- Joined
- Aug 16, 2011
- Messages
- 22
Hey everyone, Just got BOTH of these amazing blades from DPx Gear. I know some people are iffy on DPx Gear because of the split from ESEE, but from what Mr. Jeff Randall has said, they split on good terms and continue to work well with eachother. with that in mind I say if you are the least bit interested in any DPx Gear products, go for it. you will not be disappointed. 
Now, some of you who are reading this probably already have seen the H.E.S.T. II or atleast speculated on whether or not It would be worth dropping $200+ bucks on to have it now, since it is a limited run, although there will be a second run to follow this initial wave, but i would suspect that they will sell extremely fast, just as the originals did. but this is for good reason, as this knife is, in my humble opinion, worth every penny, and will certainly be a very easy to get your money paid back in full and then some if you do decide to sell it in about a year or two, as limited runs usually always are extremely valuable once they have been sold out.
ANYWAY!!! Now here is what i have to say about the new and improved DPx Gear H.E.S.T. II Assault and Woodsman versions!!!
Lets start with the assault, since it is the one i got first and have used the most. It also happens to be the... less impressive of the two in my opinion, just because the assault sheath was a little bit awkward, and the woodsman is a piece of ART.
I have to say, this blade is supreme! the edges around the entire handle portion are all rounded off, it feels like what the Chris Reeve Professional Solider felt like in the hand, smooth, comfortable, and yes, silky smooth to the touch! The TiNi coating is excellent, as to be expected from a PVD coating, now, it does and WILL show scratches. but get over it. id rather carry a knife that can say I've been through hell and back and this is what kept me alive, rather than i have a big wallet and im not afraid to spend it!!! and of course, the stonewashed finish on the woodsman is just incredible. its literally gorgeous. im scared to use the woodsman because i dont want to even smudge the finish haha! it really is beautiful. the silver sheen of it goes extremely well with the black G-10 IMHO...
I Love the nice thick G-10, its solid and well checkered too. the woodsman handle scales are hollow and made out of wood, it feels sturdy, but it is hollow enough that you can tell with a tap, that you probably should not try to smash it repeatedly on the ground / stomp on it ect. then again, these are my fist experience with wooden handles, and i have to say that i am quite impressed! the new angles on the scales seem odd, but are extremely comfortable in hand. choking up feels like holding a 1911, im not kidding, it just lets your fingers slide and lock into place and there is no way it should ever come out of your hands for any reason.
The Sleipner steel is just great, it really does feel like really hard D2, which admittedly does not like to push cut with a keen edge, but Sleipner seems to push cut a little easier with a keen edge, and alot more with a polished edge. have not used it enough to give a final word on it yet, but that's about the gist of it, hell the pry bar is sharp too!!!
(something to consider during neck carry... ouch...)
the new angle on the prybar is a little more chopping friendly on the hand, but it can still kind of just get in the way when chopping. works good for splitting! and it certainly does still pry like a damn crowbar, same with the bottle opener notch.
I have not yet found a use for the wire stripper 'jimping' other than 3 different size wire breaker notches, the bottle opener is where the thumb usually ends up when choking up on the blade, but it does not matter to me, id rather have no jimping, as all i've found it good for is tearing up pockets and pinching my fingers in between it and the sheath, although, this knife does not have that problem, even with the shrink tube sheath, and absolutely none with the leather sheath.
The woodsman's sheath, and stonewash finish, not to mention beautiful scales, make it IMHO far more valuable than the Assault, but the Assault is still an excellent knife, i just wish they had done kydex and not shrink tube, even if the shrink tube is slightly lighter and is actually fairly good in conjunction with the rest of the assault sheath. the leather sheath is just magnificent. reminds me of a mora sheath, covers up to mid handle, but instead of plastic it really is genuine leather, and is great to put some compound on for touching up your edge in the field. good snaps, no jiggle, its in there tight but not when you need to take it out, it just slides effortlessly from the sheath and into your hand. the snaps are perfect too, tight but will pop open with almost no force at all. DPx Gear sent me the DeSantis sheath, and guys, its exceptional.
In conclusion, these are EXCELLENT blades, I am so happy with them, I went ahead and took off the wood scales on the woodsman, and put on the Black G-10, and just as i suspected, Its stonewashed finish and black checkered G-10 make this blade look like a $1,500 two-tone SIG. I will be sending the wood scales to Kryptoglow, and he will be making some awesome stuff, im sure! Daniel is a great dude, and i seriously recommend all of his work. Anyway, here are some pictures for you all, hope you all like them!
Thanks for reading guys! be safe out there and careful with those damn things, you'll poke an eye out!!!
Now, some of you who are reading this probably already have seen the H.E.S.T. II or atleast speculated on whether or not It would be worth dropping $200+ bucks on to have it now, since it is a limited run, although there will be a second run to follow this initial wave, but i would suspect that they will sell extremely fast, just as the originals did. but this is for good reason, as this knife is, in my humble opinion, worth every penny, and will certainly be a very easy to get your money paid back in full and then some if you do decide to sell it in about a year or two, as limited runs usually always are extremely valuable once they have been sold out.
ANYWAY!!! Now here is what i have to say about the new and improved DPx Gear H.E.S.T. II Assault and Woodsman versions!!!
Lets start with the assault, since it is the one i got first and have used the most. It also happens to be the... less impressive of the two in my opinion, just because the assault sheath was a little bit awkward, and the woodsman is a piece of ART.
I have to say, this blade is supreme! the edges around the entire handle portion are all rounded off, it feels like what the Chris Reeve Professional Solider felt like in the hand, smooth, comfortable, and yes, silky smooth to the touch! The TiNi coating is excellent, as to be expected from a PVD coating, now, it does and WILL show scratches. but get over it. id rather carry a knife that can say I've been through hell and back and this is what kept me alive, rather than i have a big wallet and im not afraid to spend it!!! and of course, the stonewashed finish on the woodsman is just incredible. its literally gorgeous. im scared to use the woodsman because i dont want to even smudge the finish haha!
it really is beautiful. the silver sheen of it goes extremely well with the black G-10 IMHO...I Love the nice thick G-10, its solid and well checkered too. the woodsman handle scales are hollow and made out of wood, it feels sturdy, but it is hollow enough that you can tell with a tap, that you probably should not try to smash it repeatedly on the ground / stomp on it ect. then again, these are my fist experience with wooden handles, and i have to say that i am quite impressed! the new angles on the scales seem odd, but are extremely comfortable in hand. choking up feels like holding a 1911, im not kidding, it just lets your fingers slide and lock into place and there is no way it should ever come out of your hands for any reason.
The Sleipner steel is just great, it really does feel like really hard D2, which admittedly does not like to push cut with a keen edge, but Sleipner seems to push cut a little easier with a keen edge, and alot more with a polished edge. have not used it enough to give a final word on it yet, but that's about the gist of it, hell the pry bar is sharp too!!!
(something to consider during neck carry... ouch...) the new angle on the prybar is a little more chopping friendly on the hand, but it can still kind of just get in the way when chopping. works good for splitting! and it certainly does still pry like a damn crowbar, same with the bottle opener notch.
I have not yet found a use for the wire stripper 'jimping' other than 3 different size wire breaker notches, the bottle opener is where the thumb usually ends up when choking up on the blade, but it does not matter to me, id rather have no jimping, as all i've found it good for is tearing up pockets and pinching my fingers in between it and the sheath, although, this knife does not have that problem, even with the shrink tube sheath, and absolutely none with the leather sheath.
The woodsman's sheath, and stonewash finish, not to mention beautiful scales, make it IMHO far more valuable than the Assault, but the Assault is still an excellent knife, i just wish they had done kydex and not shrink tube, even if the shrink tube is slightly lighter and is actually fairly good in conjunction with the rest of the assault sheath. the leather sheath is just magnificent. reminds me of a mora sheath, covers up to mid handle, but instead of plastic it really is genuine leather, and is great to put some compound on for touching up your edge in the field. good snaps, no jiggle, its in there tight but not when you need to take it out, it just slides effortlessly from the sheath and into your hand. the snaps are perfect too, tight but will pop open with almost no force at all. DPx Gear sent me the DeSantis sheath, and guys, its exceptional.
In conclusion, these are EXCELLENT blades, I am so happy with them, I went ahead and took off the wood scales on the woodsman, and put on the Black G-10, and just as i suspected, Its stonewashed finish and black checkered G-10 make this blade look like a $1,500 two-tone SIG.
I will be sending the wood scales to Kryptoglow, and he will be making some awesome stuff, im sure! Daniel is a great dude, and i seriously recommend all of his work. Anyway, here are some pictures for you all, hope you all like them!
Thanks for reading guys! be safe out there and careful with those damn things, you'll poke an eye out!!!
but the prybar on that knife looks to me like an accident waiting to happen and a self inflicted injury with your own survival knife probably isn't very helpful in a hostile environment...
