Helle Temagami Torture Test - Attempting to Destroy Survivorman's Knife

[@Sean006]

It's a lovely knife, but the problem is that it wasn't designed to do what you are using it for. most people who buy a $200 knife don't want to whack it with a big stick to make firewood. Personally I like to use my Ferrari to pull stumps out of the ground....the mechanic bills are a little steep but who cares. How about creating an affordable stump splitter using good quality American steel!...with a suitable profile on the ground edge

[@WhatDennisDoes]

Exactly. To be honest it didn't feel good pounding on it like I did. Fortunately it didn't suffer any real damage. I dunno maybe that's proof that it is capable of such abuse, or maybe I got lucky this time. I'm curious what folks who buy this knife at full price use it for. It's an odd one, long but not thin so not great for filleting or food prep, bit too long for carving, not a skinner, not quite stout enough for the common "survival knife" tasks of prying and hammering on. What do folks actually use it for if not this? I think it's interesting that Les Stroud has designed 2 more since this one and they are both shorter. I think the Wabakimi, his latest is the best and I really wish I had one. It looks like a true general use wilderness blade.

[@frostasaurus2190]

What? That's the entire purpose of spending good money on a knife. You buy it for function.

[@howardvarley8795]

Search virtuovice and see what he does to a temagami. Its not a rat tail or 3/4 tang mora. Les Stroud designed it as a survival knife, but if youre worried cut yourself a couple of wedges.

[@howardvarley8795]

@@WhatDennisDoes the wabakimi has a 3" long blade, try batoning with that.

[@WhatDennisDoes]

@@howardvarley8795 I have a wabakimi now too and i love it!

[@Airik1111bibles]

It's a full tang knife just with a wood covered bottom for cold climate grip. The knife is no weaker than a fully exposed tang but there's always a purest who thinks this crap matters . I have made many fully enclosed rat tang knives that can baton through wood its not an issue. The problem isn't the tool it's the tools using them that matters. Regardless all knives should only be used for kindling unless you're using a big Ontario or Becker knife. I just don't understand the batoning 5 to 6 inch log thing it truly makes no sense.

[@mjg123mg]

Absolutely agree, I have the little Mandra and it makes feather sticks easy. No need to split big logs,fire's ragging by then.

[@theblackneon5396]

Everyone's obsessed with batoning their knives. It's one of the easiest things not to do. Even in cold/rainy weather I've never had any use for battoning.

[@ParkourEh]

Eh, opinions about batoning are overstated. Humans have worked with metal for thousands of years, we are more than capable of making a knife that can be batoned by now. It's a bushcraft staple and if the designer is doing it then we'd be wrong for doubting him (manufacturing flaws aside). Also if I'm hiking big miles and gaining lots of elevation, I'm not bringing my axe.

[@PresbyterianStandard]

There’s zero reason to not bring at least a hand Hatchet or Tomahawk with you when you go do some serious wilderness activities. They’re light enough, less legally restricted, and are more efficient in processing wood. Bringing a knife to do a hatchets job is simply poor planning and that’s where we get batoning from, even a folding saw would be preferable. I’ve never once had to baton a single thing in the wilderness because coming prepared with the proper equipment is common sense.

[@ParkourEh]

@@PresbyterianStandard I think you're assuming the main objective is to make fires and build shelters at every stop when I said "hiking big miles", but that's not what I was talking about. I'm talking about multi-day backpacking with elevation gain in the 900-2000+ METERS. Cutting tools won't have much use outside of emergencies only and where the weight of a hatchet would be silly because fires are probably illegal/banned in parks. A single knife becomes your main cutting tool for said emergencies.

[@PresbyterianStandard]

@@ParkourEh Hand Axes and Tomahawks may be larger but you can often find ones that are quite light around 2 pounds. I’ve gone on multiple multi day hiking trips with elevation gains (maybe not as high as you’re suggesting) and I’ve never had an issue carrying either with a more minimal kit for emergencies. They can both be used for multiple purposes and can do everything a knife can do except they’re more effective at wood processing on top of that, so the bit of weight gain will be well worth it if you’re left without a choice, in a hiking trip gone south. A lot of states restrict knife use and you can sometimes only legally carry something sub 4 inches. The kind of mentality you’re suggesting gets hikers killed by the elements in my local National Forest.

[@PresbyterianStandard]

@@ParkourEh Can you name a National Park or Forest you have gone to that outright bans Hatchets or Tomahawks ? I’ve personally never experienced that. I have seen National Parks that ban certain knives.

[@ParkourEh]

​@@PresbyterianStandard A hatchet just makes things easier, it doesn't mean a capable wildness knife is useless. There's no shortage of knife-only wilderness skills out there that are enough to get most hikers in trouble rescued. Which is the point. YOU choose to carry your hatchet and that's fine, but your way of doing things isn't gospel. There's no objective reason to avoid batoning with a capable knife to the point where you expect hikers to be bringing hatchets with them everywhere.

[@brianlash154]

I must have gotten a lemon then, my gaupe knife was so soft, merely tapping a nickel on thr spine left visible dents, I was so astonished

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

I love mine, had it years. Slim enough blade for food prep and enough belly to skin small game. Nimble enough for bushcraft and carving. I would not abuse it splitting wood, I would use my axe. Use the right tool for the job. Have you tried digging a field with a teaspoon, cutting through a steel girder with a nail file or emptying a swimming pool with a thimble? The Temagami is a great knife, great steel that holds it’s edge and one of the most comfortable knives to hold that I own, and believe me I’ve got a lot. It is not a thick wood splitter however and it’s plain crazy to use it that way unless it’s the only tool that you have in a life threatening situation . Any sensible bushcrafter would also be carrying an axe and saw in their kit. Expensive but worth the money.

[@mmiller73]

They do have a weakness in the finger guard portion of the handle where it is prone to cracking due to the wood being thin and unsupported. Also Helle has a strict policy against using their knives for batoning so you basically void your warranty. I don’t use mine for batoning anything bigger than 1 inch in diameter.

[@Christopherjamesmurphy21]

Protip. Its not time efficient but it works. Baton you knife into a log that won't split and set it aside for a min. If you put it to your ear you'll hear crack crack crack. Let it crack for a minute and then keep going. She'll eventually split

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

This knife is not designed for batoning and Helle is very clear about that - it goes for all their knives. If you are a northern woodsperson you would normally carry a complimentary axe or folding saw for more heavy duty work. And if you are in a northern area with solid enough wood that it would require atomizing, you usually don't need to spend a lot of time chopping up firewood anyway, because there are tons of windfalls and branches in all sizes lying around anyway. Personally I don't even carry a saw or axe, but just a mora and an old parang I bough in indonesia years ago.

[@Fuxjaga]

Use of appropriate tools might be an energy saving idea. In Scandinavia they use a knife for knife tasks and an axe for axe tasks. I am following this tradition for a couple of decades now and never went wrong. No intention to go close to the limit of a knife on my end. My knives are simply too valuable outdoors so they are for reasonable cutting tasks only: whittling making fuzzy sticks cleaning and butchering deer and fish and eating.

[@jsmith2121]

Last minute camping trip and I needed a knife since I'd recently lost my Falkniven. I got a Helle at a great local outfitter near the mountains. I actually wanted the one featured in this video, awesome design, but the handle was too small in length, and the finger divot insured I couldn't get a solid grip. My hands may be slightly wider than average, but not much, yet my pinkie was almost slipping off the bottom. Be aware of that if you order that model online. I got instead another, slightly bigger model (I don't know the model names). Loved it, cut like a dream, not too heavy on the belt. Then I batoned with it when a crooked strike twisted the thing like a pretzel. Literally, the blade bent 40 degrees. Okay, we straightened it as much as possible but the blade never got fully true. Went back to the store and said the blade had a curve defect I hadn't noticed. Mea culpa. They took it back and I put the credit, maybe 120 US dollars, towards the next model up. It reads "Norway" on the beautiful, imprinted dangler sheath and has a moose with the mountains behind it. Gorgeous piece. I batoned with that one too, careful to strike straight. No problem. This trip lasted 10 days so I used that knife quite a lot. It kept a fine edge, (BTW, went back to that same store a few days later and asked the knowledgeable guy there about small sharpening stones. He recommended the Worksharp diamond lapping plate, ceramic rod and strop all in one. The thing is 6 inches, weighs nothing, and turns knives into razors. 36 dollars. He also said as we were leaving to not baton my Helle. Lol.) Anyway, I had gotten used to the sturdiness of the Falkniven over the years, but as I used the Helle more and more just learned to love the thing. The wood handle fills perfectly in the palm and doesn't chaff or irritate in any way. The steel comes right back with a few minutes on the stone and can get scary sharp. What I really wanted to say was that I had to learn to respect this knife, treating it more as finely crafted woodsman's blade instead of a militaristic, utilitarian tool. and it grew better and better. Comfort, beauty and function all in one. My current model is the Sigmund

[@tomfiver4148]

so much smartassing in comment section %))) i appreciate finally someone did batoning on the Helle knife since most people just talk about it...thx

[@hellesofiechristiansenwiig3806]

Thanks bro, personally I just find it funny when someone talks about Helle knives xD

[@hellesofiechristiansenwiig3806]

Man I love this knife, tried to make one in tenth grade because I thought it'd be really cool to have a tool that shared my name xD

[@KingKiavash]

My personal opinion is that a knife's batoning capabilities are important only when it's a survival knife. I don't consider bushcraft knives to be survival knives as any bushman would have a axe handy.

[@Stormcloakvictory]

Just wish this would've been more capable like other woodlore and bushtool clones like the Enzo/Brisa Trapper or Condor. Specially considering its even more expensive. Not saying it's bad, just that it would've matched it's peers in versatility.

[@kingofbratz3626]

Dennis needs a Helle NORD!

[@howardvarley8795]

NEVER baton a knife - whatever make, on the junction between blade and handle!! You're asking for grief!

[@howardvarley8795]

People baton with moras for years, the temagami is much!! stronger. A lot of double standards here. And mora Bull***t

[@trulsdirio]

Most survival knife bros are just absolutely lost when it comes to their estimation of what it takes for a knife to withstand use and like in this case abuse. You don't need a sharpened crowbar 6mm knife like object that barely even cuts in order to have something that won't break. One could split a tree in half with that thing if one actually knows what one doing and invests some time in developing skills rather than just write nonsense in online forums. This thing is plenty capable to carve some wooden wedges that will then take care of splitting whatever you need split. But then again, if being this invested into bushcraft one probably carries a hatchet anyways (as you do) lol.

[@concealmenttraining9371]

Nice review.

[@Mel-he1hg]

Another cylinder head would be cool

[@tomhorn6156]

Eating spagetti whit a spoon. Smart....

[@dobryak_ivanov]

Калатушка легкая

[@EssexCountyPhoto]

Top tip: use an axe.

[@Heeman5]

Maybe you should go the other way and use the larger log as a baton and split the thinner piece of wood instead!!! 🤣😂

[@lopovnd]

dummy

[@dinodouche]

You did Not attempt to destroy that knife