Wilkinson Sword/Allan Wood Woodlore Knives

[Doc]

Nice one Martyn and Johnboy. Concur with the above.

I've just ordered a Micarta WS knife today- hopefully will be delivered with the second batch in circa 2 weeks time.

I was tempted to go for the Alan Wood hand made job. However, maybe its my Scots upbringing, but I think a hundred quid is a hell of a lot to spend on a knife, and two hundred is positively mad - unless bushcraft is your number one passion, anyway. Seeing as a mint woodlore knife was just sold for £240 on ebay, I'd be afraid to sharpen it, let alone use it.

Anyway, you don't write off the opinion of folk like Ray Mears easily, and if he's been happy with a design for 12 years (maybe with minor changes, looking at his books?) then I'm happy to rely on that.

Having said that, I made a perfectly functional knife from a ten pound Norwegian blade and a bit of curly birch, despite having no woodwork experience, and maybe after using the WS Micarta for a bit, I might try and make my own 'perfect-for-me' knife.

It's good to own nice things - indeed it's natural for men to like gadgets or tools, just as it is natural to enjoy a real fire or go fishing. Don't fight it. On the other hand, we should never forget that it is the man who owns the tool, and not the other way around.

 

[JakeR]

In the Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft, he goes over how to sharpen a knife in detail. It is worth the cost, as you say, buggering that blade would be tragic.


Hope this helps, best wishes,

 

[Greenpete]

I've seen a few of the Woodlore knives and think they are an excellent design and of good quality.
I also think they're ridiculously expensive! So I made my own back in 1996.
For someone with the desire I feel most people could make one and in order to help those people I have posted a tutorial on my web site, http://www.greenpete.co.uk
If you want to buy a good knife then the Woodlore one is a good choice, but there are cheaper alternatives and still of the same quality. Or as some else pointed out about fitting your own handle is a very satisfying and rewarding thing to do.
Greenpete

 

[Doc]

Very impressive!

I thought the site might be about fitting a handle to a Scandi blade, but no, its doing it from scratch with a lump of steel.

 

[Stuart]

Well done pete

I have been looking for your knife making info for a while now

Are'nt you the guy from the wilderness gathering with the wheel barrow?

I thought you were untill i saw your picture on your website, now i'm not sure

 

[Greenpete]

Well thanks guys!
It's nice to know you liked my site.
I really do hope that it helps people make their own custom knife and especially for those that can't afford 'brand names'.
And yes I am the muppet with the wheel barrow!
Pete

 

[Greenpete]

I didn't realize that Ray Mears/Wilkinson Sword were getting the knives made in the USA!
That's a shame, not looking after British interests but rather his wallets!
Pete

 

[Adi007]

I think that they are actually made in the UK.

I didn't realize that Ray Mears/Wilkinson Sword were getting the knives made in the USA!
That's a shame, not looking after British interests but rather his wallets!
Pete

 

[Martyn]

I didn't realize that Ray Mears/Wilkinson Sword were getting the knives made in the USA!

I dont think they are. I'm pretty sure they're made in the UK (says "Made In England" on em anyway).

Great knife tutorial BTW Pete, love it. :-D

You made any more since?

 

[Greenpete]

That makes me a bit happier! It's nice to know Ray's helping to keep our industry alive!
Pete

 

[Hoodoo]

Has anyone been able to get sparks off their WS Woodlore using flint? All I get are dents in the spine.

 

[Martyn]

I know you can get sparks from O1, but I've never tried. I think the 10 series steels spark easier though, O1 does have an iddy, biddy bit of chrome in it, maybe that's the problem.

 

[Hoodoo]

Martyn, IIRC, it's the Rockwell that's the problem. I would think that O1 should spark pretty easily if the Rockwell is high enough. I remember when Jeff Randall offered his lazer strike he had a part of it tempered at a high rockwell so it could be used with flint.

 

[Martyn]

I own a laser strike, I'll have to try it.

IIRC it's 1095 though, not O1.

 

[Gary]

Think I'll stick to me old faithful.

 

[Adi007]

I was thinking the exact same thing Gary. I keep being tempted but I think it's mostly the glamour of the RM knife that's doing it.

What is it you use normally Gary? A Bison?

Prolly get one some day though! :shock:

Nothing seems to be going right with these cheaper WS knives - think I'll save me money and stick to me old faithful.

 

[Hoodoo]

Jeff actually had some problems with some of the Laser Strikes in that some of them were not tempered hard (was it just along the spine?). So IIRC, he offered to refund their money or replace the knife. I think it was just a misunderstanding between Jeff and the company that made them but it's been a long time ago and I'm going from memory so I'm not sure I have the story exactly right.

As for the WS Woodlore, I can't say much right now because I'm working on an article about it but from what I've heard about the Rockwell of the original woodlore, I doubt it would be any more effective at getting a spark from flint. In fact, when you look at lots of really high dollar knives that are differentially tempered and have a soft spine, you have the same situation. In fact, most knives are too low in the Rockwell to throw sparks although you might try a carbon Mora and see what happens, eh? My personal opinion of the WS Woodlore is that it's a wonderful knife and worth the price so just because it doesn't thow sparks from chert doesn't mean squat. I was just curious if others were getting the same results as me. After working on the edge of the knife, I can tell ya it's well-tempered and not soft. :-D

OK, I just dug up a review article in TK on the Laser Strike (Sept. 2001). It's the tang that's raised for striking with flint. And although it doesn't say so in the article, I'm sure the tang was hardened specifically for this purpose.

And while I was at it, I dug up Jeff's article specifically on this subject. It's in the Sept. 2000 issue of Tactical Knives.

Here's what Jeff said: "So what is the secret for good-sparking steel? To produce sparks hot enough for flint and steel, two things are required: high carbon steel and hardening of the striking area. Simple high carbon steel in raw form will not work and must be hardened (carburized) to raise the carbon content at the striking surface. In actual fact, hardening a knife spine to the degree required for fire-steel use may create a tool too brittle for serious functions."

So that's why when Jeff designed the Laser Strike to have a raised, hardened tang.

 

[Martyn]

Jeff actually had some problems with some of the Laser Strikes in that some of them were not tempered hard (was it just along the spine?).

Yep, you remember well, I think it was before tops started making them, I think jeff used someone else first, but again my memory is as sketchy too. One thing though, I hated the raised tang and ground it off soon after I took delivery. One of the great features was the divot for the firedrill - great idea. I think the handle was a good design (sans the raised sparking bit). The idea was to have 3 firestrting methods in one blade, a sweedish steel on the kydex sheath, a divot for a firedrill and a hardened area for flint striking. Good in theory, but it made the knife uncomfortable for me, it was too high a price for what ammounts to redundancy.

 

[Hoodoo]

I hear ya about the raised tang. Personally, I think and exposed pommel would be ideal for that. I'm partial to exposed pommels anyway as they can make a good scraper. If there was one thing I would change about the basic woodlore design, it would be to add an exposed pommel. And maybe harden it to function as a flint striker. Another nice thing about an exposed pommel is you can hammer on it or use it as a hammer with less fear of damaging the scales.

 

[Martyn]

Absolutely. An exposed and hardened pommel would definitely have been better.