What are the best bushcraft knives?

Posted by HH on 17th May 2016

If you have heard of Heinnie Haynes before you will know that knives and tools are pretty important to us. We also get asked an awful lot of questions about the knives we sell. Everything from the laws surrounding them, the types of handles, steels, locks, grinds, you name it we get asked it. It’s these questions which help drive the blog and podcast forward. We want to answer your questions and help you best understand the products shown on our website.

With that in mind, we get one question in particular which is thrown our way pretty often. It goes a little something like this; ‘which bushcraft knife should I choose?’

Now, in a previous blog post we looked at ‘How to choose the right Bushcraft Knife’. In this article, we looked at some of the specific features you should look for including steel, grinds, sizes and the like. However, we still found that you guys wanted more recommendations, and more examples of knives with some of these features that will be perfect for bushcraft. If you want to know more about the specifics behind each knife then it’ll definitely be worth a read!

It was then decided that we should compile a list of some of our favourite bushcraft knives. These are knives that we either use, have used, or have heard so many good things about that we wish we used.

So, without further delay here are the Heinnie Haynes Top 10 Bushcraft Knives.

The Fallkniven F1

Many of the guys here rave about this knife, and even more of you seem to rave about it too. As we write this piece there are currently 50 reviews of this knife on our website with a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, which is incredible! The combination of VG10 laminated steel with a convex grind is magnificent and highly effective. We also really like the rubberised handle which not only offers fantastic grip, but is also extremely comfortable and durable.

For many of you, how you carry a knife is very important. With this knife you actually get a choice of either a Zytel (either left or right handed) or Leather sheath (you can find out more about knife sheaths here). This choice is always a nice extra, and yet another reason why the Fallkniven F1 easily made it’s way onto our list.

Condor Bushlore

81 Reviews can’t be wrong, this knife is beyond good! Featuring a solid wooden handle, full tang carbon steel blade with a durable Scandi grind. Because of the Scandi grind you’ll find no problem re-sharpening the blade. One of the other really nice additions to this knife is the Leather sheath. It’s well sized, and very much looks the part too!

ESEE-3

A highly under-rated knife. It’s not often that someone comes to us an asks about this knife, but it is very, very good. This knife boasts a 1095 carbon steel blade, available with a plain edge or part-serrated edge. It also has lovely Micarta scales either size of the full tang design. This handle material, is not only pleasing to the eye, but it is also very hard wearing and extremely comfortable.

Spyderco Bushcraft G10

This knife is the product of a collaboration between Tactical Bushcrafter Chris Claycome, a Bushcraft website; BushcraftUK.com and Spyderco designers. This knife is a full tang inch blade with a Scandi grind. Ideal for nearly all bushcrafting activities. The G10 handles are solid, grippy, and wonderfully shaped. This really is a quality looking and feeling knife!

Arthur Wright Bushcraft

You don’t get any more traditional than one of these (made is Sheffield). It has been perfectly shaped to offer a fantastic blend between precision and strength. Its O1 carbon steel blade is also superb for use in any given bushcrafting scenario. In terms of the handle you have a good few options here, in fact you actually have five. Each offering a differ ent aesthetic appeal and each have their own merits. For tradition and long standing quality, the Arthur Wright Bushcraft would be a fine addition to your bushcraft kit.

TOPS B.O.B. Fieldcraft Knife

Designed by The Brothers of Bushcraft. This is a knife that has truly been designed by the guys who are out in the field. Boasting a 1095 high carbon steel blade with Scandi grind this knife is super easy to re-sharpen, that’s if you even need to, as it really does hold an edge well! Because of the steel’s really high carbon content, but if you look after the blade well, it will very much look after you. If you are willing to put in the effort to look after this knife, it will reward you with incredible bushcrafting prowess.

ESEE Camp-lore Bolieu

The Camp-Lore series was developed to answer the need for a traditional, basic, bushcraft knife. All of the Camp-Lore knives are simple, traditional, fixed blade designs that have been field tested for years, and nothing epitomises this more then the Camp-Lore Bolieu. This knife like a number of the others featured uses 1095 high carbon steel, which is surrounded by thick Micarta scales which can be removed should you need. All in all an extremely good ‘back-to-basics’ knife.

Schrade Frontier Large

Last up but by no means least is the Schrade Frontier Large. It’s a perfectly sized bushcraft knife offering up a 1095 high carbon steel blade with a hollow grind. The steel has also been bead blasted giving it a rough texture. In terms of the handle, you are looking at a TPE rubberised handle which offers plenty of grip whatever the weather. This is a very good value knife!

So, that’s our current top 10 bushcraft knives, well at least for 2016. There are some really great options available to you. Whether you are on a shoestring budget or a don’t have a budget, there are lots of options. Bushcraft is becoming more popular than ever so why not get started?!