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The Knife in question is a Woodland Survival Crafts design crafted by Roger of Bison Bushcraft. The technical stuff being; 01 tool steel with a flat grind, 3 1/4" at its longest point, the depth of the blade is 15/16", the thickness is 1/8" and the overall length is 7 1/2". The grip scales are Ash.
First impressions were that of a quality handcrafted tool and sheath. With the refreshing surprise that it wasn’t another variation on a well known and much touted celebrity knife.
Being used to using a 4” knife I have to admit to being a little cautious of the shorter blade, but I will put that down to some Freudian symptom and move on. In short I couldn’t wait to get into the woods and put the knife to some good use.
Crafting
This is most obviously a hand crafted tool, It looks the part and has a nice balance which makes using it a real pleasure, it came with a mirror polished and shaving sharp edge which apart from the occasional strop is yet to require sharpening.
Likewise the leather sheath was a beautifully hand crafted piece of leather with a good tight fit, that has worn in well during my last few months of use.
Handle
After a good solid weeks use I think it is the handle which has revealed my only real irk with the knife. I have big hands and found that with prolonged use the knife doesn’t fit quite right in my palm. However speaking to Dave and Roger it seems that a larger handle is an easy thing to change and would soon rectify the issue.
Blade
This is where the real thinking was done, As already admitted I was a little unsure about the length of the blade, however it didn’t take much use for me to become a convert to this new improved blade.
The control and accuracy with which cuts can be made are most definitely easier and more natural than with a longer blade. For fine woodcarving and delicate work I found I could slide my thumb along the spine almost to the tip giving me the necessary control of pressure needed for delicate work whilst the belly and main body of the blade made short work of anything it was put to requiring a little more force.
The spine always produced a good shower of sparks from a ferro rod. So again all round top marks for a great little knife.
Battoning
My preconceptions of how a knife should look initially had me doubting the knife’s ability to baton with a good inch less of blade. In practice again it became obvious that some serious thought had gone into the knife and the conclusion I came to was the same as the reasoning Dave had put into the design. The knife is designed for bushcraft and as the majority of bushcrafters wouldn’t be seen without an axe it comes down to using the right tool for the right job. Great for splitting small wood, but if you need some wood of substance splitting then use your axe.
Food prep
Exactly what I expected from a good sharp knife. Obviously with such a thick blade fine filleting took a little more care, but when it comes to eating in the outdoors who is looking for wafer thin slices of anything? I found it to be perfectly suited to chopping veg. and meat for the pot and again the short blade was that little bit easier to control when it came to slicing my chorizo and cheese to go with a hunk of bread for lunch.
Conclusion
In conclusion I have to admit I will no longer be using a standard Mora 740, sure it does most of what I ask it to and there won’t be tears should I ever lose it however the advantages of a hand crafted and well thought out knife give me that little bit extra.
It brings to mind something that a great tracking master and mentor of mine keeps reminding me “Keep the noom, keep the advantage.” That’s to say that even the slightest improvement on any one thing will give you the smallest advantage and as each of those additions and improvements accumulate in the end what you get is something far greater than its basic counterpart.
The WSC knife is a very capable knife; it has obviously been designed with bushcraft in mind and is well suited to anyone who feels they need to move on from their clipper or 740
After a few months of use whilst running courses and “working” in my woods I Have grown quite attached to the knife and will be sorry to see it go. However I’m certainly looking forward to my own personal one, with a handle to match my hands of such size!
Written by: Dave Roderick.
