slabs are beautifully figured curly birch which are held in place by two brass pins, the curly birch slabs are lined with black nylon liners which not only give the knife that extra touch of class but also give a good watertight seal between slabs and tang
The handle is shaped so that it filled my hand perfectly and its contours gave a very firm and comfortable hold in all the various grip positions. At the rear of the handle the slabs flair which helps to promote a sure grip even when your hands are cold, wet or even when wearing gloves. The rear of the handle (pommel) is capped by a 2mm thick brass butt plate which has been very securely fitted (more on this later)to the tang itself.
The blade is a single bevel edge drop point with flat grinds and has the makers mark etched on one side and the Bearclaw Kodiak bear logo on the other. All in all the BFK is very pleasing to the eye. Fit and finish is excellent throughout. On the knife I have there are no rough edges, no perceivable gaps between materials or any imperfections in craftsmanship, so hats off and a big thumbs up for the bladesmith Gerd Jorgensen who is producing the BFK for Bearclaw Bushcraft. The BFk is the first of Gerds work I have seen in the flesh and I am very impressed.
Fig 2: Tang, handle slabs and black nylon liners.
The BFK comes in a full grain hand stitched leather sheath. The sheath is wet moulded to the knife to give a good secure fit. This is also aided by the fact that the knife sits right down inside the sheath with only about an inch of the knifes handle protruding.
Fig 3 BFK with sheaths.
The sheath is of a very simple pouch design yet it is very clever in its simplicity. Not only can it be easily converted from a belt to a neck sheath, it is also ambidextrous. At the mouth of the sheath where the knife slides in there is a vertical slot at the rear of the sheath. Around the neck of the sheath there is a partly braided strap the two ends of which feed through the vertical slot. One of the ends has an eye cut into it. The other end is pushed through this eye and then tied in a knot to form the belt loop at the appropriate length.
This is extremely useful as you can set the knife to dangle from your belt at varying heights. This means that it is possible to wear your rucksack with the waist band done up and your knife can still be on your belt as you can set it to hang comfortably below the rucksack waist belt. The dangler system also means that the knife is comfortable on your belt when sitting around the campfire and even when driving as it does not ride up and dig into your ribs. To convert the sheath from a belt sheath to a necker simply remove the leather strap from the sheath and thread a suitable length of paracord etc. through the vertical slot. You can then wear the knife simply around your neck or even across your body Baldric style..
Lets now move on to the important aspects of a Bushcraft knife its specifications and even more importantly Its performance.
Specifications
Blade length 100mm.
Blade thickness 3mm.
Steel Sandvik SS1807 high carbon steel.
Hardened to Rockwell 58C.
Handle material Scandinavian curly birch with black nylon liners and 2mm brass butt cap.
Handle length 112mm + 2mm butt cap.
Sheath handmade full grain leather belt sheath which is easily convertible to neck carry..
When thinking about reviewing the BFK I decided that as this knife had been specifically designed by Gary to be used in the field performing the various Bushcraft tasks, the only sensible approach would be to test the knife in the field and report on how it performed.
