Review- Spyderco C144G Calypso 3.5

I almost forgot about reviewing this knife recently.  Also wanted to mention that my website has been started and should continue to improve as time goes on.






This is an excellent knife. I love the looks and feel of the Calypso 3.5. It took a trip with me to Nashvegas to meet up with my daughter, son-in-law and my grandson. All the normal everyday tasks I put it through were easy for it to handle. It was used for opening boxes, mail, cutting apples & peaches, cutting GB ties, and even some PE hose I use at work. Only took a few licks to sharpen it back up.

One thing I really liked was the jimping on both the top and bottom of the blade. That feature made it very comfortable to hold and use. More knives should have that as it made it easy for anyone to handle the knife well.

There were a couple of big cons for me. I couldn't get over the way the clip was. Guess I'm so used to having it tip down plus there was no option to change it. Except the clip could be put on the back of the same side.
The other thing I couldn't get used to was the lockback, so used to liner locks. Most times I need to have one hand operation of my knives. I found that I pulled out my EDC necker instead of the Caly because it could be done with one hand.

This knife will not be on my "Must Have" list. I feel very neutral about it, although I am glad to have the chance to play with it. Overall the knife is top rate, just not for me. Hope y'all like it.

Review- KFU FattyCrafter

Fatty Fatty 2x4

The KFU FattyCrafter

I received the KFU FattyCrafter 6/2/12 after coming home from doing a show in Hohenwald, TN. Wow! What a knife.

First impression is good. This is a nice looking package. Knife is great and the sheath is made very well. It is adaptable to any belt, pack or system whether you are right or left handed. A+

Huge F’n handle, sweet wood and very cool liners. SS pin and thong tube with a nice etch on the blade.

Specs:
Weight - 14 oz 400gr with sheath
8.8oz 250gr without sheath

OAL- 9.210”
Handle- 4.960”L 1.190”H 1.136” W
Blade- 4.250”L 0.138”T 1.100”W
Edge- 4.020”L
Grind- 0.799” +/-
Pin- 0.250” Thong- 0.250”

Sunday 6/3 I carried it around with me all day while I did some forging. Used it to prep and devour some wonderful venison steak. The steak even left some markings on the blade.



Wednesday 6/6 was my testing day. First up is my go to destruction test. There is part of a 24” PVC water pipe at our water plant that can eat up a blade. I poked it more that a dozen times w/o damage and chopped quite a few times. The only thing hurt was my temple as a piece whizzed off and hit me leaving a mark. This pipe is over an inch thick and when chopped at, pieces sound like bullets whizzing by.



Started to chop up an 8” PVC pipe. As you can see I chopped a good hole through it. This stuff is strong and there were chips everywhere.



Cut some garden hose into little pieces without much effort. No challenge, still sharp.



Fatty Fatty 2x4 pt2

Don't know why but I can't post many pics in one thread. The pic of the upcoming 2x2 ended up on the first thread. Okay...

More chopping. Started this next phase with some old construction lumber from a demo next door. The 2x2 went faster than I can remember(see 1st thread). After a few whacks on the 2x4 I had to put a lanyard on to keep it from slipping out of my hands. I used a couple zip ties for this and it worked for me. It took some work to get through the 2x4 but the knife came out much better than my shoulder did. After I got home to play some more I noticed that one of the scales maybe both had separated a bit. Without even checking it out my hands just kinda snapped it back to normal.



And the last thing I tested it on was stabbing an old mailbox a bunch of times. About ¼” of the edge rolled a tiny bit. The edge was cleaned up with just a few licks on my stone.



Fatty Porn



All-in-all this was truly a beast of a knife. Chris did a great job on it and I’d be proud to own any of his work. Thanks Chris for letting my participate and all the communication.

Neo Tribal KITH on KnifeDogs.com

So I signed up for two different KITH's recently.  One was a Mini KITH.  The knife you make is only supposed to be 1-3inches long.  I started the knife but put it aside.  I'll finish this and be totally ready for it next year.  The other is a Neo Tribal KITH.  This is done without power tools.  Dang!  This knife was tough to complete.  All the tools I use and USED TO take for granted will be greatly appreciated once again.  Here's my posting on the forum:

My KITH is ready!

Wasn't sure if I was going to make the deadline, but...It's Done!!!!!!!!!! Don't really know how it compares to others.

This started out as a piece of spring steel from some farm impliment found on the homestead. You can see what it was from. This was a humbling experience for me. It really took me back to the days when I started out making stuff with no power tools. Seems like a long time ago.





Copper rivets were used to hold the sheath together, 13 in all.

Any way this knife has a forged integral guard that I think is cool. Joe Keeslar taught me that at Batson’s in 2011. The knife took its shape without drawings. I didn’t have a plan when I set out. Wanted it to emerge from the steel into something.

The handle is some curly hickory given to me by a woodworker friend from just down the road. It has 100+ year old leather spacers that was from an old PTO belt that I got from the blacksmith that sold me my first forge. I used recycled copper tubing for the flared pins. First time flaring the pins. I wanted a true mechanical means to keep the handles on, only a bit of epoxy was used. There is just a hole for the thong to which I have attached a hank of leather with an antler bead.



OAL is 13"
Blade is 6.875"L x 1.875"W
Handle with guard is 5.375"
Filework on blade
Weight is 13.4oz or 380grams

I surely do hope whoever gets this knife likes it. It wore me out sanding it.

Pat

Cani Credimus - In Dog We Trust

Review: The ViKtim pt 2

Next was some easy stuff.

Started cutting some ½” poly rope for a while along with some fabric/poly machine belts and very old 3” wide leather machine belt.  

I was scouring the shop for stuff to demolish. Came up with an old deer leg. While chopping this I really wanted a thong hole tube with a lanyard.

Next an old deer skull was stabbed half a dozen times. It took a LOT of force to stab it through the top of the skull. I smashed it to bits with the Viktim.

Stabbed an old car hood(pre crumple zone paper thin) a bunch of times as hard as I could but it would only just penetrate through. Couldn’t get more that a ¼” slit so I grabbed a 3# deadshot hammer and smashed it through like butter. There was no indication that I did ANYTHING to this frickin’ knife.   

Last but not least eating not beating. Ribeye steak and shrimp on the grill with fresh green beans. Mmmmmmm. It cut that steak like crazy.  Can't tell but that steak left some patina on the blade.

Now it’s off to the next perpetrator. I don’t think you can make it submit like a true victim. This was a pleasure to test. I’m seriously gonna have to look into having John make something for me. One of these days.  I'll carry it around till I ship it off.  It is a beast.  Here is the link to the full forum review.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/913609-JK-Knives-Torture-Test-Passaround!

In My Opinion: This knife performed really well.  If I was going to order one I would  certainly have some handle modifications.  It needs a lanyard hole.  When chopping with it, sometimes it wants to fly away.  That could present a danger to those around you.  I would also take some of  the bulk away from the handle.  Otherwise this knife was a pleasure to beat up and it took the licking with zero adverse effects.  Great knife.

Next review should be a Spyderco folding knife, then I believe I have a KFU coming some time in the future.  Brad, the guy that made the combat tomahawk said he will probably send a different one for me to try.  This is fun and really helps me to understand knives better through destructive testing.

Review: The ViKtim pt. 1

The Viktim

I received the Viktim Wed. May 2^nd in the mail from BrewCityMike along with some knife scales for me to work on.   This was from BladeForums.com for JK Knives.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/913609-JK-Knives-Torture-Test-Passaround!

Initial impression is this bad boy has definitely been used. RWT went through all the specs so I’ll go over whatever I can. It is a beefy blade with a FFG. The tip is thicker than most…I’ll test that later. The blade thickness is just right in my opinion. It doesn’t need to be too thick to be stout. There is a nice patina going on. The design is pleasing and looks well adapted to a multitude of chores. I know the handle is just for abuse but it would feel better with the edges rounded and a touch smaller, IMO.

I took it to the shop and touched up the edge a little and it shaved easily.

Testing starts………………Now!

Stuck into an oak tree on first throw.

 

Chopped and batonned up some 5/4 seasoned pine. Batoned some electrical wire into a bunch of little bits.     

Stabbed the crap out of an old mailbox.

Punched a hole in ¾” ply, then chopped a V into it. Ended it for the night knowing it is kicking butt.      

Okay, well I took the Viktim over to the water plant. It has a 24” diameter piece of PVC water pipe laying out back. That piece of pipe destroyed another pass around item yesterday. The first whack with the Viktim knocked out an oval chunk 5/8 x 2” and 3/8” deep. I kept whacking hard and could hear chips whizzing past my ears literally like bullets. There was no damage at all to to the edge. I was really impressed.

Review: Combat Tomahawk

Received the Combat Tomahawk Saturday, April 28th at 3:30 pm.  Hawk only had one layer of bubble wrap.  The cord on the 2 part kydex sheath is different from the handle wrapping cord.
Specs:
OAL-  13.56”  344.44mm
Head-   7.125”  181.01mm
Cutting Edge-  2.018”    51.31mm

Handle Width @:
Head-  0.831”  21.12mm
Above Wrap- 0.879”  22.23mm
Below Wrap- 0.952”  24.18mm
Thickness- 0.381”    9.63mm

Weight:
W/Sheath- 27.2oz  770grams
WO/Sheath- 25.4oz  720grams

Observations
Hawk only had one layer of bubble wrap.  The cord on the 2 part kydex sheath is different from the handle wrapping cord.
The plunge lines are visually uneven.
 
Spike cover needs to be put on first.  Eyelets on cutter  side were put on the opposite side as spike cover.  Blade cover has to come off first.

Blade shows evidence of overheating on the lower .700” portion.  Not sure what it was from, but it looks like it covers the whole lower tip, not just the edge.

Took it to the shop & sharpened up the edge.  The blade is flat ground and has very little secondary bevel.

While chopping I did notice that you had to put your hand through the wrist sling.  It flings around a lot while chopping.    I would at least cut it shorter, say 7 or 8 inches long.  The grenade cord keeper is really cool.

Testing:
Started by chopping into a 5/4 piece of old pine.  It took some work, but once I got through the first few strokes the chips were flying.  Next I turned to a small tree by my outdoor water faucet.  With the small cutting edge it took some focus to hit the mark.  It did the job pretty well. 

Chopped up some electrical wire with total ease.  Weight alone chopped it.

Hacked up a mailbox with the spike and hawk.  Like butter.

Chopping and spiking the crap out of some ¾” plywood.  Spike did good damage.  Chopping went okay.  This isn’t the best wood cutter, and I know it wasn’t built for that purpose.

Took it with me to work.  Wanted to test it on some old clay pipe.  First I showed it to a guy at the water plant and asked him if he had anything to test it on.  He’s like, yeah follow me.  He took me over to a section of cut up 24” PVC water pipe.  It had been setting behind a holding tank for at least a few years. 

I took a few swings with the spike and only went in 3/8 to 1/2 inch.  Next I took one solid whack with the hawk and really messed up the edge. 
 
Pic 1
Pic 2
I thought the hawk was going to destroy the pipe, at least crack the heck out of it.  Upon observation the edge had rolled both ways.  At this point I am stopping all testing.

I really wanted to put it through a few more tests to find some of it’s strong points and limits.  IMO it wasn't ground correctly.  It should have had a convex grind with longer taper to it.  Something similar could be made to be a very effective weapon for combat, but this one doesn't cut it.  Here is the link  to the full forum review:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/917155-Combat-Tomahawk-Pass-around

March/April Happenings

OK. My Bad. It's been a while since I posted anything but life has been very busy.

I guess the first thing to talk about was The Blooming Arts Festival in Linden, TN March 23-24. This was the first show we've done that got rained on. The format was changed to include setting up on Friday night for a few hours to include music on the square. The weather wasn't the greatest which limited some attendance. There were quite a few folks walking around though which is a good thing. Sales were not great but I like this show and lots of previous customers stopped by to check us out. I finished up some knives before the show and the pic shows three with curly hickory handles.

The next weekend, a friend and I drove to Georgia for a hammer-in. The event wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. Usually there are demonstrations from knife makers and blacksmiths but this wasn't like that. It was just a bunch of guys that brought their own tools to the get together. It wasn't a complete waste of time as I got to meet sheath maker Sandy Morrisey. My buddy Brad struck a deal with Andy Roy of Fiddleback Forge for a knife he's wanted. We left for home early and I got to spend some time with my grandson Julian.

A week later my son Sam and his sweet girlfriend Mara stopped by for a two day visit. They went to the Mammoth cave area of Kentucky for some cave fun prior to heading to our place. We ate ribs and baked beans the first day here. Mmmmmmmmm Ribs. They got to visit Natural Bridge which is up the road a few miles and took them fishing for some nice rainbow trout at a friends place. Can't forget about doing a little shooting too. Lots of holes were put into those poor defenseless targets. That Buckmark of mine sure is fun to shoot. Leslie and I were sad to bid them farewell as we had an awesome visit. Hope you both had enough to eat here.

Last weekend there was a Gobbler Gala Youth Hunt east of us in Giles County. It included vendors at the Ag Park along with TWRA trailers set up with educational stuff inside. The only problem was there weren't any customers for the vendors. Seems that they moved it to the Ag Park this year after holding it on the square in Pulaski all the previous years. The only people walking around were other vendors. Barely sold enough to cover the cost of the show. Not sure about this one next year.

In the last few days I signed up for another KITH on BladeForums.com. The difference with this KITH is that is for Mini Knives. I've never made a mini before so I jumped in with both feet. I started with a piece of damascus slated for jewelry and drew out a bowie knife. After cutting, grinding and sanding a relatively proportionate knife blade appeared. Grabbed some nickel silver to use as bolsters with some nickel welding rod to pin them to the blade. Originally I had intended to use a pice of elephant ivory for the scales but went with some nice wooly mammoth tusk, as it has some cool coloring to it. There'll be more to this story as it progresses.

I think I'm in three KITH's at the moment. The first is a regular knife KITH set for July. The next is a Neo-Tribal KITH. That one is to try and make one out of recycled steel and without all those fancy power tools. You forge the blade, use files and hand sanding to complete it. I've got a design in my head, I just need to get the coal forge out and pound some steel. The last is the Mini KITH. To me this is the best way to get new knives. See Y'all Soon