I bought my first fixed blade EDC a few weeks ago. Generally, I like a nice thin blade because I don't tend to pry or beat on things with a knife blade. I really just use them to actually cut things (imagine that). I ended up going with a Guardian 3.5 in M390 with a full flat grind, black finish, and black micarta scales, and I ordered their Taco sheath to go with it.
I normally don't care for blades over 1/8" thick, but one of the things I was looking for was a tool that could serve dual purpose in a defensive capacity if need be. I assumed some kind of compromise was going to be in order. The Guardian 3 series has a blade profile that I really like for the way I generally use knives, and the 3.5 forms a nice guard behind the blade should I need to apply an abnormal amount of thrusting force, and everyone seemed to love the ergonomics of its 3D scales, so I figured it was probably a really good compromise to go with the slightly thicker 0.150 blade. After having it for a couple of weeks, I will say that everyone is right about the scales. They fit my hands extremely well.
The included leather sheath sucks IMHO. If they had offered the knife for $5 less without a leather sheath, it would be worth saving the $5. The sheath DOES look nice, but that's the only thing good I can say about it. Retention isn't very good, it won't fit on my belt, and I don't really like horizontal carry for EDC.
I have mixed emotions about the Taco Kydex sheath. On the up side, retention is excellent. I had hoped to carry the blade IWB at a slight angle from horizontal to facilitate cross draw with my strong hand, or (primarily) drawing with a reverse grip with my support hand. Before even ordering the knife, I wasn't sure this was going to be possible just because of its OAL. After receiving it, I think it's possible, but not with any of the sheath's that Bradford's has for it. They are far too wide. I would need to have one made that was stitched instead of riveted. On the plus side, the Taco sheath DOES work okay for pocket carry. The square-ish bottom corner does a good job of getting the sheath down into the bottom of my pocket and keeping it there. I carry it in my weak side front pocket (Walmart Wrangler jeans) with my keys and a Leatherman wave with no problems. I modified the sheath to form a hook that will catch on the edge of my pocket if I pull it out by the handle which works well. My other complaint about the sheath was that it didn't allow my index finger to be anywhere near where it should be. When modifying the sheath, I moved that edge to where my index finger is right where I need it to be. In hind sight, I should have left JUST a little more material there to keep the blade's edge covered while drawing. There's no risk of injury, but if I draw the knife quickly using the hook, the blade will cut into the denim ever so slightly as it exits the sheath and pocket. If I had left an additional 1/8" of kydex, that would not happen and I'd still be able to comfortably place my hand where I want it.
I do wish that they left the corners of the tang nice and sharp where it's exposed back by the lanyard hole. That would have been useful with a ferro rod. Instead, they broke the edge slightly. It make sense to do that so that the edge doesn't wear on a lanyard, but IMHO, the design of this knife is such that it doesn't need a lanyard.
All in all, I'm enjoying the knife quite a bit. When buried in cardboard, it doesn't slice as easily as a really thin blade, but it still doesn't take a lot of effort. It's extremely sharp right out of the box. I haven't used it enough to say that it holds an edge well, but I have no doubt the M390 blade will keep its edge for a long time. If I had it to do all over again, I'd buy the knife again in a heart beat. I'd just be a little more thoughtful before modifying the kydex sheath
If I can ever figure out how to add pics, I'll post some
I normally don't care for blades over 1/8" thick, but one of the things I was looking for was a tool that could serve dual purpose in a defensive capacity if need be. I assumed some kind of compromise was going to be in order. The Guardian 3 series has a blade profile that I really like for the way I generally use knives, and the 3.5 forms a nice guard behind the blade should I need to apply an abnormal amount of thrusting force, and everyone seemed to love the ergonomics of its 3D scales, so I figured it was probably a really good compromise to go with the slightly thicker 0.150 blade. After having it for a couple of weeks, I will say that everyone is right about the scales. They fit my hands extremely well.
The included leather sheath sucks IMHO. If they had offered the knife for $5 less without a leather sheath, it would be worth saving the $5. The sheath DOES look nice, but that's the only thing good I can say about it. Retention isn't very good, it won't fit on my belt, and I don't really like horizontal carry for EDC.
I have mixed emotions about the Taco Kydex sheath. On the up side, retention is excellent. I had hoped to carry the blade IWB at a slight angle from horizontal to facilitate cross draw with my strong hand, or (primarily) drawing with a reverse grip with my support hand. Before even ordering the knife, I wasn't sure this was going to be possible just because of its OAL. After receiving it, I think it's possible, but not with any of the sheath's that Bradford's has for it. They are far too wide. I would need to have one made that was stitched instead of riveted. On the plus side, the Taco sheath DOES work okay for pocket carry. The square-ish bottom corner does a good job of getting the sheath down into the bottom of my pocket and keeping it there. I carry it in my weak side front pocket (Walmart Wrangler jeans) with my keys and a Leatherman wave with no problems. I modified the sheath to form a hook that will catch on the edge of my pocket if I pull it out by the handle which works well. My other complaint about the sheath was that it didn't allow my index finger to be anywhere near where it should be. When modifying the sheath, I moved that edge to where my index finger is right where I need it to be. In hind sight, I should have left JUST a little more material there to keep the blade's edge covered while drawing. There's no risk of injury, but if I draw the knife quickly using the hook, the blade will cut into the denim ever so slightly as it exits the sheath and pocket. If I had left an additional 1/8" of kydex, that would not happen and I'd still be able to comfortably place my hand where I want it.
I do wish that they left the corners of the tang nice and sharp where it's exposed back by the lanyard hole. That would have been useful with a ferro rod. Instead, they broke the edge slightly. It make sense to do that so that the edge doesn't wear on a lanyard, but IMHO, the design of this knife is such that it doesn't need a lanyard.
All in all, I'm enjoying the knife quite a bit. When buried in cardboard, it doesn't slice as easily as a really thin blade, but it still doesn't take a lot of effort. It's extremely sharp right out of the box. I haven't used it enough to say that it holds an edge well, but I have no doubt the M390 blade will keep its edge for a long time. If I had it to do all over again, I'd buy the knife again in a heart beat. I'd just be a little more thoughtful before modifying the kydex sheath
If I can ever figure out how to add pics, I'll post some
