- Joined
- Jun 3, 2010
- Messages
- 11
forward.
some common items are present for scale.
the actual finish is much smoother than my microscope of a camera portrays here w/ expedient flash.
i remember guys used to grind their own blades, handles. some finessing are what those scales needed.
i ended up buying this 9.3" folder to replace my aging CRKT m16, which had a short tanto blade with i suppose a satinny dull gray finish. ever abraded, yet always ready to swivel open when the time came. had it since '03 i believe, gave it to someone dear.
i was gonna replace it w/ a mod keating hornet 1 though i couldnt find one anyplace, and had later read of possible structural inconsistencies in the design?
i came across emerson and his connection to the operators' community. my requirements for a hard use folder have been met in some regards. the cqc-11 has an elegant classic blade design. you can see in the one image (graphically enhanced for badassedness) that the very tippy tip has been chipped due to deflection, but that does nothing to diminish this knife's ferocity. i wouldnt go so far as to say that the handle is immediately comfortable to the ungloved hand, though the discomfort is in a way itself comforting. hard to put your finger on it...no pun intended. shaving your arm with it makes for cool demonstrations.
the wave doesnt really wave for me. maybe my pants arent tactical enough, or perhaps i could take a dremel to the wave hook and sharpen it up just a scad if i cared. the G10 has a brilliant texture which it maintains due to porosity of the fiber layers. i do perhaps wish it was shaped in a more rounded fashion like some models i've seen but i suppose it would be fun to obtain some g10 or micarta and grind some new scales at some point. i feel like a rounded curvature may add ergonomic stability.
this is a very stout knife which when opened is at its heart only half a combat knife as its designation implies. just about a match for my nimravus, though the nimmy feels far more light and maneuverable due to the less extreme and very brilliant handle profile. (couldnt find one with the g10 scales at the time though) the UTCOM though, unlike a fixed blade, is large enough that in the closed position can be used as/in a less than lethal, self defense or disciplinary implementation, so that's cool.
ok maybe we can call this 3/4 combat knife...the blade is long and relatively thick though id feel comfortable with say a CQC-7 or something Hinderer xm-18ish in retrospect, with a satin or stonewashed finish and serrations. i dont find the opening washer to be as rapid as a little cylinder to swivel the blade open quickly enough but it does the job allright. preparedness is paramount.
this is a fine knife with which to apply the principles of 'knife warfare' in that its advantages are a great reach when held with a standard and reverse standard grips. when flipping over to a reverse grip though it does seem like the blade's length might be a disadvantage but this thing is like a scalpel and the recurve may add some needed depth.
the unit is screwed together soundly and there is no discernible play except some slight bend when slight perpendicular to plane force is applied. the titanium locker is brutish and a challenge to close with just the one thumb of the gripping hand so far, but thattle even out w/ time. i don't believe the kinetic force of this knife opening from a closed position upon impact, after falling a great height, would be enough to move the blade far from it's stopping point.
bottom line, this is a knife you know is there, and yet it doesnt scream dire animosity. it feels like this would be a knife good against a bear more than a trained knife fighter. the relatively simple blade design and styling suggest utility, and somehow belie the potential for massive devastation(like any good mechanism of defense) so it all really depends on the headspace and timing as far as i'm concerned.
Update:
i rounded out the obnoxious G10(a fine material) handle scales with a dremel for a finely curved and actually worth a damn handle. theres now room for more natural placement of thumb. a rather xenomorphish stepped ovular engraving has been made of the middle with a hss cylindrical cutter for grippage. this CQC-11 is now much slimmer, a scad lighter, incredibly ergonomic, and even more airo(and fluidi)dynamic. it now feels like it just may be a match for my nimmy. in a way...
:thumbup:
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