Sep
Choosing a good camp knife isn’t as easy as you would expect. It isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly – after all, this is a tool which will need to versatile enough to tackle a lot of different jobs whilst being tough enough to not require loads of ongoing maintenance.
The Kershaw Camp 5 fits the bill nicely. It has a good sized blade – the 4.75″ of high quality D2 steel is in a bowie style with a slightly curving spine. The blade has a good sized belly with a gorgeous sweep towards the tip. This would make it ideal for most camp tasks whether that’s cutting, slicing or carving.
The blade is a stonewashed which often divides opinion, but on the Kershaw Camp 5 it looks appropriate. This is a sold tool knife, it’s not for show.
The choice of steel is great too. D2 steel is a high end tool steel famed for it’s hardness and ability to keep an edge for longer. It isn’t officlay classed as stainless steel (it doesn’t have enough chromium to qualify) but it’s certainly more corrosion resistant than other high carbon steels.
The added advantage of D2 steel is that it’s excellent edge retention means it does not have to be sharpened as often. Less maintenance means being able to perform for longer and not having to carry as much kit. The flip side of this, of course, is that when you do need to sharpen it, it requires more time and skill to do so. This isn’t a starter knife – being able to sharpen a knife like this takes skill and patience.
Out of the box the edge is super sharp. It’s usable straight away and the high quality steel ensures it’ll stay that way for a while. Chances are, unless it’s being heavily used, you’ll rarely sharpen this knife, such is the edge retention that D2 steel provides.
The handle is a smoothly machined glass filled nylon (GFN) that fits snugly in the hand. The handle features a well placed finger scoop and is slightly curved so it fits the hand comfortably. There is some shallow jimping on the spine towards the handle which is deep enough to provide some thumb grip but not too deep to detract from the sleek design.
The overall design lends itself to a knife that you could use for long periods without suffering the consequences. It’s easy on the hand and weighs in at a 5.5oz.
The sheath is a nice piece of work as well, solid looking GFN with enough webbing slots and tie holes to give you multiple carry options. The knife fits in snugly but is also easy to release – a nice balance for ease of access. A thick press studded strap makes sure that once in it’s sheath, this knife is not going anywhere.
This is a no nonsense knife that will do all those tough camp tasks with aplomb. This is nothing fancy, it’s a camp workhorse designed to be comfortable to use and be tough enough to do pretty much anything, and that is what a camp knife should be. It’s about utility, this isn’t a fashion show.
Having said that, it’s certainly not an unattractive knife and for the money the high quality blade alone means it’s an absolute steal. Throw in the highly practical sheath and you have yourself a trusty blade that will look after you for the rest of your life.
