On Oct. 5, 2011, at 9:19 PM, Eddie Smith wrote:

Hi Cliff,

I've been reading and heeding a lot of your camping advice for years. Your thoughts make a lot of common sense, and I've found myself passing some of your knowledge on. I write you wondering about your knife. I've been looking for a new knife for quite a while, and was wondering how you feel about the quality, and performance of your Idaho knife works knife. I recently ordered one, only in a five inch model, and talked for several minutes with Mike, and Debbie Mann.....very nice people. I've done a lot of research, and found that the carbon steel blade was more to my liking, because no.1 they're easier to sharpen, and 2. maintain a good edge. I know they are more susceptible to rusting, but regular oiling takes care of that. Thanks for your advice in advance.

Sincerely,

Eddie Smith

Re: Idaho Knife works
On 6 Oct 2011 13:22:48 -0500, Cliff Jacobson replied:

Eddie,

The IKW "Cliff" knife is my favorite. I guess it should be because I mostly designed it. The knife comes in two thicknesses. I much prefer the thinner blade which is about the same thickness as my old Gerber Shorty knife (a terrific knife!). I've never felt the need for a thick blade for any camping chores, even splitting four inch thick wood with a mallet. I figure that if the Indians could skin a buffalo with a thin-bladed common butcher knife, there's no need for a thick blade. Sharpness and edge geometry are the key to success, I believe. Anyway, I much prefer carbon steel over stainless. Yes, there are some very high grade, custom stainless blades and these are very nice, but they are very expensive and hard to sharpen. Granted, a carbon blade at roughly RC 56 will dull quicker than a stainless one at RC 60. But so what? I keep my knives razor sharp and touch them up when needed--maybe two minutes on a fine whet stone. I can easily go two weeks on a canoe trip without touching up the blade. At any rate, I think you'll love your Cliff knife. It's a simple but effective design: it will split think kindling, fillet a fish, skin a moose, spread peanut butter, slice bread and cut line. What else might you expect from a bush knife? What drew me to MIke's knives to begin with is that unlike most other knife makers, he spends real time in the woods. And that "time on task" reflects the simple but brilliant knives he designs. I've found that special purpose blades do special purpose jobs well. But they are a handicap for simple jobs. The Cliff knife is an "all-round" woods knife. I think you'll appreciate the design more and more as you use it. I might add that in the 14th-18th centuries when when men depending on their knives for a living, the most popular blades were ones that were similar to the "Cliff" and Mike Mann's other flat-ground designs. Hollow-ground blades are popular today simply because they are cheap to grind--you just put 'em on a spinning wheel and let 'em go. Flat ground blades require much more work, and Mike's blades are double-taper ground which is a still more intensive process. Enough. Trust me; you'll love the knife.

Best,

Cliff