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Spiderco Bushcraft Knife

Spiderco Bushcraft Knife

Bushcraft equipment has to be well-designed, rugged and able to function in harsh environments and the Spyderco Bushcraft has all of these attributes. The design of this knife was a joint collaboration between Spyderco (obviously!) bushcraft expert Chris Claycomb and the Bushcraft UK website. The version I have here is actually the second incarnation of this design, as there were issues with the wooden grip scales of the previous model. The heart of the design is an 1/8-inch (3.5mm) thick piece of 0-1 Tool Steel, which is a high carbon steel that keeps a decent edge despite hard use but, just as importantly, takes an edge quickly and easily when it does eventually require sharpening again. 0-1 Tool Steel isn’t rustproof however, so care must be taken after you’ve used this knife, to make sure that it doesn’t rust in its sheath. A wipe over with any oily rag should suffice. The edge is the classic ‘Scandinavian’ grind and the blade narrows towards the cutting edge as well as the tip. The blade has the Spyderco logo on one side and C H Claycomb on the other. As with all Spyderco knives, their trademark hole appears at the rear of the blade but some may not like its inclusion on hygiene grounds, as it is something you need to clean out after use. It may not actually be a problem in the real world however.

The full tang design is incredibly strong and is perfect for hard use and you’d be hard pressed to damage a knife with this construction, as the thickness of the blade continues up into the ergonomic grip area. The grip scales are made of G10, a hardwearing material made from resin impregnated woven glass fibre fabric; it doesn’t absorb water, so is very stable and won’t crackand as it reveals the contour of the grip, it also looks very attractive as well! Even though the scales are smooth, I didn’t have any problems gripping the knife, even in damp conditions. The scales are riveted to the blade and there’s a steel lined lanyard hole on the end. Fit and finish are spot on and the overall look of the knife is elegant yet extremely purposeful.

Leather Wear

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The sheath that comes with the knife is well-made from thick black leather. A belt loop is incorporated on the back and there are six hollow rivets for added strength and they also allow for alternative carry options using paracord or leather thong material. An internal plastic insert protects the leather from the blade, so the sheath should last for years. The knife is held securely in place and is enclosed well, leaving around three-inches of the handle exposed.

I managed to chop up and split various sizes of sticks when making kindling for an aborted attempt at a barbeque over the Easter break and used the knife to prune back branches on a cherry tree. It was hardly a test of the knife but I intend to use it a lot more over the summer, so I’ll report back later in the year. I did use the Spyderco to prepare chicken breasts and veg for a batch of kebabs but that wasn’t exactly stressing the edge. It also carved a couple of legs of lamb with ease – not exactly its intended purpose but I thought I might as well use it!

Priced at around £200.

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