Sheepsfoot Chickpea: A Versatile Outdoor and EDC Knife by Knives By Nuge

Written by Nick Italiano

About Knives By Nuge

Tom Nugent, owner of Knives By Nuge, is a retired police officer and lifelong outdoorsman. Knives by Nuge is known for making high-quality purpose driven knives focused on outdoor pursuits, including camping, hunting, fishing, and bushcraft. Each of his designs is derived from his personal experiences in the great outdoors and meticulously tested by himself and other professionals in the outdoor industry. Each handmade knife that comes out of his shop in New Jersey is built and finished to Tom’s high standards and can be guaranteed to serve outdoorsmen, EDC enthusiasts, and professionals well!

Why We Love Knives By Nuge

Tom Nugent is the owner and knife maker, as well as the head of marketing, finance, and customer service over at Knives by Nuge. His drive and dedication to building his business, making American made knives, and collaborating with other exceptional businesses in the outdoor community is nothing short of amazing. He is very comfortable thinking outside the box, getting feedback from his community, and taking calculated risks that continuously yield exceptional knives.

The Sheepsfoot Chickpea

The Chickpea is not a new model for KBN, in fact it is one of Tom’s original designs. Lately, Tom has been working hard to modernize the original Chickpea and we have seen so exciting updates to the original design, mainly around the handle. You can read more about the evolution of the Chickpea here. The Sheepsfoot takes it a step further by introducing a whole new blade shape! The first thing I thought when I saw the prototype was, “ wow, I really want to forage with this knife!” After getting it hand and using it, I must say the Sheepsfoot Chickpea really lived up to my internal hype! Beyond just being an exceptional foraging tool, the sheepsfoot blade shape together with an ergonomic handle, and a super slim sheath make this an excellent little EDC choice!

Specs

As always, let’s start off with some specs. The Sheepsfoot Chickpea is 6.25 inches overall, with a 2.75 Nitro-V stainless steel blade.The prototype I have has blue micarta scales with a single copper pin and a matching copper lanyard tube. The knife weighs 2.12 ounces and the total weight with the sheath and belt loop is 3.28 ounces.The blade has a slight belly to it, and has a blasted finish. Like most Nuge knives, the spine has a 90 degree angle for scraping tasks and striking a ferro rod.

The sheath included is custom-made Nuge-Dex and has a soft belt loop for discreet scout carry on your belt, but is configured to accept many clip options to fit your needs. As this is a prototype, there may be some spec, finish, and/or sheath changes when the regular line is available for purchase.

Fit and Finish

As I have come to expect with KBN knives, the fit and finish is excellent. The grinds are perfect and the edge is wicked sharp. The thin micarta handles are cleanly attached with no mess and the micarta has the perfect amount of grip for hard use tasks. The sheath is well made with secure retention that is also easy to draw. I am testing a prototype that Tom had previously done some testing with, so there were use marks on the blade when I got it, and I added a whole lot more!

In Use

Now for the good stuff! Let’s start with carrying the Chickpea. A few years back when I got my first KBN Chickpea, it was paired with a scout carry kydex sheath that really made it just disappear on your belt. The lightweight knife combined with the slim sheath made it an ideal knife to EDC on the front of your belt. Tom has since improved on the sheath design making it even slimmer and lighter. If you are in the market for an easy to carry and conceal fixed blade that you can wear on your belt and cross draw the Chickpea is perfect! 

The latest iteration of the Nuge-Dex sheath is also configured to accept any number of clips if you want to swap to pocket carry. In terms of actual use this Chickpea has seen a lot of use in different types of tasks, so I will break the performance in each area.

EDC Use

I really loved the Sheepsfoot Chickpea in EDC tasks, as the size, weight, and carry style really fit the bill for daily carry. The Sheepsfoot style of the blade makes it less intimidating to the general public, which is always a bonus for using your knife in more public places. The slight belly of the blade helps with slicing related tasks and makes processing food quite nice.

It handled all my box opening and break down like a champ, and despite not having a pronounced tip, there is more than enough tip if you need to pierce into stubborn plastic packaging to get the slice open started. It was also very helpful when I had to do some cutting of carpet on the floor where a more pronounced tip could have been damaged or pierced my wall.

Outdoor Tasks 

Like all KBN knives, the Sheepsfoot Chickpea is designed for outdoor use. The 90-degree spine strikes a ferro rod well throwing all kinds of sparks to help you get a fire started. I did a fine job in some of the fine wood processing tasks. I did some light carving and created some fatwood shavings with no issues. The handle is well designed and ergonomic, giving me a solid 3.5 finger grip. There were no hot spots during use, and I found it comfortable to use over an extended time. The spine is not super thick but has enough meat on it where it is comfortable to rest your thumb on for push cuts, and I would not be concerned about breaking it during hard use tasks. The sheepsfoot shape does not allow for drilling tasks, but it is a safer option should you have to cut clothing off your body or someone else’s in a first aid situation.

Just like it did in the kitchen, the Sheepsfoot Chickpea handled some minor food processing like a champ and made short work of my summer sausage and pears. Overall, I really like this knife as a lightweight hiking companion that can cover all the potential cutting tasks you may face while out there without weighing you down.

Foraging 

Being a giant plant nerd, this was my favorite part of the testing process! I’ve always liked the sheepsfoot pattern for foraging and the Chickpea is no exception! The lack of a prominent tip is really where this design excels when foraging. I can easily get down into the dirt and access roots without worrying about damaging or snapping the tip of the knife. While it certainly isn’t a shovel, it allows for very small-scale digging around a plant’s roots so I can make the cut where I want or clear dirt away from the root area if I want to keep the root intact. The lack of a pointy tip really allows me to do more with the knife without worrying as much about poking myself when cutting at weird angles or having to use my hand or part of my leg to brace plants when cutting.

Tom’s design choice to have a slight belly really makes this a stand out for me. It makes slicing into thicker stems so much easier than having a straight edge that is seen on many sheepsfoot knives. The blade stock is the perfect balance of being thin enough to be light and nimble but thick enough to not worry about doing harder tasks like cutting into tough stems and even small tree branches The overall grind tapers down from the spine giving a nice thin slicing edge, while retaining enough meat behind the edge to keep it from being damaged when getting into tougher materials. In a nutshell, this checks all my boxes for a great small foraging knife without the compromises I have had with some previous knives I have used. 

Final Thoughts

The Sheepsfoot Chickpea is an incredibly versatile and utilitarian version of one of KBN’s most proven models. It easily moves back and forth between outdoor and EDC related tasks, making it a great option for people who want to do as much as they can with a single knife. The slim profile and lightweight nature of the Chickpea make it incredibly easy to carry. Tom’s purpose driven design ideals allow it to be surprisingly tough and effective despite the small size! I think the Sheepsfoot Chickpea is a great addition to the KBN lineup and adds a bit of versatility to the excellent Chickpea model! This version of the Chickpea is currently in the final stages of development and will be available soon!