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#288122 - 02/05/18 05:47 PM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: Ren]
bws48 Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/18/07
Posts: 831
Loc: Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Originally Posted By: Ren
Heh, ok.

Guess you're aware of Varusteleka's knives?

Knives are no frills, but would get a leather dangler sheath with in the budget.

https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/terava-jaakaripuukko-carbon-steel/56524


I have the 110 version. A simply fantastic knife. If you want one, buy soon, as they often go out of stock, and you have to wait for re-supply. Shipping to the USA is 9.99.

No affiliation, just wildly impressed by this knife.
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"Better is the enemy of good enough."

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#288123 - 02/05/18 05:57 PM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: albusgrammaticus]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
Calling Phaedrus! If anyone knows kitchen knives, it's him!
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You can find me on YouTube here:
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#288124 - 02/05/18 06:36 PM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: bacpacjac]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
One thing nice about knives with a scandi grind is how easy they are to sharpen. Now I can compare the Mora to the steak knife (Wusthof Classic) I use daily.

Threads like this one do make us reassess our biases. cool

One other point on the subject of knives cutting meat — a sharp knife cuts very cleanly and the wound should heal more quickly. smile

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#288125 - 02/05/18 06:37 PM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: Ren]
albusgrammaticus Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 07/18/17
Posts: 66
Loc: Italy
Thanks Ren,
I didn't knew them!
The Woodsknife brand seems particularly interesting.
Even found an Italian site that sells them cheaper than the finnish one!

https://www.passionepericoltelli.com/it/...;submit_search=

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#288145 - 02/09/18 01:42 AM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: bacpacjac]
KenK Offline
"Be Prepared"
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 06/26/04
Posts: 2208
Loc: NE Wisconsin
Originally Posted By: bacpacjac
I also keep a little $3 Betty Crocker stainless steel pairing knife in my cook kits, specifically for food prep.



If the legendary knife designer Ethan Becker can co-write what may be the most famous cookbook on the planet - The Joy of Cooking, then I have no doubt that Betty Crocker is one tough outdoor lady!!!

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#288146 - 02/09/18 05:00 AM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: albusgrammaticus]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Ethan must be a time traveler then! The Joy of Cooking was written 75 years ago!
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#288147 - 02/09/18 06:00 AM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: albusgrammaticus]
acropolis5 Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/18/06
Posts: 358
Well, geek that I am, it took me about 90 minutes to rifle thru my old magazine article subject files for the “ on-point” article I remembered. To wit: A Summer 1995 article in Tactical Knives, authored by Steve Dick, a notable custom knife designer, entitled “ Have Knife, Will Travel”. The subject is the perfect “Travel Knife” for adventure travel by intrepid civilians.

Various folding & fixed blade knives are discussed, including kitchen cutlery , camp knives, hunting knives, and Dick’s own special design. One semi-custom Knife which is prominently discussed, as a near perfect Travel Knife, is Bud Nealy’s Pesh Kabz with a 3.5” blade. Coincidently, Nealy’s independent design , is very similar to Dick’s own Travel Knife design.

I have owned & used the Nealy Pesh Kabz, 3.5” blade, for many years. It is indeed a very practical , camp, travel, food prep and general purpose knife. Not cheap, but a very elegant slolution. I have gifted this knife to some special friends and relatives to commemorate important events in their lives. All of them are unanimous in their praise of this lovely and useful tool. I have no connection to Mr. Nealy other than an appreciation of his work.

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#288148 - 02/09/18 10:00 AM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: acropolis5]
albusgrammaticus Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 07/18/17
Posts: 66
Loc: Italy
That seems a very fine blade, acropolis5!

Unfortunately is out of my league, financially speaking.

For my part, I followed the sound advice of many members who chimed in earlier and this morning I found in the mail a Mora 748. 24 Euros from Amazon Italy with free shipping.

The thing won't win any beauty contest soon, but I'm surprised by its lightness and blade quality. The rigid plastic sheat is also perfect for my intended use, i.e. to throw the knife securely in a backpack or duffel for later use at destination.

I'll use this knife as my primary cutting tool while on kitchen duty during friendly outings. But I think I'll start saving anyway to get a finer bushcraft style knife with a full tang blade and wooden scales. The TBS Boar with curly birch scales is currently on top of my wish list (no affiliation, unfortunately... ;))

www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/tbs-boar-bushcraft-knife---curly-birch-12449-p.asp

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#288150 - 02/09/18 10:30 PM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: albusgrammaticus]
KenK Offline
"Be Prepared"
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 06/26/04
Posts: 2208
Loc: NE Wisconsin
This has nothing to do with who hosts this web site, but my favorite larger knife is Doug Ritter's RSK Mk2 Perseverance. It is really a great knife. The right blade shape and thickness for my needs, and I like the Becker handle - not everyone does.

http://www.dougritter.com/dr_rsk_mk2.htm

The blade is 6 inches long, and for some that is a tad big for a bushcraft knife.

I would have recommended the Ritter RSK Mk3 if you want a shorter blade knife, but unfortunately it is no longer made. I REALLY like mine.

Another very nice knife is the Becker BK16. The BK16's blade is wonderful, but some (myself included, though I like mine) may feel that the handle is a bit small.

The Becker BK10 (own an original) and BK2 (don't own) are just too thick for my needs, which is why I like the similar RSK Mk2


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#288151 - 02/10/18 04:50 AM Re: A good knife for bushcraft AND kitchen duty? [Re: albusgrammaticus]
EMPnotImplyNuclear Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 09/10/08
Posts: 382
Hi,
I kinda got carried away , you've been warned smile


What kind of knives does your local hardware/grocery/dollar/asian/world/restaurant/thrift store sell?
Please take pictures when you visit laugh
Should be able to find something italian (or "world") resembling a mora or old hickory at one of those smile


Your local store/kitchen chef/butcher or utility knife (small 6in chef/butcher, or 5-6in utility) would do well for both kitchen duty and "bushcraft" , even a paring knife would do well, and all would outcut a mora


What kind of knives do you already own?
Please take a ruler and measure the length / width / thickness of both blade and handle (and take pictures:)), also measure weight if you have a scale, and maybe measure the angles/bevel widths for a complete picture laugh

Do some side by side comparative cutting on knives you already own, its the only way to learn what is important/unimportant ; how to actually cut stuff; make sense of knife design/promotion/reviews ; The more you cut and compare/contrast, the more your control/skill increases , the easier it gets to see through the hype/lies/nonsense.
I haven't broken a knife in a block of cheese in 4 years and all it took was 2 chair legs!!




Are the knives you already own sharp / dull?
Sharpen every knife you own, if you own two of the same knife, sharpen only one,
Grab a few onions (or potatos),
some paper boxes (cardboard/cereal...),
some wooden sticks, maybe a broken a chair leg...

Now take 1 minute with 1 knife to cut onions/potato
Next use identical/dull knife and take 1 minute with 1 knife to cut onions/potato
Take 1 minute to write down your thoughts about cutting with these knives, compare one knife to another
Next take 1 minute with 1 different knife to cut onions/potato for 1 minute
Next take 1 minute to write down your thoughts about cutting with this one, compare to the previous knives
...

Next cutting session do the same comparison with paper boxes
Next cutting session do the same comparison with wooden sticks


Is the handle comfortable?
Handle comfort is #1 most important knife feature esp for extended cutting sessions.
With light cutting (onion) you can tolerate a thinner handle.
Moderate/harder cutting (wood) you'd want a full thickness handle (~1inch oval thic, ~4-5inch wide )

How easy are the cuts (how much force)? Blade grind/thickness is #2 most important knife feature.
If you're not doing a lot of cutting, and your handle is decently comfortable, then its not a big deal that cutting an onion in half takes twice as much force with a mora (5lb) than it does with a chef knife (2lb)
If cutting is shallow (making wood feather shavings), then too much thickness is not a problem.




These things below anything sharp can do -- even a shovel -- may not do them well but as long as its reasonably knife shaped , a few kabobs are not challenging even for an axe, though a knife shape is preferable for smaller cuts smile
  • slicing meat
  • boning and dicing a chicken breast or a turkey leg
  • chopping vegetables
  • cutting cordage


Even these things (some of which are a bit vague), anything with a sharp edge can do it -- may not do them well -- it depends what you compare to -- ~6inch blade like a mora 748 is not a chopper/hefty in any sense , but it is fat
  • max 10 inches in length
  • “hefty” to be a good chopper
  • ? clearing branches
  • ? building a camp fire in case of emergency etc


Speaking of a mora 748,
its very thick,
but if you're healthy/uninjured
and not cutting a thousand slices at a time (can be up to an hour of continuous cutting),
it shouldn't matter much

The ease of sharpening "scandi" is extremely overblown,
as sharpening is not that difficult (given good instruction and a little practice)
and anyone can create a sharpening angle guide (replicate the ease of a "scandi") in under 1 minute with household materials
and thinner knives are much quicker to sharpen because they need less metal removed compared to "scandi"



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