The magic troll and myself ordered some slöjd knives. Fact is, when we go out into the woods, a lot of the stuff we do is slöjd.
Now there are a lot of people, still, and they are becoming even more numerous these days, who buy stuff that is labelled "Survival". You know my stance towards the marketing hype. No, it is not exclusively so, and well, I own Cold Steel and Fjällkniven and Böker stuff and it performs pretty well considering those are essentially prybars. But actually, while I have always said that survival as such is pretty much based on instinct and a lot of knowledge, this has been enforced (pun intended 😜) by several encounters with Ukrainian refugees. Who walked through some sixty kilometres through woods and dirt roads frozen solid in minus thirty degrees with a pot of boiled potatoes, a kitchen knife or a pocket knife and a suitcase, with both hands occupied with the little ones. Now one can safely say that Ukranians are of a harder breed than we sissies can even imagine, but this is also due to us living in a candied world of dreams. If you need to, you will be resourceful. The more you know, the better, obviously, but we need to stop believing in illusions. It is dangerous.
A Ka - Bar is called a Ka-Bar because it is an abbreviation for to "Kill A Bear". I have often heard that since I was a kid, and as a kid, I really fell for it. My kid's knife was a Ka - Bar copy, actually not that bad, but ridiculously long for what I did.
Recently, and keep in mind that my thoughts are with the guy and his family, an Italian runner was attacked by a momma bear, with fatal consequences. It was a relatively small bear, nothing compared to American brown bears or grizzlies. And you do not kill a bear with a knife without getting possible fatal wounds period. If you get close enough, the bear will hug you, and you do not want that. You win a fight with a bear with high - caliber firearms or not at all. Period. But in Europe, a fatal encounter with a bear is about as probable as being struck by lightning, and even if it is really a tragedy, there also was an insane amount of bad luck involved. Like getting hit by a widowmaker, which is actually far more probable.
Or a topic that often comes up is self - defence, and well, I have elaborated a lot about that already on this blog. You don't win a knife fight. It is nonsense and if you find that notion romantic or even desirable, you might want to consider getting psychological help.
Which leads me to the question, well, what is it then that we do with a knife. Bushcraft? Camp chores?
Well, like it or not (I clearly do not), a lot of knives are illegal to carry in Germany. And only but recently knife bans have been identified as antidemocratic by the High Court of Administration in Berlin - with no effect at all. If it serves the political charade, there is little even the judicative can do. Also, there is no such thing as legal wild camping or lighting an open fire in the woods in Germany, which in times when draughts get ever more common makes perfect sense for a change. You are not permitted to cut down a tree, if you want to take any amount of anything sustaining you as provision for over a month, it is prohibited. You can take dead wood, but we are talking a stick, not timber. The Bushcraft that takes place elsewhere in the world is nonexistent or illegal and can cost you dearly or even put you in jail in Germany or you have permission by the authorities, the landowner (and even if you own the property you need permission, actually you have the right to toil and sell the timber) AND an invitation. If you want to collect timber, you need to apply for a permission, that has to be paid. Not all of this is bureaucratic chicanery and some of it actually makes sense, but even sitting in the woods whittling a spoon can be illegal.
Camping is permitted on official campsites. A lot of those really are kind of cheap hostels without a roof, some of them are, actually. Of course they cost you.
So, realistically speaking, you do not need a huge Survival knife in Germany if you are not an operator, soldier or hunter. You are allowed to go hiking, and that is that. You can collect herbs and mushrooms (but only a strictly limited amount per outing) and you can carve a dead stick. If you have permission, you can also take a strictly limited amount of timber, which, even if you are the owner, is defined by the authorities.
So, well, essentially all you can do is a bit of mushroom hunting, foraging, small whittling projects and prepping a snack. Some forest officers tolerate you setting up an alcohol stove for a brew, but little more, and actually that is illegal, too.
For the tasks at hand I love my Moras, as I said countless times. They could build an entire farm (if it were not illegal in Germany 😜) if you complemented them with a saw, an axe and a chisel. They also look quite civil and a police officer will, most of the time, believe you if you say you need them for whittling. My love for Moras has not faltered, but I am fairly intrigued by these new kids on the block. ☺️
These knives are made for www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de, aka Dictum, a German corporation. The handles are beech wood, which is quite a no-nonsense approach. The blades are made by Laurin Metalli of Finnish provenience. They are roundabout 3mm thick and come with a high Scandi grind to zero and are, very consistently so, tempered to about 59 HRC. Steel is 80CrMoV (L6), which is a good choice for a slöjd tool. The carbides in the steel make the edge holding capability almost equal to my Moras. The blades are a bit wider than the Moras, but the difference is marginal and doesn't impair detail work too much. The handles are good and comfy and do not have any bigger hot spots. The finish is a bit rougher than on the Moras, and you need to apply some wax, oil or varnish before use, but if you are not a musician, you should not get any blisters. The bolsters are made from steel, apparently, or painted brass. They just cover the front part of the handle and do not offer additional support to the half-tang. The Moras will be a tad more robust. Out of the box, all of the knives came shaving sharp and polished to a relatively fine hone. Delicate work, but also roughing, was a cinch, also over extended periods of time. I also bought a sheath for the bigger one, since it would also make for a decent belt carry. It is well and nicely made, but doesn't have a welt or liner, which maybe will limit its life span.
As a conclusion one can safely say that while the Moras are still a tad more robust, quite certainly those tools are no-nonsense options for your slöjd roll. They are a little better in deep cutting and a bit better for more delicate carving. For sensible tasks, they are maybe all you will ever need in German woods. Complement them with a more sturdy full tang bushcraft knife, a hatchet, adze, chisel and saw, and you could build a village with them, just like with the Moras. Also, they come in at about 30€ each. For a tool that good this is a right bargain.
So, well, you might want to add them to your toolbox.
