Page 45 - Blade (February 2020)
P. 45
Left row, from bottom: Condor Tool & Knife Curved Knife and Classic Carver and the Flexcut Sloyd Collection of fi ve knives. Right-hand portion of
image: Smoky Mountain Knife Works’ Rough Rider 12-Piece Set and the Casstrom Curly Birch Knife (in the middle with the curly birch handle).
he past two years I have noticed all MSRP) is a hook knife and the Classic carving of a sort. Be advised, however, that
sorts of carving taking off in popu- Carver Model 62702 ($59.98 MSRP) is when you sharpen the Classic Carver for
Tlarity—spoon to folk, chip carving a Sloyd-style knife (page 46). I had to do the first time, you will discover it is a very
and even relief carving. If you carve, you some edge maintenance on the Curved shallow hollow grind. I went to polish up
need something sharp to do it. Knife because it was not nearly as sharp the bevels on my belt grinder, only to fi nd
Most of the edged tools in this article as it needed to be. Once I got it tuned the middle of the bevel was not cleaning
focus on spoon carving. One tool gets up, it worked well. Overall, it is true to up at the same rate as the sides.
into some detail carving. Because of the design—except that I feel the blade runs Both knives’ blades are 1075 carbon
number of edged implements reviewed, on the lightweight side. It still cuts but steel. I would prefer 1095 to get the
I will give you my impressions on each you might miss the mass, depending on Rockwell hardness higher. Th ese two
company’s lines rather than a lot of detail what type of wood you are cutting. make for a good set, and Condor provides
about the specs, which you can research The Classic Carver has a traditional- a sheath for the Curved Knife.
via the Internet. I have been carving for a style blade with a full-tang design. Th e full
number of years now and want to give you tang gives the knife more of a robust build CUTTING PRETTY
a feel for the performance of these tools. while allowing for a trimmer handle cross In the past, I have reviewed a couple of
section. The Sloyd style cuts very well. Casstrom bushcraft knives. Both were
FULL-TANG TANGO The full tang makes it a great little knife excellent performers. Since Casstrom is
The Condor Curved Knife ($49.95 for bushcraft work, which essentially is in Sweden it shouldn’t be diffi cult for the
FEBRUARY 2020 blademag.com 45

