Introducing The Boundary Waters Belt Knife

We are always searching for the next piece of great gear.  Late this Autumn, I met a fellow canoeing and outdoor enthusiast whose full time job now consists of making knives.  Karl is from Minnesota and man oh man, does he have skills!  Right away, we hit it off and after looking at his work in person, I knew that we had to collaborate on a new knife that would stand up to anything the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness could dish out.

The result is a workhorse.  THE BOUNDARY WATERS BELT KNIFE.  It is a piece of art.  It is a (very) sharp blade -- tough enough to conquer all your cutting needs.  It can slice and dice a tomato and carve up your first nights steak even after making firewood kindling, whittling up a few tent stakes and setting up camp for you all on its own :)

It is hand forged from simple carbon steel and designed with a full tang. The craftsmanship that goes into it is top notch.  On the forge, the steel has been formed to shape a natural finger guard below the blade.  This is a knife that just feels right in your hand and fits on your belt like no other.  In addition, each leather sheath is crafted by hand to fit your knife and only your knife.

I convinced Karl to take time out of his busy schedule and make us four.  That's right, we've only got four of these beauties.  Two with brown curly maple handles and two with black curly maple handles.  We are offering them to you here first.  First come first serve.  I'm not sure if we'll be able to get anymore before Christmas, I suspect not.  He's making knives daily and if he gets time off, he makes something else, like the canoe below.

You can get more information on the pages of our online catalog.

Watch our blog for more great gift ideas from gear, to books and jewelry.  We're putting new items online daily.  Just because you've seen our paper catalog, doesn't mean you've got your finger on the pulse of everything new at Piragis Northwoods Company.

We promise to keep you updated on the latest and greatest, right here.

Take care, Tim Stouffer, Catalog Director

BLOG 61. How To Pick a Good Camping Knife

BLOG 61. HOW TO PICK A GOOD CAMPING KNIFE

By Cliff Jacobson

Clockwise from the top: Grohman #1 flat-ground carbon "Camper"; Gerber Shorty/carbon steel (no longer made);

Victorinox "Forester"; Forschner (Victorinox) #40614; Mora carbon; Old Hickory carbon paring knife; Idaho Knife Works "Cliff Knife" (carbon).  

What do you think is the most important tool to have along on a canoe camping trip? If you said a good sharp knife, you’re in agreement with the experts. But few of today’s knives are sharp, let alone ideal for camping. The best-sellers have thick blades that are better for cutting through car doors than slicing salami and pine!  

A camp knife should be thin-bladed, lightweight and compact. Edge retention is a factor only if you seldom sharpen your knife.  A folding knife is fine, but a fixed blade is more rugged. You can flex the blade or hammer it with a wooden mallet to split kindling and you won’t damage a thing.  And, there’s no folding mechanism that can be gummed up by jam or peanut butter.  But sheath knives can be dangerous, not because their blades don’t close, but because the sheath’s that generally come with them are too thin and flimsy.  If you choose a fixed-blade knife, make your own heavy-duty riveted sheath (my book, “Camping’s Top Secrets”/25^th Anniversary Edition, shows how).

Make your own knife sheath.  This project took about an hour. Cost of materials, about $15

MY PREFERENCE

1.       Four to four and-one-half inches is an ideal blade length.  Shorter won’t reach to the bottom of the peanut butter jar; longer is necessary only for filleting fish.
2.       Maximum blade thickness is one-eighth inch, and thinner is better, much better! Try cutting paper-thin slices from a tomato with a thick-bladed knife and you’ll see why! 
3.       Knives with serrated edges are good only for cutting seat belts and rope.  And you need a special hone to sharpen them. 
4.       Carbon steel is easier to sharpen than stainless steel and it tends to take a keener edge.  High-end (expensive!) stainless alloys are excellent. Cheap stainless is awful!
5.       A narrow, straight blade with a central point is best for peeling spuds, slicing vegetables and general camp work.
6.       A flat-ground blade provides truer slicing and is best for all-round use.  A Scandinavian (Scandi) grind, like those found on Mora knives works well for whittling and splitting. Hollow-ground blades are easier to sharpen to a razor's edge than flat-ground or Scandi blades but they aren't as strong. 
7.       Avoid knives that have a long unsharpened area near the handle; a dull spot here shortens the cutting edge and reduces cutting leverage near your hand.
8.       A beefy, hand-filling handle provides more control and better leverage than a short, thin handle.
9.       If you want a rugged fixed-blade knife, one that will withstand frequent flexing, choose a model whose blade runs the full length of the handle.

You can buy a good knife for under 25 dollars. American made pocket knives (with one or two blades), genuine Swiss Army knives (Victorinox and Wenger), and the Official Boy Scout pocket knife are best buys. If you want an inexpensive sheath knife, Canadian survival expert, Mors Kochanski recommends the carbon steel Swedish Mora knife (shown above).  It comes with a rugged Scandinavian style sheath and costs under 15 dollars.  It's not pretty, but it is efficient and it comes from the factory sharper than many custom knives.

Next time: How to sharpen your knife to a razor’s edge.

Cliff Jacobson

www.cliff-jacobson