A New Firekit Knife

[Mistwalker]

Anyone who has seen the last few knife threads I've done knows that I like for my knives to be able to multi-task, and the ability to function well in firecraft is a key aspect for me.

The last couple of knives have actually been experimental in certain aspects directly related to usefulness in firecrafting with some changed angles here and bevels there creating purpose designed surfaces.

Having been a custom woodworker for 25 years I have worked with many purpose designed tools naturally "optimized" for working with wood. In thinking about that for a few minutes one day when I was out practicing firecraft I realized that not one of those tools consisted of a "squared- edge" as the surface interacting with the wood. They all consist of acute angles of varying degrees depending on the desired result. With this thought in mind those experiments led over time to the development of a new tool which is primarily meant as a dedicated firecrafting knife but also functions well as a stand-alone "three-finger-knife" for the minimalists who want a rugged little knife to perform lighter cutting tasks.


I based this tool partly in design on Bryan's Final Option Knife pictured here…
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5405.jpg



I sent the first drawings, pictured below, off to Bryan and this time it was he who simplified the design a little.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5420.jpg



He sent me two prototypes to take out and work with, one smaller one about the same size as a final option knife which I now keep in the pouch on my 1-0…
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5558.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5557.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5518.jpg



And one an inch longer more designed to serve as more of a stand-alone tool.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5554.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5555.jpg



This tool is designed with angled surfaces, the scallop in the spine which serves as a thumb grip has only a slight bevel. This doesn't interfere with it's use as a thumb grip at all and works really well for scraping fuzz from fatwood as I have determined that multi-textured fatwood material works better than any one single texture of material.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5540.jpg




The razor sharp edge of the tool works really well for cutting the finer slivers of fatwood….
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5543.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/Fatwood-2.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/Fatwood-3.jpg



As anyone who has ever tried it knows, the edge of a knife will produce a lot more sparks from a firesteel than even the squarest spine. With this in mind I thought an acute angle beveled spine would work better for a striker than a squared one…I was right.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/SPARKS.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/Fatwood-4.jpg




I also tried the tool on some plain dead pine one afternoon after a night of rain. With the abilities of the edge to cut very fine slivers, and the beveled spine to throw sparks, creating fire was no problem at all.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/Pine-1.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/Pine-2.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/Pine-3.jpg




Then I tried it with some Bamboo, also with favorable results so odds are that if there is fuel for a fire in the area I am in, then with this tool and a firesteel I shall have fire.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5996.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5997.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_6000.jpg



In experimenting with, and demonstrating this tool to friends….as well as using it to start a few fires in a couple of firecraft classes…I have started a couple of dozen fires. Bryan has done an awesome job on the hardening as there is virtually no sign of wear so far.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_6003.jpg



So now I keep the smaller one in the pouch of my knife, and I have put the larger one in a contingency kit I made from an old drill bit case.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_6002.jpg




There was a couple of issues I did note in the process of working out the design. The grind needed to be changed so that the front of the "choil" was flat and would serve as a guard when striking. And the tip where the beveled spine meets the upper scallop needs to be rounded over somewhat to make it more comfortable in push cuts and tip work
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5556.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5966.jpg



So now the new ones will look more like this.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5906.jpg



Bryan is also working on a version with handle scales for more comfort, as well as a couple of full sized knives based on this same concept. Here you can see one of the concept drawings compared to one of Bryan's FOK's and a prototype Bushlore knife I bought from Rick .
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/outrider1369/Tools/IMG_5423.jpg

[welshwhit]

I was lucky enough to receive one of these little beauties when I got my Final Option Knife.

Its an awesomely handy little blade, that casts a great shower of sparks, but also is great for loads of other little jobs!

I used mine to dress a few rabbits after a hunting session the other day, sorry no pics but I can assure you all its mighty useful!

Drew

[Mistwalker]

I was lucky enough to receive one of these little beauties when I got my Final Option Knife.

Its an awesomely handy little blade, that casts a great shower of sparks, but also is great for loads of other little jobs!

I used mine to dress a few rabbits after a hunting session the other day, sorry no pics but I can assure you all its mighty useful!

Drew

Glad you liked it Drew, I'll be trying it out dressing some game soon I hope. As you can see by the pictures it may be better to dull the point where the edge meets the choil though. I have started more than a couple dozen fires with mine and nicked myself about six times.

[harryhawk]

Looks a very handy piece of kit!
So what size (length, width, depth) did the knife end up with?
Could make a useful addition to a pouch or tin.

[Mistwalker]

Looks a very handy piece of kit!
So what size (length, width, depth) did the knife end up with?
Could make a useful addition to a pouch or tin.

Well there will be the 3.75" (9.5cm) one like the smaller one in the pics and the one Drew has. It's 1" (2.5cm) wide, 5/32" (2.3mm) thick which will be good for tins or possibles kits. The larger one will be more like 6" (15cm) long, 1 1/8" (2.8cm) wide, and 1/8" (3.2mm) thick and maybe a bit large for a tin but still good in a pouch.