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 Willow Grouse 3524

The knife manufacturer Karesuandokniven has been producing knives now for about 40 years way up in the Swedish North. As an adventurous teenager I got my first blades from Karesuandokniven; it was the Moose Special 3507 followed by this Willow Grouse 3524. The knives has performed really good thought the years and since then I've also had the pleasure of getting acquainted with a number of different knife models from the manufacturer. To see more reviews on Karesuandokniven; click HERE. During last year I executed a field test focusing on bushcraft activities. In the Bushcraft Knife Field Test 2015; 15 different robust knifes are compared to each other. You can see the test by clicking HERE. Two of my Karesuando knives enlisted for this test and both did real good; the Willow Grouse 3524 ended up at first place and the Survival Knife 3587 in second place. Let's take a closer look at the Willow Grouse, also called Ripan in Swedish.

The Willow Grouse
The 3,2 mm thick and 102 mm long stainless steel blade made of Sandvik 12C27 has a "mora knife like" shape making it a joy to work with. Back in 1993 when I bought this knife the out of the box sharpness wasn't the best, but after some care it has been performing well. When I compare the older knives to the newer; Karesuandokniven's quality regarding the edge has gotten much better. The spine of the blade has a comfortable rounded shape for carving. But if you like to use the spine on your Ferro rod you can always flatten an area of the spine with your sharpening tool (as seen on the Survival Knife 3587). The knife has a long tang surrounded by Birch, Rein Deer Stag and Brass and the handle offers a very comfortable cylinder shaped grip including a discreet finger guard. As you can see the shape of the back of the handle is inspired by the shape of the Willow Grouse. The leather sheath is fitted with a plastic inlay and offers a good fit for the knife. The classic design of the sheath enables carrying the knife dangling below the belt. The Ripan is also available in a more exclusive version using a blade delivered from the Swedish forge Damasteel in Söderfors.

A Laid Back Winner
Swedish craftsmanship combining; Swedish steel, wood, stag and leather in a comfortable fixed blade knife featuring a Scandi Grind edge is according to me a unbeatable package when it comes to practicality and beauty. Willow Grouse 3524 almost got the highest score in my bushcraft knife test regarding the four categories; Blade, Handle, Sheath and Carving. I say "almost" as the Morakniv Companion Heavy Duty got one more point to its blade compared to the Willow Grouse 3524. Lately Karesuandokniven has adjusted their price tags; now offering their knives at a higher price. But I think that is fair when looking to the quality you get for the money. I really don't have anything bad to say regarding the Kresuandokniven Willow Grouse 3524, other than I usually choose a bit smaller blade for my EDC use when out in the woods, like for instance the smaller sibling Karesuandokniven Giron 3537. Nice to see that my old knife from the early 90's won the Bushcrat Knife Field Test 2015. But even greater is the fact that top 5 in this test were all Swedish knives. As I mentioned; check out the test and please feel free sending me you feedback. The Karesuandokniven Willow Grouse 3524 is a laid back winner delivering a clean, casual and competent cut to the Woodsman. the Willow Grouse is my pick when in times I need a more sturdier knife for bushcrafting.

Specs
Manufacturer: Karesuandokniven AB, with production in Sweden
Model: Willow Grouse 3524 (Ripan 3524)
Blade material: Stainless Sandvik steel 12C27 with HRC 57
Blade length: 102 mm
Blade thickness: 3,2 mm
Blade width: 21 mm
Edge profile: Scandi Grind with a 22° angle
Knife length: 215 mm
Handle material: Birch wood, Rain Deer Stag and Brass
Handle thickness: 23 mm
Sheath: Cow leather
Knife weight: 118 g
Total weight (knife and sheath): 178 g
Price: 1865 SEK (Sweden 2016)

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

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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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Karesuandokniven Survival Knife 3587

I'm glad to see that Karesuandokniven is starting to expand their nice product catalog with exiting new projects. At this moment the all through Swedish company Karesuandokniven proudly offers up to 100 different knife models. My first Karesuando knives (The Moose Special and The Willow Grouse) I bought back in the early 90's and they have meet up to my expectations regarding price worthy practicality and classical design. In my latest bushcraft knife field test i compare 15 different robust forest knives to each other. One of the test knives were the Survival Knife article number 3587. This is a kit designed for us bushcraft romantics. The kit consists of a slightly modified version of the knife Bore Exclusive article number 3507, a ferro rod, a diamond sharpener and a leather sheath holding all the above. Karesuandokniven also offer the product Survival Knife article number 3586; the same as above but no sharpener included. The Survival Knife 3587 ended up in a impessive second place in my field test. You can see the test by clicking HERE.

The Knife
The Bore Exclusive is a medium size fixed blade knife equipped with a drop point blade made of stainless Sandvik steel 12C27 hardened to HRC 57. This is what I'd call a Forest Knife; a nice allround knife that can stand some inspiring bushcrafting. The thickness of the blade is 3,2 mm, the blade length 99 mm and the blade width is 23,8 mm. The blade has a long tang although some people claim that a survival knife needs the stronger full tang to cope. Personally I think a long tang works just fine even in extreme situations, as long as you user your knife with common sense. A long tang also has it's advantages during cold conditions when a full tang can cause frostbite to any naked skin. And as far as durability; Karesuandokniven offer a 10 year guarantee on their knives. The Bore use a scandi grind edge that comes very sharp out of he box. The difference between a regular Boar Exclusive and this "Survival Bore" is the partly flat grinded spine. A small area of the blade spine just in front of the finger guard is prepped for throwing sparks of the ferro rod. This feature can easily be added to any soft edged knife spine using a sharpener. I like to keep the tip spine of the blade rounder to spare my carving thumb. I wish more bushcraft knife manufacturers would leave the blade tip spine soft edged. The Bore Exclusive handle starts off with a nice 2,5 mm thick brass guard. Then follows a 13 mm long piece if rein deer antler. The rest of the handle is made of oiled curly birch. The total length of the handle is 113 mm and I like how nicely it fits into my hand giving the appropriate grip. So the total length of the knife is 212 mm and the modest knife weight of 99 g makes this blade a nice one to carry on your belt.

The Ferro Rod
The fire stick has a total length of 100 mm, a steel diameter of  9 mm and a 34 mm long handle made of oiled curly birch. The small handle is equipped with a leather lanyard to enhance the grip. The theoretical length of the steel is 66 mm and according to the manufacturer the stick will last for at least 1000 strokes. The weight of the fire steel is 40 g and I think it works very well.

The Diamond Sharpener
The flat little sharpener's two sides offers two different structures. A good thing with diamond sharpeners is that they can handle most of the blade materials out there on the market. The structured areas on the sharpener is 55 mm long, the oiled curly birch handle is 50 mm long and the total length of the sharpener is 114 mm. Just like the ferro rod's handle the sharpener's handle is equipped with a leather lanyard. The metal part of the sharpener is 5 mm wide and 2 mm thick and the total weight of the diamond sharpener is 30 g. This little sharpener works OK out in the field, but usually though I sharpen my blades back home in the tool shed using a larger stone. Read more about sharpening by clicking HERE.

The Sheath
The sheath holding it all together is made of a 2 mm thick cowhide in a nice brown nuance. The 30 mm wide belt loop fits up to about 50 mm wide belts. The loop is secured by two rivets on the back of the sheath but other than that the sheath is kept together by seems. There's no extra safety lock holding the knife in place, just the well fitted plastic inlays and leather neck. While fixed in the sheath the knife handle is sticking up from the leather by about 40 mm. The 245 mm long and 65 mm wide sheath weighs 84 g. The rod and sharpener fits nicely on the edge side of the sheath with the ferro rod on the outside.

The total weight of the Survival Knife including fire rod and sharpener is just 261 g which is welcomed for us carrying long and often. The Survival Knife from Karesuandokniven is a really nice all rounder I enjoy carrying during my bushcraft adventures. You can also get this knife i damaskus steel from Damasteel in Söderfors. The the knife goes under the name Northern Lights Damask 3580.

Specs
Manufacturer: Karesuandokniven AB, made in Sweden
Model: Survival Knife 3587
Blade material: Stainless Sandvik steel 12C27 with HRC 57
Blade length: 99 mm
Blade thickness: 3,2 mm
Blade width: 23,8 mm
Edge profile: Scandi grind with a 20° angle
Knife length: 212 mm
Handle material: Curly birch, rein deer antler and brass
Handle thickness: 18,6 mm
Sheath: Dark colored cowhide
Knife weight: 99 g
Total weight (knife, sheath and gear): 261 g
Price: 2400 SEK (Sweden 2016)

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

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