Medium Bushcraft – CPM Magnacut with Firesteel

Description

Medium Bushcraft – CPM Magnacut with Firesteel

This knife was inspired by a couple of knives and is probably about the perfect size for an all round bushcraft knife.  First inspiration came from the Architect Field Buddy 5.5 which was developed by the KnifeConnection in USA.  It was also inspired by the Bark River Mini Aurora.  I like the Field Buddy a lot but there are some things that I wanted to improve upon.  The Field Buddy has a near full height grind and is traditionally manufactured from 1095 Carbon Steel.  Whilst 1095 is a good steel, it lacks toughness, corrosion resistance and edge retention.  The handle scales on the Field Buddy are removable and are a bit on the thin side.  The Bark River Mini Aurora is a great shaped knife but the handle is too small.  My version…the Medium Bushcraft is a stout general purpose bushcrafting knife that also doubles as a handy hunting and camp knife.  It has enough belly to skin.  As it is made of premium CPM Magnacut steel, the edge should last through many tasks without requiring a touchup.

The blade as I’ve mentioned before is made from the latest Super-Steel – CPM – Magnacut.  The blade is approximately 4.3mm thick and is 4.3 inches (110mm) long.  It has been heat treated to 61 Rockwell by RJ Heat Treatment in Sydney.  Normally we have heat treated the Magnacut to 59/60 Rockwell.  For this batch we have decided to increase the hardness to 61 Rockwell.  If the time they took to do the finish grinds on the knives is an indication, they should hold their edge a lot longer.  The spine has been ground to a sharp 90 degrees so it will strike a fero rod with ease to produce a shower of sparks.

What is Magnacut?

CPM MagnaCut is a premium stainless blade steel. The big selling points of MagnaCut are its high toughness, high wear resistance, and high corrosion resistance. Many knife steels settle for a tradeoff, like more toughness at the expense of wear resistance, but Dr. Larrin Thomas, professional metallurgist and writer of knifesteelnerds.com, employed some clever tricks to make MagnaCut score high marks in all categories. It has the toughness of CPM-4V (a hard-use steel found on high-end fixed blades) with the stainlessness of CPM-20CV (a tried-and-true premium knife steel used primarily in folders). Thanks to its high wear resistance, it boasts excellent edge retention, but in the same vein, might be a little challenging to sharpen.

Is MagnaCut a good steel?  Yes. It is one of the best all-around knife steels out there. Thanks to some clever composition and manufacturing, it has a fine microstructure that makes sharpening more manageable than other steels of similar wear resistance. These great features make MagnaCut a great choice for small folders, big choppers, kitchen knives, and everything in between!  As in all knife selections, your choice in steel should be dictated by what your intended use is. If you plan to pry with your knife, you’ll get more toughness out of CPM 3V than MagnaCut. If you’re cutting rope all day, Maxamet will still be sharp long after MagnaCut has gone dull. If you need a knife for a nasty or tough job that will probably ruin your knife, something cheaper like Sandvik 14C28N will be the ticket. But for any all-around user knife that fits into multiple roles, MagnaCut is an awesome choice.

The overall length of the knife is nearly 8.5″.  The scales Gidgee with Dark Green G10 liners and pin with brass pins.

The sheath is made from Hermann Oak Cowhide from the USA and has a firesteel loop.

http://www.hermannoakleather.com/