another new knife thread

[Myal]

just before the " why arent people buying from custom makers" thread came up , I had spent a couple hours looking thru the knives on the makers forsale board here , and got seriously down hearted at the guys who had the gear that got my intrest selling conus only

I went to ebay and instead of bowing a few hundred on one knife , spent a lot less and bought a couple mercators , and a machete off a enterprising guy in the Philippines selling gear made at his local blacksmith .

I have a thing for knives made for working , especially a hand made knife from a porrer area of the world , where people use what they can lay hand to to make the tools they need .

For about AU$20 , I got this chunk of recycled firewood and leafspring

It lacks a lot in the finer points of finish , but that for me isnt a big deal , I like it a bit rough , Im in no way to scared to get it dirty .

the knife is light , I was suprised , the balance is forward some , but not over much , it feesls just right to my hand for a chopper .

I took it out the back and slashed some grass and small privet thats popping up in my ( 2foot high ) lawn out back , no problems , I chopped some pepper tree for my goat , and it takes branches about 2inch in a single swipe , thicker took a couple swipes , not because the knife lacks , but because my shoulder and back is damaged some and I dont have the strength I used to .

there is some hammer dimples in the blade , but nothing to affect the performance of the knife . the blade has a really nice taper , and tho the pics dont show it well , its pretty much full convex grind .

It did need sharpening when it arrived , it was pretty sharp out of the box , but the tip had parts that were blunt , but it wasnt a big deal it came a lot better than anything else I bought in its price range off a shelf .

Im going to really enjoy playing with this one I think

 

[ZombaiO]

It looks awsome !!!

 

[Myal]

thanks

Its proving to be a nice knife to use , Im going to smooth the ridges of the handle some , but in all , its fun

 

[baldtaco-II]

I think if I payed that amount of money for what is very much a brush sword and found it could reliably take branches at that thickness like that I'd be happy.

Looks like something that could be easily made pretty too.

 

[hushnel]

I like it, it looks very serviceable.

I used to buy up all the strange looking blades I found at the Florida City flea market. This was back before hurricane Andrew blew away the Homestead AFB, most of these short swords where being sold by Air Force people that were being transferred and wanted to unload some of their junk. I even picked up a cigar makers knife from this old Cuban guy whose wife had to translate our conversation. This guy was ecstatic that I knew exactly what it was and used for, he said his arthritis was too bad to roll cigars any more and wanted to know how I knew about the cigar maker’s knife.

 

[dipbait]

Thats a conversation piece. Everybody who sees it will want to handle it.

 

[Myal]

Messed around with it today some , getting food for the pet goat ( any excuse )
seen side by side with my valiant co golock:

easy swipe

it bites deep , and bites easy , its just fun to use , comfortable too .

my valiant blade wanted to twist to to the side , and I think due to its thickness , it wouldnt bite so deep with the same force .

I have an injured shoulder , and playing with the new knife over the last couple days hasnt helped it any either , so I cant use near the strength I want to with either knife .
Still the bigger handle makes control of the new one a lot easier , but where I have no fear of belting into hardwood with my valiant blade ,Ive done it before and still has the shaving sharp factory edge on it , Id not be so carefree with my new blade . I need to try it out some more first , just to see what it will and wont do . I may be scared of nothing , or it may be justified worry .

compared together , the new one feels to be significantly lighter than the valiant co blade , and is faster in the hand . I cannot chose a favorite between the two , not yet

My valiant blade is clean and shiny , but this is , I believe , because it gets cleaned and oiled after every use .. it is losing is polished finish tho to a haze of scratches from use ...

I see so many knives shown here in perfect condition , Im making an effort to see if mine can stay as pretty for once rather than being all used and beat up looking

 

[ejes]

As long as it performs well and the tang stays sturdy and intact in the handle, I think you did very well for yourself! I don't care about looks either if it does what it is supposed to do.