This beauty arrived the other day from Dale Stoops' Knife Connection.
Here are the specs:
Blade Thickness: .270" very thick and strong
Tang: Full Length
Total Length: 10.875"
Blade Length: 5.5"
Weight: 11.25 Ounces
Handle Material: Blue & Black G10, Matte Finish
Blade-Steel: 154 CM Stainless Steel
Rockwell Hardness: 58 rc
The blade on this knife inspires full confidence for the obvious design purposes, in addition to civilian bushcraft/survival. I can see why the US Marine Corp Recon guys like this knife a lot. The convex grind makes this one very sharp blade and it is at least as sharp out of the box as my Bravo 1, the sharpest knife I have ever owned.Unlike the military version, the top portion of the blade is unsharpened. It has a full tang that fills the handle and the thickness of the blade material is such that I had to get longer screws for the vise of my Wicked Edge Sharpener that I use to maintain convex edge with the provided leather strops and diamond paste.
The knife feels very good even in my relatively small hand and although it is heavy, it is also well balanced, so no problem there. The grip just feels right and as advertised it has a tendency to right itself in your hand when you pick it up. One of the two small niggles that I have, is with the G-10 slabs where they meet with the lanyard attachment...it has a very sharp uncomfortable edge to it,but I have rounded that off with a little sanding. It is OK now. The other niggle is with the matte black paint job on the upper blade near the hilt...mine at least has a small amount of fine overspray from the painting process.
Outside of those very minor cons, I am very pleased and impressed with the knife. I have been looking for a tactical knife to present to top graduates at the Canadian Royal Military College (like West Point Candian version) who will be going into out elite special-force regiment JTF2 and headed for Afghanistan. This will be my small way of doing my bit to help our brothers doing an extremely dangerous job far behind enemy lines supporting NATO and American troops. I see the STS-5 as being entirely appropriate for this job.
I have however found the sheath difficult to deal with and even after watching the YouTube video regarding this problem, I still find it noisy and hard on my soft, lily-white hands!
I will be searching for an alternative sheath for my knife. Looking at it from a tactical point of view, I think the supplied sheath would be too noisy when stealth is of the essence, but that is only my opinion.
I am editing here an adding that I have replaced the sheath for a BR Leather Sheath...and a very sturdy and quality scabbard it is! It is easy to extract and insert the knife and is totally noiseless, which makes it an essential for any military use IMO. The leather is of the highest quality saddle material and I have rubbed in a beeswax/leather cream mix which has nicely darkened the sheath and it is now well protected from the elements. This knife sheath is a spine lock type which opens with a snap. The way the knife nests in there, it will not easily fall out even when the sheath is unsnapped. See the pictures to see how the fine design accomplishes this.
I am totally pleased with the knife, so score another excellent design and superb quality knife for Mike and his team of craftsmen. How many designs can you possibly have in there Mike?
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how pleased I am with Dale Stoops' service over at the Knife Connection...fast, courteous and pure pleasure to experience in these times. Top notch!
Cheers
Leo
Here are the specs:
Blade Thickness: .270" very thick and strong
Tang: Full Length
Total Length: 10.875"
Blade Length: 5.5"
Weight: 11.25 Ounces
Handle Material: Blue & Black G10, Matte Finish
Blade-Steel: 154 CM Stainless Steel
Rockwell Hardness: 58 rc
The blade on this knife inspires full confidence for the obvious design purposes, in addition to civilian bushcraft/survival. I can see why the US Marine Corp Recon guys like this knife a lot. The convex grind makes this one very sharp blade and it is at least as sharp out of the box as my Bravo 1, the sharpest knife I have ever owned.Unlike the military version, the top portion of the blade is unsharpened. It has a full tang that fills the handle and the thickness of the blade material is such that I had to get longer screws for the vise of my Wicked Edge Sharpener that I use to maintain convex edge with the provided leather strops and diamond paste.
The knife feels very good even in my relatively small hand and although it is heavy, it is also well balanced, so no problem there. The grip just feels right and as advertised it has a tendency to right itself in your hand when you pick it up. One of the two small niggles that I have, is with the G-10 slabs where they meet with the lanyard attachment...it has a very sharp uncomfortable edge to it,but I have rounded that off with a little sanding. It is OK now. The other niggle is with the matte black paint job on the upper blade near the hilt...mine at least has a small amount of fine overspray from the painting process.
Outside of those very minor cons, I am very pleased and impressed with the knife. I have been looking for a tactical knife to present to top graduates at the Canadian Royal Military College (like West Point Candian version) who will be going into out elite special-force regiment JTF2 and headed for Afghanistan. This will be my small way of doing my bit to help our brothers doing an extremely dangerous job far behind enemy lines supporting NATO and American troops. I see the STS-5 as being entirely appropriate for this job.
I have however found the sheath difficult to deal with and even after watching the YouTube video regarding this problem, I still find it noisy and hard on my soft, lily-white hands!
I am editing here an adding that I have replaced the sheath for a BR Leather Sheath...and a very sturdy and quality scabbard it is! It is easy to extract and insert the knife and is totally noiseless, which makes it an essential for any military use IMO. The leather is of the highest quality saddle material and I have rubbed in a beeswax/leather cream mix which has nicely darkened the sheath and it is now well protected from the elements. This knife sheath is a spine lock type which opens with a snap. The way the knife nests in there, it will not easily fall out even when the sheath is unsnapped. See the pictures to see how the fine design accomplishes this.
I am totally pleased with the knife, so score another excellent design and superb quality knife for Mike and his team of craftsmen. How many designs can you possibly have in there Mike?
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how pleased I am with Dale Stoops' service over at the Knife Connection...fast, courteous and pure pleasure to experience in these times. Top notch!
Cheers
Leo
