Fallknivens, MS, bark river, serrata and fluffy to blame..

[MeetTheGeeks]

No the bit broke off in it mate, cheapy bits and cant be bothered to dig it out right now The screws used were three diferrent sizes though in length!

[MeetTheGeeks]

Skookum Bushtool Mk I

Well first off, this one has had some serious signs of use and some one not being afraid to get down and dirty with it! It looks like its having a nice life indeed. I like signs of use on a knife, its designed to take it and how it lives up to that is the key to if it works or not.
So, I’ll start with the sheath. The leather has been hot waxed from what I can see making it very rugged and hard. Its not a regular sewn down the side sheath its more of a pocket sewn at the back in a scandi sort of style. The shape is really nice, the few signs of wear are minimal considering the markings on the knife. No belt loop on this one, instead there is some very nice man knitting forming a neck carry. Im not a man knitter but it looks like 4 cord platted style. The color is actually very complimentary it works really well. Ive not actually handled one of these style sheaths before that I can recall, its hard and at first it gave me reservations on the possible wear to the knife but I can say Ive grown to like this style, and there is no clear markings on the knife from this style of hard sheath. I might have to give it a try!

So, onto the knife. At 8.5” long and a balance of 4.5” of that being handle if feels nicely balanced in the hand. The contouring is very subtle, a slight flare outwards towards the front and one at the rear makes you instinctively know where the knife is in your hand. You can drop back or choke up just by feel alone. Ive sat in the evenings holding this knife because it feels so nice. There is a very unique charm to the way your hand binds to the knife. Its very natural, its very pleasing and even after an hour or so the partnership between hand and handle marry so beautifully.

At 3mm thick its a little thinner than I would ever consider but that being said, the overall balance is around a third of the way down the handle. Between the front tube and central corby. A thicker blade would move that balance point forwards and to be honest I would define that as normal, but here it works. Its very odd, theres little things that are not the commonplace but all brought together as a package all of those little oddities combine to work so well. Even manipulating the minor shaping of the scales in the hand for regular grips, reverse grips and blade up or down all feel natural and pleasing. The grip is very positive and natural. You don’t ever get the feeling of over gripping to prevent a slip or from dropping.

The long sweeping front to the knife offers a good tip and lots of belly so well suited to time in the woods or food prep, in the wilds or your own kitchen. I also feel it would be equally suited to trap making or fishing. I would personally prefer a full flat grind on a knife for me but this one is still very nicely ground and the fit and finish is as far as I can tell is faultless.

The only frustrating part of this is Ive come to like it. It really is so nice to hold and evenings just holding and moving it around in my hand to try and understand the shape better were not time wasted. I know some people play with folding knives to get the blade to flick out or open and close to hear the lock as it engages. Ive done that too, its a great feeling. But this comes down to handle shape that fits into your hand so naturally and to such a high standard of finish its a pleasure just holding it. Dropping back or choking up, moving slightly onto the blade with the thumb for small ‘nick’ cuts it just feels so a part of you its hard to put into words. The combination of shape, contours and hand all combine into one very pleasant result. The only sad part here is Bardster wants it back and Ive grown to like the feel of it. I cant blame him, he has very kindly loaned me his personal knife and the signs of use are obvious but complimentary to the knife. It was made to be used and his first comment to me was “Ive not cleaned it you can see its been used” but the patina on the blade is only from doing what any knife should do and thats cut.
Of the two versions I have seen so far and I am being respectful to the maker of the other model, this captures what you would want in a knife for use and prolonged use at that. Its so simple, so clean and uncomplicated. If you want a knife for use, albeit hunting, camping or any of the other names these things are branded with to sell underwear with some ones name on then Skookum is the door to knock on to get that. There are different steels and scandi or full flat are all options. This Im surprised to say is just so right, straight out of the box, and the best knife of those tested so far.

[bardster]

Glad you like it Axle, but yeah, sorry you cant keep it

[MeetTheGeeks]

Its been a pleasure mate, very nice in the hand, better than a claycombe I would say

[fluffy]

Have you tried the teeny tiny Colin knife yet?

[MeetTheGeeks]

Ive got to write that up and then do some sewing on it.. but its a gem of a blade on that one!

[fluffy]

Ive got to write that up and then do some sewing on it.. but its a gem of a blade on that one!

I wasn't going to send you the pretty version

[MeetTheGeeks]

No but you do keep showing the pic! lol