Wilkinson Sword/Allan Wood Woodlore Knives

[MartiniDave]

My Micarta version was waiting when I got home from work last night.
Very pleased with it so far.
Finnish is very good on the knife itself, the blade could be mistaken for stainless!
Sheath is well made and a very good fit.
I'm really looking forward to using this knife, hopefully for a long time.

Dave

Happy X-mas one and all.

 

[Doc]

How long will a Woodlore knife last, with 'normal' use and sharpening?

 

[Colin KC]

How long will a Woodlore knife last, with 'normal' use and sharpening?

Bit of a difficult question that really, depends on what youd call "normal" use. I have a small, folding knife that I've used on & off as my EDC for years & it now is obvious that it's been sharpened a bit (the blade profile is markedly different to the original) BUT, that is a 2 1/2" folding knife!

A proffessional Woodcraft Instructor, would prolly get through one in (he says picking some figures from the ether) 2-5 years

A proffessional gamekeeper/hunter, prolly a little longer (say) 2-7 years

A average Joe that "Goes Native" every weekend & a bit more inna summer, prolly 10-25 years

You realise that these figures are the result of extensive market surveys & as such may not be used by any (proffessional, or commercial) body (or, achully ANYbody, cos I jus' made 'em up )

 

[Adi007]

Longer than it takes to lose it :shock:

How long will a Woodlore knife last, with 'normal' use and sharpening?

 

[Martyn]

Well, I got my micarta knife when I got in from work yesterday.

I was struck by the nice finish on the micarta, the handle slabs were slightly less than symmetrical, but no biggie. There were NO rust freckles - hooray! The finish was the same as the maple version, a high gloss (mirror) polish, though I've heard of some people getting a satin brushed finish - dunno why! The micarta knife is fractionally thinner (3.7mm) than the maple version (4.1mm), I've no idea why this should be either. Noticably different was the grind, the maple version has a true flat grind, with 0 edge bevel, while the micarta verion has a slightly convex grind, with a very small secondary edge bevel. I think the maple version has been hand finished, as the grind does extend further up the blade (see pic), though this could be due to the slightly thicker steel of the maple version. Aside from these small differences, the knives are pretty much identical.

Here's a couple of pics taken with different lighting. The blades are oiled, so look slightly streaky (almost brushed), this is just the oil on the surface of the steel. Both knives have a mirror polish.

 

[sargey]

i love the wilky logo on the blades i have got to get a micarta one!

cheers, and.

 

[Hoodoo]

Are the scales sculpted? How about a shot showing the top of the knife across the spine and scales?

 

[Martyn]

Are the scales sculpted? How about a shot showing the top of the knife across the spine and scales?

Yeah, they are sculpted. I'll do a series of shots of some unusual angles later tonight. Off for me Crimbo dinner now.

 

[pteron]

I got my Micarta Woodlore for Chistmas :-D

I am very pleased with the knife, although the finish could have been better - there was a nick in the edge towards the tip and the area where the blade joins the handle on the bottom has a machining mark on it - visible in the large version of the second picture. (My other half, who bless her, gave it to me for Christmas was rather unimpressed with the lack of box - it arrived in its sheath in a padded envelope.) None of this matters though as this is going to be my outdoors knife.

I did have to sharpen it - I tried to cut the potatoes for Christmas dinner with it and would have done better chopping them with my hand! A few minutes with the sharpmaker though and it was hair popping sharp.

Anyway, here are a few quick piccys, sorry about the background

Click on the pic for the full size version but note they are over a meg each.








Merry Christmas
Andy

 

[Martyn]

I tried to photograph the grind lines to illustrate what I'm on about, but it turned out to be very difficult - anyway, 'scuse the poor pic quality, but I think you can see what i mean...

this is the maple handled knife, flat grind, 0 edge bevel...

This is the micarta handled knife, looks like it's been ground on a wheel, VERY slightly convex, with a tiny edge bevel...

You can see the vertical grind lines and can feel them with your thumbnail. It shouldn't be too hard to grind it flat with a waterstone, but you get the idea. I'm interested to know if others get these vertical grind marks on their micarta knives?

 

[Martyn]

Here are some pics showing the shape of the knife over the handle area...

These knives certainly are built like tanks.

 

[Brian]

You'll be glad to know that I did get my micarta WS for christmas, I like Martyn have the vertical grind lines, I also found that the handle is less flared and smaller than my RM Woodlore knife but is very comfortable in the hand and very useable. I like it and will hopefully get a chance to give it a good work out soon.

Brian

 

[Nod]

Mine has the grind marks too, it also had a small flat/blunt spot towards the point as mentioned in previous posts, but this ground out almost straight away.

Any advice on grinding these grind marks out then?
Whats the advantage/disadvantage of the flat grind & 0 bevel against the secondary one that's on the Micarta knife. Will the edge last longer or be stronger?

Any comments appreciated as I'm new to waterstones and don't want to ruin my knife by getting carried away with my grinding. :-?

 

[Mat]

Hi Guys,

Is anyone willing yet to say which is the better knife?!? I've fancied buying myself a Woodlore knife for a while now, but 9+ months is SUCH a long time to wait (although the wife's pregnancy seems to have flown by!). Is the WS version a good compromise or should I just be a bit more patient? I'm not worried about cost, I just want a high quality knife.

Ta, Mat

 

[Doc]

Maybe a new 'sharpening' thread wouldn't go amiss.

I think a true flat grind is best. AFAIK the main problem in sharpening is keeping a consistent angle, and the big advantage of the Scandinavian/Woodlore type knife is you can do that easily by laying the bevel flat on the stone.

I use wet or dry paper, used wet, on a flat surface, as in Mors Kochanskis book. You get a near mirror finish with 600 then 1200 grit followed by stropping with a tiny smear of Autosol (note spelling - not Anusol.....) polish. Maybe Japanese wetstones are better - I've never used them so couldn't say. I think the way they number the grit sizes is different?

I sometimes have a bit of trouble keeping a consistent angle on the curved portion of the blade - any advice on this welcome.

Interestingly, you can clearly see the laminate edge, 3mm above the cutting edge, on my Brusletto and Frosts laminated knives when just sharpened. Soon becomes invisible with use.

Having been subjected to far too much temptation, can anyone tell me if Wilkinson sell Micarta knives direct, and if so are they cheaper than Woodlore, allowing for postage? (I'm assuming RM still gets his cut as designer as is only fair.)

 

[Nod]

Hello Doc,

W-S do sell the Micarta and Birds Eye versions direct. Normally they charge for postage, but I'm not sure how much as they use a courier rather than Royal Mail. Woodlore don't charge for postage.

When I got my Dartmoor from them it was a tenner......mind you that was a heavy knife, so hopefully the the Micarta would work out a bit cheaper.

I think you're right about the sharpening thread. I'll have a look and see if there is one, and if not start one.

Cheers

 

[sargey]

it has been noted that the scandanavian grind can be a little fragile at the edge. haveing a slight secondary bevel will give you a more durable edge, but you'll lose a a small amount of penetration for wood carving. i tend to do touch ups on a set of crock sticks.

autosol rocks! i use it (and wet'n'dry)on the inside of a cornflake box across the back of an A4 pad for just a hint of a convex grind.

cheers, and.

 

[Doc]

By the way, thanks to all for the top notch pictures.

 

[Colin KC]

Maybe a new 'sharpening' thread wouldn't go amiss.

I think a true flat grind is best. AFAIK the main problem in sharpening is keeping a consistent angle, and the big advantage of the Scandinavian/Woodlore type knife is you can do that easily by laying the bevel flat on the stone.

I use wet or dry paper, used wet, on a flat surface, as in Mors Kochanskis book. You get a near mirror finish with 600 then 1200 grit followed by stropping with a tiny smear of Autosol (note spelling - not Anusol.....) polish. Maybe Japanese wetstones are better - I've never used them so couldn't say. I think the way they number the grit sizes is different?

I sometimes have a bit of trouble keeping a consistent angle on the curved portion of the blade - any advice on this welcome.

Interestingly, you can clearly see the laminate edge, 3mm above the cutting edge, on my Brusletto and Frosts laminated knives when just sharpened. Soon becomes invisible with use.

Having been subjected to far too much temptation, can anyone tell me if Wilkinson sell Micarta knives direct, and if so are they cheaper than Woodlore, allowing for postage? (I'm assuming RM still gets his cut as designer as is only fair.)

Doc, the "flat grind" you mention is achully a "zero edge"

A true Flat Grind (a la SAK) is a flat "from the spine" grind.

the Woodlore knife can be called a "Zero edge, Sabre grind" & is best sharpened by the use of a flat ground block/plate glass, or other similar surface. with a sheet (cut to slightly oversize) of "wet 'n' dry" glued to the surface (I use Pritt & lubricate with WD40, this not only helps in the cutting/polishing, but also facilitates the easy removal of the used wet 'n' dry once the WD40 has soaked through the paper)


Hope that helps


Col

 

[Wayne]

hi

I recently started a thread over on british blades about sharpening a woodlore. Not much response sadly.

Some talk about the Sharpmaker.

Any advice would be gratefully received as buggering a £195 blade would seriously spoil my day.

Cheers,

Wayne