Why is the head of the New Extrema Ratio Breeching Axe shaped like it is?

 Why is the head of the New Extrema Ratio Breeching Axe shaped like it is?

The heads of breeching axes are generally of one type, ie modelled around some sort of traditional tomahawk and or regular axe. This means that for most of these heads, the cutting surface is rounded (convex). 

As far as the most efficient penetrative action goes:.....

In fact, the better cutting surface for the best penetration into steel sheeting will be the head design of the Extrema Ratio breeching Axe/tool. 

WHY? Because the first point of impact will be the apex of the two intersecting "straight blade" surfaces. At this point we have P=F/A, where P=pressure and F= force and A is of course equal to the "area". Thus from simple physics we can see that at an extremely small point, massive pressure will be developed upon impact. 

This will aid the penetration of the axe head into anything it contacts. The same principal is in affect for how arrowheads/spears penetrate objects.

Stay tuned for more on this subject......

BCT

Mardingtop 75 L Tactical back Pack Field Test and Why Most BackPacks These Days are Not Built to Last.

 Mardingtop 75 L Tactical back Pack (REAL) Field Test by Mrs BushCampingTools

....and Why Most BackPacks These Days are Not Built to Last.

Quite frankly, I had never heard of this pack manufacturer before last week. It is of course a Chinese luggage manufacturer who according to their literature specialises in tactical styled packs. This model is about to actually "take part" on a real "mission" and so in one months time we shall see if it "handled the pace" or not. 

The specs sound and look ok: When I mean by "look", that means I've actually seen the pack with my own two eyes, not on internet pictures.

All major seams/stitching are covered/protected, YKK zippers and buckles are used throughout and bar tack stitching is used for stress points. The fabric is 600D polyester according to their literature. 

I've always been a big fan of Cordura but we all know, very few packs these days feature heavy denier Cordura due to the price from Koch of the raw materials. In fact IMHO many pack manufactures want their products to fail within probably less than 5 years. It's not "like the old days" where manufacturer's like Macpac (before they went woke) made almost indestructible packs from a type of canvas material, super abrasion resistant and waterproof without a polymer coating. 

Heck, I got over 25 years from my Macpac Ascent and it had travelled the world been to > 5000m, trekked,  hiked and camped all over the place and repaired once after 20 years for FREE by them! 

Those days are over! Like just look at the WOOSY Deuter Guide models available now! They would be lucky to last one season of serious use. My old Deuter Guide 35 is still hanging in there and NO damage to the pack fabric! This is of course NOT a great way to make gear because if a customer only buys a product once every 20 years then you'll soon go broke as a manufacturer if that's all you're relying upon for sales. Nope 5 years tops then it must fall apart. It's pointless to think otherwise in our disposable world (I'm not saying this is right but i am saying this is how it is).

So in short many pack manufacturers today do not use Cordura as a routine pack fabric. (eg my Deuter Guide 35 Plus -using proprietary fabrics).

QUESTION:

Anyway how did this "no name brand" approx $140-00 USD backpack get chosen?

No I'm not being racist as I'm I've got Chinese genes floating around my body.

ANSWER:

In a hurry that's how due to the urgency of this notice because other brands could not be acquired at a moments notice, that's why and not wanting to spend a fortune as the pack may get destroyed?

Quoted from Mardingtop: (note it does not say anything  about other types of end use.)

"making it perfect for hiking, trekking, camping, and climbing adventures."

Now to be fair: with care, modern computerised industrial sewing machines and quality fabrics, along with skilled labour, and good design, there is NO REASON why a quality pack can not be made.......... BY ANYONE.

So stick around for the results after about a month??? Who knows???

BCT

PS I will only be reporting on this "test".So check back for pictures en route.

Ok it survived several airport baggage handlers and machines

No straps broken. Laden with 21Kg at present.

Work Tuff Gear Steadfast

 Work Tuff Gear Steadfast

Work Tuff Gear have brought to life the Steadfast. A knife with hunting, survival and self defence capabilities according to it's designer Calvin Richardson of Calvin Richardson Custom Knives. Certainly it is nimble in the hand and comfortable using a lot of pressure to carve hardwoods such as birch.

The spine/tang thickness is 5mm

The design allows for easy penetration of the tip and the grip is comfortable when the knife is used in the safety position for carving.

The Steadfast is slightly handle heavy with the fulcrum about at the first scale anchoring bolt past the hilt. So in other words the balance is at that point. For me it feels a tad handle heavy although this also signifies that there is plenty of metal under the grip and as such provides a "solid feel" to this knife. The reverse grip of this knife it is also very comfortable.

The blade is of a very useful design for camping, hunting and fishing, with a good tip as I have already mentioned, a sort of clip point. It cuts food items very well. The knife is supplied with a kydex scabbard with an excellent retention.

Basic specifications are:

HRC 58-60

Work tuff Gear have expertly produced a mirror finish convexed edge which easily bites into the toughest of materials. The steel choice is Böhler's K329 a stainless steel

which is:

Data courtesy from Böhler

Böhler's K329 also features high toughness, something which is vital for outdoor knives.

Data courtesy from Böhler 

Some videos as in #shorts already posted more to come...........@BushCampingTools.

You are never going to go hunting but you want a simple to maintain knife, this could be your answer!

 You are never going to go hunting but you want a simple to maintain knife, this could be your answer!

So how does one choose a knife?

By watching Bear Grylls?

Certainly NOT

If hunting is not your thing and neither fishing too but you feel you must have a fixed blade knife for your outdoor pursuits, then let me recommend the following style of knife:

You may consider the following:

It is just an opinion.

THE WESTERN STYLED TANTO

Wanger/Linder SuperEdge 8 Worker

Here's why:

Because they are just simply the easiest type of blade shape to maintain. The reason being is that all edges are basically straight and thus require the least amount of hand sharpening skills. End of story.

Many will buy a drop point style knife

LionSteel M7

 or even a knife which features possibly two different sections of blade such as a belly and a recurved (concave) edge, 

FKMD Fox Knives Parus

Cudeman Boina verde

only to find when it comes to sharpening they simply make a mess of it and either stop using that knife once it is blunt and buy another one, or send it out and pay someone else to sharpen it. Or whilst being able to sharpen it, never being able to restore the edge to what it was like from the factory or even close to what it was like, OR BETTER!

 Assuming one likes camping and hiking there may be an interest in maintaining that knife of yours but not to the extent of buying some fancy pants knife sharpening device which costs tens times the price of your new knife, unless you are chasing that cosmic sharp edge, then read no further. 

I suspect some manufacturers really put super high Rockwell ratings on their knives as having nothing to do with the end applications but rather as a marketing thing, in that the person who buys such knives, may not even go camping or hiking, for example but not limited to: the person who wears diving watches but never even goes swimming let alone goes diving. Ok we will call them collectors and this is fine. So a collector probably won't be using that knife all of the time so it would remain sharper for a longer period due to it's high HRC, all things being equal and thus they would be very satisfied with their purchase/s.

But if you like camping 

I like camping and doing extreme stuff like taking the palm heart (where legal LOL)

and would like to at least prepare your own food and have a feeling for days of past in the wilderness then you will want to carry a fixed blade knife and actually use it for something other than cutting A4 printer paper! 

The Western styled tanto 

Halfbreed Blades MIK-05P

is by  far the easiest type of blade to maintain. The easiest blade to maintain is also going to be the easiest knife to actually want to use.

BCT

Differences between the Extrema Ratio ONTOS and the ONTOS II

 Understanding the Differences between the Extrema Ratio ONTOS and the ONTOS II

Let's take a look at them!

Above, the mighty Extrema Ratio ONTOS

Seen above here: The New Extrema Ratio ONTOS II (shown is the N690 Expeditions version, there is also a Böhler S600 Tungsten alloy version as well-more on this later) . 

So what's the difference?

In order to understand the difference between these 2 models we will discuss the finer points of the original ONTOS, a knife which is still a current model from Extrema Ratio.

The Ontos was conceived as a hardcore military survival type knife 

and as such it's design reflects this. A Western styled Tanto, which had a convex ground edge placed upon it. The main part of the blade however is not totally straight and has the slightest curvature to it; combine this with a similar slight curvature of the tip cutting section and you have a formidable cutting piece. 

In order for excessive strength capabilities, the blade width is 6mm and a type of sabre grind, with the spine being reduced in two  key regions, (see below)

one just behind the tip to give this model fair to good penetrative abilities despite it's blade thickness. The spine is further reduced in a region after the hilt where alternating serrations have been placed, 

enabling it's capacity to quickly cut cords. The ONTOS is extremely capable of hard tasks and due to it's overall weight can also be used to chop effortlessly. 

Before I go any further, if you have not seen my extensive reviews of the ONTOS over the years then please check them out under the Play list of Extrema Ratio knives @BushCampingTools.

 

The geometry of the ONTOS is thus totally suited for such tasks as chopping hacking, cutting, levering, hammering, skinning and butchering, along with fire starting tasks. With a hand ground convex edge, the knife edge retains good functionality with heavy work on dirty objects and can easily be maintained in the field. 

The Ontos comes with an option to attach a small pouch which one can place a "survival kit" and diamond sharpening plate. I of course got rid of most of the stuff in this tin and replaced it with my own materials. Needless to say it is fully Molle compatible and also features a leg strap and like all of their scabbards there is much attention drawn to the quality of the stitching and robust nature of their design.

Now what about the new ONTOS II?

Above image showing the Böhler S600 version of the ONTOS II

Ok, so other than a name change, I feel the ONTOS II is a totally different knife 

than that of the ONTOS. It has been designed for an entirely different market/end use. 

For a start, the blade features a full flat grind which by default results in a substantially thinner profile than that of the ONTOS. 

One notices the blade is lighter in the hand 

and this of course has it's benefits for a knife which is practical to be used all day and not just brought out for an imminent survival situation and or emergency. Plus working with the knife at shoulder height or above there will be less fatigues, simple things like this can matter under some circumstances.

The Blade of the ONTOS II has been re-engineered for cutting tasks. The tip is no longer that of a Western styled Tanto and more of drop point with good curvature which will allow for use as a skinning knife (if you had to). 

The serrations have disappeared and this region can now be used to break dead wood without unnecessarily dulling the primary knife edge (see my Kizlyar Supreme Survival knife reviews where Kizlyar Supreme also feature such a section on their spine of their survival knife). 

They (Extrema Ratio) have however left a good chunk of spine unaltered in order to provide a flat surface for light hammering and or striking surface for a baton. However, the ONTOS II is now basically in the large "camp knife" category- yes it can like all large knives be used in a "survival situation but why would you since if you plan to stay on a deserted tropical island (as I have) you would instead choose the Ontos as weight is not a consideration if one is not on the move.

With 2 options available, a N690 "Expeditions" model, equipped with molle/pals compatible sheath and a Malice strapped pouch and fire steel, what more do you want for your camping/hiking trip? Ok, so what more do you want?

How about the S600 Tungsten alloy tool steel version? What on earth are you are talking about???

Well here's the scenario, you like going out into the wilderness, you will be cutting stuff, all sorts of stuff and you want to move as light as you can for as long as you can then you may not take a sharpening device with you want an edge which will hold up against the most abrasive stuff you can throw at it like cutting mushrooms close to the ground where there is a high probability of the edge contacting stones etc. 

Then you want to process some wood and the only wood is stuff laying on the ground. This wood will never be as clean and free of dirt like fresh sawn timber or dead wood still on the tree, plus you may not have a choice here. Essentially you are taking a big knife made with a steel, of whose edge will resist damage to a greater extent better than N690 all things being equal. 

Now just imagine that all that dead wood laying around is extremely hard, say for example: Eucalyptus and or acacia wood (found across most of Australia), or other hardwood species elsewhere. All knives can stay sharp when cutting into green live timber but how well will they stay sharp cutting in well-seasoned hardwoods off the ground? The more resistant the edge to dulling (all things being equal) the longer it will stay sharp. That's physics!

 How about camping on the coast for a while and having to cut sand impregnated marine ropes washed ashore? Gutting fish all the time etc. The higher the HRC the longer that edge will stay sharp.

Now you are saying, heck why no just harden N690 to over 60HRC? Well if one does this, any stainless properties will go out the window because the higher the HRC for N690 the less resistance it has to corrosion and heck that's why you would choose N690 for such a knife if you plan on working in wet/damp conditions all the time and not a high probability of keeping the blade dry, then this might be the case just to use a HRC 58 knife. That being said, S600 is not as resistant to corrosion, and one should keep it dry. 

So where will S600 shine? 

Firstly, let me say the S600 is an industrially proven steel alloy routinely used as cutting cutting tools for the hardest of materials in high speed tooling.

It is capable of being hardened to very high Rockwell values and retain it's toughness characteristics. Where as many steel alloys can be given a high Rockwell value, not all are actually designed for such high values without a compromise to overall toughness loss and hence a increase in brittleness. For example: Crucible (CPM) did not recommend a HRC range above 60 for 3V but Benchmade for example created knives with HRC greater than 60. I'm certain there are trade offs here with decreased toughness and this is exactly what CPM indicated. So here we have with Böhler's S600, a tool steel designed to be hardened right up to HRC67!

So back that question, where will S600 shine?

Just one of many examples might be: in dry dusty (and hence abrasive) environments 

(and as mentioned above re cutting seasoned hardwoods), where little or no water can be wasted just to sharpen a knife. So in other words an arid/desert (as an example but of course not limited to) environment. So one's knife edge needs to stay sharp for longer in between being able to actually put it against a stone/device. 

There are of course trade offs with all high HRC knife steels and that is it will, by physics, take longer to sharpen compared with a lower HRC56-58 hardened and tempered blades, especially if carelessly allowed to go blunt. With S600 it has a proven edge stability-after all it is a tool steel which is used to cut other metals including other steels!

So if you don't know, what is in Böhler's S600?

So taken directly from Böhler's site (remembering here they are talking about these features in relation to cutting metals- NOT organic materials).

Just look at that elemental composition! It is of course the high Molybdenum (Mo), Vanadium (V) and Tungsten (W) percentages which give the S600 it's amazing characteristics and partake in carbide formation with the Mo also contributing to the overall toughness.  S600 is an alloy which can of course be hardened in the vicinity of HRC 65-67! at a tempering temperature of 540C, however, in the case of the Extrema Ratio ONTOS II S600, we have a more respectable and practical HRC of approx: 64, which is super hard but not insanely hard!  The S600 has also been cryogenically treated for optimal grain structure. Vanadium carbide generation and WC generation provide the basis for wear resistance with Mo improving the toughness.

More to come in the field so stick around!

BCT

MORE here!

This conclusion taken from the following Journal:

Journal of Materials Research and Technology

Volume 26, September–October 2023, Pages 6462-6475

Please note that the alloy in question is NOT S600 but AISI M2 which is the closet equivalent to Böhler S600. 

The austenitization temperature is the most influencing variable on toughness.

When accompanied by a proper combination of austenitizing and tempering cycles, the CT contributes to the enhancement of the impact toughness and the wear resistance of the AISI M2 tool steel.

The selection of 1185 °C for austenitization, 520 °C for tempering, and the use of Cryogenic Treatment is an excellent option to improve the Toughness of M2 steel.

The selection from 1185 °C to 1200 °C for Austenitization, 520 °C for tempering, and the use of 28 h Cryogenic Treatment or even higher is a good option to improve the wear resistance of M2 steel.

Cryogenic Treatment allows improving both wear resistance and impact toughness.

Linder knives SUPER EDGE 8 Worker

 WANGER Linder knives SUPER EDGE 8 Worker

Fully made in SOLINGEN Germany!

The Linder SUPER EDGE 8 WORKER is one seriously heavy duty western styled tanto blade made with Japanese Hitachi ATS-34 steel. 

The edge is as described "SUPER" and the proof is in the pudding as they say, this particular knife of mine did the following:

Yes, that's right, this essentially 5mm thick blade 

it sliced straight through that chunk of brass you see in the upper image, with no noticeable damage to the edge of the blade, either visually by eye or by running one's thumbnail across the edge to detect any evidence of edge damage! 

This knife of mine was on display at this years IWA 2025 at the Dirk Wanger Linder stand. Dirk kindly "donated" it to the cause!

The Linder SUPER EDGE 8 WORKER comes in either a black TPE grip 

or Linder's blaze orange TPE which they call "Easy Track" coloration. 

TPE is highly chemical resistant and this grip is super ergonomic. The original LINDER company worked hard to design and produce such a grip, which BTW has a keyway-ed tang and the lanyard hole liner goes all the way through the tang. So there is no chance of the handle parting company with the blade.

The Linder SUPER EDGE 8 WORKER design is from Dominik Graf and bears his logo of the "bear paw". 

The HRC is between 60-61 and the ATS-34 has  been vacuum hardened and cryogenically treated for optimal microstructure.

From my experience with many of the Linder range both prior to Dirk's acquisition and his own models of the Super edge series, these ATS-34 knives are super performers.

The Linder SUPER EDGE 8 WORKER has been designed with "heavy duty use" in mind and as such the tip is capable of extracting "buried arrowheads" from that tree "that got in the way" on that archery trip last week! 

Although, all jokes aside I don't plan on planting any of my arrows into any trees on the next archery trip, although, it's always possible and I have done it on one occasion when the arrow passed clean through a wild goat (dropping the goat where it stood) and embedded itself into (of course) the only tree stump to be found! Being in Australia, where those tree stumps seem to made out of steel, the spring steel of my broad head was, believe it or not, no longer in any way shape or form going to be used for hunting again!

Ok, so with this heavy duty western styled tanto tip this knife begs to used and is no show piece! 

There is a no nonsense Kydex scabbard and "Tek Lok style" quick release belt clip. The security of the knife within this scabbard is very good and inserting this knife you can feel a positive lock up.

The Geometry

The Wanger Linder Super Edge 8 Worker (that's a mouthful!!) main edge is ever so slightly curved. The blade itself represents a sabre grind and the full thickness of the spine occupies a little over half of the width of this blade, thus a very strongly constructed blade.

As mentioned the steel of choice here is Hitachi's ATS-34, a well-proven martensitic stainless steel capable of great HRC. These models hardened to HRC 60-61. The edge is bevelled and there are almost no noticeable grinding marks when using a X10 hand lens to examine the edge.

Whilst the milling marks are clearly visible under high magnification of approximately X12  magnification, the edges are free of grinding marks (but not dust LOL!).

Despite being a big chunk of 5mm ATS-34, this knife has great balance and feels very sturdy in the hand. 

This knife also came with a small fire steel. You'll see it later, nothing great to write home about but none the less it was housed in a kydex mini sheath. No striker as the spine of the Super Edge 8 Worker is acute enough to strike ANY steel.

It was pleasure to collaborate with Linder knives those years back and it came as a semi-shock at the time to hear that they had closed their doors. I say "semi" because it was clear the writing was on the wall when the company who had a long standing history as a manufacturer in Solingen started to sell other companies knives. It was however fantastic news to see that production has not only continued but a new injection of designs and ideas have arisen with the Wanger Linder name we see today and the continuation of the Super Edge series and as was evidenced at the Wanger Linder booth at IWA 2025 just recently in Germany.

I was a firm believer that the "Super Edge series" was what the original Linder needed to take them into the modern market place, keeping the usefulness of models designed to be used and not just looked at. Few production knives have come my way which were deadly sharp out of the box, so sharp I've managed to cut myself by a few clumsy moves, Linder and Wanger Linder knives were/are in that category.

Field reviews coming soon......

BCT