Innehållsförteckning för July - August 2021 från Knives Illustrated

What are you bringing on your next family camping trip? Whether camping to you means loading your gear on your back for a wilderness sojourn, unloading your car at a lakeside campground, or simply parking an R.V. at a tourist destination, chances are you’ll need some knives and other edged tools. Preparing meals, processing kindling, teaching the kids how to whittle, and practicing primitive living skills will all require the proper blades. In this special section, we present a cross-section of tools and projects to keep everyone involved in your next rustic family outing.…

Carving is a wonderful hobby for young and old. It is 100% analog, works completely battery-free, and has no need for a 5G network. This hobby accompanies us on any adventure and creates valuable experiences outside the digital world. It is creative, meaningful, and invites us to engage in and with nature. Personally, I found so much joy in carving that it became my profession. Since 2014, I have held more than 400 carving workshops with a wide variety of client groups. So, how do you introduce your kids to it? GOOD GUIDANCE REQUIRED Carving promotes and challenges important skills in the development of a child: endurance, strength, fine motor skills, knowledge of materials, imagination, and much more. If kids want to carve, they need peace and concentration, the right…

Once out and about in nature, it is of course high time to apply the knowledge you have learned and carve something great. For example, how about a spinning top, a fork, or even a water wheel? THE SPINNING TOP A spinning top made from a branch as thick as your thumb is the perfect way to start. First, find a piece of branch that is as round as possible with the pith in the middle. Then saw off a 1/8 – 1/4 inch (4 – 8 mm) thick slice with the cut surfaces as parallel as possible (picture A). Then, using the awl, drill a small hole through the pith of the flywheel from both sides (picture B). Now a dry twig is needed. From this, cut out an…

“THE AUTO FACT DOES INDEED BORROW A LOT OF INSPIRATION FROM THE CLASSIC STILETTO OF THE PAST.” Sometimes you need to go backwards to move ahead into the future, and the Benchmade Auto Fact does just that. Inspired by the classic Italian stiletto knife prominent just about everywhere decades ago, Benchmade took this universally recognized design and upgraded it for today’s world with modernized materials and state-of-the-art opening mechanics. The switchblade stands as one of the most iconic knives ever created and has appeared everywhere from classic cinematic spy thrillers to the shady streets of New York City to the back pockets of the ’50s and ’60s street gangs. Now, the always innovative Benchmade Knives has elevated the design and given it a more positive image. So, you now have…

A good friend of mine, who is a knifemaker, once told me that there are no new knives, just new combinations of blade and handle styles that have been around forever. With that said, makers and designers tend to take those basic styles and infuse them with refinements and design touches that make them their own. And every once in a while, something that really stands out does come along. That’s what makes the new releases every year exciting. Are we going to see older loved designs reimagined with new or improved materials, some new combination of features, or something that breaks that rule and is truly innovative? In last issue, we took a look at offerings from Gerber, Benchmade, Buck, SOG, and Spyderco. In Part 2 of our roundup,…

Of the many people who carry a knife daily, there are quite a few, I’d bet, who have it in the back of their minds that in a worst-case scenario they could use that knife as a defensive weapon to save their lives. Among those are a good number who’ve had no training in how to use a blade effectively. I know, because I was one of them. During my days as a police officer, I carried a knife every day and used it for a variety of ordinary tasks. Most of us did. Despite the lack of training in edged weapons, the reasoning persisted that it was good to have something on hand in desperation during a scuffle to prevent a bad guy from gaining control of your sidearm.…

“BEAR FOREST KNIVES OFFER HARDWORKING KNIVES MADE IN THE USA FOR HARDWORKING PEOPLE.” ADVENTURE TOOLS BUILT TO LAST A harpoon-shaped knife? I first became familiar with Bear Forest Knives (BFK) by repeatedly seeing a knife that had a harpoon-shaped blade appear through various online knife venues. That knife ended up being the GT-1 model. The first knife I received from BFK, in fact, was still marked “Prototype” at the time. It wasn’t long before the next model found its way to me, the GT-3, and that was just the beginning of what was yet to come. PASSION TO PROFESSION Garrett Tremblay is the engine behind Bear Forest Knives, based in Palm Desert, California. As a metal fabricator for many years, Garrett made tools for himself and friends to use on…

“THE DOUBLEDOWN IS PART MACHETE, PART HATCHET, PART KNIFE IN ONE COMPACT TOOL.” What exactly is the Gerber Doubledown? Is it a small machete, a large knife, or a burly balisong? The answer is, “Yes.” The one thing it’s not is a gimmick. At first, I was tempted to think it might be just a novelty item, but then I put it to work. Is it unusual? Yes. And it will definitely be a conversation starter with your bushcraft buddies around the campfire. But the Gerber Doubledown is a blade that’s quite capable of some serious work after all the snide comments have faded away. THE SPECIFICS Gerber lists the Doubledown as a folding machete, so we’ll go with that. It features a 7-inch recurve blade of 420HC steel with…

Foraging for food is something best left to the experts. However, two easy things to forage during a family woods outing are both safe and easy to find: pine needles and blackberries. Pine needle tea is not only full a vitamin C, but it warms us in the cold. Typically made with pine needles, the tea can also be made with spruce and hemlock, which are all evergreens. Hemlock is a big tree not to be mixed up with poison hemlock, which is a shrub. Spruce may be less likely to find, whereas pine and hemlock blanket most of North America. Spruce and hemlock are common in the northern forests. Simply pluck the greenest needles, and boil in a metal container until the needles turn a yellow/brownish color. Scoop them…

American Blade Works is known for top-quality, small-batch creations of superb knives, and its new Model 1 V5 is, without a doubt, no exception. This amazing new knife exhibits a sleek, smooth design, and a powerful punch. Utilizing its thicker-than-normal blade and perfectly ergonomic handle, it allows all the force from your arm or hand to flow into the knife. This blade truly is an extension of a person’s body, and when it was tested in the field, that fact was backed up tenfold. But being a very new knife on the market, there is always a lot to prove when it comes to actual performance when in use. Luckily, the great people over at American Blade Works sent me a sample of Model 1 V5. They said to do…

“WANT TO PRACTICE SURVIVAL SKILLS OR ROAST MARSHMALLOWS OVER AN OPEN FIRE? YOU’LL GET YOUR CHANCE WHEN YOU GO CAMPING.” “Answer the Call of Nature and Relive the Days of Old” By far, one of the most popular types of vacations, especially among families, is a beloved American pastime known as the camping trip. One of my favorite books is “Camp-Lore and Woodcraft” by Daniel Beard. He covers just about everything needed for a successful camping trip that was available—back then. He also wrote it expressing his hope to rekindle the love for camping and the skills that went along with it, especially in youngsters who he felt were straying away from the outdoors. This book was published in 1920. Whether you want to simply roast s’mores, day hike, or…

“…THIS SAW WILL BE A RELIABLE TOOL THAT WILL SEE LOTS OF USE IN THE YEARS AHEAD.” On most every camping trip I’ve taken, I’ve had a saw available. I’ve used full-size bow saws, a takedown Wyoming saw and, when traveling light, at least the saw blade on a Swiss Army Knife. They’ve all proven useful. But my go-to saw has always been one of several folding saws that I’ve owned. Why is that? A folding saw is compact, lightweight, and the blade, your skin, and your other gear are protected when it’s closed. They’re quick to get into action—no assembly required—and with a blade ranging from 6 to 10 inches, they can handle most jobs I need done. Recently I had the chance to work with a Silky saw.…

“IT’S A SHARP KNIFE THAT’S WELL CONFIGURED FRONT TO BACK AND IT WILL HANDLE MOST ANYTHING I NEED A KNIFE TO DO…IT’S EASY TO CARRY AND FAST TO DEPLOY.” Light isn’t always right. When you take something great and make a “light” version of it, you don’t necessarily end up with something better. Make a firearm lighter and you get more recoil. A light beer might taste watered down. And a light version of a knife might not have the right balance or feel. It might seem flimsy, less durable, and lack some of the cutting power of the original. In the case of the SOG Kiku XR LTE, however, this lighter version of one of the favorites among SOG folders might just be the right balance of size, weight,…