There are some tools that need to be thick. Cleavers, Bowie’s, Axes, Kukris, etc. But I for one hope this trend of sharpened pry bars for folders and normal fixed blades is over and we get back to knives being cutting tools. A Case Trapper still has a place in today’s carry system; not everything has to be Strider or Medford thick.
I think 1/8" is perfect, maybe even a hair thinner. With a full flat grind it will be a cutter for sure
The nessmuk design lends itself to uses outside of the norm. I read an article a few years ago, from Nessmuk himself, where he talked about how one of the shining functions of this blade shape, was to turn it around and use the spine side as a makeshift spoon or spatula. He would use it to cook his meals, then as a spoon to scoop food straight from the pan to his mouth.
bah humbug. I have a thin knife. The Avispa. Thats all i need for thin knives. Rest of my usage is big knives.
The thinner the knife, the more skilled the man. That’s what my great grandfather used to say. (Actually I just made that up, but it sounds more weighty and authoritative if it comes from generations ago)
Thin knives have their place. But This persistent notion that people should be using nothing but Grandpas case trapper, "cuz thats what they used" and that big knives are a sign of an inexperienced woodsman, is BULLSH**.
I couldn't agree more. Any woodsman that had a thin slicer as his main knife usually had a good saw, or a good axe..or BOTH to supplement his knife. True story. A large knife of decent mass will chop, slice and cut with ease. Cumbersome for the small tasks? Maybe some, but definetly not all. With that being said, thick, big knives are not for everyone, but neither are thin, minimalist type knives. I like big knives. So does Bushman5..it's no secret, but to imply that we ( Big knife enthusiasts) have an impractical approach or are interpreted as inexperienced because of what blades we feel works best in out climate is simply not true. Its no different than us thinking the opposite of other folks and their preferences. Right? I personally see the value in the nessmuk, but would rather run the ESEE 3 HM for game processing and cleaning of fish and small camp chores. I have also cleaned trout with my battle mistress, and cut 11 pounds of neck meat off of a moose with my junglas. Because one chooses a load out he enjoys absolutely does not mean he is inexperienced or incompetent. Look at the tropical/jungle climate...the locals use all kinds of machetes for all kinds of work. those things might be thin, but they are huge and efficient blade designs. Nessmuk ran a folding knife, double bit hatchet and the famous nessmuk fixed blade....the modern woodsman can do the tasks of all 3 of those tools (and more) with a leatherman wave and an ESEE Junglas.
Both of y'all are spot on! And if the large thick chopper knife is such a new fangled idea what was the Hudson Bay Company's Camp Knife for???? If anything I see the modern large choppers as a rebirth of the HBC Camp knife and as a means of slimming down one's kit of woods tools. I tend to carry a very similar load out to what @Se7eN mentioned while hiking and hunting, esee Junglas, my TOPS MSK and either a leatherman or a Victorinox SAK.
If I pickup an Expat nessmuk, it'll be mainly to support Expat and specifically as a deer/hog skinning blade.
I don’t think it’s a persistent notion. I think it is quite the opposite. I don’t think there is anyone marketing knives out there today that isn’t emphasizing the fact you can hammer through car doors and cinder blocks and 100 year oak tree. Even though that’s not abuse any of us will have. You try to find a thin blade at SHOT and you’d be hard pressed. At some point in the late 80’s, early 90’s, we started a trend of not carrying tools for the jobs we need to do. A pocket knife and an axe does everything but we started the Rambo era of having a large knife so we can chop and spear and things that less than 1% of knife users ever use. That led to the same approach in folders. So we now have $400-$700 folders that are too expensive to use in the manner they were marketed towards. I’m not opposed to large knives (remember I’m the guy pushing a cleaver on the world-lol)I just don’t like the small knives being so disparaged. I know a guy who hunts professionally basically and he uses the CR 2.5 for everything, including breaking down his elks. I want everyone to have a) whatever they want and b) a cleaver. But the better I get with a knife, the more I realize big is not nexessary. The more I watch the really good guys with a knife, the more I realize they use smaller knives. Swiss Army knives still have a capacity for knife work that few of us ever really max out. The above is just my opinion. I’m not recruiting any followers or starting a movement.
We are working through the several that we have. It’s safe to say that Nessmuk would be very impressed at the quality.
