Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i Knives Illustrated

When a company’s mission statement reads, “To provide you the ONLY knife you need when the world goes to hell,” the hard-use-knife junkie in me sits up and takes notice. A brief look at the Stroup Knives website revealed several interesting blades, all with a distinctive look. Of course, mission statements are just words, and plenty of knife companies talk the talk. Wanting to see if Stroup Knives could bring the heat or if it was just another internet sensation, I contacted the company owner, Chris Stroup, to find out more about his company and his knives. THE MAN BEHIND THE METAL Chris Stroup grew up in California, hiking and camping with his family and developing a great love for the outdoors along the way. While working as a Communications…

“A KNIFE LIKE THE ORFORD TRAPPER BLENDS THE BEST DESIGN ELEMENTS OF THE HUNTING AND BUSHCRAFT WORLD.” Pick up most bushcraft books and you’ll likely find a very common blade shape in the section on edged tools. It seems like one of the most prevalent knives advocated for is a spearpoint blade. This is due largely to the work of the renowned British bushcrafter/naturalist Ray Mears. Now, pick up a hunting book and you’ll most likely find the hunting knife suggested is a drop-point blade with a hollow or flat grind. Every so often, a knife comes along that defies convention and blends concepts from two different circles into something really impressive. I found the Ben Orford Trapper at the center of the bushcraft and hunting Venn diagram and had…

1. TOPS MSF Folder TOPS Knives is well known for its rugged tactical and outdoor blades and tools, but that doesn’t mean the company doesn’t have things perfect for EDC carry, too. The new MSF is one of those items. It’s a flipper-style folder with a 3.25-inch blade of Elmax steel. It has a stainless steel frame with G10 handle scales and a reversible deep-carry pocket clip set up for tip-up carry. The flipper is not assisted, but it uses ball bearing washers so it opens smoothly with little effort with either hand. Lockup is via a traditional liner lock, which is oriented for right-handers, but I had no issues disengaging it with my left hand. It’s a great size for EDC, has rock-solid lockup, and comes shaving sharp out…

The newest fixed-blade from GiantMouse is called the GMF4. This stands for GiantMouse Fixed blade number four. Not only is this the fourth fixed-blade knife the company has produced, but it is by far the largest. The designers, Jens Ansø and Jesper Voxnaes, took their combined outdoor experience and designed their iteration of a camp knife. Make no mistake, this is a beast of a knife. Yet, for all its size and resultant capabilities, in many ways it handles like something smaller. That’s not a bad thing, either. WHAT’S A CAMP KNIFE? There’s this thing in the knife community called the One Tool Option. The idea is to create a knife that can handle anything you could possibly need in the field, from processing firewood to processing game, food prep…

REVIEW “AS A STAND-ALONE WILDERNESS TOOL, THIS HATCHET UNDENIABLY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GET YOUR CAMP MADE AND ASSIST IN SELF-RESCUE…” After a week in the woods of Alabama followed by a week in South America with the Gränsfors Bruk Mini Belt Hatchet, seeing is believing! I finally got a chance to try out a good quality belt hatchet from what some people consider to be the best company out there for axes and hatchets. Gränsfors Bruk, founded in 1902, currently has 30 employees who manufacture and sell axes, with 80% of those axes being exported to 22 countries. After doing my research, I found much information on Gränsfors Bruk. The roots of Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatchet go back many thousands of years. In the old days in Europe, it…

One day, in the fall of 2016, my beautiful bride said to me, “We should get outside more often.” As is usually the case, she wasn’t wrong. At the time, we were both working office jobs. Add to that having three kids in school, each with afterschool activities, house chores, and all the other various and sundry things that kept us on our toes, and we rarely spent much time soaking up sunshine. So, we decided to do something about it. Beginning in mid-November that year, we made a commitment to go on at least one hike per week. It was only planned to last a year, but we’ve been at it ever since, recently hitting 275 weeks in a row that we’ve gone on at least one hike. These…

REVIEW “WHEN IN DOUBT, BRING THE RAZEL NAX, THE LOVECHILD OF KNIFE AND AX.” When you’re out in the bush, you want your tools to be as multipurpose as possible, especially if you’re traveling light. If you’re backpacking, you may prefer to bring a single versatile blade, but what if you need to do some chopping? Aw, but an ax is too chonky to tow along, and forget trying to cut notches or do detail work. It’s like 10,000 axes when all you need is a knife. There’s an Alanis Morissette lyric in there somewhere. Columbia River Knife and Tool’s (CRKT) answer to the age-old question, “Should I bring an ax?” is its newest addition to the Razel line. The answer is: When in doubt, bring the Razel Nax, the…

Several years ago at a knife trade show, I saw a table full of rustic knives and one very large parang. A sign there read PB&J Handmade Knives, which were made in the USA. I thought it was an interesting name; I always liked peanut butter and jelly as a kid. PB&J comprises three guys: brothers Phillip and Barry Jones, and Jake Kirks. The P stands for Phillip, the B stands for Barry, and the J stands for Jake—all coming together to make up PB&J Handmade Knives. “IF YOU AREN’T USING YOUR OWN KNIVES, HOW CAN YOU EXPECT YOUR CLIENTS TO?” — BARRY JONES “THE HANDLE WAS COMFORTABLE, AND THE BLADE WAS BEYOND SHARP.” THE PB&J WAY These guys like cooking just about as much as I do. Be it…

REVIEW “I BELIEVE FRY HAS ACCOMPLISHED THIS GOLDILOCKS JUST-RIGHT BALANCE OF ART AND PERFORMANCE VERY NICELY IN THIS DESIGN.” Lots of knifemakers are turning out great custom and small-batch knives of their own designs. Purchasing one is the best way to get exactly the knife you want. However, the buyer can encounter two potential obstacles. The first hurdle is price. Individual knifemakers typically put in lots of time and talent into each piece they sell. The prices are usually very much in line with that effort, but that might make particular models out of reach financially for many buyers. The second hurdle, availability, is affected by consumer demand and a maker’s limitations on how many pieces can be completed. Some makers’ knives are so highly sought after that getting one…

If the name TJ Schwarz sounds familiar, it’s quite possibly due to the multitude of designs that he’s done with Columbia River Knife and Tool. Those have been mostly folders, but TJ does fixed-blade designs as well, and he makes those himself, by hand, in his Idaho workshop. THE OVERLAND KNIFE I first caught wind of TJ’s custom work on Instagram and only later connected the name with his CRKT designs. I have an affinity for knives with short blades and long handles and was immediately drawn to his Scalpel + design that I previewed a couple issues back in my Gear Up column. When I went to dig deeper into his work, I saw the Overland, and it had a lot to like as well. The Overland’s lines are…