Hand Forged Bushcraft Knife, 4 Inch Scandi Grind with Walnut Handle

The light is going, the wood you gathered is damp, and the fire has to happen now. That is the work this one was built around. The blade is 4 inches of 1095 high carbon with a spine left square so it will scrape a rod. The walnut handle sits warm in a cold hand, and the sheath carries the fire steel too.

Specification

The blade

1095 high carbon is plain steel that sharpens fast on a stone. The forge scale stays dark along the spine with the bevel ground bright underneath. The grind is a scandi, one wide flat bevel running from the edge up the lower part of the blade, with no second bevel on top. The drop point keeps the tip low and steady for close work. The spine is square at ninety degrees, and that corner is what scrapes a ferrocerium rod and shaves tinder. The steel goes grey with use and spots if it is left wet.

The handle

Walnut is a settled wood. It takes knocks and warms in a cold hand faster than anything synthetic. The scales sit on a full tang that runs to the butt, held by three brass pins. The lanyard hole is brass lined so a cord does not chew the wood. The handle is 4.75 inches against a 4 inch blade. Handle as long as blade is what makes a knife read as a woods tool rather than a hunting knife, and it leaves room to move your grip back.

The leather sheath

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather, cut to this blade's own outline and stitched by hand. A welt in the seam keeps the thread in its channel and off the edge. The face is stamped while the leather is still damp. On the front is a loop for a fire steel, sized for a standard rod, so it travels with the knife instead of loose in a pack. The rod itself is not included.

Who it suits

For the person who packs a rod and expects to use it.

• Anyone who lights fires with a rod rather than a lighter
• Campers who want the fire steel on the sheath
• Beginners who want one bevel to learn on a stone
• Anyone teaching a kid to make feather sticks

What comes in the box

• The 4 inch bushcraft knife
• The stamped leather sheath with its fire steel loop
• A care card
• A gift box

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged and ground one at a time, and no two come out the same. The dark forge scale sits differently along each spine. The grain runs light in one walnut handle and almost black in the next. The picture on this page is one of them, not yours.

Looking after it

Wipe it dry when you are done. If it has been out in wet weather, dry it before it goes back in the leather, because a damp sheath is the one place carbon steel really suffers. Oil it before it goes away for the season. Sharpen it on a stone by laying the whole scandi bevel flat, then strop it. That is the method. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits, a name and a date. You get a proof image back before the laser is switched on, and nothing is cut until you say yes to it. Engraving adds 3 to 5 business days. Orders of ten or more are engraved free. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Does the sheath come with a fire steel? No. The loop fits a standard rod, but the rod is yours to choose.

How does a squared spine throw sparks? The corner is left square at ninety degrees. Drag it down a ferrocerium rod and it peels off shavings that light. A rounded spine just slides.

Will this steel rust? It can. Wipe it dry and keep it out of a wet sheath. Oil it before storage. It will darken to grey over time, which is the steel settling rather than damage.

Is a scandi grind hard to sharpen? The opposite. Lay the whole bevel flat on the stone and the angle sets itself.

Is 4 inches enough blade for a camp? Yes for carving and for camp food. For splitting anything thicker than your wrist, use an axe.

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

For a handle that ignores wet weather, the same blade and loop come on the green micarta bushcraft knife. Horn instead of wood is the buffalo horn version. This line is filed under bushcraft knives, more of the same steel sits in 1095 high carbon steel, and every knife we make sits one click over.