Opinel Explore No 12 - New Knife

The traditional opinel has been an iconic outdoor knife for years and we all love them and I'm sure have more than one, well wanting to expand the range into a more upmarket outdoor scene they've brought out a very nice number 12 in modern materials.

A 12c27 blade with polymer handle containing a ferro rod and a guthook/lanyard hole, although I don't need another knife I am tempted, it should be available in stores very soon.

The Blusher Mushroom - Amanita Rubescens

The Amanita family of fungi are really difficult to identify and potentially life threatening if you get it wrong, this one however is edible but to be on the safe side I've never tried it as I'm too worried about getting it mixed up with the Panther cap! However I'm getting there and my ID is getting better and I got this one right even from a distance!

 

 

 

 

Called the blusher because they blush pink. I have often read that they do this when bruised but after a chat with an expert mycologist he said they rarely do this but will turn pink when broken and exposed to air. Anyway above you can see the defining features of this fungi, examine the cap, ring and base and whatever you do don't mix it up with the panther cap!!

 

Many thanks to Geoff Dann for the help with the ID.

The Importance of Distinction

Here are two inflorescences from two different plants, one is edible one is not..can you tell the difference between them and what they are?

 

 

It's relatively easy to differentiate between whole plants but it's much more difficult when you only have part of a flower, even more so when you have to choose between them for a particular reason.. Make sure you know your stuff, don't guess.. if you're not sure then don't use them.

Mora Garberg UK release

The much anticipated Morakniv Garberg has just been released in the UK at a cost of £110, that's roughly $160 !!!! Are you kidding me Morakniv???, that's the same price as a fully made custom knife, as a matter of fact it's dearer than some custom makers! I've always been a supporter of Mora knives but that price is just crazy, Mora can take a long walk off a short pier.. stick to the Mora companion!

Hultafors Bushcraft Outdoor Knife - the OK4

Davy gave me a great present during the week, the new Bushcraft knife from Hultafors. As Mora has been saturating the market with outdoor and bushcraft knives lately it was only a matter of time before Hultafors got in on the action too and their new Outdoor knife is superb.

 

They refer to it as the OK4

 

 

It's carbon steel at 59-60 RC, it's 8 1/2 inches long with a 3 3/4 inch blade which is 3mm thick

 

 

here you can see the really beefy blade, I'm sure comparisons will be made with this knife and the new version of the mora robust with the shorter fatter blade.

 

 

the handle is very comfortable in a number of grips and is plastic covered with a textured rubber.

 

 

it weighs in at 109.2 grams or about 3.84 ounces.

 

It's got an electrophoretic coating ( whatever that means !) on the blade to protect from rust but the bevel coating will wear once it's sharpened. The sheath is the standard plastic sheath but it comes also with a Cordura belt loop that will fit belts up to 80mm or about 3 inches, it also has a woven elastic ferro rod holder that will take rods up to 8mm diameter, although you DON'T get a rod with it you will need to add your own. the price is very competitive and I'm hopeful that Hultafors will develop new designs of outdoor knives and expand the range as Mora have done.

 

 

By the way ... A very happy and peaceful independence day to all our American freinds.