Extrema Ratio Fulcrum IID

[Cliff Stamp]

This is a big folder even in comparison to big folders :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_military_manix.jpg

It weighs 200 grams with a 1/4" thick sabre ground blade from 58 HRC, stainless steel of a non-specific composition. The handle is 1.5 cm thick and 3.0 cm wide. Very boxy, similar to the G10 grips Strider runs. I would prefer this one slightly due to the index finger cutout, but it is still one of the least ergonomic grips every used. Very boxy with lots of high pressure points. It is also fairly slick and due to the angle of the integral guard, ramping over it is not difficult even in a clean grip.

Cutting ability is low due to the low sabre grind and fairly heavy edge profile. This one has been slighty adjusted from NIB specs, the edge is about 0.035" thick, and a few passes on the 20 on the Sharpmaker rods won't cleanly cut the bevel but hit most of it. Measurement shows it to be 20 +/- 1 degrees, so it is likely just slightly over. The bevel could be radically thinned, the dual thumbstuds would have to be removed, but this isn't planned as it is intended for heavier utility work. I have lots of fine cutting knives already.

However I did some light work with it anyway just to benchmark its performance. In the kitchen it could readily cut light foods which just need a sharp blade like green onions :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_onions.jpg

and the thick profile was useful in hacking parts of frozen ground beef apart :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_beef.jpg

However cutting thicker vegetables was problematic, onions could only be crudely chunked :


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_onion_chunks.jpg

Attempting to dice up some carrots, while the Japanese Utility knife tok ~3 lbs, the Fulcrum just cracked off pieces with about 13 lbs. Similar in cutting up a block of cheese, similar force was required :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_cheese.jpg

Moving on to more utility work, the Fulcrum needed 50 +/- 2 lbs to make a push cut on 3/8" hemp, and its wood cutting ability is also many to one behind something like the Paramiliary. It also binds heavily in thick cardboard, and is near impossible to use to cut thick foam insulation.

For wood work, it has decent heft for chopping, but the very large cross section makes it tend to knock light brush around rather than cut it. It also has very low whittling ability, again many to one behind flat ground knives with efficient edge profiles. It does however work well as a wood scraper.

The point is also fairly obtuse, it can manage just 115 +/- 6 lbs on a 50 lbs push into a phone book. While the tip has a decent length of taper, over an inch long, it still leaves a very obtuse profile on a sabre ground blade of this thickness.

Grip wise, it is pretty much the same in regards to ergonomics regardless of orientation, it really isn't any worse no matter how it is held :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_sabre.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_reverse.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_hammer.jpg

The only real drawback versatility wise is a lack of a choil prevents a high grip for precision work :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema%20ratio/fulcrum_precision.jpg

Though it could be argued that this really isn't the type of work it is made to do.

What I will be interested in mainly is can the handle construction match the raw strength of the blade. Can it be used for heavy tip work, digging in woods, batoning, and significant prying.

-Cliff

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Some edge work :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema ratio/fulcrum_cans.jpg

The edge did not react well to that, it visibly rolled and chipped. Sharpening was not trivial as the thumbstuds are problematic as they get in the way, I just popped them off, a major hassle if you have to do it each time. Much rather prefer an opening hole.

Batoning is not a problem :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema ratio/fulcrum_baton.jpg
I was using the axe handle as hard as possible with swings from the shoulder. The knife has little splitting/batoning ability, it could not actually cut through the alder it would just get half way and wedge badly due to the grind, in comparison the Manix cuts it easily with far less energetic swings.

Heavy prying isn't an issue either, full stabs into seasoned lumber and pulls to the side are no problem, the tip profile is very robust and has no problem in handling the strains, the penetration is a little low though for the same reason :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema ratio/fulcrum_wood_digging.jpg

Torques are not an issue either, the Fulcrum was hammered into the same class of wood at successive depths and rotated around by hand until the depth was too great to allow it to be turned. It was hammered into the wood with just a large rock hitting the butt.

None of this had any effect on the lockup, which had some vertical play already which was actually due to the pivot being a little loose. The clip however vibrated very floppy during the batoning which had to be tightened.

-Cliff

 

[fishface5]

This review makes me wonder yet again what the real performance benefits of such a burly folder design are supposed to be.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

It isn't much for knife like actual cutting tasks, while it can work for it, the performance is many to one in favor of more optimal designs. This one is however vastly overbuilt beyond actual functional gains.

The blade is way too massive for such a short length, it could be drastically cut down and the cutting ability would jump up by 100%+ with no functional strength loss.

The advantage is for non-knife like tasks when you can't carry a fixed blade. It allows for utility work which many folders can't handle without damage to the lock or release of the blade.

I am still pondering a regrind of the blade, origionally I was not going to as the handle is just too unergonomic, however the security and strength of the lock have me rethinking.

I will give it to my brother to carry for a couple of weeks while I do other cutting work, and assuming it holds up well for him (construction) I may rework the blade to turn it more into a knife.

-Cliff

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I modifed the edge, ground it full back into the primary grind :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/extrema ratio/fulcrum_modified.jpg

It now cuts light ropes (3/8" hemp) and carves hardwoods as well as a NIB Manix, it still binds readily on thick media, but in general can do a lot of shallow cutting well now.

It ground really easily, maybe a little too easily, it also chipped a lot on light metals with the NIB profile so the steel in this one may be off, I use it more for prying/utilty though and carry other knives for cutting so it isn't that much of an issue.

This is working well as a pry bar class folder as the lock and pivot are strong and stable enough to handle heavy work and the blade is easily able to take heavy work. It came in handy putting up some clapboard and in general is a nice point prybar.

I was giving a friend a hand ith some lawn work and using a garden rake which I think was made in the last century, the tines popped out and I just jammed the Fulcrum into the head, wedge it open, popped the tines back in and hammer the head back tight.

In regards to the handle, it probably isn't as bad as you might thick, I would not go so far to call it ergonomic by any means, but just that it isn't likely as bad as the pictures would suggest. But again I don't use it for a lot of extended cutting anyway.

-Cliff

 

[Bladeandbarrel]

The handle is typical of the many CAD knives on the market currently that are never prototyped and tweaked. They are designed on a computer, look interesting and then they are made in bulk.
The quality of Extrema Ratio is high and I like some of their fixed blade designs, particularly older ones.
The folder designs seem fairly low performnace, except for the novel locking device.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

The handle is typical of the many CAD knives on the market currently that are never prototyped and tweaked. They are designed on a computer, look interesting and then they are made in bulk.

I think to some, tactical means this sort of shape, just like the sharp angular nature of the tanto and the sabre grind also appeal to many for similar reasons.

The folder designs seem fairly low performnace, except for the novel locking device.

They lock is decent enough that I am considering a total blade regrind. It would benefit from a hollow grind to hog off some material under the spine, but I'll don't have any means to do that and will probably go with a full flat instead.

Even then though it is still too thick and over built, but some people think that "thick=quality" and even though a 3/16" blade with a full flat grind would easily be enough prybar, there are many that would pass because it would look fragile compared to the Fulcum IID.

-Cliff