Aloha ALL,
Some specs about the James Williams designed HISSHOU beautifully done by CRKT. Specs were taken off the CRKT site:
* Blade: Length: 13.0" (330 mm)
* Thickness: 0.26" (6.5 mm)
* Steel: YK-30, 57-59 HRC
* Knife: Overall length: 18.38" (467 mm)
* Weight: 16.4 oz. (465 g)
* Hisshou Sheath: (included with knife, preliminary specifications)
* Material: Kydex
* Overall length: 13.75" (349 mm)
* Width: 2.50" (64 mm)
* Weight: 7.0 oz. (198 g)
This review is long overdue, however as some of you all might know, I went through some trips late last year up until now. Could not really test out this HISSHOU with a broken right hand, nor did I feel like doing anything when I caught the chicken pox shortly after. Ugh! Some pics of this incredible knife...initially I thought I received two of them, but what I thought was another HISSHOU was actually a very attractive box that comes with it:
A pic of the HISSHOU against it's predecessor, the HISSATSU, and it's folding baby brother:
The fit and finish of this knife are very tight, and the edge is of course, VERY sharp from the factory. I have always been attracted to this style of knife...I mean, I grew up during the "Black Belt Theater" and Sho Kosugi Ninja Craze, so I guess it's to be expected that I'd gravitate towards this style of knife! More so after I found out that in the 1600's, the Japanese side of my ethnicity protected the Shogun's butt along the coastline of Japan.
Anyway, while doing some yard work the other day, I found a water soaked Tatami mat in the yard that was planning on cutting but forgot about. The "thing" was nasty and had weeds growing through it. Perfect I thought, to simulate "veins". This was an old multi section tatami, and I could not get it rolled very thick, so I zip tied two sections together and hung it off our clothes line. Hung it a bit too high, and when I did a slash with the HISSHOU, I thought I missed. Really. I looked up at the tatami and it was cut in two!!!
I read about this HISSHOU when it first came out on CRKT's site, and it clearly states that this is not a "sport or work knife". Fine. However, I thought: Bone. What if the HISSHOU comes into contact with bone or some type of hard gear, like a magazine, or buckle, or...whatever, just something hard that the HISSHOU was not "meant" to cut? I mean, that tatami cut was good enough for me in terms of it's slashing ability, but would such an edge "ding" if it cut "harder" mediums than tatami? Let's see...
I took a well seasoned tool handle of some kind, stuck it in the yard, and proceeded to slash. I did this without any "real force" behind it and it lodged into the tool handle. I swear, I must've did this with my eyes closed because I did NOT want to ruin the edge of this knife! Anyway, I then twisted the HISSHOU and it busted the tool handle in half. Hmmmmmmmm...so what if I try something a lil' more thicker and still "alive"? I went into the forest portion of our yard and found a decent avacado branch. This was a sketchy cut due to the footing I was afforded by the lava rocks I was standing on, so I am ashamed to say it took a cut and a flick to get this branch severed. I noticed there was absolutely no twist of the knife in hand, and the wrap provided an ample grip. I mention this because my hands got a bit sweaty due to my unstable base, and knowing what I was going to do wih the HISSHOU!!!
This cut took one slash, and it cut clean!!!
I did a few other kinds of cutting, like leaning on a thick branch and sliding the blade against it to see how deep it'd leave a trail, snap cuts with the tip on smaller diameter branches, and a few...very few slams into thicker trees, the trunk area...
I felt the edge of the HISSHOU and checked it out for flat spots...not a sign of any damage. The blade just got pretty dirty from the "live" branches! Cleaned up the HISSHOU and then checked the edge again, still sharp, but not as sharp as it was. A few swipes on my Spyderco 701 white stone, and it was sharper than before. Flat spots, or edge deformation? Nope. Here it is cleaned up and with that tool handle it lodged into than busted in half:
I was gonna look for an old AR15 30rd. mag to slam this through, but no need for that. I KNOW the HISSHOU would go through it, not only an AR magazine, but a great many..."things" for that matter! NOTE: The designer, Mr. James Williams does a cutting demo of his HISSHOU design on CRKT's site. I only noticed this when I was gathering the specs. D'Oh!!! (Meaning I did not have to go through "Cut Test Anxiety" with my HISSHOU!!!) However, I am just a mere mortal compared to Mr. Williams, so just know that if I could cut and slash the things I did with the HISSHOU, so can you guys!!!
Props to Mr. Rod Bremer and his company CRKT for producing such a fine blade, and God bless you all for checking out this review. The HISSHOU is for real folks...
Some specs about the James Williams designed HISSHOU beautifully done by CRKT. Specs were taken off the CRKT site:
* Blade: Length: 13.0" (330 mm)
* Thickness: 0.26" (6.5 mm)
* Steel: YK-30, 57-59 HRC
* Knife: Overall length: 18.38" (467 mm)
* Weight: 16.4 oz. (465 g)
* Hisshou Sheath: (included with knife, preliminary specifications)
* Material: Kydex
* Overall length: 13.75" (349 mm)
* Width: 2.50" (64 mm)
* Weight: 7.0 oz. (198 g)
This review is long overdue, however as some of you all might know, I went through some trips late last year up until now. Could not really test out this HISSHOU with a broken right hand, nor did I feel like doing anything when I caught the chicken pox shortly after. Ugh! Some pics of this incredible knife...initially I thought I received two of them, but what I thought was another HISSHOU was actually a very attractive box that comes with it:
A pic of the HISSHOU against it's predecessor, the HISSATSU, and it's folding baby brother:
The fit and finish of this knife are very tight, and the edge is of course, VERY sharp from the factory. I have always been attracted to this style of knife...I mean, I grew up during the "Black Belt Theater" and Sho Kosugi Ninja Craze, so I guess it's to be expected that I'd gravitate towards this style of knife! More so after I found out that in the 1600's, the Japanese side of my ethnicity protected the Shogun's butt along the coastline of Japan.
Anyway, while doing some yard work the other day, I found a water soaked Tatami mat in the yard that was planning on cutting but forgot about. The "thing" was nasty and had weeds growing through it. Perfect I thought, to simulate "veins". This was an old multi section tatami, and I could not get it rolled very thick, so I zip tied two sections together and hung it off our clothes line. Hung it a bit too high, and when I did a slash with the HISSHOU, I thought I missed. Really. I looked up at the tatami and it was cut in two!!!
I read about this HISSHOU when it first came out on CRKT's site, and it clearly states that this is not a "sport or work knife". Fine. However, I thought: Bone. What if the HISSHOU comes into contact with bone or some type of hard gear, like a magazine, or buckle, or...whatever, just something hard that the HISSHOU was not "meant" to cut? I mean, that tatami cut was good enough for me in terms of it's slashing ability, but would such an edge "ding" if it cut "harder" mediums than tatami? Let's see...
I took a well seasoned tool handle of some kind, stuck it in the yard, and proceeded to slash. I did this without any "real force" behind it and it lodged into the tool handle. I swear, I must've did this with my eyes closed because I did NOT want to ruin the edge of this knife! Anyway, I then twisted the HISSHOU and it busted the tool handle in half. Hmmmmmmmm...so what if I try something a lil' more thicker and still "alive"? I went into the forest portion of our yard and found a decent avacado branch. This was a sketchy cut due to the footing I was afforded by the lava rocks I was standing on, so I am ashamed to say it took a cut and a flick to get this branch severed. I noticed there was absolutely no twist of the knife in hand, and the wrap provided an ample grip. I mention this because my hands got a bit sweaty due to my unstable base, and knowing what I was going to do wih the HISSHOU!!!
This cut took one slash, and it cut clean!!!
I did a few other kinds of cutting, like leaning on a thick branch and sliding the blade against it to see how deep it'd leave a trail, snap cuts with the tip on smaller diameter branches, and a few...very few slams into thicker trees, the trunk area...
I felt the edge of the HISSHOU and checked it out for flat spots...not a sign of any damage. The blade just got pretty dirty from the "live" branches! Cleaned up the HISSHOU and then checked the edge again, still sharp, but not as sharp as it was. A few swipes on my Spyderco 701 white stone, and it was sharper than before. Flat spots, or edge deformation? Nope. Here it is cleaned up and with that tool handle it lodged into than busted in half:
I was gonna look for an old AR15 30rd. mag to slam this through, but no need for that. I KNOW the HISSHOU would go through it, not only an AR magazine, but a great many..."things" for that matter! NOTE: The designer, Mr. James Williams does a cutting demo of his HISSHOU design on CRKT's site. I only noticed this when I was gathering the specs. D'Oh!!! (Meaning I did not have to go through "Cut Test Anxiety" with my HISSHOU!!!) However, I am just a mere mortal compared to Mr. Williams, so just know that if I could cut and slash the things I did with the HISSHOU, so can you guys!!!
Props to Mr. Rod Bremer and his company CRKT for producing such a fine blade, and God bless you all for checking out this review. The HISSHOU is for real folks...
I don't think my review did the HISSHOU justice, but THAT thing is definitely kick @$$!!!
