New Knife - Karesuandokniven Bäver 10

Sometimes, or rather quite often, my eyes are drawn to the traditionally classic and simple when it comes to aesthetics. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. That certainly applies in this case. This is a really nice-looking knife. It was also the first thing that made me fall for it. That and previous experiences with this company. I have a couple of favorites from them already.

A typical box from Karesuandokniven

This knife is called Bäver 10. "Bäver" is Swedish for a certain well-known large rodent, a beaver. This knife is made by Swedish Karesuandokniven. 

Unsurprisingly, this company is found in the small village of Karesuando, north of the Arctic Circle.* A place that I can't help but feel a little related to, as parts of my family on my grandfather's side are from Tornedalen. It's the borderland between Sweden and Finland. 

Inside the box a leather sheath and an elegant hunting and outdoor knife

Karesuandokniven's products are deeply rooted in the area in which they are located. This applies to appearance as well as function and materials. Or the latter applies only partially. Certainly, traditional materials such as reindeer and moose antlers, reindeer skins, and Masur birch are found in knives and axes, but when it comes to steel, they have upgraded and diversified. Modern materials such as stainless damascus steel from Swedish Damasteel are often found in the most luxurious range. They also use "super steel" such as RWL-34 to name a few.

In this knife, however, a slightly less advanced but very capable steel is found, Sandvik 12C27. A very proven steel that has been used by many knife manufacturers in both Sweden and France over the years. This version came really sharp with a stated hardness of 58HRC. An excellent factory edge in the form of a classic "Scandi" grind.

The handle offers classic materials such as brass in the finger guard followed by a piece of reindeer horn and the rest is made of well-treated Masur birch. The reindeer horn is of course decorative, but the brass has its own history. If I'm not misinformed, it was historically attributed with properties such as helping to ward off evil spirits. It may be true or not, but it's pretty!

Karesuandokniven Bäver 10

Beaver 10 is a knife that is slightly larger than you might think. This manifests itself, among other things, in that you get a little more edge length than in the smaller knives from Karesuandokniven, as well as an extremely comfortable handle. The name actually tells how long the blade is as it measures 100 mm. There is also a smaller version for those who want it with an 80 mm blade. The thickness of the steel is a well-chosen 3.2 mm. The entire knife is 210 mm long. Then it is very light, my scale says the knife weighs in at 95g and the whole package stops at 164g.

The knife comes with a simple but well-stitched leather sheath with an excellent fit and an insert that prevents unnecessary wear.

Overall, my first impressions of this knife are at least as positive as the ones I got from seeing it in pictures. A very elegant model that feels good to hold and arrived really sharp. Now it will be interesting and fun to see how it behaves when it is used as well. A review follows, be sure!

Karesuandokniven

/ J - seek his roots

* For a while they marketed themselves as the northernmost knife brand in the world until I felt compelled to providentially point out that Norwegian Knivsmed Strömeng is found in Karasjok, which is another three-hundred kilometers in a straight north direction.

#knivesandbikes #knivigtvarre