Canadian Impala

B

bansidthe

Joined
Jan 27, 1999
Messages
531
The Impala that hung up in customs for 2 months has made it to the second person on the list....moi. No wee notebook left but I will put something in for opinions.

Dave,musky hunter wrote a note saying someone must be crossed off but he forgot who and his computer is broken so could you please respond....thanks.

First impressions....darn, it is a liner lock, my least favourite type.Desp[ite this it seems to lock up well enough...about 1/3 of the way along. Nice blade shape which should be great for hunting etc. The guthook has some grooves cut just on the tip side and one wonders why. Guthooks tend to be of limited use getting filled with blood, hair and other goo. This one has a fairly wide base which may minimize the problem. Quality control seems to be okay but the g10 scales are not rounded as nicely as other spydies I have seen. Handle fits my hand well enough but not as comfies as my wegner. Overall...I prefer the big Wegner to this newer model.
 
The impala went off to Sault Ste Marie this morning.

Overall I liked the knife...great blade shape, comfy (for me) handle and a liner lock (oh well) that locked up well. If I were to purchase one it would be without the gut hook although it did cut plastic strapping well.

This knife would be quite useful during hunting season and is areasonable replacement to the Spyderco Wegner.
 
Originally posted by bansidthe
Handle fits my hand well enough but not as comfies as my wegner. Overall...I prefer the big Wegner to this newer model.
Click to expand...

Not many are going to be as comfortable as the Wegner. That is why I am so glad that Blade-Tech is making a new, improved version of the Wegner. :D
 
Yes

I still prefer the Spydie Wegner to the Impala...fortunately I have two original Wegners.
 
4 s ter

Can Post says 1 or 2 days for express post in region...maybe business days.

Enjoy

ted
 
and after 4 s ter, it's off to me... and I have to email the guy after me to confirm the addy. Might get an extra day or so depending on how long he takes replying.
 
Received the Impala just before lunch today. I'll carry it for a couple of days before sending it on to VampyreWolf and posting a review. I've got a friend who's quite interested in having a look at it also. I'll post again when it goes out so we can all keep track of where it is.

David
 
The Impala will be in the mail to VampyreWolf tomorrow morning.

Here's my quick review of the Spyderco Impala. I didn't get a chance to "test" the knife much so my comments are primarily based on my observations. Throughout this review I'll compare a number of Impala features to the features on the Military (a knife which many Spydie fans already have) to make my comments about the Impala easier to visualize.

Handle - The G-10 handle fit my hand vey well and it allows for a couple of comfortable holds, one towards the butt and one choking up and using the choil formed finger notch. Even when holding the knife in an inverted grip, to use the gut hook, the handle is comfortable. The handle widens towards the butt allowing a firm grim on pull cuts with the knife in a normal or inverted position. This is particularly important when pulling on the knife to use the gut hook. The G-10 is lightly textured, providing good "grippiness" without being to rough. The chamfered edges on the G-10 add to the comfort, however the chamfering is not as even on my Military. It seems a bit sloppy. The handle is assembled with Philips head bolts, not the Torx head bolts found on other G-10 handled models such as the Military, Lil Temperance or Native. I'm not sure why the variation - maybe it's Philips on Japan produced models and Torx on the USA models. :confused:

Blade - The VG-10 blade came shaving sharp, although the grinds on the final bevel are a bit uneven. The blade thickness is 3mm compared to 4 mm on the Military. The finish on the blade is very nice. Even the grinds on the double bevel gut hook are polished. The belly of the blade should be good for skinning. The knurling (ridges) on the choil, behind and in front of the Spydie hole hump, and at the tip are rounded. This makes them more comfortable, but much less "grippy" than similar ridges behing the hump on the Military or on the spine of the Native. The ridges on the spine above the tip should provide additional grip when using the forefinger just behind the tip to control fine cuts, such as caping.

Lock - The nested Walker Linerlock snaps closed firmly. The lock up is very solid with no discernible vertical play. There is no horizontal blade play either. The liner protrudes significantly below the bottom of the G-10 scale on the liner side (1/16th to 3/16th of an inch). Compared to my Military, in which the liner does not protrude below the scale, the lock on the Impala seems that it MIGHT be more prone to accidental opening (My uninformed opinion only). One addition note, the knurling on the bottom of the liner of the Impala is rounded also - quite different from the sharp knurling on the liner of the Military.

Clip - The clip is identical to the Military clip with 3 bolts, surrounding the pivot bolt, to attach it. The curve of the clip fits into a depression milled into the G-10 scale. This should help prevent loss of the knife because of the clip snagging on brush.

Overall - The Impala seems well designed and constructed. A couple of minor, mainly cosmetic, flaws shouldn't affect proformance. The effect on performance of the rounded knurling and the protruding liner would have to be determined in testing that I wasn't able to carry out. Generally, I'm sure that someone looking for a folding knife to carry while hunting would be very satisfied with the Impala.
 
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