Folks, I just finished doing an initial evaluation of Jerry Hossom's- http://hossom.com next generation Millennium Bowie, and I am so impressed that I had to let you all know about it right away.
First, the pic. in no way does this knife justice. It is drop dead gorgeous! My head nurse, who is very right-brained and artsy, absolutely hates weapons, and is appalled by my obsession with blades and MA, exclaimed when she saw it, "My God, that's absolutely beautiful!" That pretty much says it all.
Jerry has been working very closely these last several months with Matt Draper, Don Rearic, Guru Jason Silverman, and myself to develop a new line of fighting knives and swords that are tailored specifically for actual knife and sword "players"- designed with only combat in mind, each thoroughly tested and refined to maximize its fighting effectiveness. This bowie is the first of this new Millennium Belt Series- which Jerry is determined to be the finest fighting knives and swords on the planet. And let me tell you, if this bowie is any indication, he is right on target! Read on and you'll see what I mean.
The bowie's specs are as follows:
OAL- 18"
Blade length- 12"
weight- exactly 1.00 Lb.
Steel- ATS-34, 3/16" stock, heat treated by Paul Bos to Rc. 57-58 and cryogenically stress-relieved to -300 deg.
Bolsters- stainless steel
Handle Scales- linen micarta
Next, the handle- it's fantastic! Now, as I'm sure most of you are aware of by now, Jerry is known for the great ergonomics of his handles, but this new handle shape is even a step above his usual work. He and I co-designed this handle to:
1. Provide better protection for the fingers from an opponent's blade.
2. Provide a more secure grip in both forward and reverse grips.
3. Facilitate twirls, spins, and hand to hand exchanges.
4. Facilitate punyo-skull crusher-strikes.
5. Provide a more comfortable grip over long hours of training with no hot spots, etc..
All with the goal of optimizing the overall fighting capabilities of the knife.
Well...let me tell you that this new handle exceeds all expectations. It feels like it was genetically engineered and organically grown to fit my hand. My hand feels absolutely locked into it whether forward or reverse grip. Full power thrusts into my training dummy, witiks, redondos, abanicos...all no problem. The grip is perfectly secure and extremely comfortable even after two hours of training. Outstanding!
Next, handling characteristics- Jerry's bowies are known for handling like lightening, and this one is no exception. This bowie is 18" long. In reverse grip, the point extends beyond my elbow. Yet, it feels and moves like one of my 6" fighters. It only weighs 1 Lb. and the balance point is right at the ricasso. Absolutely amazing!
It is wicked fast during karrenza(shadowboxing), and against hanging targets- hanging tennis ball, bungee-cord hung roll of exam room paper, De Cuerda( horizontally hung 36" length of 1 1/2" dia. manau rattan, with aluminum training blades duct-taped to each end and two tennis balls strung along the rope above it at heart and eye level),etc..
The point and punyo are perfectly aligned, allowing me to hit 1/4" dots on a cardboard box at will with thrusts or punyos.
Next, cutting ability- Jerry and I wanted the new Millennium Bowie's blade profile to optimize its slashing ability while maintaining the legendary Hossom thrusting capabilties. And Boy did Jerry do the job right! This new blade cuts even better IMO than his original bowie- and don't forget that Don Rearic slashed through 9" of a hanging shank of beef with one of those original blades.
I used the bowie to cut a variety of targets, including:
1. A single hanging sheet of paper- cut it clean through at various angles without any tearing or turning of the cuts. The cuts were perfect.
2. Cutting tree- my cutting tree is a Wing Tsun dummy that I've wrapped in 4" thick "10 year" mattress foam and then wrapped that, in turn, with several layers of duct tape. The bowie absolutely shredded it! Witiks(snap cuts), slashes, and thrusts all penetrated cleanly to the dummy's wooden core. The gaping size of the cuts were very impressive and better than anything I'd ever achieved with other long blades. I next wrapped an arm of the dummy in denim- same result. Cut right through the denim, the duct-tape skin, and through the dense foam to the wood.
3. Vertically hung roll of exam room paper- this stuff is high quality and very tightly rolled. The bowie cut through it like water. Slashes, witiks, and thrusts all the way through 2 1/2"! of paper to the cardboard core- in some cases cutting the cardboard down to the rattan stick underneath! That's cutting ability.
4. Freestanding empty beer can- This is normally a test of the cutting ability of fine Japanese swords, but I like to try it with my knives. Most won't cut the can at all, they just smash it across the room. A few will nick it. With this bowie, I was able to cut halfway through three different cans. That's fantastic. And remember that I've only had the opportunity to become barely acquainted with this knife. I think that with some practice, I will be able to cut a can cleanly through with it.
Later today I am going to buy a shank of meat with the bone in place. I'll let you know what happens. Heh Heh Heh...
Finally, impact resistence- There has been much discussion on the Forums as to whether or not ATS-34 is an appropriate steel for a long knife due to it supposed brittleness compared to say A2 or CPM-3V, for example. I must admit that I myself was a bit worried about how the ATS would handle impact in a blade this long. Jerry assured me that he had discussed this at length with Paul Bos. They were confident that heat treating the blade to an Rc. of 57-58 as opposed to the usual 61-62 for ATS-34, and then cryogenically stress-relieving it, would produce a blade with enough toughness and flexibility to be perfect for bowies and even swords, while retaining its edgeholding ability.
Well...the tale is in the tape, and I warned Jerry that I was really going to whack this blade around.
So, first I slammed the flat of the blade against the edge of an old oak bureau several times. No problem. Next, I executed full speed slapping blocks and witiks- edge, spine, and flat of the blade- against the arms of my training dummy over and over again while I was "sparring" with it. Again, no problem. Finally, the ultimate test- the DREADED DE CUERDA with its 1 1/2" thick rattan stick with aluminum blades on each end. This device swings very rapidly when it gets going, and has snapped the blades of other knives like twigs in the past. I attacked this thing full-speed, full-power with Jerry's new bowie. I blocked and parried both the rattan and the blades with the edge and flat of the blade constantly while I slashed and thrusted at the hanging balls. The blade felt fantastic.It never showed any signs of stress- no resonance frequencies, no scary pinging, nothing. It has that wonderful tight springiness of a really great swordblade. And on examination afterwards, not a rolled edge, nick, scratch, or other blemish anywhere on the blade. It was pristine. And, it still cut effortlessly through a sheet of paper. IMHO this pretty much answers the question of whether ATS-34 is a good choice for long blades. In the hands of a master bladesmith like Jerry Hossom and a master heat treater like Paul Bos it certainly is.
Tomorrow, I'm getting together with my friend, training partner, and awesome knife player Guru Jason Silverman of Executive Edge Martial Development- http://home.earthlink.net/~grappler/ We will put this puppy through some two man flow drills and sparring.Heh, heh, heh...:0 I'll let you know how it goes and what he thinks of Jerry's latest beauty.
In closing, I have to say that so far this is hands down the finest fighting knife I have ever had the pleasure to play with. I would carry it into a knife battle without hesitation- if I got killed it certainly wouldn't be because of the knife.
Bravo Jerry...Bravo!
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Gaucho
Tuvo muy mala suerte...se callo en mi cuchillo.
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 01-07-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 01-07-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 01-07-2000).]
