Bushcraft knife knives

[Rattler]

Rattler - I just use a sharpening stone. Mine's kind of small, but I'd like to pick one of those bigger ones up with coarse and fine sides on it. My grandfather used to use a japanese sharpening stone which worked well.

I was curious if those v-shaped diamond deals work very well. I found a course/fine stone atwork I really like. I may have to just pick one of those up. I have a fine one around here that was my grandfather's and is like rubbing it on paper.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

You can get a knife razor sharp with nothing but a couple of good stones. It's been done that way for eons. However - and it's a big however - no matter how good you are, the angle at which you hold the blade while sharpening will vary minutely with each stroke and each sharpening session. That means you'll remove fractionally more material than necessary, eventually shortening the life of the knife (how many here have seen grandpa's old Marbles or Buck worn down to about half the original width?).

A couple of years ago I switched to an Edge Pro for sharpening. It's so precise and repeatable that you only remove a microscopic amount of material when an edge actually needs work (many times a "dull" knife just needs a few strokes on a steel to re-align a curled edge). I'm convinced it will add decades to the lives of my knives.

 

[Storz]

I am really happy with my Esse Eskabar

 

[downhill]

I quite carrying large knives into the backcountry decades ago. I can do everything I need to do with a knife with a 3-1/2 inch blade. I also have a collection of machetes for all manor of work. If I foresee the need for chopping or hacking I carry a machete along. I keep a Gerber machete in the truck as part of my regular kit.

 

[Ala5ka]

30 bucks gets you a Condor Bushlore, it's my go to knife, or 15 bucks and you can get a Mora just like Cody Lundin. I have two stones one diamond folding deal and an EZ Lap stone and I can sharpen anything to uber sharp!

 

[ssssnake529]

My current favorite bushcraft knife: Raymond Coon damascus.

 

[AsltPnr54]

My current belt knife for the bush is a DPx Gear HEST made by RAT knives (now EESE). The folder version the HEST/f is my every day carry and I could not be more pleased with both. DPx gear has moved away from EESE and is now made by Lion Steel but I would carry any of the EESE products. I work this 1095 steel knife like it owes me money. I baby the D2 folder a bit more but its strong like dump truck.

http://www.dpxgear.com/

For cheap beaters I have a Fiskers hatchet and Gerber Machete that live in the Jeep. A Mora Frost is on the way to keep them company, 12 GBP from the UK! Can't go wrong with that.

 

[brushogger]

Call me cheap ***, but I pretty much stick with Cold Steel Knives. They are reasonably priced enough to not worry about dinging or scratching them in real world use, but their performance is very good. I couldn't bring myself to use a $200 blade to shave and strike my fire starter. Download and look at their online catalog. They have a knife for just about any purpose. I bought a couple of their R1 classics about 12 years ago for $50 ea to put in both my boy's kits. They're now selling for $200, so they do hold their value. I also exclusively use an old Lansky sharpener on my knives. This does add years to their lives.

 

[ssssnake529]

Call me cheap ***, but I pretty much stick with Cold Steel Knives. They are reasonably priced enough to not worry about dinging or scratching them in real world use, but their performance is very good. I couldn't bring myself to use a $200 blade to shave and strike my fire starter. Download and look at their online catalog. They have a knife for just about any purpose. I bought a couple of their R1 classics about 12 years ago for $50 ea to put in both my boy's kits. They're now selling for $200, so they do hold their value. I also exclusively use an old Lansky sharpener on my knives. This does add years to their lives.

I have an old Carbon V made in the USA Cold Steel Trailmaster. It's a great knife.

 

[profire]

I like the Esee knives as well. Not too expensive and they are awesome. I currently have the Esee 4, 3, Izula and Izula 2 . I will be purchasing a Esee 6 soon. The picture below shows the 4 and the 2 Izulas, my 3 is not shown.

 

[discotdi]

That Raymond Coon knife is sweet wonder what one of those costs?

 

[Toyotero]

Muchos dollaros.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Raymond-Coo...ings-Sterling-silver-/190593418425#vi-content

US $650.00
Raymond Coon Handmade Custom Damascus Dagger Blued fittings Sterling silver






Ditto on the Moras. They are MUCH better quality than their price would suggest.

Ben's Backwoods has good prices, selection and provided fast service when I ordered from them....
http://www.bensbackwoods.com/servlet/Categories?category=Knives:MORA+of+SWEDEN&s=13

.... even better than the manufacturer. Their site has more spec info about the knives:
http://www.swedishknives.com/morakniv.htm

The knives and the company have an interesting history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mora_knife




Cheers,

 

[ssssnake529]

That Raymond Coon knife is sweet wonder what one of those costs?

$425


http://www.damascusknife.com/damascusknife.com/Knives.html

 

[PETER PETRAKIEV]

One standard Mora 2000
and minor repairs get it.

 

[Rattler]

FWIW, I picked up a Gerber machete for a whooping $18 from LA Police Gear.:sombrero: