Drawing Espada XL - tips?

Hashishiin

Hashishiin

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2021
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So, I got a good little nick in my middle finger that healed after three or four days from a quarter-opened Espada XL closing on it. I was taking care to keep my fingers clear of the blade, but it was just a liiiitle too much in the blade path. I've resolved to start wearing my whittling cutproof gloves when I practice waving it from now on. I was using jeans, which is an important aspect of this. I was wondering about technique, or if material was the main decider?

I tried waving it in a pair of stretchy sweatpants, and that is the absolute best result. It deploys every time, reliably, and with authority. With jeans, it is a bit more of a tossup. It deploys most of the time, but sometimes will not go the full length and require a bit of wrist action, and that is scary, when I have to "whip" it. When I have practiced wearing a shirt hanging below it and a rather heavy leather jacket, it was even more hindered by that stuff, and moving it out of the way before a draw was the best bet, but that seems obvious. I was drawing straight up, pulling the spine to the back of my pocket. Must I rotate my wrist or something?

Oddly enough, it holds great in both jeans and sweatpants, it is very slim for what it is, so it conceals great in sweatpants w/ no clip. Jeans w/ clip, I must put my shirt over it because it looks like the butt of a revolver with the aluminum curve. I cannot wait to get a G-10 AUS10 version, as the pretty and smooth G-10/aluminum S35VN is just too fine to carry all the time 😁 Thanks for any tips or advice!
 
One of the problems with the XL Espada in the fancy version which I only have the large version of is it's so smooth and slick. I've got the aus10 XL version with the rougher G-10 scales. I'm looking for the large aus-10 version with the rougher G10. They are just easier to get a purchase on when pulling from the pocket. It is fun to whip out that XL Espada and see the face on your friends. 😁
 
Use two hands. Hold the scales in your dominant hand, and carefully pinch the spine with the other and deploy the blade. The extra two seconds it takes are a good investment in finger care. Says me. The thwack is fun, but sorta pointless.
 
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d762nato said:
One of the problems with the XL Espada in the fancy version which I only have the large version of is it's so smooth and slick. I've got the aus10 XL version with the rougher G-10 scales. I'm looking for the large aus-10 version with the rougher G10. They are just easier to get a purchase on when pulling from the pocket. It is fun to whip out that XL Espada and see the face on your friends. 😁
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You got a Large? Man, you had one simple choice to make, and you failed! Now, continuing about the only Espada that matters... jk 😁

Yessir it is very smooth, you rely entirely on the ergonomic curves to get a good grip, and good thing it's as thin as it is and allows you to wrap your hand around it so well. I just got a G-10 Espada XL on sale this morning!
 
powernoodle said:
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0xQDvkS.jpg
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Wow, those are very nice! Just got myself a G-10 AUS10 model this morning on sale, pretty stoked! I think the AUS10 is a good user, too, can chop branches easily, so may get some good woodsy use out of it. I'm very curious as to how sharpening these will go, ha.
 
I had a Large Espada (which if course I modded heavily!), and found the waved deployment spotty at best, with some partial deployments, often due to the coners of the thumb plate catching on my pocket seam and causing the knife to not only fail to open to locked, but also get snagged and not want to move along my intended trajectory, but stop just above the pocket. I removed the thumb plate and ground the corners off, turning it into more of a disk than a plate. That eliminated the snagging issue but it opened to locked much more reliably. I believe the sharp corners of the plate, especially towards the rear of it were the issue. And as an added bonus, using the plate as a thumb stud was much more comfortable this way as well.


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Man, I thought the same thing I should have gotten the fancy Xl, and the rougher G-10 in the large. That looks pretty nice since the grinding. Do you find that the lanyard helps with drawing the knife from the pocket.
 
Thanks, and yes, I added the paracord for that exact purpose. Knife is long gone though. I sold it on the exchange a while back.
 
Pants are different, jackets are different, that disc won't work 100 percent even in non stress conditions. Best bet is to know how to wave and "wrist" to the best of your ability. As far as fingers getting into the blade path with a tri ad.......
 
Hashishiin said:
So, I got a good little nick in my middle finger that healed after three or four days from a quarter-opened Espada XL closing on it. I was taking care to keep my fingers clear of the blade, but it was just a liiiitle too much in the blade path. I've resolved to start wearing my whittling cutproof gloves when I practice waving it from now on. I was using jeans, which is an important aspect of this. I was wondering about technique, or if material was the main decider?

I tried waving it in a pair of stretchy sweatpants, and that is the absolute best result. It deploys every time, reliably, and with authority. With jeans, it is a bit more of a tossup. It deploys most of the time, but sometimes will not go the full length and require a bit of wrist action, and that is scary, when I have to "whip" it. When I have practiced wearing a shirt hanging below it and a rather heavy leather jacket, it was even more hindered by that stuff, and moving it out of the way before a draw was the best bet, but that seems obvious. I was drawing straight up, pulling the spine to the back of my pocket. Must I rotate my wrist or something?

Oddly enough, it holds great in both jeans and sweatpants, it is very slim for what it is, so it conceals great in sweatpants w/ no clip. Jeans w/ clip, I must put my shirt over it because it looks like the butt of a revolver with the aluminum curve. I cannot wait to get a G-10 AUS10 version, as the pretty and smooth G-10/aluminum S35VN is just too fine to carry all the time 😁 Thanks for any tips or advice!
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Meh...no cop is gunna approve of an XL Espada, regardless of your local laws, just carry a fixed blade??
 
elasmonut said:
Meh...no cop is gunna approve of an XL Espada, regardless of your local laws, just carry a fixed blade??
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Fixed blades are what is absolutely NOT allowed in my area. Can you believe that? I can't carry my 2.2" Mora Eldris, but the Espada XL is legally just fine. I would carry a fixed blade if not in the county I am in. Rest of my state allows open fixed blade carry.
I answered my own question here, though. The answer to my problems was to slow down.
 
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