Edged Tools, Selection, Care, etc.

[SEREvince]

I didn't find a thread on this when I searched and I have read several threads that touched on the topic so I figured it would be a good idea to start a dedicated thread.

Here is what I carry and why, plus a little extra.

Sharpening:

DMT Double sided Diamond whetstone Fine/Coarse. I love this thing for it's small size, light weight and decent sized handle so I don't accidently remove a digit! I've owned mine for close to a decade without trouble until a Army Colonel saw me using it and asked to borrow it and promptly snapped one of the handles off trying to unfold it (didn't even offer to replace it!). I glued it and still use it although I suppose I should just break down and replace it, or at least relagate it to the house.

DMT Diafold

Craftsman Filefor the axe. It's basically a mill bastard file. I own a couple different styles I keep the one shown with the axe for touch ups and I have a nicer one with a molded plastic handle for when I put a really deep nick in the edge. I also have a couple of bench diamond whetstones that I'll use when I really take the time on the axe.

Knives:

I prefer a non serrated edge most of the time for all around use for two reasons. I think it produces a straighter more regular cut and they are much easier to sharpen. I do own a few combo edge and serrated knives mainly for use in the water when I am more concerned with speed than a nice straight cut. Goes without saying a folder must have a secure locking mechanism before I would ever consider carrying it. I also prefer a knife with a steel that is not so hard I can't touch it up quickly with my diamond stone. I don't worry about rust too much since I care for all of my edged tools religously.

I carry a Doug Ritter RSK MK1 for all around daily use. I love this knife! I have prepped an entire deer for the butcher using this knife without sharpening it! I intentionally abused it the first time, cutting from the hair side (terrible for your knife) and it still sliced halfway up through the cartiledge on the ribcage before I even knew it (that usually requires a bit of force)!

Spyderco Ladybug on my keychain.

For bigger jobs, mainly for "batoning" or splitting kindling into smaller stages. I carry a TOPS Knives "Cochise". . It is beefy monster that I have no doubt will stand up to anything I could hope to throw at, although the bevel of the blade is a little thick for fine work.

I also have on order from TOPS Knives their "Sparrow Hawke" model for smaller backpack friendly fixed blade knife.

Axes/ Hand Saws:

I carry the 21"Sven-Saw in the truck all the time. It folds down to a very compact package and cuts like a champ!

When camping I also carry a "Hudson Bay" style axe (2-2.5lbs I think), which is about perfect in size IMO. It's a great compromise between a hatchet and a full size ax. Will fell a decent sized tree when required. I can't remember where I picked mine up, But I have been thinking of picking up one of the Gransfor-Bruks Small Forest Axes.

FREEBIE! Gransfor-Bruks offer a free book on axe care and use. FREE AXE BOOK

I'll try and post up some pics this weekend.

What is everyone else using and how do you maintain it?

Cheers


Vince

 

[soimu`]

Hi
Many years a travel with many knives and I tray to find the best
Finally, I find the best for me…

A traditional kukri (gukca knives). For me is the best.

Axel… Fiscars is my travel axe.
I use a Husvarna to resolve big problem.
When I go outdoor for the very short time, a have my “kapnobtay” knife make by my self.
I have with me all the time a victorinox folding knife…

 

[Spikepretorius]

Thanks for that link. I applied for a copy of the book and hope that it finds it's way down to this end of the world.

Blade sharpening is a big issue for me. It's bugged me my whole life. I really battle to get something sharpened properly. I've been successful with a couple of knives but the bulk of my knives, wood chisels, and axes are just not done right. I've got no idea at all how to sharpen an axe, what angles etc.

 

[Scott Brady]

I use the same Fiskars travel axe. Quite effective actually.

I really need to do some more knife research.

These are the only edged tools that I own worth mentioning:

CRKT KISS 5510

CRKT Zilla Tool

My Riffe spearfishing knife

I actually gave away a half-dozen various cheap blades in this last garage purge.

 

[HenryJ]

I just picked up one of these:
Gerber Hinderer Rescue Knife

I like the idea that it was designed for use with heavy gloves. The clip designed for going over heavy material should work nice on my bug out bag. A blade that may be used as a pry bar fits my profile.

This is the first blade I have purchased in a very long time. My swiss army "Tinker" was probably the last one I bought. I have a nice Gerber folding knife given to me on my birthday 1977. I haven't carried it in a very long time.
This one just looked like a decent tool, so I took the plunge. If nothing else it may find a place in my duty uniform.

x3 on the axe, mine is a Fiskars camp axe too.

 

[762X39]

The best knife I own is a Buck folding knife I purchased as an interim measure in the 80's. I have an early Phrobis/Buck M9 bayonet, Cdn issue bayonet (I think you call them M7's)A nice skinning blade by Grohmann (Cdn), a cheap automatic stilletto I purchased in 73 when I was in Budapest with my family (and carried home on the plane w/o incident and carried all through highschool without my teachers freaking out), a soldiers model Swiss Army Knife (literally an army model), An old (12 years) Spyderco with clip that used to hang on my battle order webbing and finally my current carry knife which is a Buck/Strider military folder.
My sharpening kit is a full house Gatco setup without which all my knives would be useless.I carry a small axe in my truck and have a mill/bastard file to keep it working. For larger jobs I use a petrol powered "axe" by Stihl.Getting back to the interim measure Buck folder, it guts and skins every animal I have ever killed. Turns out, the blade material holds an edge like crazy and can be resharpened easily. A good purchase at the time for $35 (over $100 in todays money).

 

[Beowulf]

Here is a nice source for blade knowledge.

http://www.bladeforums.com/

 

[rusty_tlc]

A mill file to clean up the edge on an axe or shovel.

A sheet of 400 grit wet/dry to keep the edge on knives.

I usually do the body of the sharpening work at home.

 

[Bergger]

This is what I carry everyday on the job but usually go a bit smaller when I'm not working. Benchmade, CRKT and SOG knives are personal favorites of mine.

The CRKT F4-12 is a very nice little neck knife I often wear. You can pick them up for around $15 and they can be worn around the neck or clipped onto the boot or waistband.

 

[Desertdude]

I've got the Gransfor-Bruks Large Swedish carving axe and keep it with me where ever I go.

That company makes great axes and they arrive super sharp...

That axe is so sharp it would find flesh in mid air and cut you before you even new it.

Gränsfors on youtube

http://www.gransfors.us/

(their South Carolina place burnt so axes maybe in short supply)

 

[soimu`]

returns after a time period that a good show and I have reached some conclusions
a outdoor knife must have three large properties
1. be solid, you can count on him in difficult situations
2. be very sharp, well cut, and is primarily intended for cutting, not cracked stonesor chipped trees , he must cut a slice of bread, cut hair, to cut through flesh, because for this exceptional a knife is good, otherwise there are other tools, like axes, chisels, etc.
3. to be with you ... all the time, so do not have one for special situations ... because he'll be home in the drawer when you need it, while you enjoy the knife with which to work all the time and the more you use, that you will probably be a problem if you're more 'delicate'
I see such ideal outdoor knives, they are some made by me, and I chose for them D2 steel 5-6 mm thick, handles fulltang but thin edge
What do you think?
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3pF-cgISzdM4ThrqUF63wQ?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XPMYFSPvnW_a-t5EEtmz1Q?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7qUSiPARWll4_oZyvvsw7A?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8BkyNhMRsVU_1uEuUrw0Yg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qj4AcH7qaopR7qSJT77ZVg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/l79wTjgVJcZb_K0NaqA29Q?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Pbt3TThzrhs5DdE61Rky-g?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UtnxPpvAobMLBKwtxJA0Cw?feat=directlink

 

[F5driver]

2x on the MK1 from Doug Ritter. I have the MK1 and MK3 fixed blade. They both did great work on deer and elk this year. Gotta love an affordable knife that will work an entire elk and still maintain a nice edge.

I didn't find a thread on this when I searched and I have read several threads that touched on the topic so I figured it would be a good idea to start a dedicated thread.

Here is what I carry and why, plus a little extra.

Sharpening:

DMT Double sided Diamond whetstone Fine/Coarse. I love this thing for it's small size, light weight and decent sized handle so I don't accidently remove a digit! I've owned mine for close to a decade without trouble until a Army Colonel saw me using it and asked to borrow it and promptly snapped one of the handles off trying to unfold it (didn't even offer to replace it!). I glued it and still use it although I suppose I should just break down and replace it, or at least relagate it to the house.

DMT Diafold

Craftsman Filefor the axe. It's basically a mill bastard file. I own a couple different styles I keep the one shown with the axe for touch ups and I have a nicer one with a molded plastic handle for when I put a really deep nick in the edge. I also have a couple of bench diamond whetstones that I'll use when I really take the time on the axe.

Knives:

I prefer a non serrated edge most of the time for all around use for two reasons. I think it produces a straighter more regular cut and they are much easier to sharpen. I do own a few combo edge and serrated knives mainly for use in the water when I am more concerned with speed than a nice straight cut. Goes without saying a folder must have a secure locking mechanism before I would ever consider carrying it. I also prefer a knife with a steel that is not so hard I can't touch it up quickly with my diamond stone. I don't worry about rust too much since I care for all of my edged tools religously.

I carry a Doug Ritter RSK MK1 for all around daily use. I love this knife! I have prepped an entire deer for the butcher using this knife without sharpening it! I intentionally abused it the first time, cutting from the hair side (terrible for your knife) and it still sliced halfway up through the cartiledge on the ribcage before I even knew it (that usually requires a bit of force)!

Spyderco Ladybug on my keychain.

For bigger jobs, mainly for "batoning" or splitting kindling into smaller stages. I carry a TOPS Knives "Cochise". . It is beefy monster that I have no doubt will stand up to anything I could hope to throw at, although the bevel of the blade is a little thick for fine work.

I also have on order from TOPS Knives their "Sparrow Hawke" model for smaller backpack friendly fixed blade knife.

Axes/ Hand Saws:

I carry the 21"Sven-Saw in the truck all the time. It folds down to a very compact package and cuts like a champ!

When camping I also carry a "Hudson Bay" style axe (2-2.5lbs I think), which is about perfect in size IMO. It's a great compromise between a hatchet and a full size ax. Will fell a decent sized tree when required. I can't remember where I picked mine up, But I have been thinking of picking up one of the Gransfor-Bruks Small Forest Axes.

FREEBIE! Gransfor-Bruks offer a free book on axe care and use. FREE AXE BOOK

I'll try and post up some pics this weekend.

What is everyone else using and how do you maintain it?

Cheers


Vince

 

[CSG]

I keep a Fallkniven F1 in my two ready bags (daypacks for hiking, emergencies, etc.). I've never seen a better knife for the money. On my person, I carry a Benchmade Mini-Grip. I also have a fullsize Griptilian in another smaller kit in one of my vehicles. Doug Ritter's signature knives are essentially Benchmade Grips. While I've got a couple small Wetterlings hatchets in my rigs, I find that for the little campcraft I need to do (prepare firewood on occasion), the Gerber retractable pruning saws make much quicker work of things.

I've got many knives and started, like many people, of my age with Buck knives. They are still great and I've got two 501's (which used to be daily carry until I discovered Benchmade), a Folding Hunter (which used to be my duty knife 30+ years ago) and the classic fixed blade 119.

 

[colter]

I carry a 9" blade damascus (L6 and 1095) bowie I forged (For a woods knife), and a smaller 4" version on my belt, also a leatherman TTI. And GB axe in the truck. sharpening duties with a nice set of oil stones from the fleamarket (use 50/50 mix kerosene and neatsfoot oil). however if you prefer SS knives I like the edge-pro system for sharpening.

 

[AchillesBogart]

Knives are fine, but properly sharpened shovel is a fearsome thing. I have a 60+ year old Bantam smokejumper shovel. It breaks into two pieces so I can pack it for work and it doesn't have any tabs to catch on roots while digging shovel probes. It is so sharp that I have cut down some trees with it and it glides into the dirt like a hot knife in butter. It truly is a pleasure to move dirt with this thing. My life long quest is to find more like it, because if this thing breaks or is stolen a large piece of me will die.

Its possible to love a shovel too much and I think I'm on the verge. :archaeolo