Why the Extrema Ratio TASK makes a good outdoor knife.

Or why I'm still very keen on my Extrema Ratio TASK

In Extrema Ratio's blurb about the TASK, they say:

Good "for all everyday cutting jobs".

Usually I never pay too much attention to what manufacturers say about their products, i don't care if it's a car or a food processor anymore than some knife manufacturer's blurb.

BUT.

I can't disagree here. Several years experience now with the ER TASK more than demonstrates to me the usefulness of this blade in the bush. At first the thin looking tip put me off a bit but this didn't last. You simply don't need a knife which is super thick and it is a total crock that a thick bladed knife is the best bet. I'll take on anyone based on my real life experiences in the wilds against those of armchair survivalist/weekend warriors regarding this statement. 

I mean how many times have you broken the tip of a well made (brand name) kitchen knife which also sports a thin tip? Total abuse not accepted.

I did indeed post a short video in response to viewers doubts about the tip strength of this knife by twisting it into seasoned Hawthorn (a really hard hardwood). Mmmm, the tip didn't break. Even this surprised me as it was clearly abuse of this knife and the functions it was intended for.

The Extrema Ratio TASK in experienced hands is very capable of many "bushcraft" activities, ranging from but not limited to:

Carving and green or dry timber.

feathering any timber I could find.

blade scraping giant bamboo.

cutting through very thick and fibrous materials such as palm fronds and fern fronds.

Cutting through very hard vegetables, such as tubers of: yams; cassava; Taro; pumpkins; etc

Cutting up all kinds of meat and deboning.

Gutting fish and filleting them.

Slicing through the middle of lawyer cane vines (a type of tropical spiky palm-used for all sorts of things).

Cutting green vines via the serrations.

Or Making wooden tools to dig with or prise rotten logs apart. 

You can see that using a baton on this blade is not mentioned. Well most of the time I have never batoned my blades except for demo purposes. When I'm out camping, even if it has been raining and I need to start a fire, I'll carve off the wet wood. If it's so wet then you won't get a fire going whether batoning or not- especially if it's really pissing down.

 In fact I believe this to be one of Extrema Ratio's most useful blades and the TASK totally lacks all the BS and mall ninja hype as can be seen in it's simple design. 

Now that brings me to the carry system. This is a very good and safe system. My understanding is that it was designed around the requirements of paratroopers, where the last thing you want is to land on your sheath, the knife penetrates the sheath and stabs you! OR your equipment gets caught up in parts of the sheath. Very little chance of these scenarios taking place with this well designed sheath, incorporating a very rigid shell that surrounds the blade.

There is an absence of an upper guard, so often associated with military style designs. The absence of this guard makes the TASK a practical blade for maximum positioning of ones hands in order to accomplish a range of operations, not possible (not easily anyway) from a knife with guards.

No upper guard, which for bushcraft activities, is great.

 The Sheath is well thought out. See pictures below.

Maybe the TASK is right for you once you get over the thick blade knife is the be all end all syndrome. Simply not true.

BCT over and out.