George Washington Sears 1821 1890) was a writer for Forest and Stream magazine and an early Bushcrafter / ultralight camper. His articles were written under the name, "Nessmuk", as were his books including the seminal work "Woodcraft and Camping"
This is the great man (note his bag with the knife in the back)
This is his book
which describes "The Nessmuk Trio" of axe, belt knife and pen knife. He illustrates his own set which took him a long time to get right
Over an even longer period of time, I have tried to recreate the set (including the bag shown in the top photograph).
I suspect my quest was as long as his!
Here is the finished set I ended up with
Nessmuk Trio by British Red, on Flickr
The axe is made by Lee Reeves in the USA. It has a head made in the manner of old with a mild steel eye to absorb shocks and high carbon bits forge welded in to give a razor sharp cutting edge. The head is 5 1/2" by 2 1/2" and the axe 15" overall.
The axe weighs just over 1lb 2oz - just 522g. It is an amazingly light tool for such a capable axe. Lee made this axe with a "Nessmuk" designed head, with one edge thicker for cutting knots and other tough cutting chores and one thinner for precise cutting.
The helve as fitted is curly maple.
There are two complete spare handles in (IIRC) Hickory that I asked Lee to make, since the helves are unusual in design
There is a quality leather mask as supplied by Lee (with belt slits) and a "fast access" removable belt mask made for me by Singteck
Nessmuk Axe in mask (front) by British Red, on Flickr
Nessmuk axe in mask (rear) by British Red, on Flickr
The knife and bag were made for me by the man I consider the "master of Nessmuk" knives, Joel Delorme (after much nagging to make a faithful reproduction)
Nessmuk knife (left) by British Red, on Flickr
Nessmuk knife (right) by British Red, on Flickr
Joel's description is
The sheath is 3mm veg tan leather, wet moulded, linen thread and riveted copper tacks
Nessmuk knife in sheath (front) by British Red, on Flickr
Nessmuk knife in sheath (rear) by British Red, on Flickr
The possibles bag is also by Joel Delorme and is based upon the designs for an 18thC hunting pouch found in the book "Recreating the 18th century hunting pouch". It has been adapted by Joel to match up with Nessmuks possibles pouch seen in the top engraving
The front is traditional
Nessmuk bag (front) by British Red, on Flickr
But the back has an extra buckle and retaining strap
Nessmuk bag (rear) by British Red, on Flickr
This allows the knife to be mounted on the back of the bag as seen in the top illustration and then worn between bag and body
Nessmuk bag with knife attached by British Red, on Flickr
To round out the set I'll include the (EDC legal) Rough Rider slipjoint that matches the illustration nicely - right down to the shield on the handle!
Rough Rider Nessmuk style penknife by British Red, on Flickr
The only reason I am selling is that I need to buy some bench tools for work I am doing regularly and need to raise funds for them.
Axe sold privately so knives and bag withdrawn
I will advertise the item elsewhere so if more than one person shouts "yes please" I will use the time and date stamp of the first private message I receive saying "I'll take it" as the winner
I though of adding something about how unique these items are - but I think they speak for themselves!
Red
This is the great man (note his bag with the knife in the back)
This is his book
which describes "The Nessmuk Trio" of axe, belt knife and pen knife. He illustrates his own set which took him a long time to get right
Over an even longer period of time, I have tried to recreate the set (including the bag shown in the top photograph).
I suspect my quest was as long as his!
Here is the finished set I ended up with
Nessmuk Trio by British Red, on Flickr
The axe is made by Lee Reeves in the USA. It has a head made in the manner of old with a mild steel eye to absorb shocks and high carbon bits forge welded in to give a razor sharp cutting edge. The head is 5 1/2" by 2 1/2" and the axe 15" overall.
The axe weighs just over 1lb 2oz - just 522g. It is an amazingly light tool for such a capable axe. Lee made this axe with a "Nessmuk" designed head, with one edge thicker for cutting knots and other tough cutting chores and one thinner for precise cutting.
The helve as fitted is curly maple.
There are two complete spare handles in (IIRC) Hickory that I asked Lee to make, since the helves are unusual in design
There is a quality leather mask as supplied by Lee (with belt slits) and a "fast access" removable belt mask made for me by Singteck
Nessmuk Axe in mask (front) by British Red, on Flickr
Nessmuk axe in mask (rear) by British Red, on Flickr
The knife and bag were made for me by the man I consider the "master of Nessmuk" knives, Joel Delorme (after much nagging to make a faithful reproduction)
Nessmuk knife (left) by British Red, on Flickr
Nessmuk knife (right) by British Red, on Flickr
Joel's description is
The sheath is 3mm veg tan leather, wet moulded, linen thread and riveted copper tacks
Nessmuk knife in sheath (front) by British Red, on Flickr
Nessmuk knife in sheath (rear) by British Red, on Flickr
The possibles bag is also by Joel Delorme and is based upon the designs for an 18thC hunting pouch found in the book "Recreating the 18th century hunting pouch". It has been adapted by Joel to match up with Nessmuks possibles pouch seen in the top engraving
The front is traditional
Nessmuk bag (front) by British Red, on Flickr
But the back has an extra buckle and retaining strap
Nessmuk bag (rear) by British Red, on Flickr
This allows the knife to be mounted on the back of the bag as seen in the top illustration and then worn between bag and body
Nessmuk bag with knife attached by British Red, on Flickr
To round out the set I'll include the (EDC legal) Rough Rider slipjoint that matches the illustration nicely - right down to the shield on the handle!
Rough Rider Nessmuk style penknife by British Red, on Flickr
The only reason I am selling is that I need to buy some bench tools for work I am doing regularly and need to raise funds for them.
Axe sold privately so knives and bag withdrawn
I will advertise the item elsewhere so if more than one person shouts "yes please" I will use the time and date stamp of the first private message I receive saying "I'll take it" as the winner
I though of adding something about how unique these items are - but I think they speak for themselves!
Red
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