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Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
5 May 2013, 17:22, (This post was last modified: 5 May 2013, 17:25 by bigpaul.)
#21
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
(24 April 2013, 10:55)Tonka Wrote: I found this RAF survival knife is an excellent all rounder for £30... and it's sure not going to break on you! Of course some places want to charge you twice that.
[Image: MOD+knife.jpg]

i've found what looks like the exact same knife but with a camo sheath-not leather for £29.99 on: http://www.knifewarehouse.co.uk its listed under "hunting Knives" as "British Army combat knife and sheath".

page four, skip past all the Rambo knives!
Some people that prefer to be alone arent anti-social they just have no time for drama, stupidity and false people.
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6 May 2013, 22:28,
#22
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
the native Indians of America coveted the new metal axes of the foreign paleface settlers. The Tomahawk is actually a mass produced & traded European camp axe, of a design originating in the medieval period. It had a long projecting blade for efficient chopping and a pronounced hammer at the back for woodworking. Smaller versions were favoured by the Indians for combat. The same design is shown in medieval line drawings and paintings.
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Tomahawks look a lot like the European Fransisca throwing Axes.
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In so far as a tomahawk is axe shaped - Yes.. A Francisca has a more downward curving blade on the back as well as the underside and is the reason why Franks live in France and why France is called France.
See this web link about the Tomahawk -

http://www.woodsmithexperience.co.uk.sta...e-tomahawk

Also a link for a v.nice Billhook -

http://www.woodsmithexperience.co.uk/sho...d-billhook
"How far back in time do you think our future will be?"
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12 May 2013, 06:39,
#23
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
Knives,one of my favourite subjectsBig Grin.I've used cheap ones up to expensive production,my advice would be to go to Cromwell tools and buy a bar of o1 and make your own.It's a good skill to learn and o1 is an easy steel for the back yard knife builder.It holds and keeps a fine edge,is easy to sharpen and is plenty tough.

An Alan Wood woodlore knife is nothing more than a £20 lump of steel and wood with £300 worth of Ray Mears hype attached to it.
A scandi grind bushcraft knife is very easy to make,you can harden it with a charcoal barbecue,and you can temper it in a conventional oven.

Tomahawks are an excellent weapon but a poor substitute for a good camp axe,tomahawks in general don't have much wedge to the blade,this makes them a poor choice for splitting wood (though I do have one and use it)

a kukri,hatchet or billhook are much better suited to our northern European climate.Couple one of those with a four to five inch fixed blade and you can handle 90% of chores,from chopping/splitting to skinning/butchering/carving.

Though I am currently using a fallkniven h1 it does the job no better than one I can make for a few quid with a hacksaw and a few files.
When I was younger I was sucked into buying expensive knives,don't waste your cash.A knife is for cutting not prying.Cheap old carbon steel knives cut great and are easier to sharpen than modern stainless steels.
Like Montblanc said our ancestors did very well with the basic English and French pattern butcher knife.
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12 May 2013, 13:08,
#24
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
I agree.

Also - Tool steel is only any good for smallish knives as it is too brittle for large knives. Stainless is also questionable for large knives. By large, I mean with a blade roughly 10 inches of longer. After that, the stresses acting on a blade are much greater and different steels should be used. More akin to the realm of swords for steel grades. Military swords are not made from "tool steel" and the name also gives an indication of the purposes this steel is intended for. Old leaf springs from vehicles which is "spring steel" or new flat bar stock of the same if available is a modern "super steel" that was not available for 95% of our history that "cold steel" was used in. It is readily available and is incredibly tough. For larger blades, then the edge does not really want to be as keen as that for a small knife, as the heavier physical tasks will easily damage the edge if it is too sharp/thin. Pioneers and general purpose military knives that were more of a very large knife/ knife handles short sword, were typically of a single edged design with a lot of meat in the blade and usually had a "chisel" type edge - as this proved more robust for a large utility knife that could also double up a s a personal defence weapon. For combat, the edge did not need to be razor sharp anyway, as the greater mass of a larger knife was adequate to get the job done.
Other similar graded steels are possibly even better but some are super tough and will not hold an edge at all. For sword length blades, including large bayonets, the military used a grade of steel called "EN19" which is an old "Enfield" grade. I can not remember what the international equivalent, but it is easy to look it up.
TL
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12 May 2013, 14:33,
#25
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
The largest knife I've made from o1 is a 10 inch bowie.It had a 5mm thick spine and was as tough as hell,i agree though that larger blades require a different steel and I wouldn't personally make a blade larger than 10 inches from o1.
EN45 which is the uk equivalent of 5160 would be a good choice,as would EN42.
Even though i'm currently using a laminated stainless h1,i much prefer simple carbon steels for knives.

As you said Timelord larger knives are better suited with toughness more in mind than outright edge holding,though my british service kukri can take a wicked edge it has a thick concave bevel grind.Makes for a great chopper but it lacks the finesse of a flat grind for more delicate cutting.

Either way though there's no need to spend a lot to get a good knife,my kukri cost £29 from Tora Blades,for a handmade genuine Nepalese kukri that's cracking value for moneyCool
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13 May 2013, 01:14,
#26
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
Yes, excellent value and an advanced blade form. I have an old sword made out of EN42, which I once fell on with all my weight in full armour and bent it half way along at 90 degrees. It was in the scabbard too at the time. Once it was pointed out to me by a laughing comrade, I managed to extract it from the scabbard, straighten it over my knee and carry on fighting with it for a few years more, before I eventually re-annealed and straightened it properly. In antiquity, there are numerous written accounts of swords bending in battle and being re-straightened in the middle of the fray. It is an interesting physical aspect to be aware of when dealing with the manufacture of larger blades.
I wonder if one of these modern smaller flat prybars could be modified with a sharp edge, partially re-tempered and turned into a useful multi tool. I wonder what the spec of metal is in them. It should be quite tough and a useful sized one can be bought for as little as £5 from tool stores. Interesting......
"How far back in time do you think our future will be?"
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15 May 2013, 13:13,
#27
RE: Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom
I grew up as a Butchers son and eventually went in to the family business and find that for general hunting and skinning a good lock sheathed butchers knife or similar fishing knife is more than enough.

and when bought from a good supplier will last life times (I still use one handed down from my father and which has survived 50 years plus of heavy butchering, boning,cutting and skinning and is still going strong. and the safety sheath clips on to any belt or harness and can be bought for as little as £20.
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