Best Bushcraft nowdays

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vulcan2

Joined
Jan 21, 2019
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hi every one, i'am looking for a bushcraft knife,upgrade form barkriver aurora .customs are ok but not too rare to find.read a few topics and find out perhaps that the bark rivers and fallkniven are the best.but if someone wants to something better,what is your recommend to him?
 
I guess choice often boils down to personal preference and what you actually do "bushcrafting". I prefer the term "woodscraft" just like I prefer conservationist rather than environmentalist. So, what do you do in the woods and what size a knife are you considering?
 
22-rimfire said:
I guess choice often boils down to personal preference and what you actually do "bushcrafting". I prefer the term "woodscraft" just like I prefer conservationist rather than environmentalist. So, what do you do in the woods and what size a knife are you considering?
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thank you for help.Hmmm, well i do almost everything but batoning.about size 4 to 5 inch at max.
 
I also vote for LT Wright.

Busse and kin are good knives but are rather poor for woodscraft, generally speaking. What makes them great for abusive task makes them poor for woodscraft, namely the thickness behind the edge. I think the swamp rat ratmandu is one of the better busse kin out there and the only one I would recommend for woodscraft. I will say though, I sold my ratmandu because I liked my LT bushcrafter mark II more. LT's brand of knives have an amazing finish and all that I've tried feel great in hand. But, LT's knives can be heavy because the handles are pretty full meaning they fill the hand nicely but that usually takes more material, so if you're more of the weight weenie type then they may not be for you.

The Becker BK62 is also a superb knife. The BK16 is great as well.

I don't know that any of these are better than the BR aurora but my preferences tends towards the wider blade of the Kephart blade shape. The aurora is pretty close, looking at the specs, I think the aurora is pushing it for blade thickness. My LT bushcrafter mark II is a little thinner and the wide blade allows more distance to taper down to a thinner edge. Honestly, I think the Mark II is my favorite of the LT's I have and I have the genesis and bushbaby and a GNS/genesis on the way. I tend to favor 5-6" blades as I love the knee lever technique and I have very large knees.

If you happen it be located in the SE Michigan area, hit me up and I can show you what I have and let you handle things in person. I can bring a few pieces of wood for you to dig into as well.

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vulcan2 said:
What about Randalls?or Busse?or somthing like those?
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Busses are great... If you're keen on finishing the blank you get. Super tough knives tho, once you turn them into an actual knife.

I would recommend the knifemakers for sale area, and dont be shy about ordering something from, say, Poland... Mr Kornalski makes incredible blades for the money.

Also, from what I understand, 'upgrading' from an aurora may be difficult. I will second the Gossman sentiment, but thats pretty pricey for his smaller stuff. Best just save up and get Scott's prodigal child, the Tusker, or Big Boar Tusker if you want Gossman gear.

If you get a Busse, get one that's already been stripped and re-edged. Otherwise you will flow with salt.
 
22-rimfire said:
I guess choice often boils down to personal preference and what you actually do "bushcrafting". I prefer the term "woodscraft" just like I prefer conservationist rather than environmentalist.
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Do the terms affect the associated activities? IE what's the difference between an environmentalist's and a conservationist's interests in nature? A bushcrafter and a woodscrafter?

In keeping with the topic, would the difference require different knife choices?
 
I should add, all of the scrap yard knives (busse kin) I've received have has good, usable edges, compared to busse.
 
Right now for a do it all type knife (woodcraft,food prep,skinning,camp chores,hiking EDC) the Bravo 1LT Hunter cru-wear is my my most carried model. It’s just a good do it all size and blade profile for most task for me.

Sure there are better specialized blades for each certain task if you choose to carry two or three blades with you. If camping I perfer to have a bigger chopper or small axe with me for splitting wood for example.

L.T knives are great models for the money and your Aurora is a bushcrafter model overall too. I just ordered a Fiddleback Bushfinger looking forward to trying it out.

I have a couple barky Keparts 3V which I’m really digging the thinner blade stock lately. That’s one reason I ordered the Bushfinger in A2 with 1/8 blade stock. Other than chopping/battoning a lot of wood I’ve found the thin blade stock to work better for alot of task personally.
 
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If you aren't batoning you don't need a thick knife. A thin stock with a narrow blade for been able to turn easily in wood. The same knife will do for food. You could spend hundreds of dollars and still get a knife that performs much worse than a Mora Companion (which is the base for which other non batoning knives should be judged, it would most likely be "better" than your Aurora at wood carving).

You don't say what steel you want or the grind.
 
vulcan2 said:
thank you for help.Hmmm, well i do almost everything but batoning.about size 4 to 5 inch at max.
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Yorkshire Boy said:
If you aren't batoning you don't need a thick knife. A thin stock with a narrow blade for been able to turn easily in wood. The same knife will do for food. You could spend hundreds of dollars and still get a knife that performs much worse than a Mora Companion (which is the base for which other non batoning knives should be judged, it would most likely be "better" than your Aurora at wood carving).

You don't say what steel you want or the grind.
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All of the suggestions in this thread are viable choices. Your post and @Yorkshire Boy’s response help in defining needs and uses.

Although I have a custom Kephart, and another better one on the way, I’ve been struck by the @pehota designed TRC Splinter 120. I’ll have one in hand soon. Search for a long recently posted thread of his. It’s informative. Horses for courses and knowing your needs narrows the list. After function, personal aesthetics, fit and finish may well be the final determining factor.

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I like the 3v Aurora 2 LT as an upgrade over my A2 Aurora. Probably my favorite knife to take and use in the woods.
 
AndreLinoge said:
Do the terms affect the associated activities? IE what's the difference between an environmentalist's and a conservationist's interests in nature? A bushcrafter and a woodscrafter?

In keeping with the topic, would the difference require different knife choices?
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A conservationist USES natural resources wisely with an eye toward the environmental impact but most importantly it's more of a practical application of the environmentalist perspective. We need energy. We need other natural resources. We need to do what it takes to make energy available because the world runs on it. Stuff happens and you try to fix it rather than simply saying "No" to a particular approach to energy production or using our natural resources for the benefit of man. I don't see a lot of difference between woodscrafter and bushcrafter with bushcraft being a more recent term. My thought.... why change it?

On knives, I think it all depends on your budget and personal preference in terms of using them in the woods. Some cut better. Some baton better. Some slice better..... you have to decide what characteristics will dominate in your choice. Are you comfortable having to do more detailed tasks with a larger knife? Same goes with the more aggressive kinds of things like batoning firewood...
 
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Here is a shot of my woods knives that I currently use. I could add the Dozier Pro Guide to that list as well. As you can see, I tend to like the Aurora blade shape for the woods. Left to right; White River Backpacker Pro, Kabar Becker BK-62 Kephart, Kabar Becker BK-15, Bark River Wilderness Explorer. The Dozier is below.
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I'm still not very adept at posting pictures. I need to take a picture of all of my Dozier fixed blades one of these days. I like them.
 
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There is a lot of room above Bark River, depending on how you measure it, some find more than others. Branch out into some of the other brands mentioned, many can be had used on the exchange, and can be sent back that way if they don't strike your fancy.
The design itself is going to matter so much that until you know what sort of blade fits your style of working, its kinda pointless to spend too much time worrying about the brand or the steel. For every BRKT that gets actually used there are a dozen ESEE, Becker, Tops, LT W, Fiddleback, Mora, on and on it goes, that are also getting used, and they all have someone who thinks that user is dead wrong to do so.

What do you want to upgrade with regards to the aurora? If you want the same in a better steel, the mis-marked ones should all be out of circulation by now.
Different blade or handle shape? Better sheath?
What are you looking for? Otherwise, fish away, its okay to do that too.
 
Another one I use from time to time if I want a small fixed blade; Dozier Personal in 154CMP.
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I might add that even though I almost always take a fixed blade with me to the woods, I seldom use one for anything. It is there primarily for emergencies. Also, I am trying to downsize my EDC's now (trial stage) and I may well use the fixed blades more from here on out. But, I will slip the Vic One Handed Trekker into my day pack to carry with me in many cases. So, the larger SAK is still available regardless of my smaller EDC.
 
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