Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2021 i Knives Illustrated

There are pocketknives, there are multitools, and then there’s the Swiss Champ XXL. If you find yourself needing a quality tool with more functions than either a single or multi-use knife can provide, then this behemoth from Victorinox may be for you. It stands above all others in both sheer bulk and tool variety. It features a mind-staggering 73 functions and puts an entire tool chest in your front pocket. From the ordinary, such as a saw and knife blades, to the more obscure like a wire crimping tool and hook disgorger, to the downright odd additions like a pharmaceutical spatula and a multipurpose hook, this pocket pal has it all, and then some. This monster of a multitool is not all brawn, however, as each unit is meticulously hand…

Like many knifemakers, Alan Folts is frugal with his material and was looking at ways to use leftover scrap steel from other projects. The first two Minimalists he started as a test of a new annular cutter that he had in his shop. He used it to bore three holes in his piece of scrap steel, and then cut that piece in half directly through the holes. This gave him two halves, each with the start of the three-finger groove handle design that we know so well today. His first blade shape was a Wharncliffe that he intended on using as a canoe knife that he could attach to his personal flotation device. Alan carried those prototypes and used them for two years, learning from the design and refining it.…

As much as I like the High Impact and Brush Wolf, there are many instances when I want a smaller, handier blade. Lately I’ve been carrying the TOPS Lioness Rockies Edition. This fixed blade has a trailing-point blade with 3.5-inch cutting edge. It makes a great companion blade to the larger tools. The Rockies Edition has a stonewashed gray blade and brown Micarta scales. It comes with a Kydex belt sheath, but most times I just tuck the knife with sheath in a front pants pocket.…

“SPEND ENOUGH TIME IN ANY CAREER AND YOU’LL BEGIN TO TWEAK AND ADJUST YOUR TOOLS TO SUIT YOUR UNIQUE NEEDS. SURVIVAL AND BUSHCRAFT ARE NO DIFFERENT.” Like many KI readers, every time I see a social media post from one of my favorite survival or outdoors instructors, I’m checking to see what gear they have with them. I love to see their pocket dumps and pack unloads. Of course, the sharps always get close attention. What blades are they using? Deciding finally to just go directly to the sources, I consulted five survival teachers to see what they carry most often when they head into the field. While some of them routinely evaluate knives for manufacturers and such, I wanted to know what they relied on when they could just…

“IT IS SIMPLY THE BEST MULTITOOL I’VE FOUND, WITH THE MOST USEFUL TOOLS, THAT ALSO CARRIES LIKE A TYPICAL POCKET KNIFE BECAUSE OF ITS EXTREMELY FLAT PROFILE.” For me, a knife is an indispensable tool that I call upon every day. So, am I ever caught without one? The answer is both “yes” and “no.” How so? Yes, there might be a few times when I’m not carrying a dedicated knife on my person. But no, if I don’t have a dedicated knife, I at least have a knife blade that’s part of a multitool I’m carrying instead. While I often have both, carrying a multitool instead of a regular folding knife is happening a bit more frequently now that I’ve found the UpKnife UPK-M2.What is a UPK-M2? Well, it’s…

It’s a lot of fun to open a surprise package. It’s even more fun when you anticipate there will be one or more new knives in that package. Whenever the delivery driver drops a Gear Pack box on my doorstep, it’s like Christmas, my birthday, and Father’s Day rolled into one. I never know what to expect, but I know whatever is inside will be something I’m going to like. “MUCH OF THE ATTRACTION OF GEAR PACK IS THE EXCITEMENT OF DISCOVERY…” MYSTERY BOXES So, what exactly is Gear Pack? It’s a subscription service that sends a mystery box of goodies to you each month. Each month’s box has a theme, such as Bushcraft, Medical, Fire, or Urban EDC. You can subscribe to any one of four levels: Basic ($24.99),…

1. American Tomahawk Company Model 2 SPECS: ATC Model 2 • Overall Length: 14.25 inches• Head Length: 6.75 inches• Cutting Edge Length: 4.125 inches• Weight: 23.5 ounces (without sheath)• Blade Material: Drop forged 1060• Finish: Black powdercoat• Handle Material: STN 66 super tough nylon• Sheath: Kydex scabbard with low-ride MOC straps• MSRP: $239 AmericanTomahawk.com The American Tomahawk Company’s No. 1 ‘hawk follows the classic Vietnam tomahawk pattern with its small cutting edge and back spike. It’s compact, handy, and dangerous. It’s also a pretty good general-purpose tool, but it wasn’t designed primarily as a camp tool. Enter the new No. 2. The ATC No. 2 is a robust hammer poll ‘hawk with a bearded head and an aggressive 4.125-inch cutting surface. It’s made from drop-forged 1060 carbon steel…

Want to travel light? Leave the gizmos at home. You can always fashion what you need when you get there from natural materials if you have a knife that’s up to the task. With it, you can set up your remote camp with shelter, pot hanger, kitchen utensils—everything you need. When you do it on purpose, it’s called bushcraft. When you do it unexpectedly, it’s called survival. In this special section, we look at some of the blades, big and small, that can help you to improvise those things you need when carrying light and living lean, or when you have some serious work ahead in the woods.…

“THE LADING MADE UTENSILS FOR EATING RICE AND POKING MEAT AS WELL AS MADE A RICE COOKER OUT OF BAMBOO.” The “SAS Survival Handbook” by John “Lofty” Wiseman has been a favorite of mine for years. Under the description of a parang, Lofty mentions the three different edges on a parang and how the different edges are used. The book explains that the grind towards the tip is extra sharp for skinning and scraping work when preparing game. The middle section is used for the heavy chopping like an axe, and near the handle is perfect for feathering sticks, bark stripping, whittling, and food preparation. This information also appears in videos people have made and posted online about their parangs. After owning and using quite a few, I have yet…

Here are some general traits to look for when choosing your first survival knife: • FULL TANG DESIGN—Full tang means that the knife and handle are on solid piece of steel. The handle area is usually then sandwiched between two pieces of rounded material to form the gripping portion of the handle. This is vitally important because if the knife is three-quarter, half, or worst yet, no tang in design, the probability that the knife will snap at its weakest point is almost a certainty in the field, and that can be disastrous on so many levels. • BLADE LENGTH AND THICKNESS—A survival knife has to be beefy to be effective during heavy use when outdoors or when giving it heavy-duty tasks to perform. It’s a general recommendation that the blade length…

“THE IDEA OF THE CAMP-LORE SERIES WAS TO UTILIZE INPUT FROM DIFFERENT OUTDOORSMEN, THUS CAPTURING ALL FACETS OF NEEDS.” In 2014, ESEE Knives developed a new series of knives geared toward more traditional outdoorsmen who want the look and feel of a knife intended for general outdoors use and bushcraft. The idea of the Camp-Lore series was to utilize input from different outdoorsmen, thus capturing all facets of needs such as hunting, fishing, bushcraft, and camping. This is another face of ESEE Knives and a true testament of the company’s willingness to listen to the needs of its customers—and grow. All ESEE Camp-Lore knives feature uncoated 1095 high carbon steel blades with a Rockwell hardness of 55-57 and feature a variety of Micarta scales. JG3 First out of the gate…

There’s no denying that a knife is one the most important tools a person can carry. That’s rarely in question at all. However, what does come up for debate is which is better: basic or embellished? Are you better served with a bare-bones basic blade built with quality and durability, or one saturated with a variety of bells and whistles that can perform numerous tasks? On the surface, the answer may seem apparent. More is better, they say. But does this relate to knives? Or conversely, though equally as important, simple designs last longer, and perhaps a standard fixed-blade knife would be the victor. Here we’ll dissect the two distinctly different knife styles and try to determine if one outshines the other or if both have their own respective value…

Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) began its relationship with Alan Folts 13 years ago, and it all started at a knife show with a friend of his in the industry taking one of his custom Minimalists over to show the folks at CRKT. CRKT took a chance on the then relatively unknown parttime maker and did a limited run of the first Minimalists, which was a Wharncliffe design. That initial run sold out quickly and the path was laid to where we are today, 10 Minimalist designs later. The latest additions to that group are the Persian and the Cleaver. NEWEST MINIMALISTS I was surprised to learn that these latest designs are the result of user input in his Facebook group for Minimalist users, both custom and CRKT. Alan…

Years ago, I took a trip to Malaysia in search of adventure and authentic Malaysian parangs. I found both and made a good friend along the way. CHANGE OF PLANS The plan: Travel to Malaysia and make my way up through Thailand before moving on to Cambodia. Through a series of emails, I found a guy named Ahmad Nadir (of My Parang) in Penang, Malaysia, which was where I made sure to end up, despite my former plans. I met Nadir in the morning, and he took me on a road trip a couple of hours north to Perak, where the parangs are made by the legendary Bidor blacksmiths, world-renowned for their differentially hand-hardened 5160 steel. It was a small factory with an equally small showroom featuring a variety of…

Having the right tools of good quality can give you that extra measure of confidence you need to meet the challenges of self-reliance when living in remote locations. I’ve often turned to TOPS Knives for blades large and small whenever I’ve ventured far from pavement. Recently, I had a chance to work with two of the company’s newer products—the High Impact Axe and the Brush Wolf fixed-blade knife. With these two on board, together with a folding saw and perhaps a smaller blade for finer, detailed work, I figure I’m pretty well equipped to handle anything I face along the trail or when establishing a camp. THE UNEXPECTED There are certain things you can anticipate when you’re making camp. There are the chores involved with food prep, naturally, unless you’re…

Born in Georgia, Patrick has been a long-time wilderness enthusiast towards canoeing, fishing, hunting, and wilderness survival skills. What started as a hobby eventually turned into a lifestyle and career. Honing his skills as he grew up, Patrick caught the eye of Randall’s Adventure & Training as a student when he took a class with them in Alabama in 2009. This led to assisting in classes both foreign and domestic, with many different government agencies until eventually taking over as their lead instructor. Eventually, he was asked to design a knife for ESEE Knives. Before becoming the lead instructor for Randall’s Adventure & Training, Patrick Rollins was a sheriff’s deputy with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia. He has been a law enforcement instructor since 2001 and served on…

“…FOR A GENERAL-PURPOSE KNIFE INTENDED TO BE CARRIED AND USED EVERY DAY WITHOUT WEIGHING YOU DOWN, THE RANCOR VII IS EXCELLENT.” Let’s run down the list of desirable traits associated with an EDC knife. Obviously we want a knife to be sharp, and if it’s made of good steel, it should stay that way with just minor touch-ups needed occasionally. The blade should be configured for the type of cutting tasks we regularly encounter, and the handle should provide a good, comfortable grip. Ideally, it should be lightweight, carry flat in the pocket, be easy to open with one hand, be equipped with a pocket clip, and feature a secure lock that’s sure to engage and easy to disengage. If it’s made in the U.S., for me that’s a big…

“THE HANDLE CONFIGURATION OF THE KAPARA IS ONE OF THE BEST FEATURES OF THE KNIFE AND IT’S WHAT SEPARATES IT FROM SO MANY OTHER MODELS.” REVIEW Sometimes the best moments in life occur when you stumble unexpectedly across something wonderful. That was the case recently when I discovered the Spyderco Kapara. No, finding a Spyderco knife that I love comes as no surprise. There are dozens of them. But this knife was introduced a couple of years ago. It must have crossed my gaze at some point. How did I not take notice of it before? WONDERFUL DESIGN The Spyderco Kapara is based on the Redback folder design by Australian custom knifemaker Alistair Phillips. Both “Redback” and “Kapara” are names for a particular Australian spider with a distinctive red stripe…