View Full Version : Calling all Bearclaw Field Knife owners.
My question to all you proud owners of this (stunning) knife, is what is it like? I've read the review on british blades, but would like to know what its like own and use long term, presuming you use it rather than just gazing with wonder at its lines ;) Has anyone actually hammerd on the pommel to drive the tip deep into wood as Mr Kochasky suggests? I bet no one has actually stood on the blade, once hammerd in that is, to see if it breaks :eek: :eek: Any feedback would be welcom, any gremlins or bits you would change? I really want one and as this will be my last knife, no really I mean it honest, would like to know if this is THE bushcraft knife. So come on tell us about it.
I think the first batch is still in production so I doubt many people have received them yet. I certainly haven't. IIRC Gary said he's aiming to get them out (the first 50) by christmas
The General
09-08-2005, 20:09
The current batch is going to a very select "few" shall we say. Perhaps once the knife has been tried by more people we will have a good indication of this knives ability.
I am not having a go at anyone here, only pointing out the danger of hype when so few have actually tried the knife. I will withhold opinion till those I trust as experienced knife users and reviewers have handled and used this (or any knife) have their say.
I have seen far too many knives touted as "the next best thing" only to find things like overly small/large handles et al spoiling the product.
I will of course withold my own opinion and final judgement till I try it myself!
Lets not get carried away here, it looks great, the maker is fantastic and Gary knows his stuff for sure. However the perfect recipe can be overcooked and go wrong. Though I am expecting this to be a very good knife personally.
Tantalus
09-08-2005, 21:10
Do I get points for asking anyway ?
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showpost.php?p=165077&postcount=45
I think the number actually delivered is not as high as 5 yet , and that may be at the high end of guesswork
Tant
Squidders
10-08-2005, 09:34
I will be getting #12 and I'm going to have a very good play with it before I judge.
I love my Gene Ingram #6 Drop point to bits so the BFK has a lot to live up to with me.
I think the quality and build of the knife will be second to none and as with all knives, the rest from there is purely personal preference.
Joe
Tantalus
10-08-2005, 09:54
Cool Joe :)
Look forward to hearing reviews
Whats the ETA ?
Tant
Squidders
10-08-2005, 10:19
Tant, I have no idea specifically... I imagine sometime early next month though.
I'm sure it's going to be worth the wait, I have had a small play with the antler version and although I didn't do anything proper with it, it felt good in my hand.
The current batch is going to a very select "few" shall we say.
Eh? They're only "select" because they got their orders in before I did!!! :D
From what I know, the first few are going out to respected testers for quality control/testing and the first fifty are numbered to appease the collectors. But orders are still being taken for un-numbered knives. I don't think the numbering has any effect on quality though. ;)
Cheers,
Martin
BorderReiver
10-08-2005, 11:52
Eh? They're only "select" because they got their orders in before I did!!! :D
From what I know, the first few are going out to respected testers for quality control/testing and the first fifty are numbered to appease the collectors. But orders are still being taken for un-numbered knives. I don't think the numbering has any effect on quality though. ;)
Cheers,
Martin
I am getting a numbered one and it certainly won't be stuck in a drawer. :p
I am getting a numbered one and it certainly won't be stuck in a drawer. :p
Same here mate. :D I reckon that owners should take piccies of their knives in action. If there's no use within a year, the knife has to be returned and given to someone that will use it for what it was designed for!!!
Martin
ScanDgrind
10-08-2005, 16:59
Hi yarrow.
Well it was me who was lucky enough to get the chance to test the BFK No.2, and as the General pointed out the review was only my opinion. As you could probably tell from that review, I really liked it. I must point out that I don't work for Bearclaw and the review was a truthful and honest opinion on what I thought of the knife.
I'm still using the knife now for all my bushcraft outings and I still really love it. I have to say that so far I have had no need to hammer on the pommel to drive the knife into a tree as I usually carry an axe :) . I'm not sure that I would be happy doing thiis as although the brass pommel is fixed to the tang of the knife in a secure manner I reckon it could be possible to smash the cap off if you caught it with a heavy off centre blow, but for such tasks as splitting fibres, sinews or opening nuts the pommel is well up to the task.
Not much else I can say other than try one and make your own minds up. If for some reason you didn't like it you could always sell it again I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem finding a buyer :) . As for the one I have... well that's staying with me because I think I've found my perfect bushcrafing knife.
All the best,
Tony
redcollective
08-09-2005, 00:39
Sorry to dredge up an old thread... but has anyone used one of these BFKs yet?
Sorry to dredge up an old thread... but has anyone used one of these BFKs yet?
Nope not here, and it'll be a long time 'til I do, got to wait for number 47.
Should be with me by christmas, it's a long wait but I bet it'll be worth it. :D
Simon.
redcollective
08-09-2005, 17:27
Yup I queried Gary and he said 5 months to deliver if I order one now. It's a tough decision.
BorderReiver
08-09-2005, 17:50
The heat treating guy's dad is ill and so Gerd is having a long wait for blades. :(
Those who were at the Wilderness Gathering got a chance to see it and it was many people who saw it. I was standing next to Gary during the weekend and had to listen to him talking about the knife and see all the interested people who wanted to see the knife.
I am not a big knife nut, but I have to say and I know many agree with me that it has a great design and the handle is just so good to hold.
If you go to any of Gary´s courses just ask him to see the knife and you will get the presentation of it (wich I have heard 1001 times).
redcollective
18-09-2005, 23:12
I'm so excited my tail would be wagging if I had one - just sent off a deposit to Gary for a BFK... now to settle back and wait for delivery day... in the meantime if anyone does get theirs between now and april do post a report.
I got #46 if my memory serves me well. I think the delivery time was given as 3 months - which should take it up to mid October, but I expect that to slip.
When it arrives I'll post a reveiew with pictures. The suspense is killing me...
richardw
21-09-2005, 09:09
Gary has just posted on BB that the first batch (up to number 15) should be with us in about two weeks time. That includes mine!
Yippee!! :D :D
demographic
21-09-2005, 20:50
Has anyone actually hammerd on the pommel to drive the tip deep into wood as Mr Kochasky suggests? I bet no one has actually stood on the blade, once hammerd in that is, to see if it breaks
Do people really do that :confused:
Jeez, have they never realised that mortice chisels have been invented :confused:
And even anyone that did that with a mortice chisel (hammer it in really deep then stand on it in such a way that they would try and snap it) deserve a bloody good slap across the back of the lug with a lignum vitae mallet.
In my opinion that is :)
Has anyone actually hammerd on the pommel to drive the tip deep into wood as Mr Kochasky suggests? I bet no one has actually stood on the blade, once hammerd in that is, to see if it breaks :eek: :eek:
Oh yes they have.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=5904&page=1&pp=10
Jack, Rich and others did a test a while back.
The video is:
hammering (http://oldjimbo.com/pics/pukkohammering.avi)
Standing (http://oldjimbo.com/pics/pukkostandingon.avi)
its very important to note that those videos are NOT of the bearclaw field knife!
the knife in the video is a IJ Lapp puukko (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/content/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=14)
Every new product has to be tested to the point of failure to determine where its weaknesses lay. It's called destruction testing and is industry standard no matter what you are manufacturing. (Why do we have crash tests for cars??)
Every so often the test needs to be repeated with one product selected at random from stock to ensure that the quality control is doing its job. Knife makers routinely snap one of there blades in a vise to check the grain structure.
In this video we were attempting to test the suitablity of the knife for bushcraft after mainy people had aired the view that a stick tang was not strong enough for bushcraft. (please see the following thread (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=498&highlight=full+tang+stick))
As there is no industry standard test for bushcraft we found the next best thing, a description in the book 'Northern Bushcraft' By Mors Kochanski which says:
"As a test of strength, a good knife should not break when driven 4cm into a standing tree at right angles to the grain, and the handle bears your weight as you stand on it."
If you are manufacturing or reviewing a product which people may later come to depend on it is your responsiblity to ensure that it will not fail them even when put to unreasonable use.
As for the damage to the tree in the video, we specifically chose a tree in Dorset that was about to be cut down with a chainsaw for coppicing.
The video proved as best we could that it was unreasonable to argue that a well made stick tang knife could not be suitable for bushcraft.
If such tests were not undertaken then manufacturers would not know what problems needed to be resolved with their products and quality could not be ensured to the customer.
I am not aware of this test being carried out with the Bearclaw knife, however having seen and held the bearclaw knife I can confirm that feels quite robust and would probably do well in this test
Do we know whether ANY of the "bushcraft" knives in popular use have had this done to them ?? I have a Bison, F1(a beast), Lapplander and Pukko and have never seen any of the makers refer to this as a test which has been accomplished on their knife. Like others I have read Mors' comments on it, which are intriguing, but have never felt the need to ask for proof of it on my knives, nor will I in the future. Neither am I sure what failure rate out of a batch of knives it would be reasonable to insist upon nor % submitted for sample testing. I would be amazed if I broke one in day to day use but, there again, there's always a first time.
Do we know whether ANY of the "bushcraft" knives in popular use have had this done to them ?? I have a Bison, F1(a beast), Lapplander and Pukko and have never seen any of the makers refer to this as a test which has been accomplished on their knife. Like others I have read Mors' comments on it, which are intriguing, but have never felt the need to ask for proof of it on my knives, nor will I in the future. Neither am I sure what failure rate out of a batch of knives it would be reasonable to insist upon nor % submitted for sample testing. I would be amazed if I broke one in day to day use but, there again, there's always a first time.
They have hammered in severeal Fällkniven F1 in a tree then used the knives as stairs and walked on them. Only to prove that the knife will hold.
bambodoggy
22-09-2005, 11:00
This all sounds very odd to me :eek: I've had my MoD knife nearly 4 inches into a pine log to split it but I wouldn't do this with my packpal (not that I don't think it'd cope but I don't feel a need to trash it to prove anything....)
Besides I can do the same with a screw driver and that doesn't make it a good knife!!! :confused:
Also....in those vids and the other thread Jack says:
Yes we did, just knocked the knive from side to side and worked it back of the hazel and Roving Rich rehandled it!
So doesn't that count as a fail then if it had to be rehandled?
I've played with the antler version of the BFK and am fairly sure it could stand up to this should you be daft enough to try it!
Bam. :D
Do we know whether ANY of the "bushcraft" knives in popular use have had this done to them ?? I have a Bison, F1(a beast), Lapplander and Pukko and have never seen any of the makers refer to this as a test which has been accomplished on their knife. Like others I have read Mors' comments on it, which are intriguing, but have never felt the need to ask for proof of it on my knives, nor will I in the future. Neither am I sure what failure rate out of a batch of knives it would be reasonable to insist upon nor % submitted for sample testing. I would be amazed if I broke one in day to day use but, there again, there's always a first time.
I have seen this test carried out on a Fällkniven F1, I seem to recall someone informing me that the ability to withstand this test was a requirement for the Swedish military survival knives (I could be wrong here though)
I believe the original Bison knife was a design based on the requirements stated by Mors Kochanski and as such was designed to pass this test (Roger being at one time a student of Mors)
the origin of the test is a (swedish?) technique for felling trees up to 9" diameter using just a knife by battoning it point first into the trunk and then repeating the process around the trunk until the tree was felled.
I would not suggest that people try this with their knives, I think of the test more as a manufacturers destruction test, the failer percentage rate if this was the aim should be 0% (as it is with the Fällkniven F1)
Also....in those vids and the other thread Jack says:
"Originally Posted by Jack
Yes we did, just knocked the knive from side to side and worked it back of the hazel and Roving Rich rehandled it!".
Bambodoggy is right and brings up a good point, the handle on the lapp puukko sustained a crack along its length during the test, so did it fail the test? I would say in the strictest sense it did, at the time however the point of the test was to prove that a stick tang had more than enough inherent strength against an argument which said "stick tangs will snap because there is not enough steel" the blade and tang of the knife we tested suffered no effects what so ever.
the interesting point which Bam raises is, when is the knife as a whole considered to have failed the test? if it is damaged in any way, if it is damaged but usable, or if it is destroyed? this of course depends on your requirements
Besides I can do the same with a screw driver and that doesn't make it a good knife!!!
the test is not designed to show that the knife is good, the idea is to start with a knife proven to be good and test whether a good knife is also a strong enough knife.
bambodoggy
23-09-2005, 09:56
I would not suggest that people try this with their knives, I think of the test more as a manufacturers destruction test, the failer percentage rate if this was the aim should be 0% (as it is with the Fällkniven F1).
I agree 100% Stuart, this sort of testing is definately best left to the manufacturers, firstly you wouldn't drive your new car into a wall at 30mph to test for yourself if the crumple zone worked and secondly I'm certain that abusing a knife in this way would invalidate the warranty...I don't make knives and am not a manufacturer but if you brought a knife back to me and told me what you did then I'd say you were a wally and that the warranty doesn't cover wallies :D
If you need to fell trees then use fire and clay to do it, that way you won't knacker your knife (pack the clay (or mud) in a ring around the tree at about knee height and then light a fire at the bottom of the tree - the tree burns through and then falls and the clay stops the fire burning right up the tree). If you try this then do be very careful as you can't tell which way the tree will go...it's a survival technique and not to be used in your back garden to fell your little apple tree! :eek: If you need a large trunk for strength then why not use several smaller, say 2" trunks, and bind them together.
If you need to climb the tree (would one step really be that useful), then use your knife to carve yourself a ladder.... :p lol
In short there's plenty of other ways to do things without trashing your knife or invalidating the warranty.... I think it's a case of brains over brute force here ;)
Just my opinion but I'm leaving the testing of my knives to the maker :)
Cheers,
Bam. :D