The Armegeddon in CPM 3V is my second knife by Trace Rinaldi. When I first looked at it, I was a little hesitant to buy one myself. After all, I have a few Busse's, CRK One Piece knives and, a lot of other production knifes including BK&T, FallKniven and, Livesay. I enjoy using them all and contasting their performance, fit and finish and, price points.
Performance versus price is not an indefinite linear relationship. At some point, additional money spent does not get an equal increase in performance. The question is where do you hit the sweet spot (or "knee of the curve" as my college instructors would say).
All these knives would serve me adequately for the places I go and the things I do. It is very unlikely that I would find myself in such an extreme situation that a good "factory" knife would fail me. That being said, unexpected things do happen and for those times you certainly want the best equipment you can buy.
If I had my choice and could plan ahead, I would certainly prefer my Armegeddon over the other knives I have. The feel in hand is excellant. Looking at a picture is great but, once you get it your hand, you know whether it 'fits' and how it handles. This is a big knife and its weight does not hide that fact. While it is a little unwieldy in my hands for fine work, you can choke up on it and do fine work. If I were a strong outdoors man and not a desk jockey, this probably would not be an issue since my phyical conditioning would be much better.
There are lots of threads and stories about the Busse E-handled knives which most of us have seen and, the performance of Khukri is well known. This knife shows traces of a blend of those qualities which have been executed in Trace's usual fashion of excellance and function. As for true use, abuse and, general function I will refer you to the artice in Hoods Woods and similar stories which are more reflective of what the knife is capable of. My stories of personal use just aren't sufficient to do this knife justice.
I have owned and used one of Trace's other knives for about 3 years now. As time goes by, I appreciate it more and more. It has been a total pleasure to own and use. I expect the same from my Armegeddon. I am sure this knife will reveal nuisances of its design and execution that I am missing know just as the other knife has. The true test of owner satisfaction is repeat purchases and long time ownership and use. After all, Trace isn't the only maker I own and this isnt the only knife I have to choose from
Stay Sharp,
Sid
