- Joined
- Jan 14, 2009
- Messages
- 868
Well, after a long morning of classes, I went to the local store and picked me up a Blue Manix 2 and damn, was I happy. I thought my day wouldn't get better. When I get home, what do I see on my doorstep? A package from Mr. Smith (Thanks!). I take the box inside and open it up with my new knife and there lay 2 more Spyderco boxes. Cool, now I have 3 knives to try out. Haha.
Initial Impressions
Chokwe
The first thing I notice about the Chokwe is that it is light. Very light compared to my Chinook 3 that I have been carrying. 2nd thing I notice is that it is a very slim knife. Much slimmer than the Chinook. I open the knife and take a look at the blade. Prior to having the Chokwe in my hands, I had seen many pictures of it online and thought, "Man, that blade doesn't look too useful for EDC." Sure enough, when I saw it in my hand, I thought the same thing. Although there is a slight curve near the tip of the blade, the belly is no where near what I was used to. Oh well, I'll live.
As I went to disengage the lock, I noticed that it had a bit of stickiness to it. Not much of big deal to me, but worth noting. I sit at my desk and open and close the Chokwe a few dozen more times. The blade flies out of the handle extremely fast and locks up tight. No play in any direction. The G10 is grippy, but does not offer as much traction as I would like. Also, no jimping on the thumb ramp. Why? WHY?! Jimping in the choil area is also less than stellar. It's there, but doesn't do much.
Meerkat
The Meerkat came in a box that seems way too large for it. Haha. Same size box as my full sized Spydies. Oh well. I take out the knife and examine it. I like the color of the scale. I like the pocket clip, but not the clip placement (Needs more tip up), but I'm sure that has something to do with the lock mechanism. Opening and closing the knife is easy for me to do with one hand. The Phantom lock needs a little getting used to, but once you get a hang of it, it's very easy to actuate.
The knife is very small. It isn't too bad in my hands, but I do have small hands so you folks with larger hands may think differently. Blade is VG10, which I like very much. Overall, not bad at all.
Initial Testing
As with all new knives, I tested the sharpness by slicing up some paper and making confetti. Both knives are razor sharp out of the box. The full flat grinds also aided in the slicing abilities. Not sure if the edges on them are factory or not (Mike, you tell me), but they were nice and sharp.
Further Testing
Chokwe
First thing I wanted to really throw at the Chokwe was a plastic water bottle I had on my desk.The pointy tip of the Chokwe made piercing the bottle very easy. From there I spun the bottle around and shredded the bottle.
Next, I needed to get rid of some USPS boxes from packages I have been receiving. Why not test the Chokwe on them first? (These boxes were already used, so don't assume I take them just to cut up)
The Chokwe glided through them like butter. A bit of residue from tape slowed it down, but I wiped the blade down with a little oil and she was gliding again. No chipping on the blade at all. As a matter of fact, she was as sharp as she was when I started. I was impressed.
Meerkat
I haven't started testing of this blade yet, but I will be. Stay tuned.
Thoughts, Day 1
These knives performed excellently so far. I didn't expect any less from a Spyderco. Tomorrow I will throw some more tests at the knives, including food prep.
Until then... Stay safe, stay sharp.
Initial Impressions
Chokwe
The first thing I notice about the Chokwe is that it is light. Very light compared to my Chinook 3 that I have been carrying. 2nd thing I notice is that it is a very slim knife. Much slimmer than the Chinook. I open the knife and take a look at the blade. Prior to having the Chokwe in my hands, I had seen many pictures of it online and thought, "Man, that blade doesn't look too useful for EDC." Sure enough, when I saw it in my hand, I thought the same thing. Although there is a slight curve near the tip of the blade, the belly is no where near what I was used to. Oh well, I'll live.
As I went to disengage the lock, I noticed that it had a bit of stickiness to it. Not much of big deal to me, but worth noting. I sit at my desk and open and close the Chokwe a few dozen more times. The blade flies out of the handle extremely fast and locks up tight. No play in any direction. The G10 is grippy, but does not offer as much traction as I would like. Also, no jimping on the thumb ramp. Why? WHY?! Jimping in the choil area is also less than stellar. It's there, but doesn't do much.
Meerkat
The Meerkat came in a box that seems way too large for it. Haha. Same size box as my full sized Spydies. Oh well. I take out the knife and examine it. I like the color of the scale. I like the pocket clip, but not the clip placement (Needs more tip up), but I'm sure that has something to do with the lock mechanism. Opening and closing the knife is easy for me to do with one hand. The Phantom lock needs a little getting used to, but once you get a hang of it, it's very easy to actuate.
The knife is very small. It isn't too bad in my hands, but I do have small hands so you folks with larger hands may think differently. Blade is VG10, which I like very much. Overall, not bad at all.
Initial Testing
As with all new knives, I tested the sharpness by slicing up some paper and making confetti. Both knives are razor sharp out of the box. The full flat grinds also aided in the slicing abilities. Not sure if the edges on them are factory or not (Mike, you tell me), but they were nice and sharp.
Further Testing
Chokwe
First thing I wanted to really throw at the Chokwe was a plastic water bottle I had on my desk.The pointy tip of the Chokwe made piercing the bottle very easy. From there I spun the bottle around and shredded the bottle.
Next, I needed to get rid of some USPS boxes from packages I have been receiving. Why not test the Chokwe on them first? (These boxes were already used, so don't assume I take them just to cut up)
The Chokwe glided through them like butter. A bit of residue from tape slowed it down, but I wiped the blade down with a little oil and she was gliding again. No chipping on the blade at all. As a matter of fact, she was as sharp as she was when I started. I was impressed.
Meerkat
I haven't started testing of this blade yet, but I will be. Stay tuned.
Thoughts, Day 1
These knives performed excellently so far. I didn't expect any less from a Spyderco. Tomorrow I will throw some more tests at the knives, including food prep.
Until then... Stay safe, stay sharp.
After going through a box or two, I noticed that the Chokwe wasn't slicing through as cleanly or as easily as before. Sure enough, when I checked the edge, it was beginning to dull and had slight chipping. Sigh, cardboard, a knife's worst enemy. I also haven't noticed any hotspots on the Chokwe with my use.
