why such chunky bushcraft knives?

[rancid badger]

This might be one of the reasons why people like to carry a "crossbar with an edge" into the woods.

Do you mean a "crowbar" by any chance? thats basically what my MOD knife was used for.
regards R.B.

 

[robin wood]

That's it exactly - I want a knife that can be used to build a camp and sort out the firewood in the absence of an axe.

Seems then that the point of the 5mm bushy is just take it if its one tool only and I can see that. Surprises me they seem so popular though since I suspect most folk if they are away long enough to be camp building/firemaking would have an axe or saw.

Nice...very nice

as a maker and user a 3mm or 4mm knife with a deep scandi grind gives you strength and also the thinness
bernie

The drawback though is twice the size of bevel means twice as long to sharpen, maybe not so bad if its a laminated blade with soft sides and hard core but most bushy's seem to be through hardened O1.

The only reason I can see for the thicker blades is that it allows a longer grind when ground in the scandi style. Otherwise, the grind would either only go up a few millimetres or would be very fine and chip and roll when used. The mora is about as thin as you can get without making the grind to fine,

Yes for a given grind angle you get longer bevel with a thicker blade but why is that better? to me there is an optimum bevel size, too small is hard to feel when sharpening and does not control the cutting edge when doing fine work. Too big means more metal to remove every time you sharpen...each to their own but for everyone there is a perfect compromise. For me clipper/mora is good.

if you had to make a choice of one tool only, it would probably be the MOD knife..I no longer use it, I find it cumbersome and tiring to use.

I have a small selection of tools in my normal "working kit" which includes; a home made utility knife,Mocotaugan (again home made), Gransfors wildlife hatchet and a laplander.

Anyway-2.5- 3mm is enough for me.

Nice to make your own....again big knife if its just one small knife if its part of a kit..which is most of the time.

I bought a smaller blade (63 mm long) from Poul Strande that i look forward to trying when I handle it.

I just got a knife with one of his blades, I am impressed with his work..its great that there are so many good smiths working particularly in Scandinavia.

 

[demographic]

I read somewhere on here that a test of a knives capabilities was to hammer the point into a tree then stand on it and if it held like a foothold it was OK.

Now, I work as a carpenter and I wouldn't be so thick as to do that with my bevel edged chisels and would use a registered mortice chisel at the least for that kind of shenanigans and a full on mortice chisel would be better.

Why the hell anyone would think that was a usefull function of a knife is beyond me
Maybe people who don't know the difference between a knife and a mortice chisel are changing the market

Knife for cutting and mortice chisel for making morticises.

<Scott whistles and dons his Nomex undercrackers>

 

[sam_acw]

I think the test came from Mors Kochanksi originally and has been discussed on here several times before. Remember that some trees are denser than other - it depends on where they grow.
As for the blade thickness - yes the average bushcraft knife is way too thick. Remember that depth as well as thickness of the blade can add strength.

 

[Mirius]

The test did come from Mors I believe, but driving the knife in repeatedly is a way of cutting down the tree. So it is a useful function of a knife in certain situations. I'm not entirely sure what the function of standing on it is, though I rather suspect that you need to do that in order to loosen it and get it back out of the tree!

 

[demographic]

I'm not entirely sure what the function of standing on it is, though I rather suspect that you need to do that in order to loosen it and get it back out of the tree!

assuming that the blade is in flat (as in with one side of the blade facing the top of the tree and the other facing the ground) it would be better to wagge the blade horizontally as its far stronger in that direction?

Dunno, there just seems to be a bit of confusion about the differences between a knife, a mortice chisel and a crowbar thats all

 

[Hoodoo]

My personal preference is for thin blades carried with hatchets/axes.

I have been known to "get by" with bigger blades. My personal philosophy is learn to use both. Ultimately they are simply tools, after all eh.

 

[gregorach]

Seems then that the point of the 5mm bushy is just take it if its one tool only and I can see that. Surprises me they seem so popular though since I suspect most folk if they are away long enough to be camp building/firemaking would have an axe or saw.

Well, I'm not sure about 5mm... I think that might be taking the principle a bit too far.

I've just double-checked, and it turns out my main knife is actually 3mm, which seems plenty to me... I thought it was closer to 4, but I guess that's just my poor memory.

 

[sam_acw]

Hoodoo - is it possible I recognise that photo from a magazine? Or at least that setup? (I'm talking about the 2nd one)

 

[xavierdoc]

The test did come from Mors I believe, but driving the knife in repeatedly is a way of cutting down the tree. So it is a useful function of a knife in certain situations. I'm not entirely sure what the function of standing on it is, though I rather suspect that you need to do that in order to loosen it and get it back out of the tree!

In Mors's Bushcraft book he suggests that standing on the knife is a test of adequate strength of a bushcraft blade. I don't think he intended it as a "technique" nor as a definitive measure of strength, simply a guide.

I could be wrong, of course.