I had much the same problem with my ESEE-5 , it was virtually blunt out of the box . So I reground the edge to a convex , it's hair shaving sharp now , but it still can not featherstick properly . These knives are designed as survival tools only , and are not suitable for bushcraft or camping tasks . Disappointing , but true . Thank you for the review , at least I know that I was not imagining the problem . Great show . Cheers
Thanks for the review! It’s a lovely blade profile, too bad it doesn’t seem to perform. Would be nice to see them release a version of this with a bit thinner blade stock and different steel.
Thankyou as always Rob, I just hate that knife for no good reason, well cost is a good un I suppose. I know I would be happier with my 15 quid axe and my little Mora and spend the other 370 on some good kit. I do appreciate that you give us the bad with the good on reviews, I just gave one real heavy knife I made from a file to my mate I did all the heat treaments myself and gave it a convex grind, it was shit for feathersticking and not as good as a small chopper for chopping, so pretty useless to me even though everyone liked the look of it. We all talk of survival but in reality anyone who goes into the bush had better be prepared, and the chances are in our country if things go tits up we will be wrestling some old lady for a bog roll in Tesco, so Ive been practicing my kung fu on my 87 year old mother and nearly beat her in a match last week. Love your channel Rob thanks for putting up with me
I think most people who use knives a lot eventually come to the conclusion that they're not willing to sacrifice cutting performance for over the top edge stability and durability. Obtuse grinds and a lot of thickness behind the edge may be bombproof but they're also very unpleasant to use for regular knife tasks. Even a big survival knife should be able to cut well. Look at the A1.
Hi Rob, thanks for the video, good to see the knife being used after the new grind, it is what it is , a beater, fairly unbreakable in a survival situation, but wouldn't be my choice , like your comment I'd go for a smaller, sharper , easier to use knife, and the weight I'd save allows me to carry a few more goodies, like Mars bars,lol. Cheers mate, stay safe, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.
I am a big fan of the exotac stuff, titan lighter is pretty good. As to the knife I would prefer a 12" Ontario machete and a mora companion. Much cheaper and more versatile. Thanks for taking me along again...
I think your final thoughts were spot on it’s a hard use knife, designed to get you out of trouble/survival knife type of thing. Looking forward to the MOD knife which you may remember is a knife I’ve often referred back to. I’ve had a fero rod like that, not consistent pain in the backside.
I like what I think the knife wants to be, but I don't like what it appears to actually be. I think I'm going to stick with my original plan, an F1x and ER's Giant Mamba for a bigger knife.
I get that this is a survival knife, ie meant for unexpected visits to the wilderness, and I can see it's value in that regard. But for intended trips, where you will definitely be taking a small knife too, I fail to see why anyone would carry this in preference to a hatchet.
It's obviously a matter of taste whether you like it or not, bro. But if you know how to use it, the handling is also very good. But no knife can be absolutely good at every area, but the Selvans comes close, in my opinion bro.
Nice vid Rob,I would take more steel off behind the edge but I agree about what’s the point to make it a better cutting performer, it wasn’t meant to be that way, great cutting performance comes from smaller thinner blades without coatings on it imho, nevertheless I’m so impressed with the performance of my TRC Mille Cuori,Vanadis4E is something special,after I did give it a regrind ofcoarse LOL
Proper sound review that. I was intrigued by these and I get the "oh, but there're not a bushcrafter" argument. But what sort of 'hard use' is it for? What sort of 'survival?'' Too short to slash effectively, too weak to chop seriously and too clumsy to carve. Extrema latrine digging? Extrema TikToking seems about the mark!
Hi Rob, I just finished watching your initial review of the Selvans and now this one after you reground the edge. I'd be willing to bet that the reason you found the edge to dull so fast initially is because Extrema Ratio uses high-speed dry grinding to put the edge on the blade which ruins the temper at the very apex and ruins all the nice properties that a properly heat-treated blade delivers (at the edge, not throughout the entire blade obviously). Once that temper is ruined by high-speed dry grinding, the edge unsurprisingly dulls very quickly just as you found out. Typically you'll have to sharpen away all this damaged steel through multiple sharpenings to get back to good, properly heat-treated steel for the edge to last as one would expect. (You did find the edge to hold up better after the first sharpening after all, it'll probably improve even more after a few more sharpenings I bet) This is a big problem in knife manufacturing at large and there is good research and evidence which proves that high-speed dry grinding ruins the temper and edge holding of knives. Wet grinding eliminates the issue of overheating the thin edge but few manufacturers do this unfortunately. I also wanted to ask, were you saying that you set your Ken Onion sharpener to the 24° setting and then you made the edge convex on top of that? That would then mean that your final edge angle was greater than 24° , somewhere in the range of 26° to 30° per side (I'm guessing) for a total of 52°-60° included angle! My friend, THAT is one OBTUSE edge angle!!! Lol! It's no wonder it didn't featherstick wood and bite into it very well! You've got a sharpened pry bar on your hands there, not a knife! 😂 I mean no disrespect whatsoever as I enjoy you and your channel and I know you know a thing or two about knives being a maker yourself, but wouldn't it have been a lot better to try a 20° per side edge angle? If you were going to give it a bit of a convex edge, then set the Ken Onion even lower, maybe 17°-18° so that when it convexes, it ends up at 20° per side at the very apex. I'd imagine that would still be plenty strong enough to handle all the duties you were demonstrating. Heck, even large choppers rarely need anything more than 22° or 23° per side and they see a lot harder work than what anyone can reasonably do with a knife the size of the Selvans. People like Cliff Stamp have shown that they can survive much lower angles than even that, down around 12°-14° per side! No disrespect meant here at all as you have more experience than I do, so I hope this comes across in the friendly manner it was intended! I'm grateful you share so much with us! It's entertaining and informative! Cheers!
I totally agree with you on the angle I put on the SELVANS, problem I found is that it's really thick behind the edge, if I took it back more it would look like a scandi grind knife. I've more or less given up on the knife, it's in a box, I'll think about giving it a shallow grind, I didn't take your message the wrong way, thank you for pointing these things out. Let's face it, this knife isn't worth the huge price tag and a simple change of gring angle and more care in the edge grinding would make it a good tool. The handle is great.
I'm not a fan of expensive knives. I prefer budget blades. I will say the handle on those really intrigues me. It looks so different. I just could never justify a knife that expensive. Especially since my most used knives are around $50 US. I personally like the jaakaripuuko 110 love everything about it especially the steel. It's been my experience. If you use your tools they don't rust. As a diesel mechanic I have a toolbox full of tool steel. Been used in rain snow and abused. Yet no rust. My grandfather said stainless was for the people that collect and carbon is for those that work. Entertaining as always I find it funny I miss some of your content. Yet things I've seen always pop up. Anyway take care.
There are other materials besides wood that need cutting. I have the British MOD that you mentioned and a Kabar BK2 but I use them for everything I would not use a fine woodworking knife for. I'm a retired Carpenter woodworker and knives are like chisels every single one has a different purpose.
Hey Rob. No matter what knife I have now, I always put the Ken Onion on its lowest setting. But, I also know that you know much more than I do and have way more experience 👍
Those thick blades are always odd to use for feather stick. We have to raise the angle so much it makes it hard to push downward and not in the stick. In that size, I prefer a full flat as it will be my food prep knife. With a full flat, it will handle feather stick and occasional light chopping and batonning, but, yes, I have my hatchet for that and I love also my Silky saw. I have a chopper that a like for fun and sometimes for felling or making my through a bush but if I want to be serious, a saw, a hatchet and a small knife is what I prefer.
Damn it!!! I had ordered one and it's on its way. Now after watching this, I feel like I made a terrible choice. I saw so many great reviews with this knife. Oh man I'm nervous. Well, thanks for the review. Kinda wish I hadn't seen it.
You may love it , many do, mine just dosen't work for me, the grind is just too steep to cut and shave , next thing i'm going to do is put a 20deg V on the edge, if that dosen't work i'm selling it.
Thanks for your honesty! I'll stick with my Terava Skrama. I have a couple of expensive knives but for the price, the Skrama is the best knife in my collection.
Hi Rob. Nice video as usual, thanks for taking the time to get back in with a new geometry. Your skills mitigate a little the situation but I think that knife is really not a bushcraft tool. Actually I can't see any particular use for it.
@@RobEvansWoodsman honestly I haven't seen that (well I don't remember but it has been a few years) but I do remember reading the description a while ago and it was described as a bone breaking and scraping type of tool. It seems odd that it would be just a dedicated ferro rod striker, the area where the base of the spine meets the handle would be a better area for that. I have an old Smith & Wesson Homeland Security bowie in the Tickle Trunk that I have used in the woods in years past and the base of the top gaurd makes a flamethrower of sparks. It is actually better in my opinion than a 90 degree spine for sparks but the knife itself also has about a 30 degree (maybe 25) thick edge so it is a great rough use tool but not the best for detail work. I should thin it down but too many projects and little free time!
@@turtlewolfpack6061 you could be right my friend as it seems a waste just to use that portion for striking a ferrorod, I did try it on wood but it could not make ribbons, pretty useless until the coating comes off.
Punkwood being just dry rotten wood charred near a fire is new to me, obviously I've heard the term punkwood but I thought it was an American type of tree....doh! Every day is a school day.
well done review Rob, I don't have your patience for things that "nearly" work. other than that it's a brilliant knife, all you really have to do with it after ordering it and unpackaging it is order a flat piece of steel that you always wanted to work with, design a blade shape and size that pleases your taste. cut and file it down to that shape and size, forge it, quench it, sharpen it, throw a couple of scales on it. you may want to think of a sheath of sorts right about now. and guess what... you are done. you have a knife that may work. that thing you were talking about in this video...no thanks, if it's all the same to you. I don't have any more room for useless things in my life. a mora and an axe would be much better at a fraction of the cost.
Nice to see that you’re not giving up easily Rob. It’s a cool looking knife but in a survival situation you can’t struggle that much. I still stick with my A1x for sure. Thanks for another interesting video!
I have an a1x but I really wanna try this knife out I’ve never been a fan of N690 but my friend ordered one so I’ll see how I feel before I buy one for whatever reason I really enjoy looking at extrema ratio knives
Thank you for this video - I was about to buy this knife and now my illusions are gone. Have you found any knife that would fit the same "type / usage" (expedition / one-knife for most tasks) that is worth it, that actually does a good job?
I'd go with a Fallkniven A1X or A1pro. I have videos on both or maybe a Cold steel Recon Scout, the Demko Freereign is a new favourite of mine. I have reviews on them all, look on my Knife Review Playlist, good luck with your search, the TRC apocalypse is a nice tool but I don't think it's worth the extra cost.
@@RobEvansWoodsman thank you. Interesting you mention the A1x (got this one). And while I love the look & feel of it, I got some breakouts and I feel it's generally too thick for anything else than brutal chopping. Too man knives on the market and it's really not easy to find something to be really happy with overall. Will definitely look more into your channel. Thanks for replying and wishing you a Merry Xmas!
This is such an odd thing. Dutch Bushcraft Knives did a review on this and they bloody loved the thing. For 2 people whose opinion I trust to have such different outcomes makes me wonder if there are quality control issues. Or possibly they made design changes? I don’t know it’s very odd.
Could be a quality control issue. I saw this knife with DBK and really wanted to try it. I don't want to sound like a smart arse but they can't feather like me.
Was not sure about this knife as I am not a fan of coated or tanto blades. I highly recommend a Rob Evans Bushtool instead as it is truly an awesome piece of kit. Your perseverance is a credit to you........ Maybe it should be supplied with a free Ken Onion grinder ......... How would you compare it to the Modern Bowie? Keep up the great reviews 👍👍
Great video Rob. What a lot of work to put into an expensive knife to make it a semi usable tool! It did remind me of the MoD survival knife and I think I will stick to that as my beast knife. Cheers
IF SOMEONE WANTS TO THROW AWAY AND WASTE 456€ BUYING THIS KNIFE, IT IS HIS OR HER OWN DECISION. DO THEY TRY THEIR KNIVES, THE EXTREMA RATIO, BEFORE THEY PUT THEM UNDER PRODUCTION IN REAL SITUATIONS? IF I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN AXE AND THE SALVENS, I WOULD DEFINITELY GO FOR AN AXE. CHECK FOR THE WC WILLIAMS SURVIVAL KNIFE, AND ITS PRICE STARTS FROM 295$.
What are the benefits of Ash? It doesn't seem to be good for feather sticks. I'm about to have access to loads of it, but don't recall ever encountering it before (apart from when I used Ash to make a baseball bat as a project) 😎
Just watched you struggle to get the selvans to work effectively with the finer tasks and couldn't help thinking you'd have been better with a smaller silky, a GB wildlife hatchet and a Mora hd or robust for example. Especially for £430ish. Thoughts Rob??
100% my friend. Give me an axe saw and a scandi any day of the week, I'd even say cheap items after a bit of modification would be a far better choice.
Hi Rob, great video as allways, i have a question, so i was gonna buy me self a folding saw from silky, which one is the best all around one for bushcrafting and shelter making? thanks!
do you have a china copy of the knife? I've had mine for about 4 months. and it's awful to watch you struggle with the knife. hard to believe. I share my experience with the crazy guys. although I'm not a fan of either of them. very very strange.🤔
Great review as usual. You know what you're doing, if somebody with your experience can't feather stick with it, we'll all struggle. I still like the look of it though, it's definitely a good looking design - it's got plenty of visual appeal - I'm on the fence with coatings....I understand why they're there, but not necessary for my use.....do you think the Selvan coating causes added friction? I completely agree that taking the grind back a bit more would help but like you said, it's a chopper not a carver and who takes just one beast of a knife out with them, without a smaller knife anyway?? Ha! Ive got to laugh....trying to feather stick with ash wood and trying to light ferro rod or flint and steel fires in bbq pans is such a pain - I've tried both many many times with much cursing 🤣
@@dennisleighton2812 I'd even say that if you're camping, it's worth taking a small, thin spine, flat grind food prep type knife along too. Sure a thicker knife kind of works, but for the extra oz in weight just pop a kitchen type knife in the bag and make your life a little easier (as long as you're eating food food, not MRE food).
@@daemonharper3928 Absolutely! I'd not even consider going out without my Victorinox 3" paring knife! I probably do 50% of all my food prep in the house with those knives (I have several (straight edge, curved edge, serrated, etc!).
Rob, you have more skills than most…. So your tests are honest. The knife grind IS the issue, at this stage in your grind mods my 10” Parang can do more than this knife can and that is an extreme comparison, the parang can still handle buttoning punishment of equal to the Selvans with a cat tail handle. It is not tactic-cool however! I really wanted my knife to perform too, but at what cost to changing the looks of the blade and removing more of that coating…….? Maybe it should be called an Urban Bushcraft Knife for when the apocalypse arrives….lol….. But if you struggle at camp doing simple chores you probably wont be using it much….. go for more grinding…..I think that will be the difference and I don’t think it will chip nearer the handle when buttoning but creating more of a flatter edge for carving and feather sticks, just don’t use it to chop through metal! You will find on other Extrema Ratio blades they have this same issue… its rather annoying because they look awesome and you really them to perform. I do find it very strange or not that the DBK guys promote this blade, maybe they were going to use them to make their DBK knife? But TRC blades are really great for a SS option….. not sure if your have reviewed any of them yet? The Apocalypse in Convex is great but a flimsy edge, so there is always the debate on secondary v-edge verses convex and so we as users have to decide what we primarily want to blade to perform at best if we go for the one blade option…. Probable 2 blades are always the way to go, but Rambo only had one! :-)
I'm going to put a V edge on it, I've decided that a convex secondary bevel is shit for the way I use a knife. My old Carbon V cold steel knives have been hammered over the years and work well, stick to what you know. Rambo's first knife was sold with a folder in the handle.
Those Extrema Ratio knives are truly strange. Appealing designs (they are Italian, after all), cool handles, mediocre steel and high prices. In the end, I opted for Fallkniven A1 Pro, Bark River Canadian Camp II in A2 and Lt Wright Gen 3 in O1 for my big size, survival knives.
@@RobEvansWoodsman no I don't own one but it seemed to me that if it wouldn't grab well enough to feather wood then it wasn't sharpened properly as you seemed to have to either dig in with significant force or change your angle of attack to a steep angle in order to get purchase on the wood which I would speculate was due to the grind being too convex or just a dull apex
It was significantly better than the original grind but still too steep, I have decided to use the knife for heavy chores as I really don't want to grind it again, a shallower V edge not a convex secondary bevel would be better but let's face it it'll never curl and shave like a 4" scandi blade, I used it again in the Fjallraven Stubben pack video and it was ok .
IMO ...still looks over rated and over priced, if its just a beater you may as well buy a Golock or MoD survival knife. Survival lillys APO-1 is a better knife ... more functional and at least its sharp and holds an edge. On my recent trip i took my MoD survival knife as my only knife, was quickly reminded how doing finer work was definitely a perishable skill. Maybe if you carried just that knife for longer you'd get used to its quirks and come to grips with it after awhile.
![[กูเพิ่งซื้อมึงปิดหนี] 20 นาที ผมรีวิวเกมที่แย่ที่สุดในโลก CONCORD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XhC-3q3Ii7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Another great video. I really appreciate your honest opinion on the gear you test, it help the rest of us make better decisions on the gear we buy.
I had much the same problem with my ESEE-5 , it was virtually blunt out of the box . So I reground the edge to a convex , it's hair shaving sharp now , but it still can not featherstick properly . These knives are designed as survival tools only , and are not suitable for bushcraft or camping tasks . Disappointing , but true . Thank you for the review , at least I know that I was not imagining the problem . Great show . Cheers
Cheers David, pry bars with a crap edge and a lot of paint!
Thanks for the review! It’s a lovely blade profile, too bad it doesn’t seem to perform. Would be nice to see them release a version of this with a bit thinner blade stock and different steel.
Thanks for an intelligent comment, last comment I had on this video I had to remove, the guy was seriously upset with my review!
Thankyou as always Rob, I just hate that knife for no good reason, well cost is a good un I suppose. I know I would be happier with my 15 quid axe and my little Mora and spend the other 370 on some good kit. I do appreciate that you give us the bad with the good on reviews, I just gave one real heavy knife I made from a file to my mate I did all the heat treaments myself and gave it a convex grind, it was shit for feathersticking and not as good as a small chopper for chopping, so pretty useless to me even though everyone liked the look of it. We all talk of survival but in reality anyone who goes into the bush had better be prepared, and the chances are in our country if things go tits up we will be wrestling some old lady for a bog roll in Tesco, so Ive been practicing my kung fu on my 87 year old mother and nearly beat her in a match last week. Love your channel Rob thanks for putting up with me
Always a pleasure to hear from you mate
Keep at it mate, one day you’ll be able to beat her! 😁
😂😂😂
I think most people who use knives a lot eventually come to the conclusion that they're not willing to sacrifice cutting performance for over the top edge stability and durability. Obtuse grinds and a lot of thickness behind the edge may be bombproof but they're also very unpleasant to use for regular knife tasks. Even a big survival knife should be able to cut well. Look at the A1.
the blade needs to be reworked, the handle is excellent.
@Grey Holm
I agree 100%
Yep, my thoughts and practice too.
Profi demonstration videó,,,👍
All boils down to which technique one uses with any tool..
Master all and perfect your favorites..
Having fun and learning 👍
Hi Rob, thanks for the video, good to see the knife being used after the new grind, it is what it is , a beater, fairly unbreakable in a survival situation, but wouldn't be my choice , like your comment I'd go for a smaller, sharper , easier to use knife, and the weight I'd save allows me to carry a few more goodies, like Mars bars,lol. Cheers mate, stay safe, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.
You know exactly where I'm coming from mate.
I am a big fan of the exotac stuff, titan lighter is pretty good. As to the knife I would prefer a 12" Ontario machete and a mora companion. Much cheaper and more versatile. Thanks for taking me along again...
Great video, looking forward to the Mod survival knife 🔪 vid now..got one kicking about somewhere, beast of a lump of steel, ugly too ha ha
I think your final thoughts were spot on it’s a hard use knife, designed to get you out of trouble/survival knife type of thing. Looking forward to the MOD knife which you may remember is a knife I’ve often referred back to. I’ve had a fero rod like that, not consistent pain in the backside.
I like what I think the knife wants to be, but I don't like what it appears to actually be. I think I'm going to stick with my original plan, an F1x and ER's Giant Mamba for a bigger knife.
I get that this is a survival knife, ie meant for unexpected visits to the wilderness, and I can see it's value in that regard. But for intended trips, where you will definitely be taking a small knife too, I fail to see why anyone would carry this in preference to a hatchet.
I know mate, I agree I hated the knife.
The Selvans Its a great Knife bro.
Opinions really differ on this knife , the handle is great but the grinds are all wrong, just my opinion.
It's obviously a matter of taste whether you like it or not, bro. But if you know how to use it, the handling is also very good. But no knife can be absolutely good at every area, but the Selvans comes close, in my opinion bro.
Nice vid Rob,I would take more steel off behind the edge but I agree about what’s the point to make it a better cutting performer, it wasn’t meant to be that way, great cutting performance comes from smaller thinner blades without coatings on it imho, nevertheless I’m so impressed with the performance of my TRC Mille Cuori,Vanadis4E is something special,after I did give it a regrind ofcoarse LOL
I want a TRC !
Proper sound review that. I was intrigued by these and I get the "oh, but there're not a bushcrafter" argument. But what sort of 'hard use' is it for? What sort of 'survival?'' Too short to slash effectively, too weak to chop seriously and too clumsy to carve. Extrema latrine digging? Extrema TikToking seems about the mark!
Thanks James, if they'd have changed the grind and dropped the price by £200 it would be good!
Great follow-up. Thanks
Hi Rob, I just finished watching your initial review of the Selvans and now this one after you reground the edge. I'd be willing to bet that the reason you found the edge to dull so fast initially is because Extrema Ratio uses high-speed dry grinding to put the edge on the blade which ruins the temper at the very apex and ruins all the nice properties that a properly heat-treated blade delivers (at the edge, not throughout the entire blade obviously). Once that temper is ruined by high-speed dry grinding, the edge unsurprisingly dulls very quickly just as you found out. Typically you'll have to sharpen away all this damaged steel through multiple sharpenings to get back to good, properly heat-treated steel for the edge to last as one would expect. (You did find the edge to hold up better after the first sharpening after all, it'll probably improve even more after a few more sharpenings I bet)
This is a big problem in knife manufacturing at large and there is good research and evidence which proves that high-speed dry grinding ruins the temper and edge holding of knives. Wet grinding eliminates the issue of overheating the thin edge but few manufacturers do this unfortunately.
I also wanted to ask, were you saying that you set your Ken Onion sharpener to the 24° setting and then you made the edge convex on top of that? That would then mean that your final edge angle was greater than 24° , somewhere in the range of 26° to 30° per side (I'm guessing) for a total of 52°-60° included angle! My friend, THAT is one OBTUSE edge angle!!! Lol! It's no wonder it didn't featherstick wood and bite into it very well! You've got a sharpened pry bar on your hands there, not a knife! 😂
I mean no disrespect whatsoever as I enjoy you and your channel and I know you know a thing or two about knives being a maker yourself, but wouldn't it have been a lot better to try a 20° per side edge angle? If you were going to give it a bit of a convex edge, then set the Ken Onion even lower, maybe 17°-18° so that when it convexes, it ends up at 20° per side at the very apex. I'd imagine that would still be plenty strong enough to handle all the duties you were demonstrating. Heck, even large choppers rarely need anything more than 22° or 23° per side and they see a lot harder work than what anyone can reasonably do with a knife the size of the Selvans. People like Cliff Stamp have shown that they can survive much lower angles than even that, down around 12°-14° per side!
No disrespect meant here at all as you have more experience than I do, so I hope this comes across in the friendly manner it was intended!
I'm grateful you share so much with us! It's entertaining and informative! Cheers!
I totally agree with you on the angle I put on the SELVANS, problem I found is that it's really thick behind the edge, if I took it back more it would look like a scandi grind knife.
I've more or less given up on the knife, it's in a box, I'll think about giving it a shallow grind, I didn't take your message the wrong way, thank you for pointing these things out.
Let's face it, this knife isn't worth the huge price tag and a simple change of gring angle and more care in the edge grinding would make it a good tool.
The handle is great.
I'm not a fan of expensive knives. I prefer budget blades. I will say the handle on those really intrigues me. It looks so different. I just could never justify a knife that expensive.
Especially since my most used knives are around $50 US.
I personally like the jaakaripuuko 110 love everything about it especially the steel. It's been my experience. If you use your tools they don't rust. As a diesel mechanic I have a toolbox full of tool steel. Been used in rain snow and abused. Yet no rust. My grandfather said stainless was for the people that collect and carbon is for those that work.
Entertaining as always I find it funny I miss some of your content. Yet things I've seen always pop up. Anyway take care.
Give me a mora robust before this thing any day.
Another great video
I like how you think! Thanks Rob
Thanks mate.
There are other materials besides wood that need cutting. I have the British MOD that you mentioned and a Kabar BK2 but I use them for everything I would not use a fine woodworking knife for. I'm a retired Carpenter woodworker and knives are like chisels every single one has a different purpose.
Plastic, rubber, soft alloys and bone.
👍👍
Hey Rob. No matter what knife I have now, I always put the Ken Onion on its lowest setting. But, I also know that you know much more than I do and have way more experience 👍
You could be onto something there mate, it's not an accurate Gide it's convex.
Those thick blades are always odd to use for feather stick. We have to raise the angle so much it makes it hard to push downward and not in the stick. In that size, I prefer a full flat as it will be my food prep knife. With a full flat, it will handle feather stick and occasional light chopping and batonning, but, yes, I have my hatchet for that and I love also my Silky saw.
I have a chopper that a like for fun and sometimes for felling or making my through a bush but if I want to be serious, a saw, a hatchet and a small knife is what I prefer.
Same here, I've always preferred a full flat grind on a large blade.
Damn it!!! I had ordered one and it's on its way. Now after watching this, I feel like I made a terrible choice. I saw so many great reviews with this knife. Oh man I'm nervous. Well, thanks for the review. Kinda wish I hadn't seen it.
You may love it , many do, mine just dosen't work for me, the grind is just too steep to cut and shave , next thing i'm going to do is put a 20deg V on the edge, if that dosen't work i'm selling it.
Any updates on your knife usage?
Thanks for your honesty! I'll stick with my Terava Skrama. I have a couple of expensive knives but for the price, the Skrama is the best knife in my collection.
I think I'd prefer the Skrama too
And the Skrama is less than 20% of the cost of the Selvans…
Thankx Rob, looking forward to next week's MOD knife vid
Thank you for the regrind video. Still way out of my price range but a cracking review as always.
Hi Rob. Nice video as usual, thanks for taking the time to get back in with a new geometry. Your skills mitigate a little the situation but I think that knife is really not a bushcraft tool. Actually I can't see any particular use for it.
It's a good splitting tool, that's about it.
I am not sold on that knife either. Yes it works but I would rather have a great all around knife.
, 👍Great Rob,
Much improved with the re-grind. Personally I still don't like the blade profile, but each to his own 😊.
That's not a ferro rod striker Rob. Thats intended for busting open bone and such for resources.
it is a dedicated ferrorod striker, there's even a little diagram of a spark on it.
I agree with you that it would also bust bone.
@@RobEvansWoodsman honestly I haven't seen that (well I don't remember but it has been a few years) but I do remember reading the description a while ago and it was described as a bone breaking and scraping type of tool. It seems odd that it would be just a dedicated ferro rod striker, the area where the base of the spine meets the handle would be a better area for that. I have an old Smith & Wesson Homeland Security bowie in the Tickle Trunk that I have used in the woods in years past and the base of the top gaurd makes a flamethrower of sparks. It is actually better in my opinion than a 90 degree spine for sparks but the knife itself also has about a 30 degree (maybe 25) thick edge so it is a great rough use tool but not the best for detail work.
I should thin it down but too many projects and little free time!
@@turtlewolfpack6061 you could be right my friend as it seems a waste just to use that portion for striking a ferrorod, I did try it on wood but it could not make ribbons, pretty useless until the coating comes off.
Punkwood being just dry rotten wood charred near a fire is new to me, obviously I've heard the term punkwood but I thought it was an American type of tree....doh!
Every day is a school day.
well done review Rob, I don't have your patience for things that "nearly" work. other than that it's a brilliant knife, all you really have to do with it after ordering it and unpackaging it is order a flat piece of steel that you always wanted to work with, design a blade shape and size that pleases your taste. cut and file it down to that shape and size, forge it, quench it, sharpen it, throw a couple of scales on it. you may want to think of a sheath of sorts right about now. and guess what... you are done. you have a knife that may work. that thing you were talking about in this video...no thanks, if it's all the same to you. I don't have any more room for useless things in my life. a mora and an axe would be much better at a fraction of the cost.
If I had the time I'd make one, one day...
Nice to see that you’re not giving up easily Rob. It’s a cool looking knife but in a survival situation you can’t struggle that much. I still stick with my A1x for sure. Thanks for another interesting video!
totally agree, give me a fallkniven any day.
I have an a1x but I really wanna try this knife out I’ve never been a fan of N690 but my friend ordered one so I’ll see how I feel before I buy one for whatever reason I really enjoy looking at extrema ratio knives
Save yourself a pile of cash and stick with the Fallkniven.
Thank you for this video - I was about to buy this knife and now my illusions are gone. Have you found any knife that would fit the same "type / usage" (expedition / one-knife for most tasks) that is worth it, that actually does a good job?
I'd go with a Fallkniven A1X or A1pro.
I have videos on both or maybe a Cold steel Recon Scout, the Demko Freereign is a new favourite of mine.
I have reviews on them all, look on my Knife Review Playlist, good luck with your search, the TRC apocalypse is a nice tool but I don't think it's worth the extra cost.
@@RobEvansWoodsman thank you. Interesting you mention the A1x (got this one). And while I love the look & feel of it, I got some breakouts and I feel it's generally too thick for anything else than brutal chopping. Too man knives on the market and it's really not easy to find something to be really happy with overall. Will definitely look more into your channel. Thanks for replying and wishing you a Merry Xmas!
This is such an odd thing. Dutch Bushcraft Knives did a review on this and they bloody loved the thing. For 2 people whose opinion I trust to have such different outcomes makes me wonder if there are quality control issues. Or possibly they made design changes? I don’t know it’s very odd.
Could be a quality control issue.
I saw this knife with DBK and really wanted to try it.
I don't want to sound like a smart arse but they can't feather like me.
Was not sure about this knife as I am not a fan of coated or tanto blades. I highly recommend a Rob Evans Bushtool instead as it is truly an awesome piece of kit. Your perseverance is a credit to you........ Maybe it should be supplied with a free Ken Onion grinder ......... How would you compare it to the Modern Bowie? Keep up the great reviews 👍👍
Give me the modern Bowie any day of the week, that can shave , chop and split.
No silly coating and it looks cool as F**k!
🤣🤣
Sell the Selvans and get on the list for a Rob Evans Bushtool......... 👍👍
🤣🤣🤣there's a nice little knife in the works for me.
Looking forward to the review for that one.......🤣🤣👍👍
Great video Rob. What a lot of work to put into an expensive knife to make it a semi usable tool! It did remind me of the MoD survival knife and I think I will stick to that as my beast knife. Cheers
Wise move .
IF SOMEONE WANTS TO THROW AWAY AND WASTE 456€ BUYING THIS KNIFE, IT IS HIS OR HER OWN DECISION. DO THEY TRY THEIR KNIVES, THE EXTREMA RATIO, BEFORE THEY PUT THEM UNDER PRODUCTION IN REAL SITUATIONS? IF I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN AXE AND THE SALVENS, I WOULD DEFINITELY GO FOR AN AXE. CHECK FOR THE WC WILLIAMS SURVIVAL KNIFE, AND ITS PRICE STARTS FROM 295$.
I know I'm off topic but I have been informed that varstelca won't send there knifes to the UK anymore looks like we have been cancelled
Rediculous, are they Russian sympathisers?
Great video, Rob. I wonder if you were planning on doing a comparison video comparing the Selvans to the ESSE 5?
I sold the 5 ages ago.
I really don't like the handle.
@@RobEvansWoodsman What was the problem, Rob? Is it so different from other ESSE knives?
What are the benefits of Ash? It doesn't seem to be good for feather sticks. I'm about to have access to loads of it, but don't recall ever encountering it before (apart from when I used Ash to make a baseball bat as a project) 😎
It was there and dry, it burns well and it grows straight.
Hey Rob,
Did you save the punkwood?
It seemed to be charring, Did it shrink.too much?
Cheers
Graham
That'll be in the next video mate.
Just watched you struggle to get the selvans to work effectively with the finer tasks and couldn't help thinking you'd have been better with a smaller silky, a GB wildlife hatchet and a Mora hd or robust for example. Especially for £430ish. Thoughts Rob??
100% my friend.
Give me an axe saw and a scandi any day of the week, I'd even say cheap items after a bit of modification would be a far better choice.
Hi Rob, great video as allways, i have a question, so i was gonna buy me self a folding saw from silky, which one is the best all around one for bushcrafting and shelter making? thanks!
Bigboy straight medium teeth as an all rounder or a 270 Gomboy straight medium teeth.
do you have a china copy of the knife?
I've had mine for about 4 months. and it's awful to watch you struggle with the knife. hard to believe. I share my experience with the crazy guys. although I'm not a fan of either of them. very very strange.🤔
This is definitely not a Chinese copy.
Great review as usual. You know what you're doing, if somebody with your experience can't feather stick with it, we'll all struggle.
I still like the look of it though, it's definitely a good looking design - it's got plenty of visual appeal - I'm on the fence with coatings....I understand why they're there, but not necessary for my use.....do you think the Selvan coating causes added friction?
I completely agree that taking the grind back a bit more would help but like you said, it's a chopper not a carver and who takes just one beast of a knife out with them, without a smaller knife anyway??
Ha! Ive got to laugh....trying to feather stick with ash wood and trying to light ferro rod or flint and steel fires in bbq pans is such a pain - I've tried both many many times with much cursing 🤣
The coating dose play a part in my opinion.
Agreed - the myth of a one-knife-does-it-all is just that, a myth. The extra weight of the best feather-sticker/carver is worth every ounce!
@@dennisleighton2812 I'd even say that if you're camping, it's worth taking a small, thin spine, flat grind food prep type knife along too.
Sure a thicker knife kind of works, but for the extra oz in weight just pop a kitchen type knife in the bag and make your life a little easier (as long as you're eating food food, not MRE food).
@@daemonharper3928 Absolutely! I'd not even consider going out without my Victorinox 3" paring knife! I probably do 50% of all my food prep in the house with those knives (I have several (straight edge, curved edge, serrated, etc!).
Rob, you have more skills than most…. So your tests are honest. The knife grind IS the issue, at this stage in your grind mods my 10” Parang can do more than this knife can and that is an extreme comparison, the parang can still handle buttoning punishment of equal to the Selvans with a cat tail handle. It is not tactic-cool however! I really wanted my knife to perform too, but at what cost to changing the looks of the blade and removing more of that coating…….? Maybe it should be called an Urban Bushcraft Knife for when the apocalypse arrives….lol….. But if you struggle at camp doing simple chores you probably wont be using it much….. go for more grinding…..I think that will be the difference and I don’t think it will chip nearer the handle when buttoning but creating more of a flatter edge for carving and feather sticks, just don’t use it to chop through metal! You will find on other Extrema Ratio blades they have this same issue… its rather annoying because they look awesome and you really them to perform. I do find it very strange or not that the DBK guys promote this blade, maybe they were going to use them to make their DBK knife? But TRC blades are really great for a SS option….. not sure if your have reviewed any of them yet? The Apocalypse in Convex is great but a flimsy edge, so there is always the debate on secondary v-edge verses convex and so we as users have to decide what we primarily want to blade to perform at best if we go for the one blade option…. Probable 2 blades are always the way to go, but Rambo only had one! :-)
I'm going to put a V edge on it, I've decided that a convex secondary bevel is shit for the way I use a knife.
My old Carbon V cold steel knives have been hammered over the years and work well, stick to what you know.
Rambo's first knife was sold with a folder in the handle.
Those Extrema Ratio knives are truly strange. Appealing designs (they are Italian, after all), cool handles, mediocre steel and high prices. In the end, I opted for Fallkniven A1 Pro, Bark River Canadian Camp II in A2 and Lt Wright Gen 3 in O1 for my big size, survival knives.
Much better choice.
@@RobEvansWoodsman Thanks for the comprehensive and honest reviews. This one comfirmed my suspicions about Extrema Ratio.
A knife for me is to work wood, that for me just doesn't work, not worth a carrot. You give it a fair go, stick to your bush tool.👍
Its not like I didn't try !
@@RobEvansWoodsman I know mate, it shows how bad it is when you don't do feathers with ease.😁👍
Rob,that looks like you could do with a new knife as the one that in video is a chopper. Would not make feather with it sorry.
It'll go in the box with all the other gimmick tools!
Rob it really is painful to watch it feather stick.
🤣🤣
Nice jacket. Which is it? Cost?
Helikon Tex Woodsman's anorak.
Regrind it to a 20 degree angle
l might do that.
Hi Rob! That’s a lot of work to modify for your use! Why not just make one large knife with your favorite features? You make great knives!:)
Time my friend!
Sadly, it's painfully obvious it hasn't been sharpened properly
Do you have a Selvans?
@@RobEvansWoodsman no I don't own one but it seemed to me that if it wouldn't grab well enough to feather wood then it wasn't sharpened properly as you seemed to have to either dig in with significant force or change your angle of attack to a steep angle in order to get purchase on the wood which I would speculate was due to the grind being too convex or just a dull apex
It was significantly better than the original grind but still too steep, I have decided to use the knife for heavy chores as I really don't want to grind it again, a shallower V edge not a convex secondary bevel would be better but let's face it it'll never curl and shave like a 4" scandi blade, I used it again in the Fjallraven Stubben pack video and it was ok .
IMO ...still looks over rated and over priced, if its just a beater you may as well buy a Golock or MoD survival knife. Survival lillys APO-1 is a better knife ... more functional and at least its sharp and holds an edge.
On my recent trip i took my MoD survival knife as my only knife, was quickly reminded how doing finer work was definitely a perishable skill. Maybe if you carried just that knife for longer you'd get used to its quirks and come to grips with it after awhile.
It's going , too much money to put in the cupboard.
@@RobEvansWoodsman do you think maybe you had a lemon, ? ... something wrong with the metal, grind or heat treatment?
@@neilcastell6951 no because I've had other reports exactly the same as mine.
Nathan 4071 TH-cam
l found the channel, what do l need to look for, all l found was ferrorods.
Nathan 4071 look for that
@@RobEvansWoodsman all different sizes of Ferro rods 3/8 to want it long as you want