Wilkenson sword woodlore knife!

[tomtom]

ok thats some great feedback thank you both for the input.. may i ask a few more things...
ADI007 may i ask what happened to your knife and which Woodlore one was it??

..and Jake which Woodlore knife did you have?

 

[JakeR]

I had the Micarta, it was a solid beast! Really would recomend one. I couldnt foresee anything going wrong with it, it was such a good blade.

BTW Mind blank...how do you spell "recomend"? Have i got it right?

Jake

 

[tomtom]

i would guess re-co-mend *recomend* looks alright to me.. but me being totaly dislexic that probly doesnt count for much...

are you going to get another WS woodlore to replace it? are you going to go for micarta again!


(if dyslexic people have trouble spelling why do they give it such a complicated name... they should have called it fred or something simple like that... ha anyway..)

 

[Adi007]

Posted at the same time. Adi, would you think that the micarta would be a better purchase? Simply because the micarta wouldnt degrade. But still at that price you'd expect the wood not to either in that time.

Depends ... the initial runs of those didn't have a full flat grind. If the quality of the blade is the same as the maple blade, then it should be a better deal.

 

[Adi007]

ADI007 may i ask what happened to your knife and which Woodlore one was it??

It was the maple handled Wilkinson Sword Woodlore. The wood on the handle warped and distorted pretty badly. Yes, the blade was replaced quickly but I'm not confident that it's not going to happen again.

 

[JakeR]

Isnt the Maple hand made by a "wilkinson sword craftsman"?

Very good tomtom, its difficult to make me laugh right now. My bank just took all the money from my account leaving me with -£17 because i paid in a cheque from someone else and it cleared and bounced. So will have to wait at least another month. But i will definatly be replacing it, for sure.

 

[JakeR]

Why are you not confident? Should you just ask for your money back?

 

[tomtom]

what garentee did it come with ADI.. i trust you had no problem in exchanging it?

 

[Adi007]

Isnt the Maple hand made by a "wilkinson sword craftsman"?

All I can say is that it is made by Wilkinson Sword ...

 

[tomtom]

well ADI.. if you decide to get rid of it let me know!

 

[JakeR]

Just checked Adi, it is hand made, just not by Alan Wood!

 

[Great Pebble]

Hmm, interesting, I've been looking at getting a smaller fixed blade. Something that you could just about wear around a campsite without actually attracting Police attention. The WS version of the woodlore was on my list, but given this and a few other points, I may be looking in the direction of a Falkniven.

 

[JakeR]

Come to think of it, I am going to replace my lost WS with another, but should i go for the Maple or Micarta. Adi, you have had both havent you? Your opinion?

Cheers,

Jake

 

[Wayne]

i have not owned a woodlore but was due an Alan Wood in july so it should arrive next month. i cannot see why people would pay £160 for a factory made version. £35 buys you the confidence that a craftsman has definitely worked on your blade. Each knife marked with the markers names carries his reputation forward. Should it fail the quality of Alans work is open to question therefore he strives to ensure it doesn't fail. Any problems and you know its going to get sorted. I placed an order today for 2 Gene Ingram knives. Another well respected maker. different shape, different material but still excellent knives. Spend time researching different makers and companies know what you really want from a knife. Then buy the best you can afford.

 

[tomtom]

dare i say because i am young and foolish and do not like the idea of an 11 month wait... also i am ment to be saving for my gap year... so every £35 saved is fairly useful

 

[Squidders]

The reason i'm having such a problem is that I haven't had 20+ years of experience and I want to buy my first "proper" knife.

Telling me to shop around is too easy, sure, I should shop around and it is good advice but I can't very well pop over to the US and have a look at a Gene Ingram or pop down the shops and see all of the knives, one next to the other and have a fondle.

I'm after good advice, Sure the choices and links let me see photos of the other knives and they have expanded my choices but in the real world... in my hands the choices are confusing.

If I were to ask "what should my first top tier bushcraft knife be?" I would still get a lot of links and makers names. People would ask what I would use it for and how much I wanted to spend and how long I was willing to wait.

So I'm trying to formulate the exact question required (given that the answer is 42 ).

"What should my first top tier knife be for between £150 and £200 to be used for cutting small bits of wood, plant material, cordage and spoon production, given that I have an average hand size of 250mm (pinkie to thumb) and a very strong grip (I climb rocks a lot), that will have a good wooden handle because that's my personal preference, that is robust and will hold a good edge (of any type (convex or otherwise)) and is easy to maintain and will have available, a good quality leather sheath and I want it within 60 days?"

Joe
___________________
Any vague answers will be met with extreme prejudice!

 

[Great Pebble]

What am best knife?

It's difficult, nay impossible, to give a straight answer to the question as that answer is subjective. Based upon your personal preferences. I use a WS Dartmoor (or currently a MOD knife, ahem), a Leatherman Wave and a CQC7 depending on the task in hand. I'd tell you to buy those (probably) and a dozen or more people would say otherwise.

 

[Squidders]

I have an MOD knife already

So, you sucessfully picked my first choice. It's certainly robust enough, I don't think I'll ever break it... I'm after something a tiny bit more subtle.

That's exactly the advice I'm after though, no messing about :You_Rock_

If I take the advice and buy a knife that I end up not getting on with, I'm not going to blame anyone. Your choices are bound to be better formed than mine anyway and I know knives are very personal but I don't have the luxury of trying a load out or even looking at a load in the flesh before buying.

If I were to offer up a short list of knives I have considered, would that help maybe?

Joe
____________
There are no stupid questions... there is only me looking confused :yikes:

 

[Wayne]

Squidders.

Over on British Blades they have a pass around forum so you can do just that. have a look play with a knife get a feel for it before you part with your hard earnt cash. try to get to the next meet up people will be happy to let you look at their blades. Just don't drop them on concrete.

 

[leon-1]

Squidders.

Over on British Blades they have a pass around forum so you can do just that. have a look play with a knife get a feel for it before you part with your hard earnt cash. try to get to the next meet up people will be happy to let you look at their blades. Just don't drop them on concrete.

That's a reasonable piece of advice, as far as the Gene Ingrams are concerned I already own one and have another en route, everyone has thier own ideal and Gene will help you to get the one that suites you best, but that is a personal point of view.

I would say think about what knives you have used before and what you consider to be the good and bad points about them, then try and find a knife with more of the good points in its design than bad, the one that suites you best, then see what the custom guys have to offer.

Allan Blade has recently started to post on this site and his knives are of top notch quality at very good prices from what I have seen of them.

Because I have already ordered from Gene (who's knives are also of very high quality and good value for money), I can tell you that he will give you a choice of steels and if you wish for modifications to the blade design of a specific model and sheath he will do his best to accomodate.

There have already been threads as to what type of steel would be best and this could help you in making a decision on this, but the actual design of the blade, length, width, shape and grind will very much be your decision. British Blades has a lot on what is the best type of grind on a blade this will also help to a degree.

Your next choice is handmade or high end production model.