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- Dec 10, 2006
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Andre Thorburn Model 45 Front Flipper.
Introduction and specifications.
Andre Thorburn, as many will know, is a full time knife maker and part of the Knife Makers Guild of South Africa, American Knife Makers Guild, Italian Knife Makers Guild and German Knife Makers Guild and his recent creations have really sparked an interest in a category known as gentleman tactical folders. Andre T and Andre van Heerden recently became the IKBS accreditors in South Africa and in my opinion rightly deserve so. Both have really taken the IKBS to the next level.
More about the man can be read here:
Thorinox.co.za
I have been fortunate enough to visit Andre T from time to time and made a video of the one trip.
[video=youtube;S9XBbGiSrHQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9XBbGiSrHQ[/video]
While browsing around his workshop I noticed a model that I thought would suite my needs well. The model 45, further browsing and snooping around I found a block of Olive Drab with a hint of red Canvas Micarta. As the visit drew to a close I made up my mind and placed an order. Model 45 Front Flipper,M390 blade, OD Canvas Micarta, Ti Bolster, pocket clip and Andres trademark filing on the liners.
A while later I made another visit to Andre T and as we were sitting and talking he smiled and said, Let me make your day and he went and fetched my knife order. That really did make my day.
Blade Length: approx. 84mm
Cutting edge: 80mm
Blade Thickness: 3mm
Length closed: 105mm (110mm including the front flipper)
Weight: Not measured yet
Handle: OD Canvas Micarta over a thin Red Liner, Ti Bolsters bead blasted and anodized.
Lock: Liner Lock
Ikoma Korth Bearing System
Initial impressions
Blade is smack bang dead centered.
I really like everything about this knife. How it feels in the hand and how it flips. I really like the two tone file work on the spine, though it is difficult to capture on a camera.
Lockup is good and solid.
Pocket clip functions perfectly and the knife carries easily.
Even in a shirt pocket.
The handle does not have a lot of curves, something I prefer, and falls comfortably in hand. The clip is also non obtrusive and falls comfortably in the palm of my hand and does not form a hotspot. This however will depend on each person and hand shape.
Stock testing:
Initial sharpness was high.
Slices newsprint easily at 90 degrees
Shaves arm hair in either direction, so no burr
Makes nice pig tails with phonebook paper.
Some use:
Biltong:
Braai:
Hamburger:
Tomato:
Avo:
Chicken:
General:
Note, not all work done in the garden is shown.
The edge could not shave any longer after the work, but could still slice, but catch on phonebook paper but could still 80gsm paper easily. In my experience, it takes a lot to dull a knife to the point where it cannot slice 80gsm paper.
I could not detect any chips or severe rolling in the edge. General edge performance reduction and some rolling where I cut dirty material took place. Restoring the edge took around 50 passes per side on 320grit coarse diamond and then further refinement as required. All and all less than 10 minutes until the edge could catch lose standing hair on the back of my head.
The edge has been reprofiled to around 10-12 dps with a micro bevel of 15 dps. This took about 30 minutes.
Closing thoughts.
The size is easy to EDC.
Feels comfortable in hand.
Has a jewel like quality. People notice this when handing it to them (filework is the main thing that is comment upon)
Smooth action
Most people open the knife two-handed, not using the flipper (a plus in my opinion for a knife carried as EDC in an office environment).
The knife does not break harder food like potato or apples.
Can carry the knife with a pen in a shirt pocket.
Introduction and specifications.
Andre Thorburn, as many will know, is a full time knife maker and part of the Knife Makers Guild of South Africa, American Knife Makers Guild, Italian Knife Makers Guild and German Knife Makers Guild and his recent creations have really sparked an interest in a category known as gentleman tactical folders. Andre T and Andre van Heerden recently became the IKBS accreditors in South Africa and in my opinion rightly deserve so. Both have really taken the IKBS to the next level.
More about the man can be read here:
Thorinox.co.za
I have been fortunate enough to visit Andre T from time to time and made a video of the one trip.
[video=youtube;S9XBbGiSrHQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9XBbGiSrHQ[/video]
While browsing around his workshop I noticed a model that I thought would suite my needs well. The model 45, further browsing and snooping around I found a block of Olive Drab with a hint of red Canvas Micarta. As the visit drew to a close I made up my mind and placed an order. Model 45 Front Flipper,M390 blade, OD Canvas Micarta, Ti Bolster, pocket clip and Andres trademark filing on the liners.
A while later I made another visit to Andre T and as we were sitting and talking he smiled and said, Let me make your day and he went and fetched my knife order. That really did make my day.
Blade Length: approx. 84mm
Cutting edge: 80mm
Blade Thickness: 3mm
Length closed: 105mm (110mm including the front flipper)
Weight: Not measured yet
Handle: OD Canvas Micarta over a thin Red Liner, Ti Bolsters bead blasted and anodized.
Lock: Liner Lock
Ikoma Korth Bearing System
Initial impressions
Blade is smack bang dead centered.
I really like everything about this knife. How it feels in the hand and how it flips. I really like the two tone file work on the spine, though it is difficult to capture on a camera.
Lockup is good and solid.
Pocket clip functions perfectly and the knife carries easily.
Even in a shirt pocket.
The handle does not have a lot of curves, something I prefer, and falls comfortably in hand. The clip is also non obtrusive and falls comfortably in the palm of my hand and does not form a hotspot. This however will depend on each person and hand shape.
Stock testing:
Initial sharpness was high.
Slices newsprint easily at 90 degrees
Shaves arm hair in either direction, so no burr
Makes nice pig tails with phonebook paper.
Some use:
Biltong:
Braai:
Hamburger:
Tomato:
Avo:
Chicken:
General:
Note, not all work done in the garden is shown.
The edge could not shave any longer after the work, but could still slice, but catch on phonebook paper but could still 80gsm paper easily. In my experience, it takes a lot to dull a knife to the point where it cannot slice 80gsm paper.
I could not detect any chips or severe rolling in the edge. General edge performance reduction and some rolling where I cut dirty material took place. Restoring the edge took around 50 passes per side on 320grit coarse diamond and then further refinement as required. All and all less than 10 minutes until the edge could catch lose standing hair on the back of my head.
The edge has been reprofiled to around 10-12 dps with a micro bevel of 15 dps. This took about 30 minutes.
Closing thoughts.
The size is easy to EDC.
Feels comfortable in hand.
Has a jewel like quality. People notice this when handing it to them (filework is the main thing that is comment upon)
Smooth action
Most people open the knife two-handed, not using the flipper (a plus in my opinion for a knife carried as EDC in an office environment).
The knife does not break harder food like potato or apples.
Can carry the knife with a pen in a shirt pocket.
