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Pursuing the Wild Life

Review: Knives of Alaska-Bush Camp Knife

7/25/2016

5 Comments

 
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​I've owned and used the Knives of Alaska Bush Craft Knife for a long enough to offer this review.
First the good: It is a versitle and reasonably priced, good quality American made knife with a full tang blade of D2 tool steel. The 6" drop point blade is a great shape and handles well for all the camp, scouting and hunting chores I have put its through so far.
The not as good: The fit and finish of the scales and the material of the scales is average. The non glare blade finish easily stains. Additionally, there are no sheath options except the standard leather but that is easily modified with an after market sheath.
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The knife fits well in the standard sheath.
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My knife after a few scouting trips. The stains did not wash off, even though I washed my knife within a couple hours of use.
UPDATE: After emailing customer service they requested I ship the knife back to them with the pre-paid label they provided. I was emailed back that the string is to be expected when certain species of wood is encountered. Specifically Pecan was mentioned. However, I was chopping through a number of species of typical Florida swamp and hammock brush and one or more of those species must have caused the staining. Bottom line is they shipped me back the knife as is. They did offer to refurbish the blade for $10 plus $10 shipping and handling but I declined.
Although the staining does not effect the functionality of the knife, the coating used on the blade is not the quality needed to hold up to typical scouting and hunting jobs without staining. However, I still like the knife and recommend it overall. 

​One of my requirements was a durable sheath that would hold the knife securely, adjustable and equipped with a fire steel, emergency light and some paracord.
After some homework it was an easy choice to select a kydex sheath from YELLOW HAWK CUSTOMS / OUTDOORS. Go to http://www.yellowhawkcustomkydex.com for more information and how to order.
​
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5 Comments
Jesse Andrew Schmidt
11/18/2018 12:48:22 pm

Your complaining about stains on d2?!!! Dude it's not a stainless steel. Any high carbon will stain and btw those stains are called a patina, and it's actually good for the knife.

Reply
Greg
11/18/2018 06:45:04 pm

Jesse,
Thanks for your comments.
To clarify, my issue is not with D2.
I have a number of D2 blades (my favorite steel for hunting and camp knives) and I’m fine with staining. My issue is with the coating that Alaska Knives uses on their blades, it seems poorly designed/ applied (?). The company didn’t offer me any helpful information about the coating.
My Bob Dozier D2 knives by contrast are simply fantastic knives that have no coating except the light blade oil I apply after sharpening and use and I’ll take the very small amount of staining any day over a poor quality coating on top. I also have somebody D2 blades that receive heavy use and have great durable coatings.
So to sum it up, I’ll take no coating or a quality coating but that’s not what Alaska Knives used.

Reply
Christian Elsing
12/23/2019 06:52:33 pm

How much was that sheath? Do you still have the order specs? Looks great!

Reply
Gregory Lang
12/24/2019 05:03:38 am

Christian, the sheath pictured is the sheath that is sold with the knife. It’s a decent leather sheath and I’ve applied mink out to it.

Reply
TPN
11/25/2020 01:37:13 pm

Thanks for the review! Sheath looks great!

Reply



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Repair notes:
  • This was a fast and relatively average to poor, bordering on redneck quality job.
  • All materials were purchased at Lowes and Home Depot.
  • Total time spent: a few hours.
  • Total cost: approx. $50.


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 A marine grade filler was applied
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Then sanding and multiple coats of cloth, resin and sanding
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Then a final light sanding and spay can / palmetto paint job

The first trip we put in near Cedar Key and worked our way up a couple creeks that would have been inaccessible in a larger boat. We found 15 or more Redfish and a couple nice trout.
Gear used:
  • ​Old 1980’s Gheenoe, classic model purchased at a garage sale for $150.
  • Trailer assembled from parts
  • Yamaha 6 hp purchased new
First Impressions:
  • ​Gheenoe’s are excellent backwater boats. Their shallow draft, excellent stability and maneuvering are boats you can take just about anywhere in relatively protected waters. And you can pull, push or paddle them if needed.
  • The Yamaha 6 hp 4 stroke is a good balance between weight, portability, economy and power. The engine is not yet fully broken in, so it hasn’t been run a full throttle but I’m guessing it will move the loaded Gheenoe between 10 and 15 mph. The 6 hp is not a speed demon but seems fast enough and in the rocky backwater creeks, speed is the last thing you need. Easy to tilt up, shallow draft, and easy pull start are more important to me. As far as fuel economy goes, I don’t know how many hours I can expect from the 3 gal. remote tank because after a two or three hours running time the gauge hadn’t budged from full.
  • The ride of the Gheenoe is great in smooth water and fair in a chop. The boat and motor are sensitive to load distribution and the loads should be adjusted to be when heading into the wind and waves to keep the boat dry. I expected and did notice some hull cavitation when in rougher water. The hull could be strengthened in some areas but I doubt I will make many hull modifications.
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Paul with a couple nice trout from the first trip
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