Carothers Performance Knives, Use & Abuse

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm not much of a fan of Joes', but some of his tests on certain knives has definitely perked my ears up now and then. One that comes to mind was the TRC Apocalypse, it performed well, but clearly the way the tang was milled lead to it being compromised early.
 
0iophM3.jpg


rpS5u72.jpg
 
Pàdruig said:
I am not a fan of the guy
Click to expand...

carnifex knifeworks said:
Same
Click to expand...

clinton1 said:
Not necessarily a fan
Click to expand...

Kulainn said:
I'm not much of a fan of Joes'
Click to expand...


I love his videos. They are so brutal and I dig it. I've always had a curious question in the back of my mind with different equipment, be it knives, tools, cars, etc.... what will it take to kill this thing? Just how long can it last? No normal, rational person would take their old Toyota Hilux and hit it with a wrecking ball, or leave it to be taken away by the tide, or drop a building on it like Top Gear did, but they did all that and it still ran. It's spectacular, and freaking cool.

Joe's videos were never about our own personal version 'realistic' testing per se, which is always subjective anyway. It was always designed to destroy the knife...but along the way also answer the question of just how long could it go, and how much punishment could it endure? The top speed of a Camry is 135mph. I never plan to go that fast (unless I'm in my work truck) yet it is helpful knowing a piece of equipment's performance limit. Knives are no different.

I don't collect knives. I have them to use them, especially for work, and I use them hard. My realistic use of these tools tends to be in ways that others might consider abusive, but that is what I need them for, and I'm grateful they fulfill that purpose. I wanted the best, and when researching, I found that Carothers was it. Now, I'm really excited about the test, because the rubber is gonna hit the road, and it will go through the same sequence of abuse many other (some highly regarded) knives have gone through, using the same methodology (woodland tasks, sheetmetal test, tip/bend test, brick test, iron rod test, handle test). I'm interested to see where we end up here. I sort of live vicariously through Joe...taking all these knives and trying to kill them, and then seeing what stands atop the rest, but I get to have fun and enjoy the results of the tests without breaking down my body like Joe does and for that I'm grateful. I resonate with something I heard Choirboyz Outdoors said one time in one of their videos...'every knife review has value'. I like that. I'm guilty of violating that principle as I'm sure you are. Just as many people may laugh at these destruction tests because they think its absurd, I tend to laugh at reviews that just ego boost a 'hard use' knife based on looks or marketing then sit around cutting paper because I think that is absurd. I suppose this is a challenge (for both you and for me) to find value in people's efforts. And I don't think there is another individual that has worked harder in their reviews. Not even close. What some others have said are true...the guy has almost literally died (multiple times), testing knives to the extreme. And I know some may be thinking 'this is dumb, I'm not planning to whack my knife on a granite block', and likewise (allow me to challenge you), I'm not planning to cut through a bunch of bolts with my knife edge either. Bottom line is...it is extremely cool when a knife can survive an inordinate amount of unnatural abuse (that we have zero intention to do ourselves), simply because it can. It makes you feel good about your personal choices, which is probably just confirmation bias, but it feels great nonetheless.

There are different corners of the knife world and community, and different thoughts, perspectives, voices, opinions, and channels. It's a big world out there. I know Joe has said some bad things about people that many people on this forum care about. I wasn't around back then for that, but he admitted it was wrong, and publicly apologized. I'll take that on face value. Sounds like the video should be coming sometime next week and should be a hoot. Joe told me regarding the test that 'it was awesome', which hopefully bodes well for what is to come. If anything, it should be incredibly instructive and help us to gain more insight on how D3V responds to extreme abuse, especially compared to other blade steels, designs, and geometries.

And what post like this could be complete without some beauty shots lol. Work hard, play hard my friends!





 
Red Leader said:
More panel silliness today. Here is what I was talking about, regarding the shoving, twisting, prying, metal-on-metal, etc.







While what I’m asking it to do is nothing special really, there have been tests with other knives that have broken under far less strain than you’d have thought they could endure. It would have been impossible for me to get these off without the knife, at least in a safe manner. It’s pretty windy today. The foam tape acts like a glue. At least I’ve got the ladder roped off so it won’t slip under me again.

Everyone stay safe out there today!
Click to expand...
How high up are you when doing this work my friend? I hate working on ladders. My legs shake most of the time
 
I've got an idea...

How about we get back to discussing the knife and the pending test results rather than the person testing...to avoid issues and posts being moved to the "back end" where they go to sleep in perpetuity.

(If we are going down the rabbit hole of cults of personality on this sub-forum, those personalities are going to be Nate, Jo, and CPK Mark.)

Thank you.
 
Red Leader said:
I love his videos. They are so brutal and I dig it. I've always had a curious question in the back of my mind with different equipment, be it knives, tools, cars, etc.... what will it take to kill this thing? Just how long can it last? No normal, rational person would take their old Toyota Hilux and hit it with a wrecking ball, or leave it to be taken away by the tide, or drop a building on it like Top Gear did, but they did all that and it still ran. It's spectacular, and freaking cool.

Joe's videos were never about our own personal version 'realistic' testing per se, which is always subjective anyway. It was always designed to destroy the knife...but along the way also answer the question of just how long could it go, and how much punishment could it endure? The top speed of a Camry is 135mph. I never plan to go that fast (unless I'm in my work truck) yet it is helpful knowing a piece of equipment's performance limit. Knives are no different.

I don't collect knives. I have them to use them, especially for work, and I use them hard. My realistic use of these tools tends to be in ways that others might consider abusive, but that is what I need them for, and I'm grateful they fulfill that purpose. I wanted the best, and when researching, I found that Carothers was it. Now, I'm really excited about the test, because the rubber is gonna hit the road, and it will go through the same sequence of abuse many other (some highly regarded) knives have gone through, using the same methodology (woodland tasks, sheetmetal test, tip/bend test, brick test, iron rod test, handle test). I'm interested to see where we end up here. I sort of live vicariously through Joe...taking all these knives and trying to kill them, and then seeing what stands atop the rest, but I get to have fun and enjoy the results of the tests without breaking down my body like Joe does and for that I'm grateful. I resonate with something I heard Choirboyz Outdoors said one time in one of their videos...'every knife review has value'. I like that. I'm guilty of violating that principle as I'm sure you are. Just as many people may laugh at these destruction tests because they think its absurd, I tend to laugh at reviews that just ego boost a 'hard use' knife based on looks or marketing then sit around cutting paper because I think that is absurd. I suppose this is a challenge (for both you and for me) to find value in people's efforts. And I don't think there is another individual that has worked harder in their reviews. Not even close. What some others have said are true...the guy has almost literally died (multiple times), testing knives to the extreme. And I know some may be thinking 'this is dumb, I'm not planning to whack my knife on a granite block', and likewise (allow me to challenge you), I'm not planning to cut through a bunch of bolts with my knife edge either. Bottom line is...it is extremely cool when a knife can survive an inordinate amount of unnatural abuse (that we have zero intention to do ourselves), simply because it can. It makes you feel good about your personal choices, which is probably just confirmation bias, but it feels great nonetheless.

There are different corners of the knife world and community, and different thoughts, perspectives, voices, opinions, and channels. It's a big world out there. I know Joe has said some bad things about people that many people on this forum care about. I wasn't around back then for that, but he admitted it was wrong, and publicly apologized. I'll take that on face value. Sounds like the video should be coming sometime next week and should be a hoot. Joe told me regarding the test that 'it was awesome', which hopefully bodes well for what is to come. If anything, it should be incredibly instructive and help us to gain more insight on how D3V responds to extreme abuse, especially compared to other blade steels, designs, and geometries.

And what post like this could be complete without some beauty shots lol. Work hard, play hard my friends!





Click to expand...


I don't know anything about the guy. But, like Blues said, I'll keep my discussion about it limited to the knife and the test and not the tester.

I haven't seen these tests, but you have and from what you've described I'm 100% okay with it and I'm glad you sent the knife.

That knife is one of our normal tool knives, it's not an SDFK, a Shiv, or the fireman's tool etc, but I already have a good idea how that knife is going to perform and I'm not too worried about it. It'll be cool for folks to see what our standard fare can do and I thank you for sending it to him.
 
Terry M. said:
How high up are you when doing this work my friend? I hate working on ladders. My legs shake most of the time
Click to expand...


It was about 6-8ft off the ground. Not super high, but very awkward because it had to be leaned up against an RTU curb at about a 45 degree angle. First time it started slipping out from under me, so the next time I used some ratchet straps to secure it to an edge on the unit, MUCH better:thumbsup:
 
yoko said:
He broke it (but you can break almost anything when taking it to extremes and use it wasn't designed for)

I will say watching the edge take crazy abuse and still hold up was super impressive (that's is what Nathan works hard for)
Click to expand...

Can't wait to see How many licks to get to the center of the tootsie roll pop....
 
Man, you guys had me worried that it was going to be a shit show. I thought that was a very valid test and demonstration.

Like I have said before, the toughness of 3V is pretty much baked in, as long as the maker doesn't screw it up, 3V is going to be difficult to break. Improved edge retention through superior edge stability is the primary purpose of my particular heat treat and is what sets us apart. I think it was on full display here in this fella's test. I like it.

I have sensed there's not a lot of love for this guy here on Bladeforums, for whatever reason. I don't know the background, but from what I've seen, this guy's all right by me. My work got a fair shake and performed in his hands the same as it would have performed in my own.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top