Picture of the Day No. 294 "Mushroom Soup"

Now that I’ve officially started culinary school, it feels important to head out into the woods and harvest what nature has to offer. It’s quite fashionable these days—known in English as "foraging."

It’s always amusing when things get rebranded and become trendy. Picking mushrooms, berries, and the occasional herb is hardly a new concept in this country. On the other hand, we have the right of public access—something not every country enjoys, as we know. In my opinion, that is one of the best things about Sweden. Naturally, that right can influence one’s attitude toward the surrounding nature. 

But the phenomenon is a bit like when "gravel" suddenly comes into vogue and people feel compelled to buy special bikes designed for gravel roads. After all, you simply can't use an old nineties mountain bike—or a road bike with chunkier tires—for that. Oh no, it has to be something new and specialized. And yet, when I was growing up, there was only one paved road, which branched off twice. You could take it from Åby—where it split toward Berg on the way to Växjö—and make a detour to Rottne along the route. Everything else in the area where I grew up was gravel. Consequently, apart from the streets within the small village of Åby, every ride I took was a "gravel ride." Without even realizing it, I was incredibly trendy back then.

But back to foraging in the woods. It’s something anyone can do, though ideally, you’d be a "herbalist"—I didn't even know there was a specific word for a herb specialist. But there is, and according to one, there isn't all that much left to gather at this time of autumn. Still, you can pick rosehips and—well, not a hell of a lot else, aside from a massive amount of mushrooms, of course.

After a brief mushroom hunt, I found these. They were colorful and really stood out to me, so I ended up with a whole bagful* that I now need to clean and put to various uses. I’ll dry some to use in sauces over the winter, but the bulk of them will be transformed—along with butter, thyme, and a good stock—into a delicious mushroom soup.

"Mushroom soup" – Lionsteel Q4ttro out in the mushroom woods.

The knife posing so jauntily in the mushroom woods is, of course, the excellent Q4ttro folding knife from the Italian maker Lionsteel—a knife I am currently in the process of reviewing. Like its predecessor, the TRE, it was designed by Molletta and boasts a host of technical features and other details well worth examining.

On top of that, it features a blade made of MagnaCut—a steel that is incredibly hot right now, much like foraging itself. It is worth adding that the other materials are quite impressive, too. 

But more on that in the upcoming review. Right now, I’m off to make soup—not from a nail, but from a mushroom.

/ J - the Mushroomhunter

#knivesandbikes #knivigtvarre

* To see if anyone actually reads footnotes, it should be noted that NO, I haven’t picked or eaten this or any other *Amanita* mushroom. However, I did find some much more poisonous specimens a short distance away—specifically, the death cap (*Amanita phalloides*). The effects of that one are no laughing matter. In any case, none of them should be consumed. 

New Knife - QSP Coyote

It felt like time to feature some new knives from QSP here on the blog. In fact, these are the first ones of the year!

Most of the folding knives released by this brand are named after birds, but here they’ve broken with that tradition and named the model Coyote.

This knife is currently available in four different versions featuring handle materials that are both new to QSP’s catalog and quite rare in general. One of the options is Micarta—but not just any Micarta; it’s a "glow-in-the-dark" variant, something I’ve never seen with that base material before. That same feature is more common with G10, and that version is available as well.

If you’d rather not have a knife that looks slightly radioactive, a great alternative is the version with silver foil G10—or, in this case, copper foil G10. You can also choose the blade finish: black or satin.

That said, I’ve noticed that the collar around the pivot screw actually glows in the dark on this knife. So, you do get a bit of that radioactive look after all.

A knife with a handle material that is new to me: copper foil G10.

I chose this material for a change of pace. I own a knife with Silver G10 from another brand, so it is clearly a material that is currently popular—or perhaps even trendy. Maybe because it is relatively new?

Speaking of new features, this knife has a "button lock," which isn't the most common locking mechanism in QSP’s lineup. In fact, this is the first model I’m aware of that uses this design. However, it quickly becomes apparent that they have extensive experience in manufacturing with tight tolerances. The lock functions flawlessly—at least initially.

Furthermore, the blade action is exceptionally smooth. The ceramic ball bearings account for some of this, but not all of it; QSP has clearly succeeded in fine-tuning the lock resistance to an excellent level.

The knife measures 190 mm when open and 108 mm when closed. The handle is 13 mm thick, and the knife weighs 105 g.

The blade accounts for 82 mm of the total length. It is 3 mm thick, with a maximum height of 28 mm. It features a distinctive clip point profile and is made of Nitro-V steel—hardened to 59–61 HRC (at the higher end of that range for coated blades, and slightly lower for uncoated ones). The grind is a high flat grind with a substantial swedge, giving the blade a curved appearance—an effect further emphasized by the recurve.

The blade also features something I am not always fond of: a prominent forward finger choil. Such cutouts have both pros and cons, and in my opinion, the downsides outweigh the benefits.

 

QSP Coyote

My immediate impression is that the combination of shape and size makes the knife very comfortable to hold, regardless of the grip I use. It remains to be seen whether it is truly ergonomic—that is, whether it feels good to use while actually working with the knife.

The blade is very easy to deploy using the dual thumb studs; these also deserve praise for being well-placed and free of awkward shapes—they simply work well. As mentioned earlier, the lock is excellent, and the package is rounded off with a standard QSP-style pocket clip. It is nothing extravagant, but it is highly functional. Incidentally, this clip and the lock mechanism make the knife fully ambidextrous.

All in all, this is a knife that is simultaneously innovative and more traditional for QSP. The lock, handle material, and—to some extent—blade shape stand out coming from this manufacturer. Incidentally, copper-foil G10 isn't exactly common elsewhere yet, either.

In other words, it’s a new kind of knife for me, but also for QSP. A Coyote that howls at a pretty high pitch—and seems to have the substance to back it up.

QSP Knives

/ J - listening to a wolf song

#knivesandbikes #knivigtvarre