1 piece hollow handle knives custom and production

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MAkives

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May 5, 2015
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Ive been meaning to buy 1 hollow handle knife to test out because i have a feeling ill like it but i dont know what to buy. I know of the schrade 1s, cs bushman, condor matagis, and chris reeves but thats it cant find any more if u know any people or companies that mske knives like these plz post here
 
Microtech makes several.

Robson RPW Knives produce some that are different in that they have blades that are much wider than the handles.

And Marfione Custom is another maker (A.D.O model, very similar in design to Chris Reeve/Schrade models).

But these brands are all very pricey. With the Marfione being the most expensive.
 
MAkives said:
Ive been meaning to buy 1 hollow handle knife to test out because i have a feeling ill like it but i dont know what to buy. I know of the schrade 1s, cs bushman, condor matagis, and chris reeves but thats it cant find any more if u know any people or companies that mske knives like these plz post here
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Because of the much sharper thinner edge, I would absolutely recommend a Randall Model 18 as the first one to get, if you are on a budget. I would get a no saw stainless (check the S next to the stamp) with a knurled handle: Pick one from SJJP on Ebay because he usually has several to choose from, and the 18 shapes vary a lot, which allows you to pick the one you like best (get the pointiest one possible across all the dealers you find). Try to get a black sheath as they don't absorb water at all, while the brown sheaths need a matte varnish spray coating to do the same. Ignore the high price as the price of Randalls is well worth it compared to all others...

Because of the largeish handle, and with the help of some rope wrapping to make it less slippery, the cylindrical handle actually chops better than the small 7.4" blade would indicate. It is a little-known effect of cylindrical handles that they allow less rearing up on impact (they do roll if you don't grip tight), and so these handles will out-chop a form-fitting handle: My Model 18 chops twice as well as my 18-style Model 14 with the form-fitting finger-grooved micrta handle: This is due to the cylindrical handle alone, but also because the finger-grooved handle is terrible for chopping, despite fitting my hand perfectly...

What make Randalls superior to most other fixed blades in the long run is the hollow grind and thin 0.020" edge, and, just as important, thin edges with a lot of reserve wear height: They cut better and will maintain this cutting ability over decades, because the edge doesn't grow thicker as it wears up, due to the thin hollow grind.

Most other hollow handle survival knives are twice as thick at the edge (the Chris Reeves are 0.040", the derived Schrades being much thicker, even with a much weaker thinner blade. The Boker Apparo, being 0.060", is hardly a knife at all...)

So there is not much choice outside of Randall really, other than some hollow ground Walls and the huge Colin Cox "Combat/Survival" models, which are also 0.020" at the edge, but rarer and more expensive...

There are two obvious alternatives: One is the currently made Martin Knives hollow handles, about the same price as Randalls, but much thicker edged: The size is much better at 9", but the edges are also much thicker, 0.040" at least, if not more, and they would need to be sent to RazoredgeKnives for reprofiling, as the required re-profile is a bit beyond hand-sharpening for most people...

Another alternative is to get one of the discontinued Chris Reeves one-piece at inflated prices, but this is a much more expensive alternative than Randall Model 18s at this point: They are thick-edged but can be made sharp, despite the thick edges, but the recess around the base of the cylindrical handle reduces their chopping performance to not much above the smaller Model 18, level even for a 8.75" Jereboam (despite the shorter 7.4" blade on the Randall): The more common 7.5" Chris Reeves Project 1 is probably no better chopping than a Model 18... One of the problems when chopping with the Reeves is their narrow blades, which "fatten" rapidly because of this, and so tend to hit and bounce on the side of the V cut.

Because the Randall edges are thinner and stay the same thinness over decades of sharpening, there is really no other choice for continuous use at a reasonable price.

However, it is in the nature of "Survival Knives" to not be used "continuously", and for me personally I have found the best chopping power begins at the 10" blade level, even a 9" blade being much inferior: To me a "proper" survival knife cannot be under 10" to truly minimize calorie expenditure, and edge wear loss, while chopping, if any kind of real shelter is to be attempted: Chopping even with a 9.5" SMIII Trailmaster is a much bigger ordeal than with my 10" Lile "Mission", just because of the fat convex grind and thinner handle: A 10" blade on a fat cylindrical handle is really the minimum.

I only own 3 hollow handle knives that have over 10" blades and are of good quality: You are talking here about more expensive stuff than a bargain-basement Randall Model 18 by some multiples...: Colin Cox Combat/Survival, my favourite because of its 0.020" edge (around $1000 if you can find one), Lile pre-dot "Mission" with an excellent 0.030" edge (Note the current $2250 Neeleys are probably much thicker edged), and finally the RJ Martin "Blackbird" (around $1500) again with a ho-hum 0.040" edge, but good "sharpenability" due to the deep hollow grind.

The RJ Martin has the most logical design, but I have found the S30V's edge-holding performance, while chopping wood at high energy, is not impressive at all compared to 440C or D-2... It also weight a humongous 30 ounces for the knife alone, but the chopping is on par or better than any hatchet... The Colin Cox has an incredibly huge handle compartment, superior 0.020" edge thinness and 440C steel, but no option for handle cord wrap, and is also very heavy, around 30 ounces... Its finish quality is nothing short of incredible....

The best one, in functional terms and only because of its lighter weight, is the original pre-dot Lile "Mission", thin edged and incredibly light: 16.9 ounces. It chops about 3/4 as well as the 30 ounces knives (almost twice as well as a Trailmaster, which weights the same) with barely over 1/2 the weight of the Cox or RJ Martin...

There is a downside: Pre-dot Liles are much more uneven and rough in surface finish than the later Neeleys: They don't look like customs at all, especially not customs that cost in the thousands...: My RJ and the Cox absolutely make the Lile look like dollard store stuff... The surface finish is even poorer if you buy a painted or sandblasted Lile with no polished edges: There are actual "waves" in the blade surface (!!!), something you won't even see on United Cutlery stuff, even if the overall shape of the Lile is still true and symmetrical... The Liles are straight and symmetrical, but the guard is not even soldered, which is basically like paying thousands for dime store quality type of manufacture, so be warned... The edge holding of the Lile D-2 is outstanding, on par with Randall's 440B.

You probably don't want to lug around a 10" blade however, so the Model 18 is likely the better choice. Don't buy the notion that one piece models are stronger: The aren't stronger for the most part to the good separate handle tube models, because the pattern of vibration while batoning is probably worse on a single part than when some of those vibrations have to cross separate disparate pieces, which dampens them...: This is a concern for blade breakage if you like to baton, or hit the blade with a steel hammer in an emergency... Tang breakage on small tangs hardly ever occurs anyway, so the benefit of one piece models is not a real consideration...

Gaston
 
MAkives said:
Ive been meaning to buy 1 hollow handle knife to test out because i have a feeling ill like it but i dont know what to buy. I know of the schrade 1s, cs bushman, condor matagis, and chris reeves but thats it cant find any more if u know any people or companies that mske knives like these plz post here
Click to expand...

Definitely check Martins Knives (these guys are specialists on hollow handle large knives),,,, they do them I think in two sorts of steel, the more expensive is CPM steel, also they do them supposedly very tough and durable (however costly) be prepared to fork out a lot of money....

Second option: Randall Made Knives (just looking at them lately) do one hollow handle knife, I think its name is Attack Survival knife (also quite costly option)

Third is Boker Apparo as guys mentioned here, or Schrade hollow handle....(Boker and Schrade are more affordable,but still seen as quality tough blades....)
 
MAkives said:
Ive been meaning to buy 1 hollow handle knife to test out because i have a feeling ill like it but i dont know what to buy. I know of the schrade 1s, cs bushman, condor matagis, and chris reeves but thats it cant find any more if u know any people or companies that mske knives like these plz post here
Click to expand...

A spread of answers, but somewhat lacking a context: 1)what's your price range? 2) what's your anticipated usage scenario?

My idea of "useful" has changed over the years. I've gone from HK/Sig/Randall/Marfione to more mundane, and equally useful, tools. Having said that, you've listed CR alongside two more "economy" products, so...

I would agree that the Randall 18 is both well-built and a classic; the Martin offerings have sawbacks that are less material-specific. You can cut/notch wood with the Randall, but it excells in light metals and plastics (i.e., car bodies). The Martin moves slower through metals, but is much more efficient in wood, sheetrock, or plastic paneling. I've found Reeves to fall more in-line with the "sharpened prybar" model. They all cut, but the Randall is capable of much finer cutting- which was my only real reservation, I felt the blade and edge too thin for repetitive extrication work. IME, IMHO, etc., etc..

On the budget end, just trying out the concept of the hollow handle, the Schrade or Matagis/Bushman(probably the same unit made in the same place for different brands) would be excellent choices- you won't be heartbroken if you break/lose/just don't like the style. I recently purchased an Apparo, and am very pleased. For a digger/ripper/prybar/light-material chopper, its hard to beat, considering you can get it for ~$30 more than the Schrades.

Most of these knives have features that narrow their window of utility. The massive Apparo guard, for which Gaston despairs:), would be an asset to an EMT/Firefighter, breaking a car or other large window. The Matagis/Bushman can carry more "stuff" in their handles, and are lighter blades, which would make them more attractive in the 24-48 hour run-kit(with a few goodies in the handle, and what you can stick in a Spec-Ops organizer pouch, you've got most bases covered if you're stuck for a couple of days in the hills). You have to consider what you want/need the knife to do for you.
 
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