Spyderco ARK H1

The Spyderco ARK H1 is a small fixed blade neck knife from Spyderco. The knife is designed by the American soldiers John Shirley and Sam Owens. They saw a demand for a light weight and easy accessible defense blade to always have around ones neck, even when in the shower. ARK is short for; Always Ready Knife, and the knife uses a 65 mm long clip point blade made of the very stainless H-1 steel. The total weight of this tool is only 57 g.

In this moment Jonas Vildmark is field testing this knife, so please come back again soon to see more info and our thoughts about the knife.

Welcome to Jonas Vildmark Bushcraftcenter, we offer classes in Bushcraft and Survival,


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Morakniv Classic 2/0

The mora knife is a beautiful cultural legacy that us Swedes should be very proud of. The Classic series is one of my favorites with it's roots from the 1800's. The clean design and high capability of the knives is hard to beat when it comes to everyday use both in the woods and inside the city. If you'd like to read more about the Morakniv history I'd like to recommend you to take a look at one of my earlier magazine articles by clicking HERE.

The Little Guy
The 2/0 is the smallest of the Classic knives (this article was written 2016). Basically it's a miniature of the regular Classic 1. The Classic 2/0's 75 mm long carbon blade is delivered with a black plastic sheath perfect for neck carrying, just add a piece of para cord and hang the knife around your neck. Usually though I carry my Classic 2/0 in the leather sheath that comes with the Morakniv Original 1. The 2/0 is a small knife but you can do big stuff with it. Sometimes I miss the bigger sized handle of the older 2/0 knives delivered from KJ Eriksson up until 2005. These older handles were more compatible to the slöjdknivar offered by Morakniv today. Below you also can see some pics of one of these older more chubby knives I've restored and made a leather sheath to. It's a KJ No.1241 Electricians Knife with a more clip point shaped blade.

A modern 2/0 with the plastic sheath it comes with.

A modern 2/0 in the leather sheath that comes with the model Original 1.

Older No.1241(top) and modern 2/0 (bottom).

A older No.1241 I've restored and made my own leather sheath to.

Small Knife, Big Tasks
I like proving to myself that a small knife absolutely also can do a big knives job. I'm of the believe that the most important feature of a knife is the hand holding it. And with that philosophy the Classic 2/0 is the perfect example. The humble specs of this knife doesn't seem much but the tasks you can execute with it is impressive. Combine this knife with a good axe and you got a perfect bushcraft set. Therefore the Morakniv Classic 2/0 has become one of my most used mora knives.

Specs
Manufacturer: Morakniv AB, production in Mora Dalarna Sweden
Model: Classic 2/0
Blade material: Carbon steel C100, 58-60 HRC
Blade thickness: 2,5 mm
Blade length: 75 mm
Blade width: 15,7 mm
Edge profile: Scandi Grind with a 23° angle
Knife length: 168 mm
Handle material: Birch colored red
Handle thickness: 19,4 mm
Sheath: Black plastic. I use the leather sheath that comes with the Classic Original 1
Knife weight: 43 g
Total weight (knife and sheath): 52 g (plastic), 67 g (leather)
Price: 150 SEK (Sweden 2016)

Welcome to visit Jonas Vildmark Bushcraftcenter's bushcraft boutique by clicking HERE.

Other post I've published about Morakniv's products you can find by clicking HERE.

Welcome to Jonas Vildmark Bushcraftcenter, we offer classes in  Bushcraft - Survival - Jägarexamen and Motorsågskörkort.


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Karesuandokniven Hunter Damask 8

The Karesuandokniven Hunter Damask 8 (3570) is delivered in a beautiful gift box that I eagerly open on this peaceful day out at the cabin. This is my first knife with a hand made Damascus steel blade and therefore I respectfully sit down by the fire to get acquaintance with this beauty.

Damasteel
Karesuandokniven is very service mind and are offering most of their knife models in five different blade materials; stainless, carbon, graphite, Damasc Rose and Damasc Twist. So far I only have used Karesuandokniven's stainless steel knives and now after some time spent with their Damascus steel I truly understand the knife's different price tags. The Hunter Damask has a razor sharp edge and has an amazingly beautiful Damascus pattern to the blade. My knife bears the Twist pattern which is created by the steel being turned over for up to 160 times by the blacksmith (160 layers). The steel is a powder Damascus steel patented by the little forge Damasteel located in Söderfors Sweden. They have a history of blacksmiths going back to 1676. Their Damascus steel is based on the well known RWL34 but the great thing with Damasteel's process is that it produces stainless blades trough it's hardening method handling the steel in temperatures over +1922°F (+1050°C). Most other Damascus steels are made of carbon steels less stainless. This means that the blades from Damasteel and Karesuandokniven can handle more abuse than other when it comes to corrosion. So my advice to you is to use these knives with full joy and sharpen them when needed. Howerver sharpening makes the Damascus pattern fade. The cure for this is to put the blade in acid for about 40-50 minutes and then the pattern starts to show again. But remenber to always use protection when handeling acid and rinse the blade carefully in water after the treatment.

Design
Before I got the knife in my hand I thought that I would want a longer blade. But the Hunter Damask 8 has a perfect design. I like the rather long and bulky handle made of curly birch, reindeer antler and brass. The 23,8 mm wide and chubby drop point blade is easy maneuvered in a safe and comfortable way. The brass finger guard is protruding on the edge side in a efficient way but just as much as it's OK to let your hand slide down over the blade when you wish so. The brown leather sheath is nicely crafted and fits perfect on my belt. However; I'm thinking of making a custom sheath of a more traditional Scandinavian style with a longer leather loop so the knife hangs lover, not being in the way when carrying a backpack with a conveyor belt.

Specs
Blade Material: Martensitic stainless powder steel, 120-160 layers, HRC 58-59
Blade Length: 84 mm
Blade Thickness: 3,2 mm
Knife Length: 195 mm
Handle Material: Curly birch, reindeer antler and brass
Handle Thickness: 20 mm
Knife Weight: 90 g
Sheath Material: Leather
Total Weight: 154 g (knife and sheath)
Total Length: 220 mm (knife in sheath)
Price: 3100 SEK (Sweden 2013)

I Got a Crush on This Knife
Now I have had the time to try out this knife and I like it alot. The Hunter Damask 8 works really nicely in all kinds of material, not only when butchering game. And the blade is still holding an excellent edge. I also used the back of the blade on my fire steels and it works fine, however the Damascus steel seem to take a beat from the sparks. Karesuandokniven's Hunter Damask 8 got to be a very nice first acquaintance of Damascus steel and I want more! Looking forward to my next Karesuando Damasteel knife.

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Karesuandokniven Giron 3537

I'm always walking around a bit in love with a knife and right now it's the Giron (art no. 3537) from Karesuandokniven that makes my heart go faster. This small knife and it's 75 mm short blade has made me appreciate short blade knives again. Appropriately enough I got this knife just before I left for my hiking and fishing adventure in the beautiful Tjuonajokk. Giron is the old name of the town Kiruna in Lapland and Giron is the Northern Sami language's word for Rock Ptarmigan. Felt right wearing the Giron in my belt when operating in this inspiring area of Sweden.

Design
The Giron is one of Karesuandokniven's newest model and it's a tribute to the traditional Scandinavian knife with it's non-existing handle guard and it's straight blade neck. The handle made of brass, rein deer antler and oiled curly birch is shaped as the head of the Rock Ptarmigan. The sheath made of cowhide, rein deer skin and plastic inlays is decorated with a leather wing to enhance the Ptarmigan theme. Karesuandokniven has since some years back offered their model Willow Grouse (art no. 3524) referring to the Willow Ptarmigan that is a bit bigger than it's rock cousin.
The Giron is a small and compact knife that fits nicely in my hand. Of course the lack of a guard demands some blade experience but I like to have some blade contact when working with the knife. The 2 mm thick and 20 mm wide blade is easy handeled, comes with a good edge and is easy to maintain.

I like carrying a sheath with the traditional Scandinavian leather loop strap, especially when hiking using a backpack conveyor belt at my hip. After some usage the Giron's leather sheath gets a bit darker in color and gets a beautiful patina. If I could change something on the Giron I'd like the sheath to be about one inch shorter. A small knife like the Giron could in my opinion settle with a smaller sheath than the original length of 188 mm (224 mm in total, knife in sheath).

Knife Love
As I mentioned I'm in love with this knife. It's now a true companion as one of my favoite EDC models outside the Urban Jungle. However I'm a bit curios on how the Giron would feel like equipped with one of Karesuandokniven's nice Damasteel blades. I guess that version of the Giron would make me fall in love all over again.

Specs
Blade material: Sandvik stainless steel 12C27 HRC57
Blade length: 75 mm
Knife length: 174 mm
Knife weight: 70 g
Total weight: 122 g (knife in sheath)
Price: 900 SEK (Sweden 2013)

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Benchmade 176 SOCP Dagger

Specs
Blade material: 440C stainless steel
Blade length: 85 mm (82 mm according to manufacturer)
Overall length: 184 mm
Knife weight: 61 g (62 g according to manufacturer)
Total weight: 89 g (with sheath)
Price: 1 500 SEK (Sweden 2013)

Greg Thompson at Special Operations Combatives Program (SOCP) has designed this tactical knife together with the manufacturer Benchmade. The 176 SOCP Dagger is a slimmed skeletonized tool for tactical self defense. The concept of the SOCP Dagger is to have a quick drawn self defense blade that can help gain time to make the transition to a larger weapon like a hand gun. The dagger's finger loop (inner diameter 28 mm) enables your trigger finger to operate while still holding the dagger. The design makes the SOCP Dagger easy to carry within good reach in a discrete way minimizing the risk of someone else grabbing it.
In the Combo package a red trainer dagger (64 g) is included together with the sharp dagger, a injection molded sheath with a clip and a lanyard cord. The 70 mm long, 44 mm wide and 18 mm thick plastic sheath is offered in two colors; black or sand. The black coated knife is made of 440C stainless steel. The 85 mm long, 19 mm wide and 4,5 mm (5 mm according to manufacturer) thick blade is delivered with two sharp edges for effective penetrating abilities. The Swedish Benchmade distributor is EQUIPT, I can recommend a visit to their website. Also take a look at Greg Thompson demonstrating the 176 SOCP Dagger by clicking HERE.
It's very professional of Benchmade to offer a trainer version of the knife as it's very important to be drilled in the gear of choice in this serious category. It would have been nice if the Combo package also came with an extra sheath. That way you don't have to mess with your duty rig while in the gym. I think this is a really nice and efficient high quality tool for self defense in the line of duty. Stay safe out there.

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Karesuandokniven Moose Special

The Moose Special is a beautiful and well balanced knife. The design is a tasteful combination of modern knife shaping and traditional Swedish knife culture. The weight and size makes this a neat everyday knife suitable for us who like shorter blades. I've been using this knife since 1993 hiking and hunting. Back in the days when I got it I liked it so much I wanted to make it even more special, so I got a Gold Smith to make and engrave at brass plate with my initials to mount on the handle butt.

Specs
Knife length: 186 mm
Knife weight: 80 g
Blade: Drop point
Blade material: Sandvik 12C27 Stainless steel 57HRC

Tang: Long
Blade length: 83 mm
Blade width: 21 mm
Blade thickness: 3 mm
Edge: Straight plain
Handle: Slightly finger grooved
Handle material: Curly birch, reindeer antler and brass
Handle length: 103 mm
Sheath: Engraved leather sheath with loop attachment
Sheath material: Cow hide and plastic insert
Sheath length: 170 mm
Sheath weight: 43 g
Total length (knife in sheath): 210 mm
Total weight (knife and sheath): 123 g
Price: 300 SEK (Sweden 1993)

To see my other articles on Karesuandokniven's products; click HERE.


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