Tag Archives: bushcraft knife

Colclesser Brothers Kephart

by Woodsbum

I ran across 2 references to this incredible knife. There are only 2 known models of this knife in existence. One is in the Horace Kephart museum and then there is this one. It is owned by Ethan Becker.

Colclesser Brothers Ad

Here is a YouTube video about the knife.

What I find interesting is the blade design. It is thickest in the middle of the blade for it is convex to both the edge and the spine. It is also a tapered design to the tang as well as the spear tip. The thickest part of the blade is right in front of the handle, in the middle rather than at the spine. It would actually make the knife cut into and glide out of flesh when filleting fish or boning game quite efficient. There would be less tearing of the actual meat.

I can guarantee that there will be many modifications to current Kephart models now that this well preserved specimen is available to examine.

How I Use a Lanyard Hole

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by Woodsbum

Many people have different uses for lanyard holes on a knife. This is how I use a lanyard hole more often than any other.

Especially with bushcraft knives, sheaths are made to cover most of the handle. There is usually just a little bit showing to allow you to pull the knife out. When you have large hands or are wearing gloves, this can be a pain in the rear end to deal with. It is easier than many other retention systems such as snaps, straps or toggles. Here is how the normal bushcraft knife looks in its sheath. This pictures does have a leather lace started in the lanyard hole.

SPL Knife in a Skab Leatherworks sheath

As you can see, there isn’t that much available handle to get bear sized paws on. I build myself a leather “toggle” as I call them. This is what it looks like when I am done.

Ready for use

As you can see in the pictures, I not only have a good deal of leather to use in pulling the knife out of the sheath, but I can also use that leather to allow me to choke down on the handle for chopping. Since it slides to create a larger loop if desired, I have also been known to wrap my wrist so I can loosen my grip when carving or processing firewood. Although many of you see this knot and already know how to tie it, I figured I would give those that don’t a little tutorial.

The first thing I do is pass the lace back in upon itself to make a loop. It should look like this.

The start

I then wrap the free end around the bottom of the loop to build something similar to a noose. When you get the desired number of wraps just pass the free end back through the top of the loop and slide everything together to make a tight knot.

Start of the wrap

Make sure you keep everything tight and slide the free ends down upon itself to make the cleanest knot possible. You don’t want the knot coming loose.

Finished

I have seen people put epoxy over knots like this, but I don’t recommend it. If you keep everything tight and clean there should be no issue during use. Sometimes knots do slide loose. If that happens to you, then just retie it. It really isn’t a big deal.

Over the years I have seen a multitude of different knots used. It really doesn’t matter how you put this together, in all actuality. The big thing to remember is that the lanyard hole on a knife can be used. So many people just ignore them and complain when they have problems drawing their knife or with their knife slipping while chopping. Remember that these knifes are tools like any other tool. Use them and their features as intended when needed.

Good luck!!

SPL Custom

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by Woodsbum

A couple of years ago I approached Steven Long about making me a one off custom knife. After we worked together a bit, this was what we came up with.

Original Design

Due to time constraints and some issues with life on his side, the project was put on hold for a while. Well, the day has finally come. Steven was able to get to working on my knife and finally pulled off a phenomenal build.

SPL Custom

The scales are made of ironwood and were shaped to fit nicely in my larger than average hand. When we originally designed this, I wanted some sort of shape to the handle that would help protect me from sliding forward onto the blade. If you notice the shape, Steven really made a pronounced contour to the handle to help keep my forefinger from sliding forward.

SPL Custom

As an experiment I also had him keep as much of the heat treatment scale on the blade as possible. From what he had read and was told, this scale really helps with cutting down on possible surface rust. Since I live in a very wet and damp climate, I decided that we should give this a try and I would report back to him as to how well this worked.

For decorative purposes, Steven put in a mosaic pin in the middle. I am quite fond of the mosaic pins and think it helped make the handle pop even more than the ironwood already does.

SPL Custom

The fit and finish of Steven’s builds are just amazing. His artistic eye and attention to detail is just incredible. When he gets caught up and opens his books for orders again, I would highly suggest you jump onto his list. He is quite reasonable with regard to price, but when you add in the quality you receive for that price I would say that he is selling his products way too cheaply.

If you see me on the trail or at a PNW get together make sure to hit me up about this SPL Custom. I am sure you will like it as much as I do.

Wolf Creek Forge – Bushcraft Knife

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by Woodsbum

Not that I am revealing any great secrets here, but I am a bit of a knife freak. I love the simplicity and functionality of a good knife. In all seriousness, knives have saved my hind quarters more than any other tool I use. Due to this harsh reality of me doing stupid things that require solid tools to bail me out, I have NO problem spending large sums of money on quality knives. Enter…. The Wolf Creek Forge.

This was actually my first custom knife that I purchased. I have taken more than my share of production knives and customized them, but until I got this I had never actually purchased a hand made knife.

I got this used (because that was what I could justify on a knife) so I don’t have many specs at this time. I contacted the maker to see if they did and will update this post if/when those specs are sent. Instead, I will look at the knife and tell you about it from a use perspective.

First off, this knife has seen a fair amount of field use. If you look at the pictures it is fairly evident from the small rust spots and discoloration at the tip from batoning/prying wood apart with it. Yes, there are a few rust spots. Remember that I live in a VERY wet part of the country where I swear even iron rich blood will rust in your arteries.

Wolf Creek Forge Bushcrafter

Because of the way the sheath is made, I use this knife a lot while backpacking. The belt loop will actually fit all the way around the webbing on my Osprey waist belt. This makes it really nice to access when wearing the pack. Even though I am not fond of sheaths that use a snap for knife retention this knife fits quite deeply into the sheath pocket. It makes inserting and removal from the sheath quite easy, especially when fighting with bulky gear.

WCF – Sheath

In order for my knives to stay relatively rust free I spray oil down my knife sheaths. This keeps them conditioned and helps with the squishy environment in which I live. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work so keep that in mind while checking out my pictures. Most of the “patina” and discoloration occurred during field use over periods of time where I had no access to oil, polishers, etc. Remember…. I USE my gear, but don’t ABUSE my gear. Most knife makers will tell you that high carbon steel knives are going to get discolored if you use them.

WCF – Bushcrafter

The micarta handles actually hold up quite well to heavy field use. You can see where I have knocked the handle around a bit while out in the bush.

WCF – Bushcrafter

The only complaints I have at all about this knife is the fact that it doesn’t get as sharp as many other customs I have nor is the spine squared off so I can use it with a firesteel. It gets sharp, but not that hair popping sharp that you get with Adventure Sworn or Turley customs. I have been looking and I think that it has to do with the way that they are ground. This guy will stay the same sharpness for what seems like FOREVER without getting dull. It just won’t get quite as sharp. My Adventure Sworn will sharpen back up to crazy levels quickly, but it will dull quicker than this one does. The same goes with my daughter’s Turley, my Matt Paul, son’s Primitive Edge, the SBT I used for a while, and a few others I ran across in the bush. This characteristic really makes this knife a great field choice for hard work. I tend to use the heck out of it during a trip and just strop it as needed on the inside of my belt. This works wonders.

WCF – Bushcrafter

All said and done, I like this knife for hard use camping. It doesn’t need as much care or upkeep as other bushcraft knives I have or have used. Feather/fuzz sticks, split wood fires, general use cutting, prying, cleaning fish/grouse, are all easy chores for this guy and it does its job well. I could think of numerous other, higher priced knives that don’t do as good of a job as this does.

WCF – Bushcrafter

I would recommend this as a great all around knife for those new to bushcrafting. It does everything you would want it to do and does it without making you modify your techniques. Really and truly it is a great and solid knife.

WCF and Mora Classic

ESEE 3 with Sheath and Grizzly Firesteel

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by Woodsbum

Several years ago I picked up an ESEE 3 knife for use as a bushcrafting neck knife. It is tough, keeps an edge, is light weight for its size and actually fits my large hands. There are all sorts of reviews and perspectives on this knife floating around the Internet. What I wanted to do was to show you how 3 years of hard bushcrafting use will do to this knife and how a few good accessories will make this a phenomenal field tool.

My ESEE 3 with Grizzly sheath and firesteel

First off, let me talk about the knife. I got this as a NIB “catch and release” from someone who did not like the weight or narrow stature of this knife. This allowed me to get it at about 60% of the normal cost without it having ever been used. It was still in the plastic that it was shipped in. This is important to note because all the wear and tear you see was done by me in the woods. When it came to me I found that it had some sort of odd coating over the entire blade, excluding the sharpened edge. This made it impossible to use as a striker or to get a spark off a firesteel. I went ahead and squared off the spine of the blade and made it capable of use with a firesteel. This was the only modification I made to the knife itself.

Squared off spine

The other accessories that I got that made this the great field tool that it is were the ESEE sheath and a firesteel from Grizzly. The sheath is very well constructed and has an internal tension type retention for the blade. It will hang upside down all day long without issue, but will pop right out with only a little pressure from my thumb and a pull. It also does not rattle at all in the sheath while hiking, hunting or general be-bopping around in the woods. The firesteel stays in place very well in the molded Kydex attachment. All being said, this is a very nice setup for someone wanting a dependable field knife.

As you can see from the pictures, I have used the firesteel quite a bit. It is not a tough as one of the H60’s, but it is a close second. I would not hesitate to use this as my primary fire igniter or as a secondary system in case something happens.

There are clips for the sheath that allow you to carry the knife in a variety of ways. Since I wanted something that I could slip around my neck for any number of outdoors activities like duck hunting or general camping, I opted for a neck carry. As time as gone on, I am now considering getting a clip to attach this knife to my tactical chest rig. Only time will tell if I move forward with that plan, but it is definitely something that I have been considering.

I can not speak highly enough of this configuration. For less than $150 you can get a screaming deal on a knife configuration that will last you a lifetime if you take care of it. I highly recommend this for anyone looking at a production type field knife.