bushcraft knife advice

[als427]

Hi , Im new to this bushcraft. Im a furniture maker and want to learn these skills.Im looking for advice on a decent all around knife.Happy to spend a bit as Im used to good quality tools at work. Looking for a 4-5 inch blade for all around bushcraft. Wood prep to carving to food prep. I was looking at the fallkniven s1 or tops bob fieldcraft. I Like the look of the swedish grind on the tops. Any recommendations anyone?

thanks

 

[John Fenna]

You are going to get a lot of folk recommending the Mora - mostly the Companion and Robust models - and I will have to agree with them
Moras fit your criteria perfectly and at a good price and really perform well with a choice of Carbon or SS (I prefer carbon steel) blades ... what mor(a) do you really need?

 

[mick91]

Mora is a good solid choice and cheap. If you fancy something a bit fancier have a look around our fine maker's! There's quite a few of us on here and you'll be able to cut a deal for less than a fallkniven

 

[als427]

Hi John , im leaning towards the carbon steel.Might well try a mora.

 

[dewi]

I have the Mora Companion, stainless version and it cost around £12.

Plainish knife and comes in a hard plastic sheath, but it functions, its sharp and I've used it to split wood... its still in one piece. Sliced bread with it, made pegs with it and made a couple of feather-sticks with it. For £12, nothing to whinge about.

 

[crosslandkelly]

+1 for the Moras, Hultafors are also worth a look.
http://www.powertoolsdirect.com/hul...oqkggsbjNQakD60YPfEcb_Z2Mmd6bgjKA7RoC7HHw_wcB

 

[awarner]

As long as you look after it carbon steel over stainless as it tends to keep a better edge, my Mora has lasted me 13 years and still going strong

 

[Samon]

Hultafors heavy duty knife, carbon steel. £5 new, beast of a knife.



Mora classic, carbon steel. £12 new. Nice knife.



Both good affordable knives. Get one, beat it up, learn what you do/don't like about it and move on up to bigger better things if you need to.

 

[Knife Craft]

I really like my Joonas and Pekka. Excellent knives, here are a few of mine. Top to bottom: Pekka Tuominen, Joonas Kallioniemi, Veikko Hakkarainen.


Family by michael sylvia, on Flickr

 

[Polecatsteve]

Love my mora. Cheap and effective. Won't have you crying if you lose it or break it either.

 

[Samon]

great for modding too! (what's that thing called in the base of your mora handle?? might need a few of those)

Hultafors in Plumb wood and brass.



Mora classic with a little work.

 

[Polecatsteve]

Samon, it's a brass "connector" for a plug to a chain. Had it lying in the shed. Does the job perfect.

 

[Samon]

Must find a source and buya few of those!

 

[OldJimbo]

Looking for a 4-5 inch blade for all around bushcraft. Wood prep to carving to food prep

You've got some good suggestions as to knives, but no-one seems to have mentioned the reasoning behind the choices.

The Scandi grind with one large bevel on each side leading to the edge is the best for wood prep in wet conditions and for carving. Since Moras are inexpensive you would also be able to try the narrow bladed carving designs. For such uses the oval profile handle is usually preferred since it allows a lot of different hand positions. It's best to have the level of the blade edge slightly behind the handle at the first finger grip point since this offers more precision of cuts for most people. Food prep can be done with a Scandi grind knife if it is thin enough, and I used a "Bull Cook's knife" make by Murphyknives for a surprising number of tasks. The problem was that the carbon steel in that knife gunked up with acid foods faster/worse than any other carbon I've ever used. Even the thinnest Mora is a poor performer compared to a Bull Cook's knife or a flat ground when prepping a few pounds of carrots, etc. since harder veg tend to wedge apart and break instead of slicing neatly.
All of the Scandi grind knives I've used from Moras to hand forged demanded some work in honing the bevels to change from slight hollow grind - since they were ground on circular stones - to flat or slightly convex, so that they work well for whatever level of carving you want to do. In wood prep (batoning with the grain) the edge gets little wear because the bevels open the split, so a Mora with simple carbon steel or Sandvik stainless works well. The weakness of the 12C27 stainless is if the blade is used for scraping, where the lack of lateral strength compared to high end stainless or even Mora carbon leads to poor performance for the resharpening required.
I've come to appreciate light stick tanged knives for my uses, but I do have an A1 which is slightly bigger than the the s1 you are considering. It's a great knife with excellent VG10 steel (after I spent many many hours changing the edge to Scandi grind), but it's too heavy/awkward for carving for me.

 

[Mozzi]

I only own two dedicated bush knifes, the G Mills Timberwolf (few let downs and lost faith in the maker) and a mora companion heavy duty carbon steel.

To be honest, one is near 200 quid, the other was fifty (I believe the knife is 20-30 pounds but I bought it with a leather sheath and firesteel, which I'd recommend for you).

This is the version I got, although I shall also post the "nordic sheath" option which also comes with a DC4 stone for touching up in the woodlands.

http://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/...eather-sheath---choose-your-model-18110-p.asp

http://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/...nordic-sheath---choose-your-model-25820-p.asp

Around 15 pounds more expensive but if you can find the items separately cheaper then do it, by no means am I spamming for TBS but its good value as you're only paying postage once.

When you can, I'd invest in proper bench whetstones, "ice bear" being my favourite brand, getting an 800, 1200, and a 6000+nagura will take any blade to silly sharp, especially with a strop at the end! Did this procedure with kitchen knives as a chef and craft knifes as a tinker, however its been much easier lately doing scandal grinds


Im by no means a bush knife expert but I haven't come across a task I couldnt do with a Mora, handmades and more expensive knives I think are more of a treat to ones self. Theres certainly someone satisfying in admiring a craft mans handwork. adds sentimental value too I think. Infact thats the only thing I don't like about the mora, it lacks soul!

 

[Herbalist1]

I've got a very lovely and very expensive Ben Orford Woodlander - it was a gift and is a much loved bit of kit.
BUT I still use and love the Mora 510. Can't get them anymore but you can get the 511 - same knife with a silly extended finger guard but this is easily trimmed off with a hacksaw and tidied up with a file. These are cheap as chips but will do all you want a bushcraft knife for. Ideal for perfecting skills and sharpening (though as a furniture maker I guess you're already up to speed with sharpening edged tools) without worrying about ruining a more expensive knife. I even don't mind the bright red handle - easy to spot if dropped while out and about or if you put it down while on the job (not that I ever put an unsheathed knife down anywhere ever obviously 😉 - but if I did, inadvertently of course, then err it would be very easy to spot).

 

[Silverback 1]

Another big fan of the Mora 510, my most used knife by a long chalk.

 

[Silverback 1]

BUT I still use and love the Mora 510. Can't get them anymore

Like rocking horse poo for a while, but now available here

http://www.heinnie.com/mora-knife-510?___SID=U

 

[Herbalist1]

Glad you can get the 510 again but to be honest I stocked up on the 511s when clas Olsen were selling 3 for under £10!
glad I did as it looks like the 510 is now selling for 11 squids - as a starter bushcraft knife though, I still think it would be worth it.
Like the kydex neck sheath Silverback - got something similar myself and a leather belt sheath to give me different carry options. The sheath in the 511s isn't great and a poor fit after you've cut the guard down - the 510 sheath was better and ambidextrous(useful for lefties like me) but still worth upgrading to a decent sheath.

 

[WoodGnome]

For the beginning, I'd get myself this combination here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-LAP-K...id=1444087718&sr=8-2&keywords=bahco+laplander

With that you're good to go for at least till you have found out what kind of knife fits your personal needs. The one in the package is a Mora and should work fine for anything bushcraft-related. When you find out what you want from a knife the never-ending search begins.