The jonburnaxe bushcraft knife gets it all done.
Knives play an important role in any survival situation. The type of knife to put by your side depends on what your survival style is, what you believe you will need to meet that intent and what you are most comfortable using. As you know, there are many options out there, and the primary uses vary.
As a retired Army combat vet of 25 years and a survivalist, I have grasped many different types of knives, blades, axes and tomahawks over the years, and I possess a huge collection of them. I also happen to be a multiple tool-for-the-job kind of guy, and I always want backup options. Usually.
My thinking on this changed drastically after being thrust into an extreme 21-day survival challenge in which I could only select one tool. During those three weeks, the only tool I had, a knife, came up way short on several tasks. To top things off , it broke on day 10. I now believe a blade must have multiple uses at hand for me to feel it passes the keisters-on-the-line test. So, what happened? Well, along comes Bark River’s JBA (Jonburnaxe), designed by Randall Burns with Jonathan Zook, right into my grasp.
First Impressions
Once I pulled this knife out of the box—in its deluxe leather carry sheath that’s proudly made in Escanaba, MI—I was immediately taken aback. The sheath is high quality naked leather, well-made and stitched, and it is clearly going to be very durable. The knife also comes with two outer straps for holding other needed items or attachments.
This story is from the July-August 2017 edition of Knives Illustrated.
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This story is from the July-August 2017 edition of Knives Illustrated.
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KITCHEN KNIVES DON'T HAVE TO BE DULL
I have a confession to make. See if this sounds familiar. I take meticulous care of the knives I use for everyday carry, hunting, and general woods wandering. I wipe them down with an oily cloth after use and I never let them get too dull. Seldom do I have to restore a damaged edge. Most of the time I simply touch up the edges of my pocketknives with a few careful strokes across the rough bottom of a ceramic coffee cup. That’s usually all that’s needed. I don’t use my knives as screwdrivers or pry bars. As a matter of fact, I still have the very first knife I ever owned, an old Boy Scout knife that was handed down from my older brother. The blades have a deep patina that comes with using carbon steel over the years, but the knife is very usable still.
