Bradford USA: Guardian 3 and 3.5 Variations: Saber, Flat, Wharncliff, G-Necker, Sheepsfoot

[DREW78]

Here is a shot of my latest G3! CPM-3V, ffg, nimbus finish, tan scales. My fourth G3, I'll try to get a family shot up soon.

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[DREW78]

Guardian 3 group shot. ...

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[Gary W. Graley]

Nice family there!
G2

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Folks that own the Guardian 3 and have the leather sheath, please check out this give away thread for a chance at one of the vertical adapter belt loops

Thanks,
G2

 

[craytab]

Very generous Gary. I'm not a leather guy or I'd be all over your GAW! Your work looks great BTW.

 

[woodysone]

Gary does some of the finest leather work for sure, have a couple of his leather sheaths for large sebenza they hold up great!

 

[Raj]

Gary does great leather works.Unfortunately I do not meet the high standards he has set for the giveaway or I would have tried to get one of these.
Just kidding, I already have one and these should go to two people who do not have one of these.
An excellent and very good add on to the leather sheath.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks guys, appreciate that and Raj, I do have standards, they are low, but I have em' and of course if you need something like that just let me know.
G2

 

[knife chop]

The only thing that i feel is a negative about the knife is the plunge grind to the base of the edge ratio. you can't properly sharpen the base of the edge with it sitting right on the plunge and it make that part of the edge significantly thicker.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Just got this Bradford USA 3.5 in Tiger G10 handle, at first when I saw they were offering this handle style, I was not a fan, but, once I got a hold of it, thanks to my friend from out west, thanks Raj !

I find that I like it over the usual layout for the handle. It provides a nice solid grip that you can use in a variety of positions.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

The sheath is a horizontal one but the knife does not go in as far as I am comfortable with, I think it is the standard pattern sheath for the old style knife. But I made a vertical adapter as shown here that you slip through the belt loop and can now wear the knife vertical, providing a bit more security in carry.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr
Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Plus the added benefit of being able to unsnap and remove from your belt if you need to take it off and don't want to undo your belt.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

The blade is M390 and arrived razor sharp, they have done a very nice job of sharpening this knife and the edge is ground down fairly thin to, overall, very impressive knife!

G2

 

[Gary W. Graley]

IMG_7113 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

the texture of Brad's scales are quite grippy, possibly might radius the corners some but otherwise it's a handle that grips back !

IMG_7116 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

 

[Raj]

The 3.5 Guardian is very nice.Brad puts a very good edge on his knives.Handle is grippy as Gary pointed out.
The adapter Gary made for the leather sheath really does make a world of difference in ease of carrying the knife.Thank you very much for that Gary.
If anyone does have the horizontal leather sheath, I would highly recommend Gary's vertical adapter.

 

[emjay4248]

I want to preface this that I had one of the other Guardian 3 with the regular grind, a very nice knife, excellent carry and grip, but I do love a full flat grind, I just do And so when I sold the other one soon after getting it, that was hard to do as it was a nice size knife, I figured that Brad Larkin of Bradford USA might just see and wonder what was up. So I emailed him my thoughts, and some reasons on his knife. He responded back pretty quickly and said I must have been reading his mind, as his last batch of Guardian 3's he made some Full Flat Ground versions and asked if I'd be interested in one of them...well yeah ! and fast forward to yesterday, she arrived and is such a beauty. Same overall dimensions as the previous with the exception of the blade grind, which allows to have a little thinner grind at the edge.

She arrived pretty sharp, cutting receipt paper cleanly, popping through paracord as well, but those that know me, I do like to put my own edge on, and so do a lot of other knife knuts. But for those that don't, I think you'll be pleased at the edge they are putting on their knives now, as Brad said he was using a different method than before, so they should show a marked difference.

Ok first I'll show the one I sold, again a solid knife and while it has a little thicker edge, for a lot of people that would be a positive as it can withstand more abuse if pressed into that hard of service. But for those that like a thinner grind with a full flat ground blade, I think you just found your knife, it's very nice. The sheath is the same and retains the knife well, as I've been saying for a while, I've gone paracord lanyard crazy lately and love using the Diamond Knots, one is just past the end of the handle, so you can hook it with your pinky to help draw the knife with, and another diamond knot ending the loop.

The scales I chose are the Toxi Green with Black G10, nice looking and very grippy!

Here's a shot showing in the sheath, there is a belt loop on the back that provides horizontal carry

Here's a shot looking straight onto the edge, ground down nicely

Thanks again Brad, solid little knife right there,
G2

Some links to other reviews of Bradford USA

Guardian 4

Gatsby

I didn't think it was possible to improve the G3 but Brad did it. I looks great and I may sell one of my 2two G3's, in fact I will sell the regular one. I have become attached to the Wharnie that I have. I don't carry it much but I like owning it.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

I've been tempted by that Wharnie myself as well.

And thanks Raj, appreciate the knife greatly and glad the vertical adapter is to your liking, I think it is a safer way to carry it until they sort out a new sheath.
G2

 

[fishiker]

Over the years I have bought several knives because of comments by members here. The G-3 is the latest. I have tried horizontal or "scout" carry a few times before and never found a knife/sheath combo that worked for me. The G-3 with factory leather sheath has changed that. I often find myself carrying the Bradford on my belt with a traditional folder or SAK in my pocket. I've been carrying this way for a few months and found the combo works very well for me. I picked mine up at a local show from Jason of New River Knife Works. He's a great guy to talk to and sells quality knives at competitive prices.

 

[New River Knife Works]

Thank you very much for the compliment.

Brad’s knives are excellent perormers. I agree with your comment about the horizontal carry. It’s very comfortable and convenient. I love my G3S.

What does everybody think about a smaller version of the Guardian? I think it would be well received. A version a bit smaller would pocket carry a bit easier but still pack a lot of performance. I mentioned that to Brad last year. I would personally love one a bit smaller to add to my collection. Thoughts?

 

[emjay4248]

Thank you very much for the compliment.

Brad’s knives are excellent perormers. I agree with your comment about the horizontal carry. It’s very comfortable and convenient. I love my G3S.

What does everybody think about a smaller version of the Guardian? I think it would be well received. A version a bit smaller would pocket carry a bit easier but still pack a lot of performance. I mentioned that to Brad last year. I would personally love one a bit smaller to add to my collection. Thoughts?

I have the Regular G3 and the Wharnie in M390. They are both fantastic knives. In reference to making a smaller one I think that they should make a larger one.When the G 3.5 came out I had my order in with Brad and his wife Nicole a day before it was released and following their # system I thought it was going to be 3.5" edge and 4" blade. To my dismay it was not and with a heavy heart I sent it back. I think that a 4" would be a hit right in the middle. For some reason I have found it hard to find such a knife with great steel at a reasonable price. Their are many fixed blades out their that are sub 3" such as L.T. Wright but not many in the 4". When and if they decide to make one I will be first on line to get one. In the mean time I added a Spyderco Street Beat which is closer to my grail size.

 

[Impulse600]

How has nobody on this thread mentioned the SG2 version?

 

[sodak]

Thank you very much for the compliment.

Brad’s knives are excellent perormers. I agree with your comment about the horizontal carry. It’s very comfortable and convenient. I love my G3S.

What does everybody think about a smaller version of the Guardian? I think it would be well received. A version a bit smaller would pocket carry a bit easier but still pack a lot of performance. I mentioned that to Brad last year. I would personally love one a bit smaller to add to my collection. Thoughts?

I think the smaller version has possibilities. I'm not into fixed knives much smaller than the G3, but there is clearly a market for them.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Took advantage of their Black Friday offering and picked up one of their new G-Necker's in Elmax. The handle is a bit thicker than the blade spine which means it rides handle heavy, and that seems to be a good thing here. Being all metal the thicker handle does provide some grip and the curved guard area keeps your digits from being separated from your palm. BUT I never warmed up to all metal handles as I find them too smooth, so I had some thinner paracord and did a whipping knot on the handle and then soaked it with some super glue to keep the windings snug. And added my bobtail fob using 11 stranded paracord, thicker stuff, that my pinky bumps up against nicely and provides a solid pull when removing the knife from their kydex neck sheath. They include some paracord so you can slip the sheath over your head straight away.

The blade arrived quite sharp and easily shaved hair and pop paracord without hesitation.
Some spec's

• Overall Length: 6.125"
• Blade Length: 2.875"
• Blade Thickness: 0.15"

The whipping knot keeps the actual 'knots' beneath the wrap so you don't see them, making it a nice way to do this type of thing;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


Nice handy sized neck knife
G2