The Board

I sort of agree with you, Grunde - I just cannot bring myself to fork out the money for a Fallkniven with a rubber handle :-).

I also agree on the sheath-thing. Kydex and other plastics are good, reliable and easy to clean, but they look really sad :-). I like leather - there. it's out!

I have a few rock-solid, go-to knives that I can mistreat however I want and still expect them to be functional, and they are an Esee Izula I & II, and an Esee 4. 1095 high carbon steel with a perfect heat treat and temper, sad kydex sheath (and I have of course made leather sheaths for them, too) and a canvas micarta handle. An Esee 4 is about as large and hefty as I'll go on a knife, if I need anything heavier, I'd rather carry and use axe.

Lars

In Norway an ESEE 4 is more expensive than a Fallkniven F1

Into leather but not rubber ...

I do really like the look of the ESEE knives Also the Ontario RAT knives are somewhat similar, anyone with an opinion on them?

To stick to the theme of the thread; this is another very knife from my collection, a Bark River "Ultralight Bushcrafter". I love the design, light, compact and quite capable (the steel is CPM 3V). But like all my other BRK knives it have some (minor) production flaws...

this thing is awesome! CPM-3V is THE steel of course... I can't wait until Bark River runs another batch of the original Kephart - maybe even in Elmax, so I could use it for fishing... Anyone uses a 1095 or another high carbon steel for fishing?

I'm not a fan of the ESEEs - mainly because of the (for lack of a better term) sharpened edge not going all the way to to the handle - same with the Ontario RAT fixed blades... I do like the Ontario SK-5 BLACKBIRD tho...

I never knew knives were so complex. Should have known better being a black country boy....Google it.. ...and bought up near the cradle of the industrial revolution...

LauraPalmer wrote:this thing is awesome! CPM-3V is THE steel of course... I can't wait until Bark River runs another batch of the original Kephart - maybe even in Elmax, so I could use it for fishing...

Agree this model is sweet, it's my favorite BRK. Also CPM 3V is quite corrosion resistant and will do fine for (most) fishing.

Cheers,
Grunde

It's odd how we all have different preferences. I much prefer to have a well-defined distinction between handle and edge, which is one of the reasons I like the Esee-brand. And the same reason I genereally don't like the "traditional" bushcraft designs. This is mainly a matter of aestethics, of crouse.

But a good example is the Bark River Grunde showed above. For me, simply too Little distinction between handle and blade.

Regarding steels, I really like carbon steels. Yes, they rust, but carbon steel is in my experience superior when it comes to the fine line between edge retention and ease of sharpening. My Esees are all 1095, which is really nice, but I have a couple of handforged knives made from "stock" toolsteel (one I believe is 01 - not sure about the other). Honestly, I don't really notice any difference. The problem is, when discussing steels, one should be discussing hardening and tempering along side.

Lars

@OLDGOLD: knives are indeed complicated - and I need lots of them: one simply isn't enough for sitting in front of the Computer and watch videos about other knives!

@grunde: I've heard that - used, but never bought a 3V knife tho - because expensive and not stainless; plan on doing so tho...

@Lars: 1095 is aweseome - even on Moras it's so good(guess they have their heat treatment really spot on) - if 1095 was stainless, nobody would ever use anything else... not a fan of O1 tho - it just doesn't get sharp - at least I coudln't do it. A2 is a different ball game - gets crazy sharp...

I'm not a fan of "traditional" bushcraft knives either - because of thick blades AND Scandi grind... I like Scandi grinds on thin blades - the standard Mora Companion is so good - I wish it was full tang(yeah I´m one of the morons who managed to destroy one)... but will go flat or saber with a thicker balde... Like you I've discovered how useful axes are...

Lars: As you say lots of this boils down to personal preferences on looks and styles, personally I don't care much for huge "Rambo knives", "combat knives" and daggers. Apart from that I like lots of styles in knives

Lars and Laura: When it comes to steel, I think (like you) that treating it right (heat, wet grinding, quenching, etc.) is more important than the steel type, and edge retention does change quite a bit with apex angle Good control of the process and craftsmanship is imho much more important than steel type, and "supersteels" are overrated (and probably mostly marketing). In this respect I think this one is really interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSVs2LCZ-TQ

I have only one knife in O1 (one of the Fiddlebakcs shown earlier in this thread), and it is great. It is easy to sharpen, no chipping or rolling and it holds the edge well. It's the same all my A2 blades from the same maker. I have however had some issues with my BRKs in A2 steel (they are also famous for shipping "grind burned" knives ).

More knife porn; two quite common Norwegian production knives, a Brusletto Hunter (bottom) and a Strømeng 8" "samekniv" (top). The Hunter is in stainless steel, the other one in carbon steel. Both are nordic style knives with thin blades and "scandi grinds". Cheers,
Grunde

grunde wrote:
I have only one knife in O1 (one of the Fiddlebakcs shown earlier in this thread), and it is great. It is easy to sharpen, no chipping or rolling and it holds the edge well. I

Hi Grunde
Not a collector but still an extensive knife user, sharpener and long ago an exploratory (novice) knife maker. I'm also a committed user of edge tools for wood and I have some 01 plane blades waiting to be treated as I write.

FWIW I agree that in most instances it is not worth getting too worked up about which carbon steel the blade is made from. If you can sharpen worth a damn (and of course to be a real man that means freehand ) super tough is not always what you want. I want a good edge in a finite amount of sharpening time so I can get back to work in the kitchen, the shed or out in the field. Like casting, sharpening is a skill and in both cases it can't be bought.

BTW if I could specify knife steel for the kitchen I would get them made in whatever steel Erik Anton Berg used in his chisels. Oh, and if it comes in stainless, I'll take those please.

The vid was interesting but sheesh using a knife as a pry bar is cringeworthy and whacking an edge with a pry bar is sadistic.

Oh and I still have two of the knives I made 40+ years ago. One sits under the seat of my 4WD and still clears scrub from track sides occasionally. The skinning/hunting knife is in a drawer somewhere unused but still loved. Both made from leaf spring steel.

Cheers
Mark