Matt Graham Knife

Loved this. I had decided long ago that I would try and sort of fight off the notion in my own head that a "one tool option" was as viable and as entertaining an approach as having a duo/trio/etc of tools. No one tool does as well as a kit of 3 specialized tools. HOWEVER- this post helped me realize that there is no urgency to think one way or another. I have experienced that people tend to try to strive for some sort of tool truth; an end-all conclusion about the tasks we perform and the tool(s) with which we perform them. This post has helped me realize that there is no need for any debate whatsoever. Use one tool. Use a kit of 9 tools. Its all good. They are all beautiful and lovely and useful, whether they are dragging our trousers down or gathering dust hanging from our garage walls. Thanks very much! :)
 
Oops- better clarify to avoid misunderstanding- IT SEEMS TO ME that no one tool does as well as a kit of 3 specialized tools ... ..
pjackst said:
Loved this. I had decided long ago that I would try and sort of fight off the notion in my own head that a "one tool option" was as viable and as entertaining an approach as having a duo/trio/etc of tools. No one tool does as well as a kit of 3 specialized tools. HOWEVER- this post helped me realize that there is no urgency to think one way or another. I have experienced that people tend to try to strive for some sort of tool truth; an end-all conclusion about the tasks we perform and the tool(s) with which we perform them. This post has helped me realize that there is no need for any debate whatsoever. Use one tool. Use a kit of 9 tools. Its all good. They are all beautiful and lovely and useful, whether they are dragging our trousers down or gathering dust hanging from our garage walls. Thanks very much! :)
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Love the blade shape and that tip is wicked. I understand your reasons for making it that way but my preference would have been a more traditional butt. However, excellent job executing your vision.
 
Swampdog said:
Excellent post, I really enjoy reading all the information you gentlemen share on this subject. I'm a big fan of Matt on Dual Survival and have been following all of the different opinions of his knife. This post is the best I have read, and is the reason I am a member of this great forum; thanks!
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2nd that! Thanks for the insight into your design choice. Makes sense to me!
 
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The folks at Condor released for 2015 a production version of Matt Graham's knife. It is listed on their site as the "Primitive Bush Knife". It has a rather cool sheath; no belt loop, but a leather tab that allows it to stay in place when tucked into a belt. They were hyping it up at a recent knife/gun show.

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One interesting bit of information about Matt's design Condor told me was that he requested stainless steel rather than carbon. They are more used to survival "purist" insisting on carbon steel.
 
My only thought about this new primative bush knife is why would you not want a belt loop on the sheath. That would tend to make me not buy the knife at all. I do know that for me, if I choose to carry a larger knife in the woods, it often is in my day pack. I don't wander around the woods looking like Tarzan.
 
looking up the weight of the jungle bowie puts it at ~6 ounces unmodified, I would not consider this to be a large heavy knife.

One of my fav knives is a Leuku 18cm long(7") and is 180 grams(~6 ounces)...

BK2 "Companion" is 450 grams... 1 pound.

Knives come in two types... crowbars and useable.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
One interesting bit of information about Matt's design Condor told me was that he requested stainless steel rather than carbon. They are more used to survival "purist" insisting on carbon steel.
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The spine of my S30V folder throws sparks from ferro rod pretty well...

Matt seems to be a fire by friction guy, so he might not be using flint at all...
 
Ferro and real flint and steel are way different subjects. As far as I know, no stainless blade will throw sparks when struck against a piece of natural flint.
 
Sparks fly from steel as shards quickly oxidize. Stainless steel is alloyed to resist oxidation, so it doesn't throw sparks.

When using a ferro rod, however, it s the material from the rod that sparks, not from the knife. Any type of steel will throw sparks from a ferro rod.

As a carbon steel guy, I am intrigued by Matt's preference for stainless.
 
shayde78 said:
As a carbon steel guy, I am intrigued by Matt's preference for stainless.
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Maybe he's chosen stainless for all the episodes in jungle/tropic islands? Just to make sure the knife stays pretty for the camera ;)
 
maybe he just doesn't want the risk of rust with that leather sheath being wet all the time? people get different ideas and habits.
 
I saw that in episode 2 of Season 5 Matt was equipped with a Winkler Wk2. That episode was in Pennsylvania. The following episodes he was back with the modified jungle bowie. Its laughable how we take not of things like this and have so much enjoyment from it. Brain that is a sweet blade you have now and a cool linage of how it came to be while not my preference I enjoyed reading through the post just the same and can appreciate all the research done to get the point your at.
 
The idea of a cheap, simple modified machete design was appealing. While this looks better, It'd probably be better for woods use with the plastic handle and a plastic sheath. It'd be tougher and impervious to weather, but wouldn't be "primitive" I reckon. As long as the cost is low, it's cool. They should have called it the "Mattchett":)

ETA: Wanted to be sure folks knew I was referring to the new Condor version. The OP's custom is awesome and I enjoyed his explanation of the aspects very much. I'd love to hear his opinions since the original post.
 
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So Joe jacked Matt's winkler?! I'd be pissed if that guy started smacking rocks on my knife and said I could "keep" his garbage knife.
 
I love a chopper as much as the next guy, and there is a place for them in my camp. Still, I vastly prefer a smaller blade as my primary when hiking or camping. If I need something more, then a small ax usually does what I need.
For me, this is ideal
 
You make some great points.
So glad Condor decided to produce his knife.
Although my experience with Condor has been that they don't hold an edge very long at all, I still can't wait to get my hands this one.
 
Nice thread - it must be nice to have such skills. I liked the leaf shape and how Matt Graham uses the blade, so I bought a condor combat machete, which was a misplaced attempt to get something like it along with a better machete.

Nice to see that Condor will make it a production model. ..I don't recall the tip having both ends sharpened on Mr. Graham's original knife , though.
Here's a writeup on Condor's website:
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