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Thread: Terava Skrama 200 Review

  1. #1

    Default Terava Skrama 200 Review

    I finally got a chance to take my Terava Skrama 200 into the woods for some fun. Well it was fun for me, the Skrama may not have enjoyed it so much; it was beat on and put to the test. Let me set the scene...

    This past Saturday it was 93 degrees when I left the house around 11am, and that was in the shade. There was no breeze so it was stifling in the woods, what with the canopy holding in all the heat. It had to be triple digits, and when it's humid as well you're in for a long day. I sweat when most people are not the least bit uncomfortable so this day was a soaker for me. That will come into play later on.

    I did my standard tests which include things like try sticks, tent pegs, trap sets, delimbing and getting a fire lit. Well, except for that last part; I did prep everything for a fire but it was just too stinking hot to light it so instead I let the bugs harass me all day (something they did with a vengeance). I didn't do anything to the Skrama before leaving, not even stropping, so the way Varusteleka sent it to me is what I had to work with. Thankfully it was sharp when I started.

    For a largish knife what I found rather surprising is how nimble it felt in the hand. I had the Skrama 240 for a week during a passaround and just couldn't get completely comfortable with it, but with the 200 I had no such issue. You still know the 200 is a big knife, but it didn't come across like a big knife. That set the tone for the day.

    The Skrama 200 fared quite well at the more delicate tasks but you don't buy a knife like this just to whittle so now it was time for some heavy work. I started by whacking away at a bunch of branches - a few that were close to 2" in diameter - as I set about to clear storm damage. This past winter we had a lot of very windy days and my section of woods saw noticeable tree damage. I chopped, hacked and cleaved for the better part of an hour but with sweat now pouring down my face it was time for a break. This was the first chance I had to check the blade and so far it was holding up very well. After hiking over to my little stream for a refreshing drink it was time for the main course, building a chair.

    Ironically this was the only part of the day that I didn't use the Skrama for everything. The tree I cut down was around 3" in diameter and that's simply too much - even for the 240 I'd imagine - so I whipped out my folding saw to cut the horizontal and vertical sections to length. Once everything was sized accordingly I used the Skrama to carve the notches and hack out the 45 degree angle sections where I joined the pieces together.

    Right about now someone is thinking "pictures or it didn't happen", to which I would reply "sorry, I don't take a phone into the woods". First of all, they're too fragile and don't play nice in the woods. Besides, I'm looking to escape modern society not bring it with me. I will grab it next time though so I can get a few pics and I'll update this post. In the meantime, here are a couple of the try sticks I brought home with me just so I could have some images...

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    I did create a few snares and traps but it was too hot for the furry little creatures that day so I got nothing. I didn't even hear anything scurry through the leaves like I typically do. It seemed even the birds were few and far between.

    While I didn't have any small mammals to process - so I don't know how the Skrama 200 would work in that regard - I did try to prepare my dinner that evening. It was having none of that. Despite some of the videos Varusteleka put out showing people prepping a meal - with the 240 no less - it's not well equipped for the task. I mauled my way through prep, barely, but trying to use it to cut the meal was just awkward. In a pinch you could probably make do. Probably.

    The sheath worked quite well and proved itself after a long hard day. The plastic inner liner had just enough retention so you didn't have to use the snap unless you wanted to. The thumb section for pushoff became second nature in short order and was very handy. I even used the leather as a strop once, just to see if I could make it work. It does. Despite the knife's size it's not all that heavy. Even in the sheath, and dangling from my side, it didn't tug on my belt so much that it tried to pull my pants down.

    Previously I alluded to how I perspire more than most humans. That wasn't so you could say "TMI", it was so I could speak to the handle. The oppressive heat and humidity had me drenched, so much so that at one point while carving the try sticks I had drops of sweat dripping from my elbows. Yea, it was that bad. Guess how sweaty my hands were? Guess how much that mattered to my grip? Under normal circumstances it would have affected how secure a knife would be in my hands, but not this time. The rubber material and handle shape never once felt the least bit slippery. I had solid purchase no matter what. As everyone knows, when you sweat every piece of dirt in the forest sticks to you. This day I simply couldn't keep my hands clean, yet even that didn't matter; wet, dirty, both, no problem. I had a solid grip and never felt the least bit of slippage. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of rubber handles - I'm a G10 guy through and through - but this may make me rethink that opinion because under some extreme conditions it worked brilliantly.

    After about 6-7 hours of hard use in the woods I inspected the edged after I got home and cleaned it off, and to my surprise there was no damage. No chipping or rolled edges to be found, and I definitely did not baby this knife. I spent 10 minutes, tops, with a strop and it was back to a factory edge. Impressive. I did come across one interesting thing while freshening up the blade though; stropping is a bit of a challenge. My thinnest strop is too wide for the 2" section toward the front of the blade, so while the rest of the edge was a piece of cake to work on I had to resort to using a belt to strop that smaller section. The only leather belt I have is one I use for work, so it wasn't quite 2", but I did manage to get that part of the blade sharp again.

    All-in-all the Terava Skrama 200 is a heckuva 'one tool option' kind of blade. While I wasn't able to test everything I wanted to that day - the little furry creatures had other ideas - I did use it for a lot of varied field tasks and came away impressed. This ones a keeper for sure.
    Last edited by theJman; 07-08-2020 at 05:37 PM.


  2. #2

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    As promised, here are a few pics of the chair I made...

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    It's also the time of year when wild raspberries start to come out so I had a few handfuls of those while I was bushwhacking...

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  3. #3
    Pocket DogMan635's Avatar
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    TheJman, Hey enjoyed your post and do have a few more questions. First on the chair seems you would need some back support to hold the bottom and top. I'm thinking if you set down the way it is shown It would flatten out? On the two knives, you seemed to like the 200 styles more? It's also appeared you used black plastic ties?

    I just checkout the link you displayed and saw a few things. The close up pictures of the knife where the model is holding in his hand you get a good close up look at the blade and edge. The edge has a bite about two inches from handle, and paiting qulity looks very poor. I wood think a swing blade would have a better jimping, corrugated on the spine. I'm no knife expert. But my personel take is it need more qulity workmen ship before market at the price. My opion and again i'm no fixed blade expert. But I can see you put some work into all of this and I hope you do well.

    I'm no doctor and you did talk a bit about heavy sweating more so than others. If you do not have a weight issue I'm wondering if this may be early signs of a thyroid issue? Like a ROM Chip in a computer, the Thyroid controls "a lot" body temp, water intake, body size, hair, teeth, heart rate and so much more. Think about family history and if I'm in the range please see about getting it checked out by a medical specialist. Not that I want to post medical stuff here. But I had an issue of eating getting strong dizziness, vomiting, and passing out. This happened each month for one and a half years. Turned out to be my gallbladder. What I'm saying and will drop it. if something is out of the normal than others, it could be a warning sign.

    The pictures were great and thanks for the link. Some good information.
    Last edited by DogMan635; 07-20-2020 at 02:50 PM.
    The Wilderness for myself has always been a place, I can escape to and discover my stronger self. A true builder of self-confidence and skills, I never knew we're possible within me to achieve. A tough taskmaster breakdown my self-limits and barriers. I have overcome and found my inner self, leaving behind only the old skin, blood, and sweat, having won a newer stronger self. The Wilderness shows me a better reflection of myself.
    by Dogman.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by DogMan635 View Post
    First on the chair seems you would need some back support to hold the bottom and top. I'm thinking if you set down the way it is shown It would flatten out? On the two knives, you seemed to like the 200 styles more? It's also appeared you used black plastic ties?
    The horizontal and vertical support posts have notches cut in them where they meet which locks them together once tied. It does look like it might lack structural integrity but it's actually quite solid. Those lashings are tarred bank line not tie wraps. I was going to try natural cordage but I just don't have anything to use for raw material where I go.

    Quote Originally Posted by DogMan635 View Post
    I just checkout the link you displayed and saw a few things. The close up pictures of the knife where the model is holding in his hand you get a good close up look at the blade and edge. The edge has a bite about two inches from handle, and paiting qulity looks very poor.
    You have good eyes; the first 2 inches of the blade have a 25 degree edge bevel angle and the rest is 34 degrees. That way you can do fine carving on the part by the handle and chop with reckless abandon further out on the blade. The black "paint" is actually mill scale from the heat treat that they leave on. The intention is to create a rustic old-school look. I suppose it's an acquired taste.

    Quote Originally Posted by DogMan635 View Post
    I wood think a swing blade would have a better jimping, corrugated on the spine.
    If by "swing blade" you mean a chopper I'm not sure I've ever seen a knife like that with jimping. The thought that comes to my mind is a machete, kukari, parang, etc. They're typically too thin for jimping to be useful, it would be more like saw teeth then.


    Quote Originally Posted by DogMan635 View Post
    I'm no doctor and you did talk a bit about heavy sweating more so than others. If you do not have a weight issue I'm wondering if this may be early signs of a thyroid issue?
    I appreciate the info but for me this has been a lifelong thing (I'm 60 now). Ever since I can remember I have always been hot. I'm famous (infamous?) for showing up at work 12 months out of the year in a short sleeve shirt, and this is NJ so it gets plenty cold here. Last winter I only wore a coat 3-4 times heading into the office. It just doesn't bother me the same way it does others, which is good in the winter - the heat in my house is never above 65 - but in the summer I pay the price.

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