oliver smith
Handmade bushcraft knives, forged from high-carbon steel
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oliver smith - Handmade bushcraft knives, forged from high-carbon steel

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Handcrafted bushcraft knives a 2-piece D2 steel fixed blade set with ram horn handles, forged and finished by hand in the USA. Full-tang construction, built for camping, carving, and processing wood. D2 holds an edge far longer than the stainless most factory blades use.

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Maker
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Hi Product Hunt 👋 Most fixed blades in this price range use stainless steel it's cheaper and easier to machine at scale. We went with D2 tool steel instead. It's harder to work with, but it holds an edge far longer once you're actually out there processing wood or carving. Handles are ram horn, so no two sets come out identical. Everything is full-tang and finished by hand rather than stamped out. We've shipped to a few hundred campers, cooks, and woodworkers so far, and the feedback that keeps coming back is the same: it stays sharp. Happy to answer anything about steel selection, heat treatment, or why we chose D2 over 1095. Feedback welcome especially from anyone who's put a knife through real use.

The ram horn handle feels way better in hand than I expected, and the edge really does hold up after a few carving sessions. Solid work, Oliver.

Maker

 Thanks, Seda really glad it's working for you. Ram horn is one of my favorite handle materials for exactly that reason; it fills the hand differently than synthetic scales. And that edge retention after carving is the whole reason I forge these the way I do. Enjoy it.

How does the D2 steel hold up against rust if I skip the maintenance after a wet weekend in the woods?

Maker

 If you skip maintenance entirely after a soaked weekend, you may see light surface spotting that's true of any D2 blade, ours included. It won't pit or fail, and it wipes back easily. A few seconds with an oiled cloth prevents it. D2 is about as low-maintenance as a high-performance edge gets.

Took the smaller blade out for a weekend of kindling work and was honestly surprised how long the edge held up, way past what my usual factory knife does. The ram horn handle feels really solid in hand too.

Maker

 If you skip maintenance entirely after a soaked weekend, you may see light surface spotting that's true of any D2 blade, ours included. It won't pit or fail, and it wipes back easily. A few seconds with an oiled cloth prevents it. D2 is about as low-maintenance as a high-performance edge gets.

How does the D2 steel hold up in wet or humid camping conditions, and do you offer any kind of rust-prevention coating or treatment on the blade out of the box?

Maker

 Good question. D2 is a semi-stainless tool steel it has around 12% chromium, so it resists rust far better than plain high-carbon like 1095, but it's not fully stainless. In normal camping use it holds up well. . Either way, a quick wipe-down and a light oil after wet use keeps it spotless.