which knife?

[scottishwolf]

I'm looking to get myself a knife this week and aint too sure what to get. My choices so far, are:

Frosts clipper
mora 740/760
http://www.knifeman.co.uk/ViewItem.php?ItemID=129

Any advice would be great, I have about £30 to spend, I know it's not much but I'm hoping to get something that will last for a little while at least. Or if anyone has anything second hand that might suit please PM me, thanks guys

 

[Longstrider]

To be honest, if it's your first knife (hell, even if it's not) you could do a hell of lot worse than save 2/3 of your budget and get yourself one of the Frosts. They are fantastic value and are very unlikely to ever let you down. There are those who have forgotten more about the arts of bushcraft than most of us will ever know... and still swear by the Frosts knives.

 

[scottishwolf]

I was thinking the frosts ones might be the ones to go for. The only thing is, which one? clipper or 760, carbon or stainless? I fancy a clipper in carbon but can only seem to find them in stainless, can anyone help?

 

[Longstrider]

Not the only place that does them I'm sure, but the first I found by Googling "Frosts Clipper"...

http://www.bushgear.co.uk/acatalog/Survival_Tools.html

 

[scottishwolf]

would be great but unfortunatley I only have a solo card and they dont accept them I'll keep looking though. I'll probably get a frosts clipper and an SAK spartan along with a small sharpening stone. That should do me for now anyway

 

[scottishwolf]

Can't find anywhere that I can get a carbon clipper from. From what I can see, Frosts do two versions, the 840MG which is the high carbon one and the 860MG, which is the stainless one. All I can find are stainless ones but are these just as good?

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Good choices

 

[Longstrider]

Either stainless or carbon will serve you well. The carbon will need a little more looking after of course.
Despite what some might have you believe, both carbon AND stainless blades will throw a shower of sparks from a ferro rod. The important factor for this task is that the spine of the blade needs to have sharp corners and not be rounded over. Only the carbon blade will produce sparks from a natural flint stone, but doing this will scratch your knife up something rotten and you are better off using a piece of an old file or a proper firesteel if you want to play with char-cloth and flints.

This place http://www.bearclawbushcraft.co.uk/trading/tools.htm do a carbon Clipper if that is what you have set your sights on (Look down the list) as do the folks in my first link. Just Google "Frosts Clipper" and check them out.

 

[scottishwolf]

Found a carbon clipper on the woodlore site but in the end I've decided on a mora. The green, carbon, military one. Only £7.50 from outdoorcode. As for the SAK, I have an opinel that will suffice for now, better off saving my money for a thermarest or similar However I'll probably buy a stainless cliper next week too....lol, I'm a total magpie when it comes to knives..

 

[leon-b]

this should give you some more info on clippers
leon

 

[scottishwolf]

Cheers leon

 

[scottishwolf]

Well, that's the mora ordered and with the money I saved I bought all three issues of the Bushcraft Magazine . A frosts mora and all three issues of bushcraft magazine for £17.50!!! Thanks www.outdoorcode.co.uk :You_Rock_

p.s. i'm just a customer and have no connection with outdoorcode etc.

 

[spamel]

Now for the fun!! When the knife arrives, you could patina the blade so it's not all shiny and newbie looking. It also helps protect the blade from rust to a certain extent. There are many ways to do it, jabbing it into a potato or sitting it in vinegar, but why not put a pattern on your blade? Maybe tiger stripes, or swirly circles? It can be done with a small paint brush and tomato ketchup. I'm not joking, it really works and would make your knife totally unique. You could even paint the BCUK leaf to show your dedication to the site, the possibilities are endless!!

They are great knives though, whatever you decide to do you will love it.

 

[BorderReiver]

An easier way to patina the blade (i'm an idle sod),is to soak a tissue,kitchen roll is thicker,in vinegar.Wrap that round the blade,leaving it wrinkled and leave overnight.

Comes up with a nice striped effect,a bit like a mackerel.

 

[Aragorn]

i too am looking to buy my first knife, i have seen loads of reccomendations for the mora and clipper, but i think i prefer the look of a wooden handle over a plastic one, that said would you rate either of these

Lapland Traditional Knife £18.50
Classic Mora Knife £15.99
Opinel No.8 carbon blade £5.75 seems too cheap ?

both found here: http://www.bearclawbushcraft.co.uk/trading/tools.htm

 

[spamel]

An Opi 8 is a great knife, but it is folding and locks so you need a good excuse to carry in UK due to the stifling knife laws! For a fixed blade any of the moras will see you in good stead. There is a wooden handled mora classic out there that you can get for around a tenner.

 

[John Fenna]

So there is a use for Ketchup! I knew that it could not realy be for eating with all those E numbers in it - and who wants to hide the taste of nettle stew anyway?
I have used Vinegar to pattern blades and by scribbling on the blade with a plain old wax candle first have produced patterns similar to Damascus steel! Very pretty!

 

[Aragorn]

An Opi 8 is a great knife, but it is folding and locks so you need a good excuse to carry in UK due to the stifling knife laws! For a fixed blade any of the moras will see you in good stead. There is a wooden handled mora classic out there that you can get for around a tenner.

thanks for that i hadn't realised the opi was a folder, i am leaning towards the Lapland Traditional, i like the look of it and it comes with a laether sheath, not bad for less than 20 quid, although when i get a bit more cash i'd love one of rapidboy's sheaths, they look the dogs danglies

 

[addyb]

The stainless model of the Frosts Clipper is just as good as the carbon variety, in my opinion. It holds an edge just as well, and also requires much less maintenance. I think that's due to the steel itself; Sandvik 12c27 is an extremely fine grained steel with very little impurities in it. The only drawback to the stainless model that I have found is it's impact resistance and flexibility when batonning. It tends to chip a lot more than the carbon variety.

But then again, that's just my two cents.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[leon-b]

thanks for that i hadn't realised the opi was a folder, i am leaning towards the Lapland Traditional, i like the look of it and it comes with a laether sheath, not bad for less than 20 quid, although when i get a bit more cash i'd love one of rapidboy's sheaths, they look the dogs danglies

i have just recieved one of rapid boys sheaths and i can say that are top quality, get one mate
leon