Since I have had my knife I have cleaned approx 15 wood ducks, 3 does, and fully caped a buck from the sternum up so it can be mounted...and it still shaves the hair on my arm. I love this thing!!
Bushcraft knives
- Thread starter SCSL
- Start date
Bark River makes some nice knives. Might be worth looking at, as well.
http://www.barkriverknifetool.com/
They might have the only 'Canadian' some of you guys would like...:bigok:
http://www.barkriverknifetool.com/
They might have the only 'Canadian' some of you guys would like...:bigok:
Strangely enough, SOG appears to have a knife that is very similar to this.
The serrations aren't nearly as well designed, and would be very difficult to sharpen in the field, if they became dull. These serrations are sharpened along their inset length, requiring one to find either a rod shaped sharpening tool somewhere, or a very cleverly eroded rock that won't exist. As well, sharpening these frequently will progressively render them more and more useless. Their design, while great for cutting rope and things of that nature, is less than ideal for outdooring tasks, being prone to digging into objects and jolting out suddenly.
The Bullshit Bear knife, in comparison, has a much better design, where the serrations are actually sharpened on the edge of the knife itself. This is VERY clever, and I haven't seen it used like this before. One can sharpen these just like the rest of the knife, on any handy surface, if it comes to it. Sharpening them will not wear them any more than the rest of the knife edge, or make them too deep to function properly. Their design would make them far less likely to dig and bind when shaving little bits off of wood, making the knife much more safe to use. Everyone has cut themselves with a knife, and we certainly want this to be as hard to accomplish as possible during a time when we NEED a knife.
Also, it has no flat surface above the grind. The blade is ground clean to the spine, which is common, and there are plenty of reasons for it, but this removes some of the utility from the design. It is going to be prone to slipping if you choose to use the "flat" portion as a hammer in combination with a striking object. It will make the process very difficult, as opposed to only reasonably difficult.
In contrast, the Leaping Legionnaire's knife has a prominent flat surface that would be incredibly useful in various situations.
SOG also has a nasty habit of making things thicker than they need to be in all the wrong places, effectively rendering their knives useless for delicate tasks. I hate overly thick knives. The Bear knife is thick, but it has a great grind. SOG's normal grinds are rubbish, and the steel has never been all that great. As such, the SOG is a fairly big compromise. It isn't cheap, either, with an MSRP of 125 dollars. Of course, it can be had cheaper, but not by much from any reputable establishment. We will call it 100 bucks.
Is Ursus Craticula Britannia's knife 400 bucks better? Not for everyday use it isn't. It will be, however, a far better blade, being made properly. It will get sharper, stay sharper longer, and the features I have described will make it much more useful. It is made of better steel, and likely just made better overall. Put simply, I know which, out of these two, I'd rather have when the chips are down.
At the very least, this has been an interesting exploration of it's merits.
The same company, Bayley Knifes, also makes their Raven series, which is significantly cheaper, with only a small compromise in utility. It has a spear point blade, versus the preferred clip point. The clip point extends the useful length of the spine a bit. The spear point should have a stronger tip, but it won't be by much, and the benefit of a stabbing tool in the wild, unless one is actually going to make a spear, is debatable. As well, there is nothing to prevent one stabbing with the clip point blade, or making a spear with that knife as well. I don't understand why the clip point isn't offered without the Bear name and price.
Cheers,
Kennith
The serrations aren't nearly as well designed, and would be very difficult to sharpen in the field, if they became dull. These serrations are sharpened along their inset length, requiring one to find either a rod shaped sharpening tool somewhere, or a very cleverly eroded rock that won't exist. As well, sharpening these frequently will progressively render them more and more useless. Their design, while great for cutting rope and things of that nature, is less than ideal for outdooring tasks, being prone to digging into objects and jolting out suddenly.
The Bullshit Bear knife, in comparison, has a much better design, where the serrations are actually sharpened on the edge of the knife itself. This is VERY clever, and I haven't seen it used like this before. One can sharpen these just like the rest of the knife, on any handy surface, if it comes to it. Sharpening them will not wear them any more than the rest of the knife edge, or make them too deep to function properly. Their design would make them far less likely to dig and bind when shaving little bits off of wood, making the knife much more safe to use. Everyone has cut themselves with a knife, and we certainly want this to be as hard to accomplish as possible during a time when we NEED a knife.
Also, it has no flat surface above the grind. The blade is ground clean to the spine, which is common, and there are plenty of reasons for it, but this removes some of the utility from the design. It is going to be prone to slipping if you choose to use the "flat" portion as a hammer in combination with a striking object. It will make the process very difficult, as opposed to only reasonably difficult.
In contrast, the Leaping Legionnaire's knife has a prominent flat surface that would be incredibly useful in various situations.
SOG also has a nasty habit of making things thicker than they need to be in all the wrong places, effectively rendering their knives useless for delicate tasks. I hate overly thick knives. The Bear knife is thick, but it has a great grind. SOG's normal grinds are rubbish, and the steel has never been all that great. As such, the SOG is a fairly big compromise. It isn't cheap, either, with an MSRP of 125 dollars. Of course, it can be had cheaper, but not by much from any reputable establishment. We will call it 100 bucks.
Is Ursus Craticula Britannia's knife 400 bucks better? Not for everyday use it isn't. It will be, however, a far better blade, being made properly. It will get sharper, stay sharper longer, and the features I have described will make it much more useful. It is made of better steel, and likely just made better overall. Put simply, I know which, out of these two, I'd rather have when the chips are down.
At the very least, this has been an interesting exploration of it's merits.
The same company, Bayley Knifes, also makes their Raven series, which is significantly cheaper, with only a small compromise in utility. It has a spear point blade, versus the preferred clip point. The clip point extends the useful length of the spine a bit. The spear point should have a stronger tip, but it won't be by much, and the benefit of a stabbing tool in the wild, unless one is actually going to make a spear, is debatable. As well, there is nothing to prevent one stabbing with the clip point blade, or making a spear with that knife as well. I don't understand why the clip point isn't offered without the Bear name and price.
Cheers,
Kennith
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Lee
Nice knife, I like the green canvas micarta handles, and it's a very practical blade shape.
What steel is it? I make knives myself and it looks a bit like air cooled d-2 tool steel. I mention this because if it is, you may want to look into a different sheath as d-2 is not stainless. It is higher in chromium and will leach moisture from a leather sheath. I ship out my D-2 knives with sheaths made from old seatbelts. They aren't pretty, but they are tough and functional and I get my materials for cheap from the local salvage yard.
I'm sure the guy who made it knows his business and it might be just the picture and my monitor making the finish look that way to me, but if you're unsure what steel it is, you might at least ask the maker.
Neil
Nice knife, I like the green canvas micarta handles, and it's a very practical blade shape.
What steel is it? I make knives myself and it looks a bit like air cooled d-2 tool steel. I mention this because if it is, you may want to look into a different sheath as d-2 is not stainless. It is higher in chromium and will leach moisture from a leather sheath. I ship out my D-2 knives with sheaths made from old seatbelts. They aren't pretty, but they are tough and functional and I get my materials for cheap from the local salvage yard.
I'm sure the guy who made it knows his business and it might be just the picture and my monitor making the finish look that way to me, but if you're unsure what steel it is, you might at least ask the maker.
Neil
I love custom knives.
leeawalden said:
I like that. It reminds me of something, but I just can't place it in my memory.
It looks very familiar, though. Very purposeful, as if it was made by the man who planned to use it. Someone knew damn well what they liked when they made that. I can see many, many subtle but conscious decisions there.
Cheers,
Kennith
Neil C said:
Yeah, I really just wanted an all purpose knife. Something to skin with, take camping, etc. It is D2 steel. I just really liked the leather sheath, but I also have a kydex sheath for it that I carry for hunting or anytime it might get wet.
Kennith- thanks, my buddy whose dad makes these things really knows what he is doing. Here is their website that shows some of the knives he can make, but if you tell him what you want he can make almost anything. He made his son a bad ass knife using a shedded antler for the handle. He also made a custom combat knife for a friend of ours deployed to Iraq, I will see if I can find pictures.
www.twinxblades.com
O.K.
I don't do custom orders and make about 4 knives a year in my shop that I usually gift out.
Big knife is 440 C, mirror polished, stabilized burl wood handle with mosaic pins and a monel guard. The pin in the guard is 316 stainless for contrast. "and because I couldn't find any monel rods when I made it."
The smaller knife is a hidden tang ATS34 hollow ground "before my burr king died on me" with a brass guard, buffalo horn spacer with brass washer for accent sandwiched between 2 layers of red spacer material, mated to a piece of elk horn I had laying around. The whole thing is made from scraps from other projects.
I now work with D2 exclsively and will take more pics later in the year as I make a few. I have a company in Arizona do my heat treating and all my knives are ground out of bar stock. I don't have a forge.
Neil
I don't do custom orders and make about 4 knives a year in my shop that I usually gift out.
Big knife is 440 C, mirror polished, stabilized burl wood handle with mosaic pins and a monel guard. The pin in the guard is 316 stainless for contrast. "and because I couldn't find any monel rods when I made it."
The smaller knife is a hidden tang ATS34 hollow ground "before my burr king died on me" with a brass guard, buffalo horn spacer with brass washer for accent sandwiched between 2 layers of red spacer material, mated to a piece of elk horn I had laying around. The whole thing is made from scraps from other projects.
I now work with D2 exclsively and will take more pics later in the year as I make a few. I have a company in Arizona do my heat treating and all my knives are ground out of bar stock. I don't have a forge.
Neil
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Chazz Layne said:
I really like the look of the scrapyard Dumpster Mutt. Have you had any experience with thier knives? I'm looking for a nice one for my upcoming overseas voyage.
Neil nice looking work brother.
Appreciate the kind words Army. TY
I'm a hack compared to a lot of makers out there. One of my personal favorites is this cranky old Canook.
http://www.tichbourneknives.com/
The scrap yard knives do look functional and well made. A lot of makers and companies are making over the top designs that are as practical as a screen door on a submarine. I like good using knives.
Neil
I'm a hack compared to a lot of makers out there. One of my personal favorites is this cranky old Canook.
http://www.tichbourneknives.com/
The scrap yard knives do look functional and well made. A lot of makers and companies are making over the top designs that are as practical as a screen door on a submarine. I like good using knives.
Neil
They are excellent and extremely durable, built to pry, chop, axe, carve and still slice a sheet of paper afterwards. The only real difference between a Busse and a Scrapyard is the finish and the handle, it is the same steel (INFI). It is easier to get a Scrapyard that is more versatile, since they have several available at a time. The trouble with Busse is they make them in batches, so you have to wait until they are making the one you want or get it third-party from a shop/ebay/forum.ArmyRover said:
There are only two knives I will buy anymore, Gerber when I am broke and Busse/Scrapyard when I'm not.
If this overseas voyage happens to be in an official deployment manner, give them a call. I know folks who have been placed in the front of the line to get their knives quicker for this very reason (they take care of our troops first).
My trip is official and I might just have to do that. I've always had gerber but I seem to destroy them everytime. They just don't seem to hold up to the retarded crap I do with knives.
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Yeah, Gerber is the best of the cheap steel, but it is still cheap steel. I love them because they come sharp from the factory and are mostly inexpensive enough to be disposeable.ArmyRover said:
gmookher said:
we do postmortem autopsy's on animals from the state and veterinary school. Essientially its for educational purpose for the senior rounds students, quality control, heard health management, etc. we dispose of the animals after the necropsy is finished. its pretty interesting!
majority of the stuff is bovine and equine, also a lot of dogs and cats. We see pigs, llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, raptors, and poultry (mainly broilers). I have also seen elephant up there and a siberian tiger. we gather samples for all of the labs to run their tests and then disposal
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