So I just received a Lapu Lapu Corto from CSSD-SC online store. Enough people asked for sheaths just in a span of a few days, so I waited out the holiday madness, and it was the first knife of 2007 for me.
It took a week to arrive here, thanks to the brave people of the Canadian Customs, and even though the paperwork said it was a Lapu Lapu Combat Knife, it made it here after a thorough inspection.
On the first inspection, it is practically the same length and weight of the standard live Spyderco Gunting, but a little thinner, but only by 1 mm.
The scales are G10, same as the Guntings. Mine is a drab green CSSD version (USMC on one side, and CSSD on the other),with gray coated blade and clip. What is immediately obvious is that the indexing hole is a lot wider than the one on the Gunting. The knife spins from grip to grip with ease, possibly even easier that the Gunting because of the thickness (fingers are closer together while indexing).
Note the teeth running along the blade side of the knife. The G10 scales on that side are a little shorter than on the spine (which will be against your palm), so the knife is a lot more secure while holding, a lot more toothy. Teeth are sharp-ish, sharp enough not to hurt you but a forearm rake with them will has an impressive effect. Teeth on the ramp on the blade an a whole lot sharper along the edges.
The opening hole edges are not chamfered, but that's a good thing. and the side of the pyramid is big enough for a standard one-handed opening even with big thumbs.
The pocket clip is slightly longer than the Gunting's, with a less pronounced horn on it to conform to the shape of the scales. The clip attachment is the same as on the Gunting, with cutout in G10 and the screws going into the steel liner.
Knife open. Can be opened with the thumb, or kinetically over a body part. NOT YOUR THE LEG! Can't say this one often enough.
The blade, unlike the Gunting's, is a Persian upswept blade, which much like a shamshir gives a very good slicing cut, and is capable of stabs as well. Like the Gunting, the false endge is unsharpened.
Holding it, the knife reminds me a little of the gun-shaped handle of Spyderco Massad Ayoob. Very comfy in both grips.
Here is a shot of the teeth on the blade side of the knife, and the teeth on the ramp. The blade is nicely centered too.
The spine of the handle is devoid of teeth, except near the blade end and the pommel end (the spine side portion adjacent to the lanyard hole), on and above the compression lock. These teeth meet the ramp teeth for a very secure saber grip. Add to that the curving handle, and the grip couldn't be better.
Lock engaged, and lock engaged compared to the Gunting.
Impressions:
The handle is very comfortable, even more so than the more straight handle of the Gunting. The larger indexing hole, at least for me, is a welcome change, I sometimes caught the edge of the hole with the edge of the finger and spin wasn't as crisp. The larger hole allows for a sharper angle between the finger and the scale of the handle.
I didn't take pictues of the pommel, which was a mistake. If you look at the pommel in the pictures, the triange into which the lanyard hole goes has teeth on both sides, spine side and blade side.
The upswept Persian blade will take a little getting used to from the Gunting, with its spear point blade. I already scratched myself with the tip of the LLC twice, it's a lot higher than the Gunting's tip was. Very sharp, obviously.
Overall, I'm very impressed with it, a worthy knife to say the least.
It took a week to arrive here, thanks to the brave people of the Canadian Customs, and even though the paperwork said it was a Lapu Lapu Combat Knife, it made it here after a thorough inspection.
On the first inspection, it is practically the same length and weight of the standard live Spyderco Gunting, but a little thinner, but only by 1 mm.
The scales are G10, same as the Guntings. Mine is a drab green CSSD version (USMC on one side, and CSSD on the other),with gray coated blade and clip. What is immediately obvious is that the indexing hole is a lot wider than the one on the Gunting. The knife spins from grip to grip with ease, possibly even easier that the Gunting because of the thickness (fingers are closer together while indexing).
Note the teeth running along the blade side of the knife. The G10 scales on that side are a little shorter than on the spine (which will be against your palm), so the knife is a lot more secure while holding, a lot more toothy. Teeth are sharp-ish, sharp enough not to hurt you but a forearm rake with them will has an impressive effect. Teeth on the ramp on the blade an a whole lot sharper along the edges.
The opening hole edges are not chamfered, but that's a good thing. and the side of the pyramid is big enough for a standard one-handed opening even with big thumbs.
The pocket clip is slightly longer than the Gunting's, with a less pronounced horn on it to conform to the shape of the scales. The clip attachment is the same as on the Gunting, with cutout in G10 and the screws going into the steel liner.
Knife open. Can be opened with the thumb, or kinetically over a body part. NOT YOUR THE LEG! Can't say this one often enough.
The blade, unlike the Gunting's, is a Persian upswept blade, which much like a shamshir gives a very good slicing cut, and is capable of stabs as well. Like the Gunting, the false endge is unsharpened.
Holding it, the knife reminds me a little of the gun-shaped handle of Spyderco Massad Ayoob. Very comfy in both grips.
Here is a shot of the teeth on the blade side of the knife, and the teeth on the ramp. The blade is nicely centered too.
The spine of the handle is devoid of teeth, except near the blade end and the pommel end (the spine side portion adjacent to the lanyard hole), on and above the compression lock. These teeth meet the ramp teeth for a very secure saber grip. Add to that the curving handle, and the grip couldn't be better.
Lock engaged, and lock engaged compared to the Gunting.
Impressions:
The handle is very comfortable, even more so than the more straight handle of the Gunting. The larger indexing hole, at least for me, is a welcome change, I sometimes caught the edge of the hole with the edge of the finger and spin wasn't as crisp. The larger hole allows for a sharper angle between the finger and the scale of the handle.
I didn't take pictues of the pommel, which was a mistake. If you look at the pommel in the pictures, the triange into which the lanyard hole goes has teeth on both sides, spine side and blade side.
The upswept Persian blade will take a little getting used to from the Gunting, with its spear point blade. I already scratched myself with the tip of the LLC twice, it's a lot higher than the Gunting's tip was. Very sharp, obviously.
Overall, I'm very impressed with it, a worthy knife to say the least.
