Simon..... First off nice to see you have found a knife you have fallen in love with. Knives I find are rather like a lady, they are all similar to some degree, however, each of us hope to find one we can truly get on with. Nice to hear your health is improving. I wish I had a pound for every time you mentioned "Tim", if so I could easy buy one Of his £ 70 pound knives ( not a bad price for a hand mad knife) As to the review ? I will be honest in that, I only watched it until came upon the first advert. I was astounded that you would think I would want to have to sit through 6 odd adverts, with the only goal or incentive for doing so was to see you whittling away at a piece of wood? There was a promise which was not fulfilled of seeing you make a spoon, which is perhaps the simplest and least demanding carving task in my view. I feel you were perhaps trying to show us the enhanced capability of this knife, yet the only test you seem thus far to put it under to attest to its effectiveness, is a task that anyone can do with a Mora Companion knife at around £12 pounds .... I did as I say at times fast forward due to the subject matter of watching you whittling away. While I agree with you that it can be very relaxing and destressing doing carving/Whittling, however watching someone doing it for 57 minutes, I feel is rather akin to watching paint dry or a non-medical solution/ cure for persons suffering from insomnia. So as for a review of Tim's work and how his knives will perform, I am still none the wiser as all you have shown us is it can whittle away at wood which it's my belief that all knives can do, again assisted in this simple non-demanding task if they can hold a decent edge. I do feel GUTTED and LET down ! I never got to see the Spoon finished ! I have got to know what it looks like !!! Having invested 20 munites of my life fast forwarding the long film in the hope of seeing the end game, your spoon I mean.... I have one other question, or point to note.... ? Your good friend, the one you stated loves this knife and will be paying you full retail price for what indeed would be a second-hand knife sold to him by you his friend. If you are going to make him as you say pay full retail price, why would he not just go order one brand new from "Tim" as opposed to waiting for a second-hand one that has seen a fair bit of use ? I am unsure if any warranty would be transferable to a second user ? ( you never mentioned anything about this in your review about "Tim's Work ?) If as you say he is a good real life friend and not an imaginary one, perhaps you could knock a bit off the price for him ? I have made some very good real life friends who also share my love of the outdoors. I am sorry, but as polite as I am if they tried to sell me a well used second-hand knife at the full retail price; I would have to try very hard not too loudly utter the words " Foxtrot Oscar " ( grins) Anyway Simon, the midnight hour draws near and I have to sleep. I await with bated breath to see the spoon your knife has made and I am very much looking forward to seeing your new knife made and designed for you. Will it be a one-off, or do you have plans to patent it and sell it as the " Simon packed to live ultimate bushcraft/ field knife ? " You know like " Lofty Wiseman has done I am sure it would be a good seller and many people would be proud to have, use and show to everyone that they have a knife designed by "Simon"... Just a thought as this could be a big money maker for you ? Anway I await your update film. Be safe Mack.
Sorry Simon, I meant to add ... I was so gutted that I never got to see your spoon finished that you have for me become a first on U tube. I was so disappointed..... Nay Gutted, that I never got to see the spoon finished that I will be honest and upfront in that for me this is the first time I have clicked the thumbs down on this film. ( you have popped my thumbs down Cherry) But rest assured if I get to see the finished spoon as promised I will leave a thumbs up next time...
First of all, let me apologize for the number of adverts RUclips decided to plant in the video. By default, when I upload a video, RUclips is set to determine where best to place the ads and it does so automatically. I had no idea that it had planted so many in this one, and I'll be removing all but two of them as I'm personally okay with an ad being slotted in to the middle but I never want more than two in a long video (one in a short video). As for repeating myself, this is (sadly) a problem that I have. I forget when speaking what I've already said, and end up repeating myself (sometimes many, many times). Similarly, when editing the video, I forget whether or not I've already mentioned something in a previous part of the video I've been editing... and so it gets missed during the cutting process. I should stress that I do watch the video back several times in full before rendering, but even this is enough time to mess with my memory. This problem has gotten notably worse since I began receiving treatment for my condition at the start of last year (and is indeed one of the key reasons why I had to stop making videos for such a long time). The reason I had to up-sticks before I completed the spoon (and I did mention this in the video) is that the weather was rapidly deteriorating, and while I was sitting in a clearing away from the trees (many of which are seriously damaged, some leaning on other trees and that alone preventing them from falling down), it was becoming increasingly windy and bitterly cold. Not a good thing to force myself to endure while my immune system is in a massively weakened state. I also mentioned in the video that if anyone would like to see the completion of the spoon, I'm happy to do that on video (it's not going to be a work of art by any means, but it'll be a spoon and will function as one just fine). As to demonstrating the worth of the knife, as I said right from the beginning, this video is just one of multiple "trials" to which I subject a knife. Splitting and carving excessively (I.E. carving away more excess wood than anyone normally wood because they'd use either a larger knife or an axe to do shave the majority of material away more rapidly) is a way of more rapidly discovering how quickly a blade loses its edge. You compare this knife to a Mora Companion. First of all, the Mora Companion is a longer blade, it uses a rod instead of a full tang, and if I'm honest I find that comparison to be akin to saying that a Fiat Panda is "basically" the same as a Lamborghini. I mean, they're both cars, right? I get what you're saying, but much like my analogy with the cars, a Mora is not the same as the Field and Fish. Different materials, different shape, different size, different tolerances. I also know from experience (given that I own and use the Mora Companion as well) that it doesn't hold its edge like the Field and Fish. While that alone doesn't fully justify the price difference, when I consider all factors, personally (and let me stress that this is my opinion - which is all a "review" ever really is) I consider the price difference to be entirely justified. Especially when you consider that Mora won't customize their knife for your particular wants or needs. All a "trial by spoon" serves to do is demonstrate splitting and edge retention. As you took great delight in pointing out, making a spoon is a simple task... and can be accomplished by any knife capable of holding an edge. Except, there are plenty of knives that simply DON'T hold an edge long enough to perform that task, and I've seen many a blade snap (including Mora knives at the handle, by the way) when attempting to split wood (yes, even ~3" diameter small lengths like in this video). Had the Field and Fish broken while splitting the wood, this video (while certainly shorter) would have served to identify a critical flaw... a cautionary tale for the benefit of others. My friend (Matt) who wants the knife shown in this video... he's simply impatient. He would rather buy the one I have than wait for one to be made for him. He knows I look after my blades, and so the condition he receives it in will be every bit as good as when it arrived in my hands. It was his choice to match the price I paid, for what it's worth, and I've bought other items from him at the original purchase price under the same conditions. As for warranty, that covers the knife for manufacturing defects... for the purchaser only. In this case, we already know the knife is free from defects (it's seen enough miles already prior to this video for me to say that confidently) so we're not concerned with it. Yes, I really should have pointed out the warranty conditions in the video, though it's defined on the Ammonite Knives website too. In terms of knocking a bit off the price... I didn't ask, he offered. Had he offered me slightly less, I'd have been fine with that (we're friends, and money has never been an issue between either of us) In terms of my custom knife, at this time it's intended as a one-off. I have no intention of sticking my name on a knife and trying to peddle it as a product. If someone else wants to commission the same or similar (from Ammonite Knives or any other toolmaker) that's entirely up to them. I don't own the design (regardless of how much of it is entirely my own, how much of it is derived from things I've seen etc). Want to make something similar yourself? Cool... go ahead and enjoy. Now, even though I've responded point-for-point, I'm pretty sure that your entire comment was intended to be sarcastic... especially that last part about people being proud to own a knife designed by "Simon". Sarcasm or not, I always appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE feedback... so thank you for that much.
" Hey I was NOT disrespecting your KNIFE " < said in my best Catherine Tate Voice.... I mearley said you could do the same as you have filmed you doing with a Mora..
Welcome back.
Thanks! I'm hoping to get out more and more from now on.
Simon.....
First off nice to see you have found a knife you have fallen in love with.
Knives I find are rather like a lady, they are all similar to some degree, however, each of us hope to find one we can truly get on with.
Nice to hear your health is improving.
I wish I had a pound for every time you mentioned "Tim", if so I could easy buy one Of his £ 70 pound knives ( not a bad price for a hand mad knife)
As to the review ?
I will be honest in that, I only watched it until came upon the first advert.
I was astounded that you would think I would want to have to sit through 6 odd adverts, with the only goal or incentive for doing so was to see you whittling away at a piece of wood?
There was a promise which was not fulfilled of seeing you make a spoon, which is perhaps the simplest and least demanding carving task in my view.
I feel you were perhaps trying to show us the enhanced capability of this knife, yet the only test you seem thus far to put it under to attest to its effectiveness, is a task that anyone can do with a Mora Companion knife at around £12 pounds ....
I did as I say at times fast forward due to the subject matter of watching you whittling away.
While I agree with you that it can be very relaxing and destressing doing carving/Whittling, however watching someone doing it for 57 minutes, I feel is rather akin to watching paint dry or a non-medical solution/ cure for persons suffering from insomnia.
So as for a review of Tim's work and how his knives will perform, I am still none the wiser as all you have shown us is it can whittle away at wood which it's my belief that all knives can do, again assisted in this simple non-demanding task if they can hold a decent edge.
I do feel GUTTED and LET down !
I never got to see the Spoon finished !
I have got to know what it looks like !!!
Having invested 20 munites of my life fast forwarding the long film in the hope of seeing the end game, your spoon I mean....
I have one other question, or point to note.... ?
Your good friend, the one you stated loves this knife and will be paying you full retail price for what indeed would be a second-hand knife sold to him by you his friend.
If you are going to make him as you say pay full retail price, why would he not just go order one brand new from "Tim" as opposed to waiting for a second-hand one that has seen a fair bit of use ?
I am unsure if any warranty would be transferable to a second user ?
( you never mentioned anything about this in your review about "Tim's Work ?)
If as you say he is a good real life friend and not an imaginary one, perhaps you could knock a bit off the price for him ?
I have made some very good real life friends who also share my love of the outdoors.
I am sorry, but as polite as I am if they tried to sell me a well used second-hand knife at the full retail price; I would have to try very hard not too loudly utter the words " Foxtrot Oscar " ( grins)
Anyway Simon, the midnight hour draws near and I have to sleep.
I await with bated breath to see the spoon your knife has made and I am very much looking forward to seeing your new knife made and designed for you.
Will it be a one-off, or do you have plans to patent it and sell it as the " Simon packed to live ultimate bushcraft/ field knife ? "
You know like " Lofty Wiseman has done I am sure it would be a good seller and many people would be proud to have, use and show to everyone that they have a knife designed by "Simon"...
Just a thought as this could be a big money maker for you ?
Anway I await your update film.
Be safe Mack.
Sorry Simon, I meant to add ... I was so gutted that I never got to see your spoon finished that you have for me become a first on U tube.
I was so disappointed..... Nay Gutted, that I never got to see the spoon finished that I will be honest and upfront in that for me this is the first time I have clicked the thumbs down on this film.
( you have popped my thumbs down Cherry)
But rest assured if I get to see the finished spoon as promised I will leave a thumbs up next time...
First of all, let me apologize for the number of adverts RUclips decided to plant in the video. By default, when I upload a video, RUclips is set to determine where best to place the ads and it does so automatically. I had no idea that it had planted so many in this one, and I'll be removing all but two of them as I'm personally okay with an ad being slotted in to the middle but I never want more than two in a long video (one in a short video).
As for repeating myself, this is (sadly) a problem that I have. I forget when speaking what I've already said, and end up repeating myself (sometimes many, many times). Similarly, when editing the video, I forget whether or not I've already mentioned something in a previous part of the video I've been editing... and so it gets missed during the cutting process. I should stress that I do watch the video back several times in full before rendering, but even this is enough time to mess with my memory.
This problem has gotten notably worse since I began receiving treatment for my condition at the start of last year (and is indeed one of the key reasons why I had to stop making videos for such a long time).
The reason I had to up-sticks before I completed the spoon (and I did mention this in the video) is that the weather was rapidly deteriorating, and while I was sitting in a clearing away from the trees (many of which are seriously damaged, some leaning on other trees and that alone preventing them from falling down), it was becoming increasingly windy and bitterly cold. Not a good thing to force myself to endure while my immune system is in a massively weakened state.
I also mentioned in the video that if anyone would like to see the completion of the spoon, I'm happy to do that on video (it's not going to be a work of art by any means, but it'll be a spoon and will function as one just fine).
As to demonstrating the worth of the knife, as I said right from the beginning, this video is just one of multiple "trials" to which I subject a knife. Splitting and carving excessively (I.E. carving away more excess wood than anyone normally wood because they'd use either a larger knife or an axe to do shave the majority of material away more rapidly) is a way of more rapidly discovering how quickly a blade loses its edge.
You compare this knife to a Mora Companion. First of all, the Mora Companion is a longer blade, it uses a rod instead of a full tang, and if I'm honest I find that comparison to be akin to saying that a Fiat Panda is "basically" the same as a Lamborghini. I mean, they're both cars, right? I get what you're saying, but much like my analogy with the cars, a Mora is not the same as the Field and Fish. Different materials, different shape, different size, different tolerances. I also know from experience (given that I own and use the Mora Companion as well) that it doesn't hold its edge like the Field and Fish.
While that alone doesn't fully justify the price difference, when I consider all factors, personally (and let me stress that this is my opinion - which is all a "review" ever really is) I consider the price difference to be entirely justified. Especially when you consider that Mora won't customize their knife for your particular wants or needs.
All a "trial by spoon" serves to do is demonstrate splitting and edge retention. As you took great delight in pointing out, making a spoon is a simple task... and can be accomplished by any knife capable of holding an edge. Except, there are plenty of knives that simply DON'T hold an edge long enough to perform that task, and I've seen many a blade snap (including Mora knives at the handle, by the way) when attempting to split wood (yes, even ~3" diameter small lengths like in this video).
Had the Field and Fish broken while splitting the wood, this video (while certainly shorter) would have served to identify a critical flaw... a cautionary tale for the benefit of others.
My friend (Matt) who wants the knife shown in this video... he's simply impatient. He would rather buy the one I have than wait for one to be made for him. He knows I look after my blades, and so the condition he receives it in will be every bit as good as when it arrived in my hands. It was his choice to match the price I paid, for what it's worth, and I've bought other items from him at the original purchase price under the same conditions.
As for warranty, that covers the knife for manufacturing defects... for the purchaser only. In this case, we already know the knife is free from defects (it's seen enough miles already prior to this video for me to say that confidently) so we're not concerned with it.
Yes, I really should have pointed out the warranty conditions in the video, though it's defined on the Ammonite Knives website too.
In terms of knocking a bit off the price... I didn't ask, he offered. Had he offered me slightly less, I'd have been fine with that (we're friends, and money has never been an issue between either of us)
In terms of my custom knife, at this time it's intended as a one-off. I have no intention of sticking my name on a knife and trying to peddle it as a product. If someone else wants to commission the same or similar (from Ammonite Knives or any other toolmaker) that's entirely up to them. I don't own the design (regardless of how much of it is entirely my own, how much of it is derived from things I've seen etc). Want to make something similar yourself? Cool... go ahead and enjoy.
Now, even though I've responded point-for-point, I'm pretty sure that your entire comment was intended to be sarcastic... especially that last part about people being proud to own a knife designed by "Simon". Sarcasm or not, I always appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE feedback... so thank you for that much.
" Hey I was NOT disrespecting your KNIFE " < said in my best Catherine Tate Voice.... I mearley said you could do the same as you have filmed you doing with a Mora..