The Skookum Bush Tool (mini review)

[Angus Og]

Great review Stuart.

 

[hollowdweller]

Outstanding review. I've got one and the design has really impressed me taking it backpacking and stuff but you really put it thru the paces!! :You_Rock_

 

[Burnt Ash]

If I recall, the way Mors suggests using a knife as a hammer for nails is to use the flat of the blade and a baton. He does it with dinky little Moras.

In my opinion, it is only abuse if the knife isn't designed in such a way as to handle it. The Skookum has a steel butt, not for balance, or because its full tang needs it, but for a striking surface. If you can't hammer with it I don't see why it would be there. Since every other detail has been thought out very carefully, I am sure that Rod will have considered that a steel butt will tempt people to use it as a hammer and that he will have built it accordingly.
Only a supposition, but I think it is a fair one.

Excellent reveiw Stuart!!

Crushing some nuts or seeds, maybe; tenderising a root or something, well, okay. But nails? Nah! Supposing your aim isn't true on the pommel, through tiredness or whatever reason. What is going to hit the nail head?

If you want to hammer nails, use a hammer. Or, possibly, the back of a suitable axe. My tuppence worth.

Burnt Ash

 

[falcon]

Crushing some nuts or seeds, maybe; tenderising a root or something, well, okay. But nails? Nah! Supposing your aim isn't true on the pommel, through tiredness or whatever reason. What is going to hit the nail head?

If you want to hammer nails, use a hammer. Or, possibly, the back of a suitable axe. My tuppence worth.

Burnt Ash

I agree. It begs the question....how many people go off into the woods with 6" nails in their rucksack? If you have the means to take serious amounts of equipment by canoe, packhorse or landrover to set up basecamp there's probably room for a hammer....if you're travelling light without a heavy tool, my guess is you'll be looking to improvise with whatever cordage you can acquire...

 

[hammock monkey]

great looking tool! thanks for that Stuart.
nails are a fantastically useful, although putting them in with a kinfe isnt ideal, it wouldnt bother me personally (maybe not 6inch).
Having the ability to pound foodstuffs etc with the blade is very useful.
I'm not a knife enthusiast, but this skookum looks great. Properly useable.

 

[leon-1]

I agree. It begs the question....how many people go off into the woods with 6" nails in their rucksack?

I have done mate. A small bit of foil 3 or 4 nails and a hexamine tablet make a reasonable emergency cooker.

I have carried a backup stove for years and for a good period of time that was what it consisted of, so nails in your pack aren't quite so unlikely in some cases. If for any reason I had to use the nails then there are plenty of other things that could be used as pan supports, probably not as small and light, but there are always alternatives.

 

[andy_e]

Often looked at the Skookum and wondered how it would perform, I'm not likely to put it through its paces as thoroughly as you have but it's good to know what can be done with it - and what shouldn't be

Thanks for the review - one to add to the wishlist - definitely.

Can we get this added to the Reviews section of the site - so it's not lost in the clutter?

 

[falcon]

Excellent idea as a backup cooker Leon...thanks for the tip

 

[Buckshot]

I agree. It begs the question....how many people go off into the woods with 6" nails in their rucksack?

Actually Stuart, when we were in the jungle where those pictures were taken, for the first part we had the services of a local Iban tribesman and he packed loads of nails (probably 20 or 30) in his feed sack he used as a rucksack. I think they were more like 2 or 3 inches long though.
It does happen, perhaps more often than you'd think and not just from the likes of us.

 

[myakka]

Great Review. The Skookum Bush Tool is my favorite knife.

Ron

 

[leon-1]

Crushing some nuts or seeds, maybe; tenderising a root or something, well, okay. But nails? Nah! Supposing your aim isn't true on the pommel, through tiredness or whatever reason. What is going to hit the nail head?

If you want to hammer nails, use a hammer. Or, possibly, the back of a suitable axe. My tuppence worth.

Burnt Ash

Hi mate, from what I thought the butt plate on the back of the handle was to protect the rear of the knife when driving the blade into a tree or log when using a baton on the back plate itself.

The problem will always be that people will use things for things they weren't designed for, this isn't always a bad thing, but sometimes could be risky.

I would be highly wary of using an axe of any form for driving nails into things.

 

[Stuart]

Personally, I have to say that I regard hammering nails in with the pommel as 'knife abuse' and potentially dangerous. But then I wouldn't attempt to batten with the heel of my hand, either.

I abuse it so that you don’t have too , you can be confident that someone has abused it on your behalf, and found it to performed flawlessly beyond that which you are ever likely to personally require.

Also bear in mind that his is designed to be a survival knife, with slightly different design requirements to a Bushcraft knife, I would not personally recommend that someone go to the expense of this knife for basic bushcraft and neither does Mors a Mora or Finnish Puukko is all you really need for bushcraft practice as an outdoor recreation.

This however is a survival knife, as defined by a man who uses his knife to put in small nails (not normally 3" nails, that was just me) when his axe is not available and routinely batons his knife with the heel of his hand, but then Mors has hands like leather fencing gloves.

Many people might consider the following 'Knife abuse'

As a test of strength, a good knife should not break when driven four centimetres into a standing tree at right-angles to the grain, and the handle bears your weight as you stand on it.

But Mors feels it is a requirement for a survival knife, as I understand does the Swedish military, it’s statutory for their survival knives.

What might be considered ‘knife abuse’ in a bushcraft setting might be an absolute requirement in a situation where your life is at risk. If for example you are stranded in an boreal forest in winter without the benefit of an axe, you will need to be able to drive your knife point first into a tree with a baton repeatedly around its circumference to fell trees that will be required as fuel to keep you alive during the night.

I agree. It begs the question....how many people go off into the woods with 6" nails in their rucksack?

6" Nails where did you read 6" nails Falcon? Do the nails in the picture look 6" long to you? The largest nail I used was less than half that size. As for who carries nails, well me obviously, when I am building a permanent base camp in the jungle that I want to be still standing when I return in a year (cordage wont last that long). And people like Mors Kochaski, Lars falt, horace kephart and Ray mears who have all been known to carry a few small nails and reuse them again and again.

 

[falcon]

Actually Stuart, when we were in the jungle where those pictures were taken, for the first part we had the services of a local Iban tribesman and he packed loads of nails (probably 20 or 30) in his feed sack he used as a rucksack. I think they were more like 2 or 3 inches long though.
It does happen, perhaps more often than you'd think and not just from the likes of us.

Ah well, we live and learn ....6"....best get my eyes tested

".....And people like Mors Kochaski, Lars falt, horace kephart and Ray mears who have all been known to carry a few small nails and reuse them again and again......"

Must have missed that somewhere down the line...

 

[shep]

Going back to the knife (great review btw)

If you added a slight convex curve along the spine and dropped the point a touch, then added a mini-guard, took that pommel off and squinted, what would you get?

It goes to show that either great minds think alike, or the perfect bush tool is just about the simplest visualisation of a knife you could imagine. It's a design that has probably been around for 100s of years in one form or other.

It is, however, only fair and about time that Mors took his chance to cash in on his prodigious experience and a signature knife seems to be a good way to go about it - just look at Bear Grylls!

It looks like a great knife, but as with any elegantly simple design that is executed by a skilled maker, isn't it just bound to be good to use? Has anyone ever held a simple-designed, well made knife that WASN'T good to use.

Good users just happen to range in price from £8 to £400 depending on the 'non-tangible' factors, and the mystique they generate.

 

[Stuart]

It is, however, only fair and about time that Mors took his chance to cash in on his prodigious experience and a signature knife seems to be a good way to go about it - just look at Bear Grylls!

I dont think Mors makes any money from the sale of Rods 'skoomum Bush tools', so it seems more than a little unfair to suggest that he is cashing in on his name.

 

[shep]

Shame. I actually didn't mean it as a criticism, so didn't think of it as unfair. He deserves to make a bit of dosh from a good knife design (if he wants it) more than the likes of Bear IMHO.
It's actually quite reassuring to imagine that he doesn't want to cash in (more than a living wage) on his credentials the way others might.

 

[Schwert]

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb67/Gwhtbushcraft/New knife/bcuk/morsknife.jpg
Here is a picture of the knife anotated by Mors if anyone is interested.
George

George,

How did you happen upon the SBT with Mors notes image? That is a very interesting artifact. I doubt I could carve out the netting shuttle in 3-4 minutes though....it would likely take me a few more minutes.

Stuart, nice review from a very different environment. Rod really did an excellent job translating Mors ideas into a knife. With the current exchange rate an SBT is a tremendous bargain.

 

[BOD]

Stuart,

When there is a wrist thong through the first hole, is the knife tip up or tip down?


Falcon,

Nails are actually kinder to the environment as well as being more secure and long lasting. Eventually they will rust away. The wood used is the determining factor in how long the structure lasts. Even in the jungle some will last for several years.

If you use synthetic cordage it will end up being an environmental eyesore.

Rattan and some vines may last a long time too but do you really want to destroy a 50 -100 metre long plant that has taken years to grow and which is a valuable resource for indigenous people?

 

[falcon]

Nails are actually kinder to the environment as well as being more secure and long lasting. Eventually they will rust away. The wood used is the determining factor in how long the structure lasts. Even in the jungle some will last for several years.

If you use synthetic cordage it will end up being an environmental eyesore.

Rattan and some vines may last a long time too but do you really want to destroy a 50 -100 metre long plant that has taken years to grow and which is a valuable resource for indigenous people?

I agree about synthetic cordage but I'm surprised about the attitude to nails.....as I said earlier, we live and learn about attitudes and practices amongst other cultures

 

[Burnt Ash]

I would be highly wary of using an axe of any form for driving nails into things.

Really, Leon? I'm sure I would be careful using the poll of an axe to knock in a few nails, but I'd weigh the possible risk and take into account that the tool wasn't really designed for the task I was putting it to. But how about something like the Estwing Universal Hatchet? That has a purpose designed hammer poll. It's probably not as balanced as a proper hammer for hammering in nails, but it would get the job done and it's got to be better than a knife pommel.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with versatility. But crucial to the whole business of kit selection for survival/bushcraft/wilderness living, etc. is knowing where the sensible limits of a particular piece of equipment lie. That way, you end up with knives that function decently as knives and not with unwieldy and costly monstrosities like the WS Dartmoor knife that try too hard and don't do anything particularly well.

The SBT I've seen and handled (but not used) looks a really nice knife. I'd love to own one, but I can promise you that, if I did, I'd never use it for hammering in nails

Burnt Ash