Knives and Tools

Recent Knife/Tool Reviews

Benchmade Bushcrafter Family

Fantastic knife with excellent ergonomics and a simple, stout, and sharp blade. With all the buzz around the word “Bushcraft“ in the past 5-10 years, it has almost become like “tactical“ (aka “tacticool”) with regard to items being marketed towards the Urban Lumberjack crowd that spends more bank on products for their beards per month than most families spend on groceries. I’m not sure which direction things like that are heading. Quite frankly, I don’t care. I needed a knife that… Full review

Gransfors Bruk Small Forest Axe

Great size for day hikes and fits nicely in your pack! Coming in as a cross between a piece of art and a piece of gear, this artisanal heirloom will surely be passed down to my children and their children’s children. It is a beautiful tool that has been an essential part of our loadout as of late. Sized between a hatchet and a “real” axe, the SFA provides a packable happy medium for anyone looking to do some work while afield. Bushcraft has become more and more of a buzzword in the past few… Full review

TOPS Knives Brakimo

Tops quality: great steel, holds an edge, micarta handles, and fits my hand like a glove. Kydex sheath with metal belt loop that rotates. The only thing I did differently was to add a 'D' ring and leather dangler. I recommend this product. This is my go-to knife for hiking and camping. It has great blade, steel that holds an edge no matter what I put it through. It was extremely sharp out of the box. The only thing I have done is run it over a strop after several uses. Scandi grind. Micarta handles… Full review

Buck 110 Folding Hunter

For a knife you depend on in the woods, this is your go-to blade. Solid, sharp, and rugged, this knife will help you notch for a shelter, skin for food, or start a fire. This knife works well in all regards. The lock is solid, blade is sharp, and the entire mechanism works flawlessly. Construction is very good. I have used this knife for over 20 years, and compared to my Case, Gerber, and Schrade, it outdoes them all. Full review

Morakniv Bushcraft Survival

Great quality-to-price ratio. Attached firestriker makes it not only knife but survival kit. Nice design, sturdy construction. Full review

Morakniv Companion Heavy Duty

Great value and surprised how well it has performed. Excellent utility and camp knife. Picked this up as a camp knife and ended up buying two more. Knife fits well in the scabbard and stays put. Perfect sized handle. Very durable, I use one as a utility knife, a second as a kitchen knife (holds an edge well, very sharp) and the third in my emergency kit. Again, I have own cheap knives and this just does not feel or act like a $20 Amazon knife. The Heavy Duty has a slightly thicker blade than the… Full review

Hults Bruk Jonaker

LIGHTWEIGHT AND EXTREMELY SHARP! FITS IN YOUR HAND LIKE A GLOVE Purchased this baby for light kindling and carving. This axe is excellent for feathering kindling as well. Fits snugly in my hiking pants side awe pocket....can barely tell it's there! Full review

Helle GT

An excellent hunting/canoe camp knife. Very high quality and partially hand made in Norway. My wife bought me the HELLE GT sheath knife for my birthday at the Fjallraven Store in Boulder, Colorado, this spring. The stainless steel laminated blade is its most outstanding feature as this creates a hard steel core for long lasting sharpness surrounded by resilient steel to give the core strength. While "heavy" at 7.3 oz. for a backpacking knife for the purposes I've listed above it is very well suited. Full review

Council Tool 2# Wood-Craft Pack Axe

I wanted a short-handled axe for car and canoe camping. The two main Swedish axe makers had very nice camp axes, but I liked the Council Tool Wood Craft axe head shape better and the fact that it was a high quality US-made axe. I like the Wood Craft small camp axe because it is larger than a hatchet and able to do small felling tasks and splitting of firewood yet is easily carried on a pack when on canoe portages. It is very similar to Hults Bruk and Gransfors Swedish axes and at the same price,… Full review