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Enzo Camper

I have used an Enzo Trapper on and off for about the past 9-10 months and found it to be a very good knife. But personally I prefer a bit longer blade, so I decided to get one of the “bigger brothers”, a Camper model. I ordered and received my knife really fast from Paul at BushcraftCanada.com.

Both of these blades are made in Finland by the well known knife-making supply company Brisa, under the name of Enzo Knives.

They manufacture other models, including folders as well. There are different steel options, such as 01 carbon, D2 tool, CPM S30V powder, Sandvik 12C27, and AUS-8 stainless... different grinds, like flat, convex and Scandi variations... and then there is a whole host of natural or man-made handle materials. So, there is something for everybody, lots of choices. Also, these blades come as a “do it yourself kit”, where basically you attach the handle scales to the ready made blade with the provided hardware.

Here are the specifications for my particular Camper model:
Steel: D2 tool @ 60-61HRC
Total length: 9 5/8” (245mm)
Blade length: 5 1/16” (125mm)
Blade width: 1 1/16” (27mm)
Blade thickness: 0.14”(1/8+”) (3.5mm)
Weight: 0.39 lb (175g)

And some overall impressions. This typical Nordic shape design has nice, clean and simple lines. The overall fit and finish of the knife is very good. Everything is nice and even, there are no gaps, grind marks or anything like that. The balance point of the knife is at the first pin and the blade is a satin finished Scandi grind with a micro secondary bevel. The construction of the knife is full, contoured tang with cut outs under the handle scales. This knife is robust and heavy duty, as far as most Scandinavian blades go. Initially, I was a bit concerned about the D2 steel at 61HRC with a Scandi grind... That's one hell of a combination... I was worried about the edge being brittle and chipping and such, but this proved not to be the case with this blade. It seems they have the heat treatment down pat.

The edge was shaving sharp right from the package and although it was the “toothy” sharpness (not the smooth polished kind), it had no problem readily slicing newsprint.
 

The handle is black canvas micarta with red liners and two brass pins (same as my Trapper). I find the handle comfortable in the major grips I use the most. Here are some “in hand” shots.

But since the knife is not a “chopper”, I feel such a pronounced “hook/beak” at the pommel is not necessary and it can get in the way. Also, there is no lanyard hole from the factory. Now, I know there is a provision for this under the handle panel and I don't know why they do not install this handy option...

The sheath is a well made, typical pouch style leather sheath with a dangler. This particular dangler solution provides two ways of belt carry. One is by the dangler and the other is a bit higher ride. All we have to do is slide the dangler loop down and use the other available belt loop. This sheath is made from thick, heavy duty leather. It is definitely in a higher class than the Trapper sheath I have. It is still a bit tight fit, but that will change over time, with use.
 

Although I don't have this knife for a long time, I did use it for a fair bit already. I did use it for some “woodwork” , such as harvesting fatwood...


...building a torch. Which involved batoning, splitting, drilling, carving. Note the tiny fatwood sticks under the knife... The finished “product” with the drilled ventilation hole. Fire in the hole! Here is a very fine point on a stick...
..and of course some feather-sticks.

The spine of the blade is square and “sharp” enough to make some fine scrapings...
...and throw some good sparks with a ferrocerium rod to get a fire going.
 

The tip of the blade is very strong and had no problem making some damage to this old log....

I did some cutting/slicing tests with different materials, such as pneumatic air-hose...

...bicycle inner tube...

...rope...

...and some plastic or PVC cord they use for welding linoleum flooring.

After all that, the edge was still catching and slicing an improvised paper-cylinder without tearing it.
 

Of course, I have tried the knife in the kitchen as well. In food preparation the Camper performs good enough and with the additional blade length it works even a little better than the Trapper model. Due to the blade geometry, both knives split (rather than slice) hard vegetables...

...but do better with softer food. No surprise there, it was expected.

And since I mentioned the smaller Trapper model, here are some comparison shots of the “Enzo Brothers”.

The Camper model held up well. So far I have not find any damage to this knife at all and find the edge retention to be excellent as well.
In my conclusion, I can recommend both of these blades if someone is on the market for a strong, simple and reliable Nordic type knife. I am pretty sure they will not be disappointed.
Thanks for reading!

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