Indians For Guns

Came in on Saturday. Using the black scales and will do a review after some use.

Hi Vasu;

I'm no outdoorsman like you. Out of curiosity, how practical is a tiny little blade out there in the wilderness.

Regards
Moin.

Hey Moin,

Not to get Freudian but mostly U don't need anything over 4 inches for over 80% of utility. The remaining 20% is chopping down trees, batonning larger blocks of wood or clearing brush. My cheap Aruval handles those things with ease. As will a light axe from a hardware store or even a cheap Saw. Its a lot easier to make fuzz sticks for a fire, process smaller pieces of wood, cut up food, make shelter if necessary apart from any other cutting tasks you wouldn't want to take out your machete or chopper for, with a smaller blade.

We all like the idea of the "One Knife to Do It All". But it rarely works out. Ideally, I would use the Ranger for most of these tasks. Among all my knives, if U said I could take just 1 to a survival situation, I'd pick the Ranger any day because it can handle some of the remaining 20% of tasks including defense, if necessary. Dream blades include any of the new Becker Tweeners/Shorts or a BK-2, BRKT Bravo, Fallkniven F-1 etc but lets not forget the cost/benefit ratio. I have done most of it with the Kershaw Scamp. The 80% anyway. Like I said in my post on that knife, it takes down small trees of up to 6 inch diameter easily. It is rare that you would have to chop down a larger tree than that in most Indian outdoor type situations. That tree will give you 8 hours of fire easily. Hey, in most places you can find habitation not too far away and buy firewood ( though some might say that is cheating ).

But a fixed blade is preferred. The Becker is arguably the toughest production fixed blade in this size and price range. I DO prefer the Ranger but I'd carry the Becker anyway. A smaller blade is almost always lighter and easier to carry than a big blade. The big shiny Ranger always draws the sort of attention I can do without. The Scamp doesn't and I don't expect the Becker to either. Then there is the weight issue. A pack that seems light enough at 0600 will weigh a ton at 1000 walking on slight uphill gradient. Every gram counts. The advantage of the Becker over the Kershaw (apart from being a fixed blade) is that its full flat ground. Always better for outdoor use that a hollow ground IMHO.

In conclusion, the ideal bushcraft blade is under 5 inches, reasonably thick, has a full tang and is made out of easily maintained steel (in most of India, stainless is preferred because it's humid) with an easy grind to sharpen in the field (Scandi or full flat). Everything else can be achieved without a knife. All of the big stuff can be done with an axe or saw.

Mark on this forum seems to be an active outdoorsman and hunter. Try a second opinion from him.

Moin. wrote:Hi Vasu;

I'm no outdoorsman like you. Out of curiosity, how practical is a tiny little blade out there in the wilderness.

Regards
Moin.

Right tool for the job - practically most outdoor jobs do not require a larger blade. Those that do require something else than a knife. Given your fascination with larger blades, difficult to justify

The bk14 eskabar is a combo design out of becker necker bk11 popular small blade and RAT izula.

There you go Moin.
This is not an endorsement of smaller blades by choombak. Its a statement of fact.
Most people are fascinated with larger blades. A lot of people own the USMC Ka Bar original design. That's a big knife; borderline short-sword. I will venture the Eskabar has better Utility per gram than the USMC knife.

Moin, even though I am a big-blade & multi tool fan, I would still agree with Raghavachari and Choombak. I am carrying the little Browning (obtained from Bruno here) on my belt right now, sitting in office. Even in travel or short treks, I use this baby more than the 8" Nieto, or the Vic. I carry all 3, just in case I meet a grizzly bear while hiking the hills of Maharashtra !!!! The Nieto, in fact, has never been used (thank God for that!), except for a bit of wood cutting for Holi. Even on treks, it stays in the backpack, because as Raghavachari said, it draws attention! I would, however, like to go for a small fixed blade......collection of Vitamin M tablets in progress!!!

BTW, Raghavachari, where do you get axes in hardware stores? Couldn't get one in Mumbai, so I got a Chinese made thing from ebay. Sharpened it. Hit a piece of plywood - not very hard. Result - tiny gash in plywood, sharp edge converted to 2 mm blunt edge on axe . Hence looking for a decent (not very high priced) replacement.

Cheers!
EssDee

essdee1972 wrote:Moin, even though I am a big-blade & multi tool fan, I would still agree with Raghavachari and Choombak. I am carrying the little Browning (obtained from Bruno here) on my belt right now, sitting in office. Even in travel or short treks, I use this baby more than the 8" Nieto, or the Vic. I carry all 3, just in case I meet a grizzly bear while hiking the hills of Maharashtra !!!! The Nieto, in fact, has never been used (thank God for that!), except for a bit of wood cutting for Holi. Even on treks, it stays in the backpack, because as Raghavachari said, it draws attention! I would, however, like to go for a small fixed blade......collection of Vitamin M tablets in progress!!!

BTW, Raghavachari, where do you get axes in hardware stores? Couldn't get one in Mumbai, so I got a Chinese made thing from ebay. Sharpened it. Hit a piece of plywood - not very hard. Result - tiny gash in plywood, sharp edge converted to 2 mm blunt edge on axe . Hence looking for a decent (not very high priced) replacement.

Cheers!
EssDee

Stanley Axes are available in Bohri Ali (Budhwar Peth) in Pune. Stanley makes good hardware tools, but I have no idea about the quality of their axe. Cost was somewhere in the range of 2-3K, don't recall exactly now.

Hey esdee
I found a hardware store in one of the streets opposite Crawford Market. I don't recall the name but it was one of the most well stocked hardware stores I have ever seen in this country. They had a selection of axes on display, most of which were under Rs.1000/-.

I am sorry I can't be more specific. It was a while ago. But 30 minutes of wandering should do to find it.

essdee1972 wrote:Moin, even though I am a big-blade & multi tool fan, I would still agree with Raghavachari and Choombak. I am carrying the little Browning (obtained from Bruno here) on my belt right now, sitting in office. Even in travel or short treks, I use this baby more than the 8" Nieto, or the Vic. I carry all 3, just in case I meet a grizzly bear while hiking the hills of Maharashtra !!!! The Nieto, in fact, has never been used (thank God for that!), except for a bit of wood cutting for Holi. Even on treks, it stays in the backpack, because as Raghavachari said, it draws attention! I would, however, like to go for a small fixed blade......collection of Vitamin M tablets in progress!!!

BTW, Raghavachari, where do you get axes in hardware stores? Couldn't get one in Mumbai, so I got a Chinese made thing from ebay. Sharpened it. Hit a piece of plywood - not very hard. Result - tiny gash in plywood, sharp edge converted to 2 mm blunt edge on axe . Hence looking for a decent (not very high priced) replacement.

Cheers!
EssDee

essdee1972 wrote:Moin, even though I am a big-blade & multi tool fan, I would still agree with Raghavachari and Choombak. I am carrying the little Browning (obtained from Bruno here) on my belt right now, sitting in office. Even in travel or short treks, I use this baby more than the 8" Nieto, or the Vic. I carry all 3, just in case I meet a grizzly bear while hiking the hills of Maharashtra !!!! The Nieto, in fact, has never been used (thank God for that!), except for a bit of wood cutting for Holi. Even on treks, it stays in the backpack, because as Raghavachari said, it draws attention! I would, however, like to go for a small fixed blade......collection of Vitamin M tablets in progress!!!

BTW, Raghavachari, where do you get axes in hardware stores? Couldn't get one in Mumbai, so I got a Chinese made thing from ebay. Sharpened it. Hit a piece of plywood - not very hard. Result - tiny gash in plywood, sharp edge converted to 2 mm blunt edge on axe . Hence looking for a decent (not very high priced) replacement.

Cheers!
EssDee

Esdee, saw several axes at Lohar Chawl, even Stanley... I myslef EDC the Victorinox Bundershwehr, the larger blades are for fondle purposes only...

Regards
Moin.

I think the street I went into and found it was Lohar Chawl. Might be the same shop.

Thanks, guys! Got a trip to Crawford lined up, will check out.

Moin, I don't EDC the Vic because (1) I haven't experienced the need of so many tools (being a laptop warrior); (2) I used to EDC one earlier in my lappie bag + forgot to take it out before a flight = lost about 3K worth of knife to the security!! and (3) pockets anyway filled up with cigarettes, lighter, etc. Oh, and (4) prefer a lockable blade for the cutting, etc. The Vic and the other multis come in use at home, when I need to use a screwdriver and feel too lazy to lug out the heavy tool dabba!

Cheers!
EssDee

Basic trekking, camping is happily addressed by 5 inch blades or less. The BK 14 is just right. I wish I had it...but I just got myself the 'Churi' from Khukuri House in Nepal. Similar ethos. It has a 5 inch blade with a convex grind and mirror polished. Rich Rosewood handles. The spine is a quarter of an inch thick, full tang and it has a slight recurve on the belly. It is a drop point. I have many blades but this one is special. It is meant for hard use and yet is one of the most aesthetically pleasing blades I have. I just wish it had a better sheath...so I am going to make a new one. The BK 14 is in a much higher space. Most camp tasks can be done with the 5 inch blade and the BK 14 is very well suited for it.

Stripping the BK14 part 1

Stripped the black coating off my BK14. It was slowly stripping off with use anyway. Its been my kitchen knife
I sanded the coat down with 120 grit first. Read that it would be better to keep the coating under the scales but I did not know the effect the stripper would have on the zytel. So I wrapped the scales in foil and reattached them.
Then I left it in the stripping compound for 15 Mins and then realised the 120 grit wet/dry sandpaper would mark the metal. So I shifted to a steel kitchen scrubber. The kitchen scrubber took of the coat without touching the metal and I think it has left the primer on it. There is this smooth grey finish on the blade and I think it looks awesome. I am undecided on whether to sand off the primer. Advice please?

As you can see I left the coat to match the zytel scales. The lines are not too smooth but that part goes under the scale anyway. And I totally see the value of leaving the coat on under the scales, living in a wildly humid environment. Hence the reluctance to sand anymore, also.

Feels good