Knives!

[Smith357]

Minor hijack: Does anyone that spends time in the woods have a tomahawk? I've been thinking about getting one, and would love to hear opinions.

Yes, I never hit the trail without a Hawk, I have had many over the years from traditional to tackytickle. My go to is a 2Hawks Long Hunter. I prefer traditional hawks, because they are light, easliy broken down to fit into a pack, replacement handles are easily made in the field, and I can pull the head if needed to use it like an Ulu. I also prefer a hammer poll for driving stakes, over a spike or pipe.

2hawks

It really depends on what you want out of a hawk that will determine the style, my needs are geared towards wood craft, I have had a Benchmade, but I found it to be heavy and cumbersome for the woods, but if you want an indestructible breaching tool/pry bar the Benchmade was well suited for that task. Another one is Winkler, I have played with them but never owned one, they are very well-made and very expensive.

Beaver Bill makes nice affordable hawks, I owned a Premium Thrower I only sold it to fund other axe purchases. He also makes very nice historically accurate reproductions for reenactors and fancy presentation models for hanging on the wall. Though his forge just recently burned down, I'm not sure if or when it will be back up and running.

Beaver Bill Forging Works

I had a SOG tack hawk, it is not much more than a toy.
A lot of guys like the Cold Steel hawks and modify them, like a Squire bass.

Many prefer an axe over a hawk, I find the new Swedish offerings to be very fine axes, but tend to be overpriced, except for the Husqvarna, they are very affordable. I can also recommend a nice vintage Boys axe, Something like an old Kelly Perfect or old Plumb. Something with a 2lb head on a 26-28" haft. Or an old house axe, they were used for splitting kindling by the fireplace and bit longer haft than a hatchet at 19-24".

 

[kesslari]

@Smith357 That top hawk is a beauty.

 

[Giraffe]

Here are a few items some might be interested in!

This is a picture of a Miyabi Artisan 8" santoku. One ass-kicking knife! Sharp as blazes, light, well balanced, fairly stainless, and we haven't had to put it on the stones in the first year of ownership. I used German style blades all my life, until I tried the Asian style blades. Very thin, light, and very easy to handle. For typical use in the home, these blades are wonderful! No good for bones or frozen food, as the steel is very hard and more likely to chip than thicker, softer blades.

The Messermeister ceramic hone has maintained the edge. I gave away my steel hones after using this ceramic rod. It is much faster, as in it only takes two or three strokes per side to get it cutting receipt paper and arm or leg hair.

The knife in this picture is a cheap Chinese Eafengrow, with a very thick D2 blade. I use it to open packages and perform other rough tasks. I sat down with a good hard Arkansas stone yesterday, and spent about 40 minutes trying to get it up to speed after many months of hard use.

The hard Ark, which laughs at more typical knife steel, was helpless! It absolutely would not remove any material, and that is a well-proven stone. D2 is tough!

Today, I pulled out the new Spyderco CBN (cubic boron nitride) bench stone (see the shiny rectangular thingy!). CBN is touted as second only to diamonds in hardness and cutting ability. The finer side of the CBN stone put a toothy edge on the stubborn D2 in about 3 or 4 strokes per side, no exaggeration. Holy cow does it cut fast! This was the first use, so it will need a little use to get broken in, but I was extremely impressed with its performance. Hopefully it will hold up to extended use.

I finished the edge up with a 1K Shapton glass stone, a high end ceramic waterstone. Sharpening D2 or a supersteel blade would be a long haul with this stone, but it does a great job of refining the somewhat coarse edge left by the CBN. Then I gave it a few minutes on the homemade leather strop, charged with 5 micron diamond polishing paste.

Now that fat little blade will pop hair and cut printer paper reliably, and even cut receipt or cigarette paper, although the geometry of this working blade limits its performance in what I call "the paper tricks"!

A sharp knife is a wonderful, loyal friend. A dull knife is just another blunt object.

 

[fhm555]

Did some trading recently and wound up with this sweet little pushbutton automatic. It’s for a righty and I’m a lefty but it was all he had to bring the trade up to snuff so it came home with me. Anodized aluminum and coated steel, opens and locks with authority, and scary sharp.

 

[XXL]

I’m really liking this Buck 112!

Might just be the sharpest one of the bunch.

 

[versalog]

This is my "Frontier" knife by Mel Sorg (R.I.P.).

 

[rufus.K]

Here is my daily carry.
I sharpen it on the bench grinder whenever it needs it.

 

[revd]

Edit : nm

 

[themarshall]

Yes, I never hit the trail without a Hawk, I have had many over the years from traditional to tackytickle. My go to is a 2Hawks Long Hunter. I prefer traditional hawks, because they are light, easliy broken down to fit into a pack, replacement handles are easily made in the field, and I can pull the head if needed to use it like an Ulu. I also prefer a hammer poll for driving stakes, over a spike or pipe.

View attachment 4389819

2hawks

It really depends on what you want out of a hawk that will determine the style, my needs are geared towards wood craft, I have had a Benchmade, but I found it to be heavy and cumbersome for the woods, but if you want an indestructible breaching tool/pry bar the Benchmade was well suited for that task. Another one is Winkler, I have played with them but never owned one, they are very well-made and very expensive.

View attachment 4389820


Beaver Bill makes nice affordable hawks, I owned a Premium Thrower I only sold it to fund other axe purchases. He also makes very nice historically accurate reproductions for reenactors and fancy presentation models for hanging on the wall. Though his forge just recently burned down, I'm not sure if or when it will be back up and running.
View attachment 4389821

Beaver Bill Forging Works

I had a SOG tack hawk, it is not much more than a toy.
A lot of guys like the Cold Steel hawks and modify them, like a Squire bass.

Many prefer an axe over a hawk, I find the new Swedish offerings to be very fine axes, but tend to be overpriced, except for the Husqvarna, they are very affordable. I can also recommend a nice vintage Boys axe, Something like an old Kelly Perfect or old Plumb. Something with a 2lb head on a 26-28" haft. Or an old house axe, they were used for splitting kindling by the fireplace and bit longer haft than a hatchet at 19-24".
View attachment 4389822

Shhh - we don’t want the axe hipsters buying them up! I have my plumb boys axe on a 20” straight handle. Barely squeezes into a 20” toolbox. Easy to carry and just big enough to use two handed. Drives felling wedges one or two handed and makes mountains of kindling. I’ve done a lot of work with that little axe.

 

[Deeper Texan]

Did some trading recently and wound up with this sweet little pushbutton automatic. It’s for a righty and I’m a lefty but it was all he had to bring the trade up to snuff so it came home with me. Anodized aluminum and coated steel, opens and locks with authority, and scary sharp.

View attachment 4393596 View attachment 4393597 View attachment 4393599

I've been looking at the Pro-Tech knives. I really like the looks of the Strider series:
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Would be very interested to know how it holds up, before I drop that kind of coin.

 

[Hot Rats]

My GRÄNSFORS BRUK small forest axe has served me well. I bought it right before the fire and forgot all about it. Then, it just showed up after 6 months or so.

 

[fhm555]

I've been looking at the Pro-Tech knives. I really like the looks of the Strider series:
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Would be very interested to know how it holds up, before I drop that kind of coin.

FWIW, I’ve got some high speed operator friends who go to exotic locations for a living and they won’t leave home without a Pro Tech.

 

[Smith357]

Shhh - we don’t want the axe hipsters buying them up! I have my plumb boys axe on a 20” straight handle. Barely squeezes into a 20” toolbox. Easy to carry and just big enough to use two handed. Drives felling wedges one or two handed and makes mountains of kindling. I’ve done a lot of work with that little axe.

So, I guess I should not say anything about riggers axes or carpenters hatchets. Like the Plumb and True Temper Dynamic below.

 

[themarshall]

So, I guess I should not say anything about riggers axes or carpenters hatchets. Like the Plumb and True Temper Dynamic below.

View attachment 4397990
View attachment 4397991

Just make sure everyone knows they’re TRASH and to just buy scandihoovian. For safety.

 

[mapleglo]

 

[keyboardguy]

Hey folks;
Wanted your opinion on this video about using the lansky sharpening tool.
Does he give sound advice?

 

[Giraffe]

Like so many youtube people, this guy gives you about 4 minutes of info over a 16 minute vid. Not for me!

He doesn't point out that the Lansky is one of the slowest and most clumsy ways to sharpen. It takes forever and it is no good for longer blades. It is guided, so just about anyone can get acceptable results with it, but there are better ways to do it.

The Spyderco Sharpmaker is a better choice for most folks, especially if you are sharpening kitchen knives with longer blades. About $75, the Lansky is about $50.

If you feel adventurous, buy an Arkansas stone, and maybe an angle block. You can get away without the block. Prop the stone up to the appropriate angle and keep the blade parallel to the ground. Fast, cheap, and pretty accurate. Get a DMT combo diamond plate if you feel flush. You have to change hands, but most folks can get great results this way, it will do longer blades easily with 8-10" stones, and it is much faster and less tedious than the Lansky. About $95 with the 8" stones and the angle gauge, $115 with the 10" stones and gauge.

iGaging Angle Cube Digital Angle Protractor Gauge | eBay

Arkansas Sharpening Stone Set - Wood Mounted (bestsharpeningstones.com)

After a while you can lose the angle block, and set the stone flat. Free hand sharpening is only difficult for people who haven't tried to do it for half an hour. It does require a little practice, but not much. Most guys can get it down fairly quickly.

EDIT: Buzz down to post #421 to see pictorial photographic pictures of what I am trying to get across!

 

[Smith357]

Hey folks;
Wanted your opinion on this video about using the lansky sharpening tool.
Does he give sound advice?

I tried but, just could not make it more than a few minutes.
The system I use has been around for centuries, whetstones, oil stones and a leather strop. I do have a few of them newfangled diamond plates too. I have 20 or more stones in my shop of every variety, I also use a 72" belt grinder for re-grinding bevels. The only sharpening system I have seen that I would even consider is the Tormek, it is geared more for planes and chisels than for knives, and it is not cheap. Do not get any of those power sharpeners until you have had a few years of practice, they generate heat that can ruin the temper of the blade.

I recommend you start with a simple 8" Norton bench stone, the combination India stone, and a can of 3 in 1 oil. With a bit of practice, you will be able to get a very nice edge on all your blades. When you feel you have outgrown the India stone then look at the much more expensive whetstones or diamond plates. Keep adding stones of different grits, and soon you will be a sharpening master.

Norton Combination India Stone

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I love knives. I don't know how one can get through a day without one. I carry a Swiss Army Tinker. I use it for everything except what my Kershaw Talon II is good at.
I also have a Gerber folder in the car and various hunting an folder versions all over the house. I used to have a small collection of Case folders, but I had to sell it a long time ago when I was in financial difficulty.

 

[Honkey tonk]

Not a fan of lansky

I keep one of these on my truck it's OK for what it is .


https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-G...ocphy=1028458&hvtargid=pla-437304879527&psc=1


I have heard good things about the spydee sharp maker