Enzo trapper 95, tops b.o.b., and bravo 1

[Bobby3326]

I've attached a few pictures of the three different knives you wanted to compare. First I put together a regular Bravo 1 A2, a Bravo 1 LT 3v, and a Bravo 1 LT 3v Hunter. The hunter is standard with the ramp removed and a drop point. The other two just had the ramps removed which can be done to any regular model, along with several other modifications to suit your needs. All models come with a pretty nice leather sheath in options for right or left hand and brown or black color.

For what you are looking for I wouldn't even consider the standard Bravo 1. While the extra thickness might be a plus for batoning, everything else you want is more easily done with the LT. The blade geometry is much better as you can imagine with the difference in thickness.

The BOB is the biggest of the three in length as well as weight. As shown with just the knife, the BOB weighs in at 9.2 oz. Compared to the LT at 6.2 oz and the Enzo at 5 oz. The size and weight really aren't a complaint to me about this knife but the handle feels terrible to me. The divet for the bow drill is in a very bad location for the size of my hands. Without gloves this would definitely be a problem for me within a short amount of time. Out of the three knives this is the only one with a kydex sheath.

The Enzo shown is in 01 with curly birch burl. This knife fits my hand great with no extra material or chance of making hot spots. If you have large hands you might run out of real estate. The sheath it comes with is a nice dark leather with a dangler attachment.

If price is a main factor, and the size isn't to small, I would go with the Enzo out of these three knives. If the price isn't as much of a concern I'd go with the Bravo 1 LT. The BOB looks great, I like the stonewashed blade and the matte handles but I couldn't use this knife.

If price wasn't a factor I'd just buy them all lol...

Which will probably happen anyway, just over time. I appreciate the pictures and side by side comparison of them. That was the main complaint I had with bravo 1 was the thumb ramp other than that it felt great, the bob felt pretty good in the hand as well.

I've searched around and found the bravo 1lt I want however it's currently out of stock. ( rampless 3v lt with black and blue g10). I like alot of the exotic handles, but feel for an actual working knife, g10 or micarta is the best option to face different weather conditions.

 

[Eric@DLT]

No problem. A little less than half the people I have seen order a bravo or gunny end up getting the ramps removed.

Unfortunately the LT was just re-run so I wouldn't expect to see more of those for months, if they do a small fill in run, or into next year for a full run. For what you are using it for, there are several woods that would serve you well.

 

[Brisket]

Out of those 3 for the tasks described I would go with the Enzo and I like the Bravo a lot. Enzo's are well made & designed and a good value. I would take my Clip Point Scandi-Convex Gunny in 3V over all of them though. Light and extremely versatile. It is the middle knife in photo in between the Canadian Special 3V and the Bravo 1 3V.

 

[Bobby3326]

So I ended up getting the B.O.B., a local store had it in stock with the green g10 for the same price as I found it online.( minus those Damn taxes)

I ended up having to take it back today thou for a swap out. I took the first one out of its plastic bag, and unsheathed it just to discover several micro chips along the cutting edge. It was also rather dull, I've read many reviews stating this thing comes razor sharp so obviously this one was an oops on tops behalf.
Obviously I could've just fixed it up myself, but for what the knife costs I expect it to not need worked on out the packaging. (I have a $45 Gerber that came with a better edge lol)

So now with new one in hand this one is much better, nice sharp edge without chips. Must say I'm liking this knife so far, I've only done minor testing such as feathering some dried pine scraps in my garage, and making a fire board out of some oak scraps. I'm by no means wowed by it yet, but further testing will determine the wow factor.

That being said since I saved money going with the bob over the bravo lt (I'll just wait and save up until new stock is available)I'm going to also order an enzo trapper kit, and that'll be my lil project when I have the time.

Which now leads me to this question for you enzo guys, scandi or full flat grind (I'd probably convex the flat grind if that matters to you)?

I again just wanted to say thanks to everyone who replied and helped out with photos...Thou now from thoroughly searching these knives I've discovered several more that I now have on my list lol. Survive gso whenever they become available, and I held the bk16 again today while waiting to swap the bob and still want one now..and of course several bravo models...I need a lotto win or my wife's gonna kill me lol

 

[Bobby3326]

So here's my new B.O.B. (and a Bk2, and Gerber strongarm, don't let the Gerber fool you, it's actually a nice knife )

 

[scotchleaf]

Get a scandi blank and put your own handle on. Trapper blanks are around $60 in the steels you want.

 

[Bobby3326]

I'm by no means the best at feathering, but the b.o.b. Actually makes it quite easy.

Thou I can't seem to get those really fine paper thin shavings yet. I think its from the edge geometry being allot different than I'm use too, the primary bevel is much thicker than most of the knives I've been using.

I can get really fine shavings with my strongarm, but the angle of the primary bevel is also much less.

 

[Bobby3326]

Get a scandi blank and put your own handle on. Trapper blanks are around $60 in the steels you want.

That's a beautiful knife bud, did you buy the the handles and just shape them or make em yourself?

 

[scotchleaf]

No, I didn't make that...my effort didn't come out so well on my camper - don't have a trapper.

I like these two hidden tank knives I handled, though...

 

[Bobby3326]

No, I didn't make that...my effort didn't come out so well on my camper - don't have a trapper.

I like these two hidden tank knives I handled, though...

That was one of my concerns going the blank route, messing up the handles...but since it'll be a project now for when I have the time I won't feel rushed to get the knife done. I'll take my time and hope for the best lol

 

[Eric@DLT]

The trapper kits are great. Unlike some of the others than enzo offers (like the necker), the hard work is done.

You can see in the picture how little extra is left on the handles which is easily cleaned up with some sand paper after you have them bolted onto the blade. You will have to do a little filing on the bolts but that's not very hard. Finish off the handles with some linseed oil or similar product and you're good to go.

If you wanted to use your own material you could just buy the blank blade to save some money and do the rest yourself too.

Full flat vs scandi has a lot to do with personal preference. I personally like the looks of the full flat grind better and don't need an edge that fine. The full flat does have a secondary bevel on it so it's not as thin as the scandi but the scandi is going to be easier to sharpen and will get you those super fine feather sticks. Just seeing some of the other knives you have, maybe you'd like the scandi for its fine edge. It's not like you'll really need it for batoning your wood.

 

[Bobby3326]

The trapper kits are great. Unlike some of the others than enzo offers (like the necker), the hard work is done.

You can see in the picture how little extra is left on the handles which is easily cleaned up with some sand paper after you have them bolted onto the blade. You will have to do a little filing on the bolts but that's not very hard. Finish off the handles with some linseed oil or similar product and you're good to go.

If you wanted to use your own material you could just buy the blank blade to save some money and do the rest yourself too.

Full flat vs scandi has a lot to do with personal preference. I personally like the looks of the full flat grind better and don't need an edge that fine. The full flat does have a secondary bevel on it so it's not as thin as the scandi but the scandi is going to be easier to sharpen and will get you those super fine feather sticks. Just seeing some of the other knives you have, maybe you'd like the scandi for its fine edge. It's not like you'll really need it for batoning your wood.

Thanks for the tip, I'm leaning toward a scandi, but I wanted to make sure I'd like it first. I've used a full flat grind b4 but never a true scandi, so I ordered a mora companion. Cheap enough to do a trial run with a scandi edge before committing my trapper to one.

 

[Bobby3326]

Ok so i I'm really disappointed in the b.o.b. Today is the first time I've used it minus the featherstick I did messing around when I first got it. All I did with it today was strip a small dead log (oak I believe) of its bark, strip all the dark layer of wood under the bark and started smoothing out the surface to see how good it was at carving.....after just that the edge looks horrible for such lil use...when I was reading reviews everyone raved how great the factory edge was and how long it lasts and how you merely have to strop it to return to shaving sharp after use. That was a big selling point for me... I was working with it maybe 15 minutes when I could noticeable feel it wasn't biting into the wood as well anymore. That's when I wiped it and my jaw dropped when I saw the edge...no amount of stropping is gonna fix it. it's chipped all along the edge and severely rolled where it's not chipped. I tried getting pictures of it but was kinda tricky with my phone and the low lighting.

This is my second one since the first one was chipped out of the package...I'm thinking this thing is going back along with the one I bought my son since he liked mine... Are my expectations too high?

 

[mec003]

I've never heard of this happening with the Bob. Usually tops are well made. I don't one, so I can't say. Are you purchasing from a reputable seller? It definately shouldn't look like that after 15 mins of light use. Maybe you were sold a few from a bad batch of heat treating? Not sure, but I'd return it and let the seller know about these issues.

 

[Bobby3326]

I've never heard of this happening with the Bob. Usually tops are well made. I don't one, so I can't say. Are you purchasing from a reputable seller? It definately shouldn't look like that after 15 mins of light use. Maybe you were sold a few from a bad batch of heat treating? Not sure, but I'd return it and let the seller know about these issues.

I got them from sportsman warehouse here in sc....they're a large knife dealer with a huge inventory of various manufactures. I'm going to try returning it, but when I called the lady told me they had to be in resell condition for return...Even I touch this this thing up first I don't want them selling it to someone else...May have to go thru tops with it.

 

[Bobby3326]

Well unable to return the knife due to its not resellable condition currently I decided to try fixing it and see if maybe it just had a factory weak edge.

So I spent some time trying to sharpen this thing today and the factory modified scandi angle was a pita to try matching especially for the amount of steel I needed to remove to fix the chips...The secondary convexish bevel seemed to be a really shallow and obtuse angle. So I kinda said screw it and did my own thing with it..I brought it closer to an actual scandi, but left a slight convexish secondary but not as shallow or obtuse as the original....

It slices thru wood 100% better than the factory edge. I feel like I have more control over the amount of material I want to remove. I can get fine shavings easily now while still being able to deeply slice thru material. I haven't fully tested it but just a lil to see if the edge was going to be destroyed again in minutes and luckily it wasn't. I did some mild chopping on some dried oak scraps laying around and batoned a couple oak logs and it held up well so far. Hopefully I corrected the issue and it won't chip out when I take it out for some real usage.

 

[Bobby3326]

I also made sure to repeat the process that originally ruined the edge, with no ill effects this time