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Please Note:
I will be discontinuing all Bushcraft knives after the current batch sells.

Bushcraft Survival Knives

With blades that are differentially hardened, bevels that are forged and full tang handles (with solid rivets that are peined over on both ends), these knives will take an amazing amount of abuse.

Handles

Handles are Jatoba, a very dense wood. The slabs are well glued onto the solid steel shanks, then secured with rivets. The rivets are not just glued in, they are swelled on both ends by the old way of peining. With that, the handles will never come off, even if the glue fails.
I encourage customers to save money by ordering just the blades. They are fully heat treated and sharpened. The shanks are drilled (two 3/16 inch holes) and two solid rivets are included.

Blades

Please Note:   I don't use any jigs for shaping the profiles or bevels of these knives. Each blade is a bit different because they are forged and finished individually. Some are more rounded or staighter, for instance, or have less of the forging marks where the bevels were ground back more.

Forged from round bars of W-1 high carbon steel with main bevels at about 10 degrees. (That's the total angle, from one side of the blade to the other!) The bevels are not ground in - they are forged in, all the way to a fine edge. The proof of this is the complete lack of grinding marks (or polishing) except for the microbevels at the very edge. However, what makes these blades truly unique is how I do the last forging heat, which is done after the shape, profile and main bevels were forged. The last forging heat is done only along the edge, not only to draw it down with finer bevels, but more importantly to "pack" the steel there. This is done very aggressively, all the way through the black heat (no longer glowing). Years ago, I never would have thought W-1 could withstand so much without damage. But time has proven they don't fail.

This "packing" is an interesting thing. As a smith, I sometimes work with mild steel (which is low carbon and pretty much not hardenable) to make decorative iron pieces. I've learned that if mild steel is heavily forged (packed) and not heated again to relieve those stresses - it will be much harder to drill, and it will be much stiffer and springy. High carbon steel gains a great deal of benefit for edge holding by aggressive packing. I believe that it produces the best blades possible and that no other blades of any steel can beat it. It is why I make bushcraft knives with such fine bevels - they cut extremely well, hold a great edge, and can take a great deal of abuse.

When I first started making bushcraft knives, I made some with the popular Scandi type bevels (ground in at 20 degrees). These were also forged from round bars of W-1, but the bevels were not forged in. They were ground in. So although they were certainly "forged blades", they were not the same as my forged bevel blades. I won't be making any more scandis because they don't hold up as well.

You can see the results of destructive testing at the bottom of this page.

All of my bushcraft blades are differentially hardened - the spines and handle areas are left "soft" and tough, to withstand a lot of shock.

Here is more
information about my
bevel forging process.
  
Straight Knives
 
Double Edge Bent Knives
 
Knife Blanks
 
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Fishtail Bullnose Chisels
 
Drawknives
 
Scorps
 
Bushcraft Survival Knives
 
Little Skinner
 
A Cut Above
 
Cutlery
 
Custom Tools
 
New Tools
 
Forged Check
 
Super Blades
 
 

About the Knives

 * Spoon Carving
 
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  Suggested Selections
 
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 * Using Them
 
 * Sharpening Them
 
 * Forging a Blade
 
(* contain very short videos)
 

Galleries

Artists' Carvings
 
Decorative Ironwork
 
Classes
 
bushcraft knives with exceptinally fine forged bevels.

Small Bushcraft Knife      $255.00

Discontinued
Blade is 2 3/4" long,  about 5/32" thick.       Handle is 3 3/4" long.
This is the knife I carry daily. Does pretty much everything I normally need. A real sweet little knife that I hardly ever notice on my belt. I highly recommend this knife. Has the same differentially hardened blade, full tang and solid rivets as my other bushcraft knives.

Medium Bushcraft Knife      $293.00

Discontinued
Blade is 4" long,  about 5/32" thick.       Handle is 4" long.
The favored size for bushcrafters. Very good for baton work. Almost indestructable with differentially hardened blade, full tang and solid rivets that are fully peined over.

Large Bushcraft Knife      $396.00

Soon to be discontinued
Blade is 6" long,  about 1/4" thick.         Handle is 4 3/4" long.
Quite a bit larger and heavier than the medium, and not something most people would want to carry around on their belt (especially in an airport!). Better to strap on the outside of a pack.
The extra weight, larger handle and fine bevel make this a very effective chopping tool, even without being struck on the back with a baton. The extra length makes it good for reaching into the cavities and dressing out larger game (which is what the customers who convinced me to make this said they wanted it for).
Because the bevels are quite fine, this is also a very good all around knife for the camp kitchen.

Sheaths are sold separately

Please Note:   Because the knives differ slightly, they are individually fitted to the sheaths. So if you are going to purchase a sheath, you should order the knife at the same time. If you order a sheath later, you'll need to send the knife back to me for fitting.

sheaths for North Bay Forge bushcraft knives

The result of many months and probably over a hundred emails back and forth, working out all the details, with my terrific leather worker in Idaho, Julia McCormack (of McCormack Hill Leather).
Although I was skeptical about it at first, the button for closing the flap is wonderful! Belt loop on the back side is held on with 4 rivets. Leather spacer along edge to give space for the blade without cutting the stitching (which is extra thick). Julia does a different design on the front of each sheath. I am so glad to be able to offer these as homes for my unique knives. Thanks, Julia!

Small Sheath       8" long      $73.00

Soon to be discontinued

Medium Sheath       9 1/2" long      $81.00

Soon to be discontinued

Large Sheath       13" long      $96.00

Soon to be discontinued

Leatherworking tutorials by Julia

Braiding rawhide
onto a handle		 Making a sheath

Blades are fully heat treated and sharpened. Handle is drilled for two rivets (included).

As with my adzes and scorps, I am very glad to offer this option for you to save some money and enjoy using a tool you helped to make.

bushcraft survival knife blades

Small Bushcraft Blade      $160.00

Soon to be discontinued

Medium Bushcraft Blade      $202.00

Soon to be discontinued

Large Bushcraft Blade      $281.00

Soon to be discontinued

Scandis    (Soon to be discontinued)

Also forged from round bars of high carbon steel, but the bevels are ground in (20 degree straight grind). They don't hold up as well as my forged bevels and they are considerably harder to resharpen because so much metal has to be removed. So I won't be making any more. These will be available until current batch is sold out.
(click pictures to enlarge)
Small Scandi Ground Knife    $187     
Discontinued
Scandi ground small bushcraft survival camping knife with full tang and hardwood handle
Blade is 2 3/4 inches long.
Bevels are 20 degree straight ground.		 Medium Scandi Ground Knife    $212
Soon to be discontinued
4 inch bushcraft camping hunting knife best for wood gathering and cutting.
Blade is 4 inches long.
Bevels are 20 degree straight ground.
 
The blades below have been drilled with two 3/16 inch holes for brass rivets (included)
Small Scandi Ground Blade    $97
Discontinued
a small blade for whittling and general camp use.
Blade is 2 3/4 inches long.
Bevels are 20 degree straight ground.		 Medium Scandi Ground Blade    $121
Soon to be discontinued
Small picture of adze ilron, hand forged by North Bay Forge for whittling and general wood working.
Blade is 4 inches long.
Bevels are 20 degree straight ground.

Below are pictures showing the progression of forging steps for the 4 inch blade with forged bevels:

(They are all pointing the same way, with the blade to the right.)		 Please go here for more information about my bevel forging process.
(click pictures to enlarge)
Five inches of 5/8 inch diameter O1 high carbon steel to begin hand forging a 4 inch blade bushcraft knife Five inches of 5/8 inch diameter O1 high carbon steel
These pictures show the progression of steps I use to forge this bushcraft survival knife. First I forge the handle. The handle is drawn out and forged flat first. It will be forged a bit more, but the final shaping is done later by grinding.
Here, the blade of the bushcraft knife is begun to be forged The blade is started.
The blade is forged with a little lengthwise taper, so that it is a bit thinner at the tip. But it is still quite flat across it's width. That is about where I stop forging for the blades that will get the scandi grind (straight 20 degree bevels ground in). The blade is forged with a little lengthwise taper, so that it is a bit thinner at the tip. But it is still quite flat across it's width. That is about where I stop forging for the blades that will get the "scandi grind" (straight 20 degree bevels ground in).
The last few heats are forging in the bevels with my new bevel forging process. The thing is to get the bevels to right degree, symetrical and even, and down to a wire edge along the whole length. Craziness! The last few heats are forging in the bevels with my new "bevel forging" process. The thing is to get the bevels to the right degree, symetrical and even, and down to a wire edge along the whole length. Craziness!
The tip of the blade is left full during all of the forging, so that it does not overheat in the forge. The profile is later ground, only from the back. The tip of the blade is left full during all of the forging, so that it does not overheat in the forge. The profile is later ground, only from the back.
Finished (except for the rivits and final sharpening) prototypes of the 4 inch and the 2 1/2 inch double forged knives. Finished (except for the rivits and final sharpening) prototypes of the 4 inch and the 2 1/2 inch double forged knives.

Below are the results of some destructive testing:

forged bevels with microbevels above
scandi grind below
results of destructive testing, comparing two blades 		We started with a variety of local softer woods, cutting deep notches using hard blows with a dry madrona baton. The easy notching was fun, but... onto dry plum and madrona. The edges of both the scandi ground and double forged with microbevel were equally unchanged after aggressively pounding into those hardwoods - still razor sharp. I was duly impressed and very pleased. One of the other shop guys came out with some mystery wood from South America that would not float. A few very hard wacks into that and the scandi ground blade showed definite damage at the edge. No chips but we could see and feel the damaged edge, which would take considerable sharpening. Next, the double forged bevels with microbevels. It also did not hold up, though showed much less damage. Could not easily see it, but we could feel a burr at the edge. This clearly demonstrates the benefit of fully forged bevels.

My carving knives are intended for serious wood carvers. They are razor sharp and can be very dangerous if used improperly. Please be careful and don't allow young people to use them unsupervised.

Your satisfaction is fully guaranteed. If you have a problem of any kind with one of my knives, please let me know. I will make it right with you.

 
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Copyright © 2005 North Bay Forge by Jim Wester
with thanks to Tina Rose
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