Carothers/Loriendesign Chopper WiP

That's World Champion pine 2x4 cutting jackass, to you, sir.


Sorry Lorien, couldn't resist. :D
 
Excellent project - well conceived and executed. Looking forward to broad availability.
 
abbydaddy said:
Such a very, very droolworthy knife. I wantses.
Click to expand...

Hey wait a minute, I am AbbyDaddy!

Abby%20goes%20hunting.jpg~original
 
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Is that a BWM?
If so that's the exact knife I had in mind when I saw your Light Chopper.
The profile may be different but I feel the point of use and design is similar.

Very interested to see what you come up with in your testing,
BWM is somewhat of a grail of mine, but I like your asthetic more.
I can see the Light Chopper outperforming the BWM in a few ways.
 
Firstly, I am very impressed with your design, and I have always been immensely impressed with Nathan's work, so I am eagerly waiting my opportunity to pick up one your light choppers.

I tried to find an easy way to ask privately but couldn't quickly so I have to ask here; is that BWM really 690g? I thought I remembered a fair bit less and checked my notes which has my CFBWM (without the paint and maybe a little slimmer in profile from the convexed edge) at 595g. So then I had to dig further back in the drawer and found another couple of the coated ones similar to that one; one at 636.3 and the other 639.5. It just seemed a pretty big jump to 690?
 
^good snag, you were right. Digital scale can be a little temperamental, but that was operator error. Got the weight wrong with the Light Chopper as well.
All fixed now.

Thanks for your dilligence :)
 
baton this;
[video=youtube;yC2PLk_04vE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC2PLk_04vE[/video]
 
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Doug C said:
What happened to your post, Lorien ? :confused:

DC
Click to expand...

I'm going to fill in the blanks a little later today. Let's just say I had an epiphany.
 
Up until 2003, when I started my trail building business, I mostly made do with hardware store machetes. The handles were blocky and overbuilt, and I got pretty good at working them down to a state where they were comfortable for me to use.

I had a Gerber BMF from the late eighties that I often carried, and although it was a pretty sweet knife, it really didn't work as well as a machete for what I was doing, and it was heavy on the belt. That knife convinced me, nevertheless, in the validity of a big, but compact, knife for trail work.

As I spent more time in the field, particularly when it came to designing trails from scratch, I found that even the shortest machete was still too long, the blade too flexible and the steel too soft. I searched for that perfectly sized tool- not too long, not too short, not too light and not too heavy, not too stiff and not too flexy.

I needed something I could carry on my belt that I could access without taking off my pack, since most of my work had me covering a lot of ground, and I hate wasting time accessing tools.

There were a great many promising production knives that I tried, all of which looked good on paper and whose proponents enthused were the best, but none of which actually performed the way I wanted them to.

The problems were typical- primary bevels that were too shallow, accompanied by secondary bevels that were too steep. Material that was so soft I had to sharpen after every use, or too brittle, leading to edge damage from regular use. Ergonomically inefficient overall shape, or handles which were downright painful to use.

The knives I used ran the gamut, from $50 Nepales khukuris of many different sizes and forms, to relatively expensive production knives by large companies, and up to very expensive knives by smaller production companies. I have yet to find a production knife that has it all.

Although I'd known since the mid 80's, when I was teen aged, that custom knives were a thing, it wasn't until 2005 that I discovered this forum and my knowledge of what a 'custom knife' was began to align with what I wanted a trail knife to do.

What I learned is that I needed to design something for me.

That knowledge lead me to custom knives, which in turn opened my mind to the amazing potential that accompanies a well designed knife. The cutlers I've worked with understand bevel geometry, and pushed the envelope of their chosen materials, creating knives that fit the hand, that cut extremely well and that held their edge for much longer intervals.

Not a single custom knife that I've used has tolerated the use I put it to without showing signs, and every single one has outperformed every production knife I've tested. No one should expect a using knife to be unaffected by use, and everyone should expect a custom knife to function at the very highest levels.

This knife, it's a precision tool, made to cut like a demon- and it does. If what you want to do is chop concrete or stab into steel drums, I think you'd be impressed, but not quite as impressed as you would be if using a knife with obtuse bevel geometry. The difference is in the cut. This knife will outcut most production knives currently on the market. I invite anyone to prove me wrong.

Using a knife, built to meet my expectations, is why I still have interest in cutlery. If it was just down to utilizing production cutlery, I would probably have thrown in my hat. There are excellent knives being produced- probably the best of all time- but I have yet to find a production knife built for bushwacking that can compete with a well done custom, and I have a few to compare them to.

This knife is the culmination of all those years of experiences. It displays everything that I think is best in a knife of this type. I am all in on this, and am confident this knife will hold its own against ANY knife of its type by any maker- custom or production.

Earlier, I had mentioned a specific brand of knife by name. I realize now that it's not my job to test this knife against others. I've already done that- that is what's caused this knife to be what it is. The knife speaks of those experiences itself, by the nature of its design and construction.

Because I have a stake in this project, it was unprofessional of me to publicly compare this knife directly to one made by another. I apologize for that. A collegial relationship with others in the industry is what I want to nurture. Lesson learned.

I've gotten word that the first production run of the Light Chopper will soon be underway. Thank you all for taking such an interest in this project, and for following along with this thread. I had a ton of fun with it, and learned a huge amount as we worked through the process.

I feel extremely fortunate to have had a hand in this project. Working with Nathan, though, has been the true highlight. His mentorship and generosity is greatly valued. Nathan is a class act all the way, and I hope to engage in more projects with him in the future.
 
Amazing knife, its shape reminds me of a classic roadster or speedboat; cutting smoothly through waves or trail brush! It's reminiscent of the aerodynamic shape of a zeppelin, a bomb, or even a 1950's ray gun. It looks like a pleasure to use.

v10mvgK.gif
 
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One last thing....

Sometimes I have to destroy things in order to process warranties.

 
Sorry, this is the LAST thing. I promise.

[video=youtube;yt87QJGK9d4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt87QJGK9d4&feature=youtu.be[/video]

[video=youtube;O5LvKL9jpgE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5LvKL9jpgE&feature=youtu.be[/video]

[video=youtube;C9vcTM6F16M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9vcTM6F16M&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Lorien, I have to say you and Nathan have done a magnificent job. Not since my original Battle Mistress have I enjoyed swinging a knife as much. The balance and Ergo are close to perfect for me and although I usually prefer flat ground blades, I really like the way this sabre feels and how it does not bind up in wood nearly as much as my flat ground blades.
 
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