What a tiny knife can do-Helle Raud S review

Well, you know, politicians happen again in Germany. At the moment there is a bit of hope we might keep the sorry mess that is left of our democracy for a bit longer (but I wager, not for long) due to massive democratic and judicial protest, but who knows. 

Since I wanted a pocket knife that is capable of carving and didn't look threatening to the Karens or our Slytheen that rule us, I came across the Helle Raud S.  Normally, I would not have thought twice about a knife that small. Actually, the Vics are awesome and those are actually rarely incapable of doing things, but the proposal for the novelty offensive weapon act would have banned a Swiss Army knife, because it would be too long.  Actually, the new proposal, which still is not aborted, would ban all things not Teletubby from the public, including all kind of tools, knives, bottles or anything heavy or sharp. 

I spare you the rant.  It is pathetic, and we all know.  

Anyway, I was asking myself, could one find a capable knife with a tiny blade that were still able to do some of the things I want or need to do in the woods? Forget tactical neckknives, those are toys for people who will open boxes at the most.  And I thought, well, my Mora carving knives are actually pretty decent for a lot of things I do. But them being fixed blade knives, they still look too threatening to the Karen Teletubbies. So, a folding knife it had to be.  Originally, I thought about the Helle Kletten, but dismissed it because it would not work with a ferro rod, because of its three layer laminate steel, so it had to be the cheaper Raud S.  To be honest, I wasn't too fond of spending 120€ on a knife I normally would never have bought.  

Well, the little knife arrived. There was a rather silly #nancysapplechallenge going on in the interwebs where you tried to demonstrate that you could not cut an apple with a short knife, which is a logical fallacy, because you cannot prove a negative claim. But, anyway, apple harvest was on the way and I had to make and conserve apple sauce from 5kg of crap apples anyway, so I put it through its paces. It obviously needed some adaptation, but it proved really not as inadequate as I expected.

Also, it actually did not work too bad prepping potatoes for soup and slicing up sausage and spring onions. 

It had its shortcomings, but it is possible to use it for food prepping in a pinch.  

Where it excelled, however, was carving.  

It performs several classes above its size when carving wood. The blade shape and Scandi grind and short blade all combine to add up to a really great detail knife. 

I made wall hooks, 

spoons from seasoned oak,

a walking stick from holly, 

wallhooks from dry cherry,

And after all that hard use it still made shavings like that. 

Using it to help with cordage, foraging, mushroom hunting, it really does a lot of things. 

Its biggest advantage is obviously that it goes into the small pocket of your jeans and is so light and nimble that you do not really notice it until you need it.  The blade is 55mm long and 2.7 mm thick. It is made from 12C27 steel, tempered to 59HRC. The grind is a medium Scandinavian grind with the tiniest of micro bevels. It locks reliably by a sturdy back lock.  There is no radial or side play whatsoever. The liners are made from sturdy tempered steel (almost a millimetre thick). The handle from beautiful curly birch , which is stained red, is 85 mm long. To me, that means, the pinky gets to rest behind the handle. This led to a bit of pain in my joints of that finger after several hours of hard carving.  The handle, being rather stubby and chunky, lends itself to powerful cuts, though.  Inverse cuts, chest cut, scissor cut and all Slöjd positions need a bit of adaptation, but are perfectly doable.  

So, if you are looking for a non-offensive and light carry knife for Slöjd in the woods, and can live with the limits of such a tiny blade, this knife, apart from it being in line with the removal of your civic rights, performs admireably well for little Slöjd projects.  It might also be a really great first Slöjd knife for kids.  

So, apart from the political shitshow going on, it is a great companion that you do not notice until you need it, but that is amazingly and surprisingly capable. I currently always carry it alongside my SAK, because for carving, it performs really great. If you can afford it, and can live with its limitations, it might be a great addition to your EDC.  

Thanks for tuning in, take care and have fun!