Knives

Recent Knife Reviews

Helle Temagami

The Helle Temagami is a well made knife with a laminated blade that has stood up to years of use and abuse. It has curly birch handles and a scandi grind making it well suited to bushcraft and camp activities.  My experience with the Helle Temagami has been all round good, it has been my primary knife on many backpacking and bushcraft trips, and I have always been able to trust that it will get the job done. It is great at hacking away and branches, building shelters, preparing fire and even carving,… Full review

Morakniv Eldris

An interesting Scandinavian design, to make traditionalists smile, or frown. Tough, tiny, and tactile. Guaranteed to elicit strong opinions. Excellent Swedish steel—just not much of it. I like small knives for a lot of purposes. We are only allowed to carry three-inch, non-locking, folding blades in public, here in the UK, so I'm used to those limitations. The Eldris, is a pocket knife-sized fixed blade, with a diminutive, 5.3cm edge of 0.2 cm thickness, made from 12C27 stainless steel, with a… Full review

Benchmade B535BK-4 BUGOUT

Relatively lightweight, strong, beautiful.             Knives and camping are two things in my mind that are simply intertwined. I carry a knife wherever I go. There are so many to choose from and over the years I have ended up with a collection. This 535BK-4 BUGOUT though is the one I always carry now. I can depend on it to be sharp and do exactly what I need.  I have not sharpened the blade since I got it about 2 years ago now. It's not surgical razor sharp any longer but sharp enough… Full review

Opinel No. 6 Folding Knife

Everything you need in a folding pocketknife. I have had a size 6 Opinel pocketknife for just about ever which lived in my backpack waist belt pocket until leaving Hobart, Tasmania, airport. An extremely zealous security lady took exception to its presence and confiscated it along with my wife's nailfile. On return to New Zealand I purchased a new one. For backpacking, day walks, fishing, or biking this little knife does everything one could ask for; everything from gutting a fish to opening a ready… Full review

Opinel No. 8 Folding Knife

Pretty hard to beat for backpacking. These are famous for a reason. Sharp, cheap, very light, locks well, long enough to get to the bottom of a peanut butter jar. Just let it darken but scrape off any obvious rust.  Note: this is not some Finnish survival fixed blade. It's a lightweight backpacker's knife. Doesn't mean you can't skin a deer with it, but be realistic. Full review

Opinel No. 6 Folding Knife

Lightweight with a well designed blade shape for camp kitchen preparing food. My first Opinel knife I acquired I think was a number 7 from from REI in 1975. It had a pear wood handle and was a great tool. I lost it some 10 years later...  Last year my wife signed me up with Bespoke and in one of the boxes showed up a number 8. A good knife too for the same uses. Full review

Opinel No. 6 Folding Knife

I was introduced to Opinel knives in 1991, and I have been using them ever since—on three continents. Great addition to the pack—alongside my Swiss Army knife of course. Great addition to a well-equipped backpack. Full review

Opinel No. 6 Folding Knife

Light, small, tough, and available. The blade you may find you need, at a price you definitely can afford. A simple design—one sharp, thin (1mm), pointy blade, which folds into a thinly finished beech handle. A chromed, spring steel lock ring, at the riveted pivot point, is a wonderful low-tech way to keep the knife open-or closed—until you change your mind. Available in many lengths; the seven centimetre blade works, for me. It weighs a negligible 27 grammes . If your daily life involves building… Full review

ESEE Knives Junglas

The flagship of all Esee knives. The only knife you really need to do everything in the outdoors. This knife will do big and small knife tasks equally well. If you're interested in an Esee product, this is the one you want first. I've worked this knife hard for about 6-7 years now. It is a do-it-all knife sized machete. You can chop with it, cook with it, carve with it, cut rope, clean fish, baton, scrape bark you name it and the Junglas can do it. It's got a very interesting high saber grind that… Full review