Did Mr Mears really design the Wilkinson swords survival knife

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keith alan

Need to contact Admin...
Feb 4, 2011
11
0
midlands
I have such a knife as the Wilkinson Dartmoor survival knife complete and it is an excellent piece of kit although a large knife to carry around ,I bought it about 25 to 30 years ago and it was expensive then and it is very expensive now as it is no longer in production it's a shame a good traditional British company should have been allowed to go to the wall.


Who was the designer behind this knife ,I think it was Ray Meers although some would say Lofty Wiseman ? I would say Ray Meers




It is now lying around surplus to requirements


Has any one got a carinthia sleeping bag
 
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Wook

Settler
Jun 24, 2012
688
4
Angus, Scotland
Now it may just be that Ray had not yet acquired his full Bushcraft mojo that early in his career, but how did he go from such a prententious tacticool design to the elegance and simplicity of the woodlore in a few short years?

I mean, what's the deal the with serrations on the back? Is that so you can do a Rambo and use it as a saw?

EDIT - Dangit, I just took some necropost bait. Mods feel free to delete my post. It is considered impolite to resurrect long dead threads keith allen.
 
Nov 29, 2004
7,808
22
Scotland
Old, old thread.

Yes, Ray was the designer, it was even recommended in one of his books. :)

3xFew.jpg
 
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John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,137
2,876
66
Pembrokeshire
The original was designed bt RM - as claimed in his book and on the original patent (I have seen this http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=E...&QPN=GB2171628 if the link fais just google Wilkinson Sword Survival knife patent)
) - Lofty did his parang thing.
If memory serves the staff of C&S told me that the one seen in the reviews in the mag and later in the book by Len Cacut had stripped the thread in the Alu nut and all the photos were "staged" as thet in use the handle just fell off.
I told Ray what I thought of the design - not realising then that he was the designer!
I let him know what I thought would make a good knife - and pretty soon the "Woodlore " was in the shop...
Ray has recently started talking to me again...
The Dartmoor is a development of the original with input from the Marines - and is still a horrid knife substitute :)
 
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keith alan

Need to contact Admin...
Feb 4, 2011
11
0
midlands
Survival Aids (now Penrith Survival.

I remember this company and I did a lot of business with them but they grew to big to quickly that's why I think they went nearly to the wall,I remember their shop in Birmingham in the wrong place to do any business I may add and at Euston station in London
 

mohd

Member
Jul 4, 2012
12
0
Malaysia
This very thread reminds me about "Ray Mears Parang" and the Dayak people of Borneo already used that Parang Candung long before Ray Mears was born :D
I raised this issue in our regional forums and the answer is that the name of "Ray Mears Parang" carries more marketing value than the correct name which is the Parang Candung!
Now I don't really understand what actually means by "Ray Mears Parang" :D

mohd
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,481
Stourton,UK
This very thread reminds me about "Ray Mears Parang" and the Dayak people of Borneo already used that Parang Candung long before Ray Mears was born :D
I raised this issue in our regional forums and the answer is that the name of "Ray Mears Parang" carries more marketing value than the correct name which is the Parang Candung!
Now I don't really understand what actually means by "Ray Mears Parang" :D

mohd

When Ray started using that particular parang design, there wasn't any info about it or the parang candung design. Many threads were posted about what parang Ray Mears uses. And many threads before and since mention the Ray Mears parang as a reference becuase most people will know that design from his programmes. Even today, not many people could name the design or the country of origin. Or if you did bring it up as the style of parang used, a lot of people would wonder what it was. But you mention Ray Mears' parang and everyone knows what you're on about.
 

Chris the Cat

Full Member
Jan 29, 2008
2,850
14
Exmoor
Read Paul Kirtlys blog, he takes one out ( and nothing else ) and gives it a full going over, makes interesting reading!
Chris.
 

mohd

Member
Jul 4, 2012
12
0
Malaysia
.. When Ray started using that particular parang design, there wasn't any info about it or the parang candung design ..
How nice if at that time Ray already knew that it was a Parang Candung so that he can let people know that it was a Parang Candung!
Anyhow it's good to let you all know that the name of the parang used by Ray Mears is actually is a Parang Candung!
And what Keong of Sepuh Crafts and Nadir of Outdoordynamics sell is also a Parang Candung plus some other type of parangs as well.
It's nice to know the correct name for the correct tool isn't it!

Maybe I was just lucky enough to know all the correct info about a Bowie knife made by Craig Camerer from US when I used it in my hometown village!
People there asked me about it and I told them that it is a US origin Bowie knife blah blah blah!
And even though they are not highly educated still now they refer it as a Bowie knife (i.e. theirs might sounds a bit like Bovi or Boi or Bobi etc) and not as a Mohd Knife!

And thanks a lot for the explanation Jon :)

mohd
 

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