Entrek 11 Bravo mail call!

Street Samurai1978

Street Samurai1978

Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
694
Mail call! Entrek 11 Bravo is here! Fit and finish are superb.

Blade is scary sharp out of the box. Just uner 5" long, 1/4" thick solid 440C steel with Ray's signature heat treat, still doesn't make a mess when slicing. Some folks don't care for the bead blast finish, either for aesthetic reasons, or because they feel it makes the knife more prone to rust. I've never had any rusting issues with any bead blast stainless knives, but I do take good care of them, and still wipe them with a Tufcloth. I may have to file the jimping a little bit, as they are almost sharp enough to cut.

Scales are micarta, and are nice and grippy. Seems like they may absorb a little hand oils and other fluids, which will darken them.

The sheath...well it's functional. Black kydex, with a built on, non removable belt loop. I don't think the knife will come out of the sheath on it's own, but I wouldn't wear it inverted (not that I wear any knives like that anyway). I'm probably going to either put it in a leather bushcraft sheath, or just have another kydex one made for me.

And did I mention this little card that says if it fails for ANY reason, it will be repaired or replaced? That's piece of mind u can't put a price on. Well you can, but it makes the price worth it.

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Nice! Congrats and enjoy and thanks for the pics. Entrek has really been growing on me of late. Let us know how it performs when you get a change to use it. :thumbup:
 
Good choice, I love mine and have used it fairly hard. I smoothed off the bead blast finish with toothpaste and a green scourer.
 
Nice. Pics if you can. Would like to see the results.

I was considering getting the 154cm version of the 11 Bravo, but the tried and true 440C with the Entrek heat treat got all the good press, with the newer version getting virtually none. You've seen the results of my research up above. I'm sure his 154cm is tip top, but I didn't feel like dropping the extra 40 clams for it.
 
I've got an Entrek Merc. Wish these were also offered in some thinner blade stock - satin/stonewash finishes would also be a plus over the beadblast or black coating options.
 
They offer satin and mirror finishes now. I think if you call, they can redo the finish for you. Not sure how much it would cost, if anything.
 
I can't do pictures sorry, I'm a bit of a dinosaur! It's not pretty, but it's a user so I don't mind. I would love the cpm154 version but the 440c works fine.
 
Personally, I believe Ray vastly under represents himself and his work. His knives are great users, pretty enough to buy but ugly enough that you won't want to make it a safe queen. I have the 11 Bravo, a Lynx, a Bison, a Close Combat MKII, a Ranger MKII, and I used to have a Silhouette but the handle was to small for my hand.
 
I had one of the CPM-154 Bravos for about two days and sent it back, trading for a Badger and a Linx. I like the knife, looks and feel-wise, but the geometry was just way too thick for me. 3/16" is already bordering on goofily stout for a 4-5" blade even were it a full flat grind, and with the saber hollows on these you haul around a lot more weight. At 1/4" thick, the 11 Bravo weighs as much as many of my seven inch blade knives, but without being balanced in such a way as to make use of that weight out front, and the enormously thick cross section at the edge shoulder (more than 1/8") would seriously limit cutting ability on anything beyond shaving arm hair. I mean, think about it---lots of scandi bush knives go from 1/8" full thickness to their cutting edge over a 3/8" wide edge bevel, and many here complain about their slicing ability. Here, you're going from 1/8" to cutting edge over a 3/16" wide bevel...

All of this sounds like I'm seriously knocking the knife; I've been an Entrek fan/user for years, and do feel he gets less attention than he deserves. Just want to make it clear that this particular knife really emphasizes the "tank" aspect over anything else, and I wish---having gone for a limited run of a higher end, finer grained steel---he'd chosen one of the models that would actually make use of those traits in cutting ability. People accuse Busses and the like of being "sharpened pry bars" but even a Battle Mistress will slice circles around the 11 Bravo.
 
Right on, man. It is a heavy bastard. But as for the slicing, it actually is pretty good. I sliced up some Florida grown tomatoes fairly well, and these things are mushy as all get out.
And now that you've opened up that can of worms, what do you think of the Lynx? Is that a sweet little necker or what?
 
Entrek knives are the most overlooked knives out there. People see 440c and they pass. Ray Ennis does a remarkable job with 440C. Congratulations on a solid purchase.
 
Street Samurai1978 said:
Right on, man. It is a heavy bastard. But as for the slicing, it actually is pretty good. I sliced up some Florida grown tomatoes fairly well, and these things are mushy as all get out.
And now that you've opened up that can of worms, what do you think of the Lynx? Is that a sweet little necker or what?
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Again a tank, but it's supposed to be! Cute, ergonomic, and certainly will open a package or make an uber-nasty hole in an attacker, both of which fall into the "expected abilities" of a necker as I understand them. :)
 
Wow. You guys are good salesmen! You may have sold me on an Entrek. Like I said I have been eyeing them for a while...I think you put me over the top.
 
I don't have a link, but there was a great video on youtube of Ray making a Badger in his shop.

Tom
 
Those are great videos. Thanks for posting them. I have some of his knives and am always amazed how even the grinds are on them.

Tom
 
Street Samurai1978 said:
What model were you eyeballing?
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Most of them! :D I had just never heard of them and stumbled across them recently. I was immediately impressed by them being simply designed, reasonably priced knives made of a very good steel, which is something I see very, very rarely. And I have yet to hear anything negative about them.

When it fits in my budget, one very well might be my next knife purchase.
 
marcinek said:
...And I have yet to hear anything negative about them.
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Okay, I'll be the first to say it---the OP was being kind; the factory sheaths are pretty poor, far below the knives they carry. Plan on letting some professional kydex (or leather) bender put together I real sheath for it, and you'll be far happier in the long run. He's not cheap but in a BUNCH of years of dealing with/using/collecting/thinking way too much about knives, Brian Wagner (Okuden) is a cut above any other kydex guy I've ever tried, and I've dealt with most of ém.
 
I had an Entrek a long time ago. I think the model was called a javalina? It was brute tough. Cut through anything I used it on. The handle was very comfortable. The steel sharpened up razor sharp very easily. 440C is excellent steel. I don't have a problem with it at all. Only reason I don't have it anymore was that I traded it off with some cash for a pistol (that I have since traded off).... Jeez, I'm such a gun/knife ho.
 
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