My little area I cleaned up, I like to find a nice piece of old pine to lay on the ground to keep my knees dry and gives me a solid surface to work on.
Thanks for looking! -Lain
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
A Quick Outing with The River Bottom Blades Puukko
I was able to get out for little bit on Monday for a little hike and try out a new knife, and brush up on some of my fire prep. I thought about bringing my .22 rifle for a little hunting but i had only taken one squirrel from the area and I didn't expect to see much, of course i saw 3 big grays in the first 10 minutes of my little hike.... The area I went to was about 80 percent hardwoods with some pines here and there, no birch around so I didn't have that temptation to grab some bark to light my fire, I use birch quite a bit for my fires and I find it good to keep up on different methods for tinder. I didn't bring a axe with me because I find I never use one during a simple day hike so it was just my saw and a Puukko Ive been wanting to try out from River Bottom Blades.
My little area I cleaned up, I like to find a nice piece of old pine to lay on the ground to keep my knees dry and gives me a solid surface to work on.
The tools for the day my folding saw and the Puukko, Ive used a few fellow bushcrafters silky saws and i think one of those are definitely in my future. Maple my wood of choice for my split wood prep.
The first splitting action, I find splitting a piece in half and putting them together to split in to quarters really makes my prep go faster, something simple that saves some time.
Well it splits!
I cannot complain scandis make great Curls
Took a couple strikes to get the curls to go, I could have make scrapings but didn't, the spine threw great sparks
Time for lunch, I brought some Miso soup packets I was given by my friend Gary, its great lightweight trail food.
I needed a way to hang my Mors pot so I strung a ridge line high up between two trees where the heat wouldn't melt my cord, then I got to making a long pot hanger the way Jeffy Geer showed me (nothing ground breaking but quick). Started by making a X on both ends of my stick with the saw, ensure I left enough wood behind the cut to hold my pots weight.
Then I carve out the cuts leaving a top V for the hook.
Then Your ready to cook
Time to eat!
Thanks for looking! -Lain
My little area I cleaned up, I like to find a nice piece of old pine to lay on the ground to keep my knees dry and gives me a solid surface to work on.
Thanks for looking! -Lain
Monday, January 26, 2015
Great Anorak From Common Folk Self Reliance
I have had the pleasure of camping with Jeffy Geer of Common Folk Self Reliance twice now and plan on many camps with him in the future, Jeffy has trained at Karamat Wilderness Ways with Mors Kochanski and although humble is a wealth of knowledge. At most of the camps I host I encourage trade blankets (there are rarley blankets involved but quite a few tarps with gear laid out on them). My past camp was The Huron Deep Freeze and Jeffy had brought two Anoraks that he and his wife Bridget make. Ive always wanted to try a wool anorak but never could bring myself to pull the trigger on one and am ill equipped to make one of my own so this gave me a great chance to look at one. Well as soon as i put one on i was sold. Wool was soft and very thick and the stitching was expertly done.
In the above picture you can see the antler toggle and tightening snap on the 550 cord that is used for all the tightening on the anorak. You can synch the hood, V-neck, and bottom of the Anorak to get a better fit and less exposure to the elements.
One of the best features of wool in my mind is its quiet no sound of synthetics rubbing against itself and your going to be hard pressed to find a better insulator thats as durable as wool.
I wore this Anorak for the Majority of the Deep freeze that temps stayed around 5 degrees during the day with a -15 degree wind chill and at night got down to -5. I wore this anorak with a thin long sleeve merino wool shirt and a synthetic base layer and i was never cold. I even slept in it and had to remove one of my sleeping bags because I was beginning to sweat. Ive worn this on a few day hikes since this winter and its holding up great, and I don't see any chance of it getting beat up anytime soon, rock solid construction. (oh and they make you look cool a very important factor when out in the woods with no one around)
As of right now Jeffy and Bridget are not taking any orders they both work full time and make these in their spare time. If your interested in getting one keep a eye out of Common folk Self Reliance's facebook page. Ill have more on this and how it holds up in the future thanks for looking!
-Lain
Friday, January 23, 2015
Killinger Blades Prototype test
Ive been lucky enough to have a few chats with Chris Killinger of Killinger Blades https://www.facebook.com/pages/Killinger-Blades/580085562015710 , while being a stand up guy and axe junkie he also makes some of the finest looking bushcraft blades around. Chris no longer takes orders, being he has a fulltime job and Military duties he must attend to, instead he makes blades he wants to make and then sells then via his facebook and Instagram.
Chris loves feedback on his blades as any good knifemaker should and doesnt shy away from constructive critisism so he sent me a prototype he had made so I could play with it for a few weeks and give him my thoughts on the blade. Now Ill say this again I am not a knife expert in anyway in either skill or knowledge but I have owned quite a few customs and production blades and USED them so I know what works for me and what works better.
My first Impressions of the knife was it was a little big for my tastes with a 5-1/4 inch blade and being 10-1/2 inch overall it just seemed like more than I need. I am also not a fan of pommels, I use to be, I use to drool over them because in my opinion they make knives look cool but after owning a few i just never seemed to actually use the pommel so it just added weight and discomfort during power cuts. Im not a real gram counter but hey if i don't use it then i don't need it. If you like pommels and use them then power to you! Just not my thing ive seen them used and they do in fact work.
I was surprised by how light the knife actually was with its dimesnions and 3/16 thick stock i thought it be a real pants puller. Chris did a excellent job Removing steel from the handle and then grinding this blade very thin, everytime I pick it up I expect it to be heavier.
The sheath is superb the only real gripes I have is the retention strap it a little tight but thats better then too loose and I could only carry it scout style while on my belt. I did find I could strap it to my pack sling and it worked very well.
Performance
Food prep: Did I mention this puppy was Ground thin? wow this by far is the best slicer I have ever used it didnt matter if it was a tomato, Cheese frozen at -5 or a chicken, the thin blade just sailed through it all. I want to keep it just to replace all my kitchen blades with!
Wood working : I didnt do alot of fire prep with this blade or carving its just too big for carving and I didnt get out enough to put it through too many fre preps but i did get to use it enough to know it will handle all your fire making needs I think even Chris was a little nervous at the thought of me beating on it being it is ground so thin but I had zero issues with the blade and I dont think I dulled the thing the entire time i had it, held a wonderful edge that i just maintained with a strop. The O1 devolped a good patina by the time i was finished with my testing.
Even the Lady tried it out she seems to enjoy making curls and is always trying to out do me...
Conclusion
Fit & Finish - Being a prototype I didnt expect Perfect fit and finish and I didnt get it, but it was still very good a few small gaps near the the blade on the handle as well as the pommel all filled well with epoxy. The very edge has one spot where the grind is off a bit but doesnt effect the function of the knife. No real problems.
Ergonomics- nice fat handle with a great "coke bottle" shape was very comfy but the blade shape and pommel made power cuts a bit of a pain but still doable. I think if it had a nice rounded butt i would really love it.
Design- I really like the design I think it looks great and it works but as I stated above I wish it was scaled down a bit maybe to a 4 inch blade and 4-1/2 - 5 inch handle with no pommel and it be alot more practical for my uses and id be in love.
Final Thoughts : I believe Chris is already working on 2 more prototypes for this design one a bit smaller and one the same size minus the pommel. If your a big knife guy you cant go wrong with one of these and if you just like the design then keep a eye on Chris's Instagram and Facebook for his smaller pattern that may be popping up sooner or later. Remember Chris doesn't do orders so keep a eye out for when he puts a blade up for sale and you wont be disappointed!
Thanks for looking everyone, hope you come back soon!
- Lain
Chris loves feedback on his blades as any good knifemaker should and doesnt shy away from constructive critisism so he sent me a prototype he had made so I could play with it for a few weeks and give him my thoughts on the blade. Now Ill say this again I am not a knife expert in anyway in either skill or knowledge but I have owned quite a few customs and production blades and USED them so I know what works for me and what works better.
My first Impressions of the knife was it was a little big for my tastes with a 5-1/4 inch blade and being 10-1/2 inch overall it just seemed like more than I need. I am also not a fan of pommels, I use to be, I use to drool over them because in my opinion they make knives look cool but after owning a few i just never seemed to actually use the pommel so it just added weight and discomfort during power cuts. Im not a real gram counter but hey if i don't use it then i don't need it. If you like pommels and use them then power to you! Just not my thing ive seen them used and they do in fact work.
I was surprised by how light the knife actually was with its dimesnions and 3/16 thick stock i thought it be a real pants puller. Chris did a excellent job Removing steel from the handle and then grinding this blade very thin, everytime I pick it up I expect it to be heavier.
Performance
Food prep: Did I mention this puppy was Ground thin? wow this by far is the best slicer I have ever used it didnt matter if it was a tomato, Cheese frozen at -5 or a chicken, the thin blade just sailed through it all. I want to keep it just to replace all my kitchen blades with!
Wood working : I didnt do alot of fire prep with this blade or carving its just too big for carving and I didnt get out enough to put it through too many fre preps but i did get to use it enough to know it will handle all your fire making needs I think even Chris was a little nervous at the thought of me beating on it being it is ground so thin but I had zero issues with the blade and I dont think I dulled the thing the entire time i had it, held a wonderful edge that i just maintained with a strop. The O1 devolped a good patina by the time i was finished with my testing.
Conclusion
Fit & Finish - Being a prototype I didnt expect Perfect fit and finish and I didnt get it, but it was still very good a few small gaps near the the blade on the handle as well as the pommel all filled well with epoxy. The very edge has one spot where the grind is off a bit but doesnt effect the function of the knife. No real problems.
Ergonomics- nice fat handle with a great "coke bottle" shape was very comfy but the blade shape and pommel made power cuts a bit of a pain but still doable. I think if it had a nice rounded butt i would really love it.
Design- I really like the design I think it looks great and it works but as I stated above I wish it was scaled down a bit maybe to a 4 inch blade and 4-1/2 - 5 inch handle with no pommel and it be alot more practical for my uses and id be in love.
Final Thoughts : I believe Chris is already working on 2 more prototypes for this design one a bit smaller and one the same size minus the pommel. If your a big knife guy you cant go wrong with one of these and if you just like the design then keep a eye on Chris's Instagram and Facebook for his smaller pattern that may be popping up sooner or later. Remember Chris doesn't do orders so keep a eye out for when he puts a blade up for sale and you wont be disappointed!
Thanks for looking everyone, hope you come back soon!
- Lain
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Custom Scandi Blade Shootout!
Well im a self proclaimed Convex Junkie but i have been giving scandis
another whirl to keep it interesting, I was able to get ahold of a Alan
Wood Nortrek, Adventure Sworn Classic, and a Griffith Knives Grifflore.
The interesting factor was i was running a Alan Wood knife against two
blades made from Alan's most popular design each with their own twists.
Left to Right :
Alan Wood Nortrek http://www.alanwoodknives.com ,
Adventure Sworn Classic http://www.adventuresworn.com/gear/,
Chris Griffith Grifflore https://www.facebook.com/CGCustomKnives
First Impressions/Fit and finish
AW Nortrek:
The Nortrek has a very interesting look to it at first i didnt know if i loved it or just liked it and was curious how well it would actually workout, the extreme tapered tang really balances the blade well and and the Jigged Camel bone handles had enough grip but i was a little worried how well i would be able to handle it got wet. Nearly perfect fit and finish blade edge has a different Satin/mirror finish i hadnt really seen before, like Alan took it from a lower grit straight to the buffer.
AS Classic:
I really thought this was the best looking blade of the bunch, great choice of materials and well done as i come to expect from AS the extra large pommel looked great for power cuts, my hand did feel a little cramped on the handle which is smaller than the explorer and mountaineer blades i have owned.
Im no stranger to AS knives and their fit and finish in my experience has been as good as it gets, however this particular blade did have a few things that im not sure id call flaws but i thought were notable and in the interest of this being a honest review i feel i should note, about half a inch on both sides of the blade were the liner and steel meet there was a very small gap, this was filled well with epoxy and i have no doubt was perfectly fine but it was there and very hard to notice(not sure you can see them in any pics) unless you were looking for it. there also was a few natural cracks (that sounds bad but i couldnt think of a better word) in the snakewood that may or may not bother a person , it didn't bother me but it had to be mentioned. id give this a Great F&F mark (it is worth noting that all four of my other AS blades ive owned have had what i consider a perfect F&F
GC Grifflore:
The look of this blade really caught my eye and the continuous curvature really sold me on the looks of this one, the handle is plenty long felt great in all the grips and seemed the most comfortable of the three just handling out of the box. Chris hasnt been at the knife game for long but he is doing a great job so far in my opinion, he has a way to go with his F&F to catch up with AS or AW but he has plenty of time. the right handle had a gap from the steel i could slide a piece of newspaper in and the bolts weren't quite flush with the handle. grind was pretty well done i wouldnt say as crisp as the other two but very good in its own right, id rank this one right around Average when it come to F&F.
F&F
Winner: Nortrek
Runner Up: AS Classic
I carried all of these knives for nearly the same amount of time they preformed basic camp tasks well, i then sat down and did some side by side comparisons
Carving/notching (cross battoning)
Nortrek:
I was really wowed by the comfort of this blade seems like Alan is really pushing the limits of his designs as far has handles, as different as it looks, its a crazy comfortable knife, It crosss battoned very well and carving the pot hook was easy and went quick. I maintained a good grip the entire time and my worries of a slick handle vanished.
AS Classic
Cross Battoned super well, power cuts where very easy with the extra large pommel i really could get a great amount of leverage with it. i did find my hand felt cramped and seemed to get fatigued fairly quickly i feel i need another half inch on the handle to put it over the top.
Grifflore
Another wonderful Cross Batoning knife i think scandi is well suited for it, the handle was comfortable in all my grips and the blade shape seem to really help with leverage as well. had too much fun with it!
Winner: Nortrek, man i was really starting to like this puppy at this
point i gave it the slight edge because it was equal in handle comfort
with the grifflore but i felt it cross batoned slightly better i think
because the curvature of the top of the blade focuses the force of the
baton instead of glancing off or sliding done like it does in a
conventional drop point or spear point blade.
Runner Up: Grifflore
Split wood fire prep
All the blades threw gobs of sparks off a ferro rod so i just focused on the prep here. which i got more pics but the darn camera battery was all but dead so for the rest of the review i had take my shots when i could..
Nortrek:
No problem here battoned with the best of them and made feathers with easy, I also drove tip into smaller pieces to split the wood and the tip had zero damage
Classic:
Battoned very well the large pommel made driving the tip very easy, made feathers very well and the smaller handle didn't bother me while feathering
Grifflore:
I think the severe drop may slightly hinder the battoning of this blade as the baton would glance more running down the severe drop it seemed like i needed a few more whacks than the first two blades. The curvature also made driving the tip a little more awkward but was fine once i got the knack for it.
Winner: Nortrek/Classic couldnt really put one in front of the other here
runner up:The Grifflore was only slightly behind the other two and if i used it more i may have gotten more accustomed to the curvature.
Alan Wood Nortrek http://www.alanwoodknives.com ,
Adventure Sworn Classic http://www.adventuresworn.com/gear/,
Chris Griffith Grifflore https://www.facebook.com/CGCustomKnives
First Impressions/Fit and finish
AW Nortrek:
The Nortrek has a very interesting look to it at first i didnt know if i loved it or just liked it and was curious how well it would actually workout, the extreme tapered tang really balances the blade well and and the Jigged Camel bone handles had enough grip but i was a little worried how well i would be able to handle it got wet. Nearly perfect fit and finish blade edge has a different Satin/mirror finish i hadnt really seen before, like Alan took it from a lower grit straight to the buffer.
AS Classic:
I really thought this was the best looking blade of the bunch, great choice of materials and well done as i come to expect from AS the extra large pommel looked great for power cuts, my hand did feel a little cramped on the handle which is smaller than the explorer and mountaineer blades i have owned.
Im no stranger to AS knives and their fit and finish in my experience has been as good as it gets, however this particular blade did have a few things that im not sure id call flaws but i thought were notable and in the interest of this being a honest review i feel i should note, about half a inch on both sides of the blade were the liner and steel meet there was a very small gap, this was filled well with epoxy and i have no doubt was perfectly fine but it was there and very hard to notice(not sure you can see them in any pics) unless you were looking for it. there also was a few natural cracks (that sounds bad but i couldnt think of a better word) in the snakewood that may or may not bother a person , it didn't bother me but it had to be mentioned. id give this a Great F&F mark (it is worth noting that all four of my other AS blades ive owned have had what i consider a perfect F&F
GC Grifflore:
The look of this blade really caught my eye and the continuous curvature really sold me on the looks of this one, the handle is plenty long felt great in all the grips and seemed the most comfortable of the three just handling out of the box. Chris hasnt been at the knife game for long but he is doing a great job so far in my opinion, he has a way to go with his F&F to catch up with AS or AW but he has plenty of time. the right handle had a gap from the steel i could slide a piece of newspaper in and the bolts weren't quite flush with the handle. grind was pretty well done i wouldnt say as crisp as the other two but very good in its own right, id rank this one right around Average when it come to F&F.
F&F
Winner: Nortrek
Runner Up: AS Classic
I carried all of these knives for nearly the same amount of time they preformed basic camp tasks well, i then sat down and did some side by side comparisons
Carving/notching (cross battoning)
Nortrek:
I was really wowed by the comfort of this blade seems like Alan is really pushing the limits of his designs as far has handles, as different as it looks, its a crazy comfortable knife, It crosss battoned very well and carving the pot hook was easy and went quick. I maintained a good grip the entire time and my worries of a slick handle vanished.
AS Classic
Cross Battoned super well, power cuts where very easy with the extra large pommel i really could get a great amount of leverage with it. i did find my hand felt cramped and seemed to get fatigued fairly quickly i feel i need another half inch on the handle to put it over the top.
Another wonderful Cross Batoning knife i think scandi is well suited for it, the handle was comfortable in all my grips and the blade shape seem to really help with leverage as well. had too much fun with it!
Runner Up: Grifflore
Split wood fire prep
All the blades threw gobs of sparks off a ferro rod so i just focused on the prep here. which i got more pics but the darn camera battery was all but dead so for the rest of the review i had take my shots when i could..
Nortrek:
No problem here battoned with the best of them and made feathers with easy, I also drove tip into smaller pieces to split the wood and the tip had zero damage
Battoned very well the large pommel made driving the tip very easy, made feathers very well and the smaller handle didn't bother me while feathering
I think the severe drop may slightly hinder the battoning of this blade as the baton would glance more running down the severe drop it seemed like i needed a few more whacks than the first two blades. The curvature also made driving the tip a little more awkward but was fine once i got the knack for it.
runner up:The Grifflore was only slightly behind the other two and if i used it more i may have gotten more accustomed to the curvature.
Final Thoughts.. all the blades proved to have amazing HT they
all shaved and easily dispatched newspaper after a thorough few days in
the woods. All were easy to touch up as well even though they didnt even
really need it...
Nortrek:
Man i was really wowed by this blade and with only a 4 month wait
apposed to 9 years for his woodlore this is a great blade and awesome
option the was a reason Alan kept making knives after the Woodlore he
continues to push the limits of a knife with his ideas and this handle
really opened my eyes that perhaps the "coke bottle" may not be the
ultimate in comfort quite yet.
AS Classic:
A great blade in its own right, and as beautiful a blade as you will find but me med sized hands were yearning for my AS Explorer handles during most my work with it.
Grifflore:
Coming into this i saw it as a true underdog but it was a pleasant surprise and it can roll with the big boys and as for bang for your buck its a home run, you get one for the same price or cheaper than alot of semi production blades so my question is why own a expensive production blade when Chris Griffith is making knives???
The Final Verdict?
1. Alan Wood Nortrek, home run comes to mind when i think about this blade sitting in my safe, super comfortable, a great looking and unique blade oh and Stainless, now im normally a carbon guy but this 12c27 is great and low maintenance sure is nice when the snow is on the ground and temps are above freezing (it is available in carbon).
Now i may get some heat from some guys here but i said this was a honest review, Id take the Grifflore at number 2 all day, the cramped handle on the classic is just too much for me to over come , is the classic far behind? No. but if i had to choose id take the Grifflore. Now those of you with smaller hands may have no issue but it was a deal breaker for me. I will say id take my AS Wayfarer and Explorer over all three of these knives but i have to have a healthy variety so the Nortrek is here to stay awhile!
AS Classic:
A great blade in its own right, and as beautiful a blade as you will find but me med sized hands were yearning for my AS Explorer handles during most my work with it.
Grifflore:
Coming into this i saw it as a true underdog but it was a pleasant surprise and it can roll with the big boys and as for bang for your buck its a home run, you get one for the same price or cheaper than alot of semi production blades so my question is why own a expensive production blade when Chris Griffith is making knives???
The Final Verdict?
1. Alan Wood Nortrek, home run comes to mind when i think about this blade sitting in my safe, super comfortable, a great looking and unique blade oh and Stainless, now im normally a carbon guy but this 12c27 is great and low maintenance sure is nice when the snow is on the ground and temps are above freezing (it is available in carbon).
Now i may get some heat from some guys here but i said this was a honest review, Id take the Grifflore at number 2 all day, the cramped handle on the classic is just too much for me to over come , is the classic far behind? No. but if i had to choose id take the Grifflore. Now those of you with smaller hands may have no issue but it was a deal breaker for me. I will say id take my AS Wayfarer and Explorer over all three of these knives but i have to have a healthy variety so the Nortrek is here to stay awhile!
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