Wood, maple or micarta

[johnboy]

Hi,

If I read the Woodlore website correctly I could do the following.

Spend £90.00 on two sheaths from woodlore a hand stitched belt sheath and a hand stitched neck sheath with firestick holder to fit my micarta WS which comes with a machine stitched sheath and cost me £95.00.

The Sheath my Micarta WS came with is undoubtedly machine stitched also the belt loop is finished with just a single run of stitching rather than the triangle of stitching shown on the belt sheath on the woodlore website.

I suppose it's not inconceiveable that during the initial rush to ship the Maple WS knifes from WS to woodlore and onto eager bushcrafters that one left the factory in a machine stitched sheath?? Just supposition but it's not impossible.

Cheers

John

 

[Adi007]

Tony - how long have you had your Alan Wood knife and what nick is it in?
Do you have pics?
Thanks!

 

[Martyn]

Well I cant tell if they're machine stiched or hand stiched. If you want hand stitching, send your machine stiched sheath back to them ask them to unpick it and re-stitch by hand.

OK, so more than a little sarcasm in that sentence, but honestly, who cares if the stitching was done by a machine or by hand so long as the finished product is up to scratch. YOU ARE BUYING A KNIFE! You get a sheath with it, if you want an extra one you can buy one.

I have both the WS belt sheath, and the WS neck sheath. I cannot distinguish whether or not the stitches are hand or machine, I canno tell them apart. They are both excellent.

 

[Tony]

Tony - how long have you had your Alan Wood knife and what nick is it in?
Do you have pics?
Thanks!

Ummmm about three and a half years, good nick....don't know really, it's sharp and not rusty! Any nicks in the blade have always been sharpened out so the edge is nice. I suppose it's in good nick for a well used tool :-D

 

[Adi007]

WHO CARES?

Well, in the UK, consumer law would. The spec does say that they have a different sheath. People are being sold a knife and a sheath.

 

[JakeR]

Sorry for saying it twice!

What would you recommend? Bison Bushcraft or
WS Micarta?

Thanks guys,

Jake

 

[Adi007]

One thing that might sway it for you is that you'll get the WS micarta one sooner than the Bison ...

Sorry for saying it twice!

What would you recommend? Bison Bushcraft or
WS Micarta?

Thanks guys,

Jake

 

[Doc]

Don't count on it! Ordered a Micarta 6/1/04, with delivery supposed to be mid/end Jan.

Nil heard so I phoned today.

Woodlore tell me that various delays with WS (staff off, including bloke who does bevels) mean will be another week or two till they get a small batch......

 

[JakeR]

I hate the tension when you are expecting an arrival and it doesnt arrive!
:aargh4:

 

[johnboy]

So Jake,

Have you made your decision yet??

cheers

john

 

[JakeR]

I reckon it will have to be the Micarta WS..............but the bison bushcraft sounds good aswell !!!

Probably the Micarta.

Cheers,

Jake

 

[JakeR]

Has anyone ever been *completely* let down by the micarta knife.......Blade broke etc etc???


Cheers


Jake

 

[Martyn]

I dont think there is ebough of em in circulation for that Jake, they are pretty new. But I would be very interested to hear if someone managed to break a 4mm thick blade under normal usage (or even abnormal usage). You'd have to put a phenominal amount of lateral tension on the blade to break it. If you've ever seen any of the ABS Journeyman smith tests, you will know that on even thinish blades, you have to use a long lenth of pipe in order to get enough leverage to break a blade. For short blades 4mm (or 3/16) you really have to give it insane abuse in order for it to fail. Of course, there is the possibility of a catastrophic fault being present in the steel, but given the consitency of the factory produced steel billets(O1) used in the woodlore knives, these kinds of flaws are extremely rare in comparison to hand forged billets.

I would be very surprised if anyone has managed to break one. In fact, I'd like to hear from anyone who has ever managed to break any blade from any manufacturer under normal use conditions?

Tips get broken off from time to time, usually just the 2 or 3 mm at the end of a blade, but that is relatively rare too. You dont very often hear of a blade completely failing, unless someone has deliberately tested it to the point of destruction.

I think Terry Primos tests 1 in 10 of the blades he forges like this, but that is for a hand forged blade and although it is part of the ABS test, I think Terry tests so many to this point to inspire market confidence. Few knives would ever see the above kind of abuse in their normal lifetime.

 

[JakeR]

Cheers for the response, i guess that answers my question!

Jake