History
Mr. David Cassini Bäckström is a 3rd generation trading entrepreneur in the beautiful Lapland of the northern part of Sweden. David started the company Casström AB together with his wife back in 2007. The company offer outdoor products and from the start they focused on other manufacturer's knives. But after David recognized a growing demand for a pure bushcraft knife he decided to produce one of their own. The first version of the Swedish Forest Knife was launched in the Autumn of 2012. This knife differs from today's version. Initially the Swedish Forest Knife had a shorter handle and a bigger finger guard. After listening to the customer's feedback Casström in 2014 updated the design with a longer and sturdier handle and a more practical sheath. Casström AB are still offering other knife brands together with their own and today the company staff of about 10 persons is based in Sweden and in the UK.
Design
The Swedish Forest Knife is today offered i two different sizes and in a range of different combinations of; steel, edge profile and handle material. You can also get a stripped blade for making your own knife. The leather sheath is offered for both left and right handed carry and with or without a ferro rod holder. Also a additional belt loop called the Dangler is offered for low carrying. My knife has a 97 mm long and 3,7 mm thick blade made of the carbon steel Böhler K720 with a hardness of 58-60 HRC. The full tang spear point shaped blade has a Scandinavian grind with a 24° angle. The spine of the blade has sharp edges if you like to use the knife on your ferro rod. The oak scales and the black plastic liners are hold in place by glue and three brass rivets. The knife is delivered with a well made 3 mm thick cow leather sheath. No insert is used and a drainage hole is to be found at the tip of the sheath. A nice thing about this sheath is that it actually fits several of my other knives.
A Name that Commits
No.10 is a very good representative of the modern definition of a bushcraft knife. The clean and down to earth design is well merged with this tool's toughness and functionality. Although the blade is almost 4 mm thick I think that the balance and edge profile of the blade makes the knife a pretty good wood carver. The No.10 is delivered with a nice sharpness but after some additional edge care the edge cuts even better. The balance and roughness of this knife makes it one of the few Scandi grind blades I feel comfortable chopping with. The Swedish Forest knife No.10 weights 179 g and a thick blade like this can withstand most abuse. But I never recommend using a knife as a pray bar, a knife is made for cutting and slicing. My hands like the No.10's somewhat special handle shape enabling different practical carving grips. With the proper care this prize worthy knife provides a robust and more than life long forest friend. But what could one not to expect from a knife named the Swedish Forest Knife. The knife also did very well in my Bushcraft Knife Field Test 2015. The knife ended up at 3rd place among 14 impressive knives.
Specs
Manufacturer: Casström AB, Swedish company based in Lycksele
Model: No.10 Swedish Forest Knife, Scandi, 13101
Blade material: Carbon steel K720 from Böhler, 58-60 HRC
Blade length: 97 mm
Blade thickness: 3,7 mm
Blade width: 26,6 mm
Edge profile: Scandi grind with a 24° angle
Knife length: 220 mm
Handle material: Oak scales and plastic liners
Handle thickness: 22,8 mm
Handle thickness: 22,8 mm
Sheath: 3 mm thick cow leather
Knife weight: 179 g
Total weight (knife and sheath): 249 g
Price: 795 SEK (Sweden 2015)
If you wanna see more about the Casström No.10; check out the mag article I wrote on the knife in issue No.3 - 2015 of Vapentidningen.
