- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,837
I was searching for a nice new knife to squander some of my first (early) Canada Pension cheque last month, thinking I should mark the occasion. I found a little Marble’s Trailcraft down here in El Campo, Texas, where we’re staying temporarily. It might have been appropriate, but the fit and finish just wasn’t as good as my Marbles knives in 52100 produced by Mike Stewart. So, feeling a bit bummed out, I wandered – OK, I drove 10 miles – to Carroll’s Gun Shop in nearby Wharton. Carroll’s has the best selection of cutlery this side of Houston, not to mention, that neat little 20 mm. cannon hanging over the counter, which would be useful to discourage the squirrels in the back yard, while digging a swimming pool in the process and taking down that live oak the squirrels hang around in, maybe a few crop dusters, too. But I digress. There was a handful of Doziers in the showcase, including a couple of Agents, the Wilderness Knife model designed with input by Steven Dick of Tactical Knives, all with micarta grips, which would have been just fine… and a compact K1 General Utility with a gorgeous jigged bone handle. I started to slobber. There’s a six to eight month wait for Doziers from the shop, according to what I read, and here were four right in front of me. The price was fair, so I brought the little K1 home as a reward for having lived long enough to actually get something back from the government, for a change.
The specs:
Overall Length: 7 1/2"
Blade Length: 3 3/8" at 60-61 Rc.
Blade Thickness: .135
Blade Specs: Full tang construction.
Weight: 4.9 oz. without sheath (this is from Dozier’s website: the bone grips may be a bit heavier)
My only previous exposure to Doziers was a little K2 General Purpose Hunting Knife that Cliff Stamp sent me to play with a while back. Nice little drop-point that performed beautifully on a couple of caribou, but I was perplexed with the D2 steel. I’d get a shaving edge with a red DMT (fine) hone, but couldn’t put a polished edge that would pop hair on it for love or money. I sent it back to Cliff, with a twinge of regret.
The K1 General Utility has a classic clip blade with a conservative swedge. The fit and finish were flawless; it’s marked Arkansas Made, which means from Dozier’s shop if I understand correctly, and I don’t know how anyone could get the grind so precise without resorting to CNC milling machines. The grips are fitted perfectly, with two nice brass rivets and a brass-lined lanyard hole. It came just this side of hair popping sharp with a very aggressive edge. I spent a little time with a DMT ultra fine (green) hone and found that the steel responded beautifully… past hair-popping! So it is possible to put a polished, scary sharp edge on D2. I guess it just takes a bit more patience, and rewards you with an edge that lasts a long time. I found I am able to use this for various house and garden chores all day, and it is still shaving sharp at night.
The K1 came with the Style “A” Kydex sheath like the K2, set up for horizontal carry, to the left of the belt buckle. By placing your thumb against the upswept top of the sheath it is possible to click it out quietly, one-handed. If I can bear to part with it a while, I might send it to Normark to have one of his signature sheaths done up. While the Dozier sheath is very secure, accessible and unobtrusive, you’re limited to one position. Normark’s Concealex sheaths can be changed to right, left, IWB or out, and to various angles.
My (semi) retirement is going to include a lot of fishing, hunting and hiking for another 20+ years or so and the K1 is going to get a lot of use. I haven’t had any problems with ‘brittleness’ and don’t expect to chip out the blade, but I’m not going to baby it.
The specs:
Overall Length: 7 1/2"
Blade Length: 3 3/8" at 60-61 Rc.
Blade Thickness: .135
Blade Specs: Full tang construction.
Weight: 4.9 oz. without sheath (this is from Dozier’s website: the bone grips may be a bit heavier)
My only previous exposure to Doziers was a little K2 General Purpose Hunting Knife that Cliff Stamp sent me to play with a while back. Nice little drop-point that performed beautifully on a couple of caribou, but I was perplexed with the D2 steel. I’d get a shaving edge with a red DMT (fine) hone, but couldn’t put a polished edge that would pop hair on it for love or money. I sent it back to Cliff, with a twinge of regret.
The K1 General Utility has a classic clip blade with a conservative swedge. The fit and finish were flawless; it’s marked Arkansas Made, which means from Dozier’s shop if I understand correctly, and I don’t know how anyone could get the grind so precise without resorting to CNC milling machines. The grips are fitted perfectly, with two nice brass rivets and a brass-lined lanyard hole. It came just this side of hair popping sharp with a very aggressive edge. I spent a little time with a DMT ultra fine (green) hone and found that the steel responded beautifully… past hair-popping! So it is possible to put a polished, scary sharp edge on D2. I guess it just takes a bit more patience, and rewards you with an edge that lasts a long time. I found I am able to use this for various house and garden chores all day, and it is still shaving sharp at night.
The K1 came with the Style “A” Kydex sheath like the K2, set up for horizontal carry, to the left of the belt buckle. By placing your thumb against the upswept top of the sheath it is possible to click it out quietly, one-handed. If I can bear to part with it a while, I might send it to Normark to have one of his signature sheaths done up. While the Dozier sheath is very secure, accessible and unobtrusive, you’re limited to one position. Normark’s Concealex sheaths can be changed to right, left, IWB or out, and to various angles.
My (semi) retirement is going to include a lot of fishing, hunting and hiking for another 20+ years or so and the K1 is going to get a lot of use. I haven’t had any problems with ‘brittleness’ and don’t expect to chip out the blade, but I’m not going to baby it.
