A bushcraft knife is a versatile tool for wilderness survival and outdoor activities. A good bushcraft knife will be built to withstand harsh conditions and be equipped with a strong blade and ergonomic handle for prolonged use. It needs to be capable of:
- Wood Processing: It needs to be able to chop, split, and carve wood for shelter building, fire making, and crafting tools.
- Food Preparation: It needs to be sharp and precise enough for preparing game, cutting meat, and other culinary tasks in the wild.
- Fire Starting: It needs to work with a ferro-rod to create sparks and ignite tinder.
- General Utility: It should be able to handle other tasks like cutting rope, preparing fishing lines, and making notches for traps and snares.
I have a few bushcraft knives from various makers, but I recently tried a Benchmade Anonimus. This knife seems to be designed as a hybrid between a bushcraft knife and an every-day-carry fixed blade.
The Anonimus overall length is 9.83 inches. It sports a 5-inch CPM-Cruwear “Super Strong” Tool Steel blade. This steel is a high-end, air-hardening tool steel produced using the Crucible Particle Metallurgy (CPM) process. It contains high levels of carbon (1.10%), chromium (7.50%), vanadium (2.40%), molybdenum (1.60%), and tungsten (1.15%). The high vanadium content forms hard vanadium carbides which provide superior wear resistance. This steel typically achieves a Rockwell hardness of 62-64, making it exceptionally wear-resistant. Lastly, this steel provides excellent toughness, making it less prone to chipping and breakage than conventional tool steels. It is a carbon steel, so it needs proper care and treatment for the best longevity and to prevent rusting. It has a tungsten grey Cerakote® finish that does offer some protection.
The blade is .114-inch thick, which gives it plenty of strength without adding unnecessary weight (total weight is 5.94 ounces). The resin-laminated fiberglass G10 handle is on the slim side at .68-inch, which makes this knife easy to conceal and comfortable to carry, but still gives an adequate grip.
To test this knife, I took it on a recent elk hunting trip. This was its first time in the field, and it got some real-world use cleaning a respectably-large cow elk taken from the Idaho Desert.
Material Disclosure:
I received this product as a courtesy from the manufacturer via Spotter Up so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.
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