There is a lot to be said for a knife that is just enough, or perfect. The Ultralite Field Knife might be just enough for what you require.
by Leon Pantenburg
Disclaimer: Bark River provided the product for this evaluation. I do not work for Bark River, and I was not paid to do this review. Nobody had any input and this post is strictly my opinion. All I ever guarantee in any review is a reasonable shake.
My guess is that most folks purchase more knife than they require.
I do. The worst case circumstance for me would be just having one knife in a hard-core, hopefully-never-happen survival situation. A number of blades may be required, ranging from a fighting knife for hand-to-hand combat (after I ran out of ammunition:–RRB- to a little, nearly tiny knife for intricate wood carving. And all this enters into the “What is the very best survival knife” conversation, for which there is no good response.
The Ultralife Field Knife is a no-frills user. In reality, all my knife carries out in normal, daily life is mundane stuff like opening dog food bags, cutting string or rubber bands, slicing cheese or perhaps being utilized to do some yard work. I have dozens of knives that can do that. Every day, the small, 1-1/2 inch blade on my Swiss Army Tinker gets utilized more than all my other blades combined.
Today, the Ultralite chose me on a walking along a Mississippi creek, a medical wild plant foraging journey to a weedy uninhabited lot and also was used to clean up some panfish. (In Mississippi, many panfish are described as a “mess” of fish.) When you get a mess, a fish fry follows. Or the fillets can be prepared over a campfire, utilizing a foil wrap.
The Bark River Fin and Bone (top) and the Ultralight worked extremely well to clean up a”mess”of panfish.
Specifications
| Overall Length: | 8.5 ″ |
| Blade Length: | 4.38 ″ |
| Blade Steel: | CPM-3V |
| Blade Density: | .125 ″ |
| Weight: | 5oz. |
Here’s how the knife worked out up until now:
Point: Field knife has a clip point with a long swedge. This is one of my preferred combinations, and the blade overall is beautiful.
Grind: Convex rules. For me anyway. After trying several other grinds, in a range of hunting, fishing and camping situations, convex emerged as my personal favorite. Rather than tapering with straight lines to the edge, on a convex blade the taper is curved. Such a shape keeps a great deal of metal behind the edge making for a stronger edge, while still permitting a great degree of sharpness.
Steel: I’ve been utilizing CPM-3V steel in different knife configurations for more than ten years, and the steel is exceptional. It holds an edge really well, however is still simple to hone. I utilized to bring sharpening equipment when backcountry or overload searching. Not anymore. Because finding A2, CPM-3V and other fantastic steels, the sharpening things stays back in camp. I have gutted, split the ribcage, cut off the lower legs and head and skinned several whitetail deer with a 3V knife that was still razor sharp when the task was done.
Deal with: Here’s how to measure your hand to get the best manage fit. For me, with glove-size big hands, the deal with has to be at least four-inches wish for me to utilize it easily. The Ultralite deal with is long enough, but a trifle slim for my tastes. It will be best for folks with average-sized hands.
The generous manage is long enough for major work
. Blade density: At.125, this is considered a thin blade by some. For me, it’s about right. I do not care for thick blades, nor do I see much point in them. Thin blades are much better slicers, and they simply work much better. This isn’t just my viewpoint. Mike Stewart, president of Bark River Knives agrees with me.
Blade length: My favorite blade lengths fall someplace between 4 and 5 inches.
Do you require an Ultralite?
I’m having a heck of a time trying to find something about this knife I do not like. From the suggestion of the clip indicate the end of the just-right-length handle, this knife shows extraordinary design.
I’m not done yet. I’ll lend it out to some students to attempt and the knife will be out on the Mississippi River soon. More to come, however as it stands right now I ENJOY THIS KNIFE!!!
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