Help me understand the nessmuk blade design

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I have an ASH-1 CG, so that qualifies me as a piglet. Or Powerporker. Something like that. :thumbup:

Back on top, I would like to read up on Sears and the whole minimalist outdoorsman thing.
 
powernoodle said:
Its sorta like the Busse cult, except its way less spendy, and we don't have to call ourselves animals names to build camaraderie.
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I've been meaning to post about this. Can we start calling each other by plant names then?:D
 
hollowdweller said:
To get serious for only 1 moment Nessmuk mentions eating off of his knife and that I think is at least part of the idea behind the wide blade and spoonish shape.
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I have a tendency to eat from my knife anyway, and the Nessmuk style definitely makes some dishes easier to eat from the wide blade.:thumbup:
 
I have no idea, I think they are neat looking. I only had one, that I can remember (I must not have been too impressed with the design if I couldn't remember the other ones ;)), and it was by David Farmer. I really liked that one, but had no use for it. I was told by several makers that his looked like the most faithful representation of the Nessmuk design.

I am on a Kephart kick myself lately. Have one of Stompers, traded into a Barkie Kephart (yeah, I saw the thread), and getting a regular and mini Kephart from Scott Gossman. I have seen a few of Scott Gossman's Nessmuk models, both in person and in magazines like Backwoodsman. I have seen other makers Nessmuk models, including the Bussmuk. They look like fine knives, just not my cup of tea, but I never really used mine.

Just remembered that I had a Bark River Wolf River. Liked it, but never used it.

Just remembered that I had a Koster Nessmuk. Again, a neat looking knife, just not me.

Maybe I forget that Nessmuks aren't for me, every time I see one for trade in the forums :D.
 
hollowdweller said:
:D LMAO

The blade shape is such that when you are out in the woods if you catch yourself and the woods in the reflection is can act as sorty of a scrying mirror which allows you to contact the spirit of the "Old Woodsman" who has been known by many names in many cultures and through the use of certain archaic ritual inebriants one can enter a state of consciousness known to those in the know as "smoothing" it.

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By hollowdweller, shot with EX-Z75 at 2008-11-07
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HD got a new camera. Nice image. Congratulations!




Kis
 
Would a bigger nessmuk with say 6 inch blade and maybe 1/4 in thick make any sense? As a camp knife?
 
PatriotDan said:
Would a bigger nessmuk with say 6 inch blade and maybe 1/4 in thick make any sense? As a camp knife?
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that struck something of a chord in me. what's the difference between a Nessmuck and an old Canadian skinner? as far as i can see it, the only real difference is that in a Nessmuck the hump is further forward.

i can definitely see the advantages of the forward hump when using it as an eating utensil. easier to eat beans off the hump of the knife than with a fork...

then again. it could very well be that in the original it was a skinning knife, the tip of the blade broke off, and the design is what the guy ended up with...

something like this:

7firstcut.jpg
 
While I don't fully understand the shape of the knife, if its made wide and thin, it has the ability to slice/cut well and the height of the blade gives it strength.
 
I've never owned or made a Nessmuk style blade. Some of the Nessmuk types are thick and designed to be a chopper. They work well in that respect.

If I made one it would be thin and flexible... I think the hump on the spine would glide nicely when flipped edge up to skin game. Its described as being thin in the book and the flexibility would lend itself to filleting fish.


Just my thoughts..... I'm now inspired to make one I think;)
 
Uh oh, Rick's gonna make a thin blade :D

if you want some thinner stock to start with i can post you some. But a higher carbon piece of rebar works wonderfully, too.
 
Magnussen said:
I've never owned or made a Nessmuk style blade. Some of the Nessmuk types are thick and designed to be a chopper. They work well in that respect.

If I made one it would be thin and flexible... I think the hump on the spine would glide nicely when flipped edge up to skin game. Its described as being thin in the book and the flexibility would lend itself to filleting fish.


Just my thoughts..... I'm now inspired to make one I think;)
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I read at least one account that claimed the hump was so going up the deer legs you could turn the blade facing up and the hump would prevent the tip from dragging into the meat while you split the hide.
 
matbe nessmuks knife started as a skinner and in order to drop some weight from his load, he cut off a portion of the blade. much like the old hickory skinner mod.
 
I used mine just today to dice up some green olives for my tuna salad. I press down on the "hump" with my free hand and rock the curved blade back and forth. It works great. Nessmuk must have loved diced olives in his tuna salad. Added some sweet pickle relish, mayonaise, and Old Bay. I survived the afternoon munchies with the Nessie. Mine stays in the kitchen knife block.
 
lvbuckeye27 said:
that struck something of a chord in me. what's the difference between a Nessmuck and an old Canadian skinner? as far as i can see it, the only real difference is that in a Nessmuck the hump is further forward.

i can definitely see the advantages of the forward hump when using it as an eating utensil. easier to eat beans off the hump of the knife than with a fork...

then again. it could very well be that in the original it was a skinning knife, the tip of the blade broke off, and the design is what the guy ended up with...

something like this:

7firstcut.jpg
Click to expand...

One will never really know since he didn't document if he made it from scratch or not. It's more likely that he made it from a broken knife as others have mentioned, some sort of knife that wore down, broke off or he didn't like the profile of the blade and decided to change it. I think back in the day people recycle everything that could be recycled and patch things up as much as possible, so more likely it was some sort of knife that broke off because someone stated that he liked thin knives.
 
PatriotDan said:
Would a bigger nessmuk with say 6 inch blade and maybe 1/4 in thick make any sense? As a camp knife?
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A few weeks ago I had the same problem when my custom knife which has served me well for years finally bit the dust. I elected to go with a knife under 4 inches rat " which the members highly recommended on the board" and Canadian belt knife. This is after handling many larger knives. I don't think you would have any problems with 6 inch blade when it comes to cooking task, because 6 inch is like a small chef knife. For me other task such as skinning i think i would have problems with a larger knife, since I'm not a good skinner to begin with, also fine wood working etc seems to be a bit more cumbersome with a large knife.
 
hollowdweller said:
I read at least one account that claimed the hump was so going up the deer legs you could turn the blade facing up and the hump would prevent the tip from dragging into the meat while you split the hide.
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Interesting thought, can you explain it in more detail, I'm not very good at skinning so a bit slow to what you are saying.
 
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