Extrema Ratio Shrapnel

A_Zone said:
Does the knife come with a setup to carry IWB? Can the tech lock be reversed for left hand carry?
Thanks
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IWB? Please explain. Tek-lock is completely adjustable but note that knife itself can be put into sheath to accomodate left/right hand setups.
 
mauiblue said:
IWB = Inside Waist Band
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Never tried honestly speaking.
More on left/right hand setups.
Put the sheath in front of you on a table, with handle near you and blade tip far.
You can have your knife with spine on the right side as on the left one, for sheath is simmetrical.

@Midget
Extrema Ratio North America
2390 W. Hwy 56, Suite 10
Cedar City, UT 84720
435-867-8807
Fax 435-867-8669
www.italianblade.com

For everyone: another plus included in the price is the Zirconium Nitride coating.
Sharpening: I found (EdgePro) that 24 per side on 320grit and slightly above with same grit microbevel are the best allround combo. Stock setting looks like being on the 28ish per side
Hint: when you receive your knife detach the handle and clean the tang with a soft cloth and some gun oil (Militech-1 will do or WD40). Wipe it clean and dry. Put handle on dishwasher upper tray, 55 degrees program. This will make you sure that any debris inside handle will go away, thus best contact between handle and tang will occur.

S30V:
This is NOT the universal all purpose hassle free stainless steel that is supposed to be. It delivers easier workability, slightly more toughness and corrosion resistance than S90V. End.
It was made to match requests for a CPM stainless steel cheaper to buy and easier to work than S90V.
I would NEVER buy a S30V based chopper knife, neither a survival one. CPM3V is far better to these extents.
Said that if we are looking for some serious cutter, well, S30V may just be the ticket if we don't wont to get into customs realm, but get ready to be disappointed if it stays on the 58-60HRC range (CRK). You won't notice nearly any difference in edge holding against a VG10 blade, unless your only cutting task is on Manila Rope. But, at such HRC, burrs when sharpening would be always behind the corner.
Should you be looking for a serious cutter you should consider S90V steel/ZDP189/S125V/10V/150V and a completely different blade profile. Not for Shrapnel.

Or you could buy a 61HRC S30V (Phil Wilson). Here you should be aware of getting a real cutter, with steel taken at its best (hardness/edge retention). Phil has posted his edge retention tests, make a search on Bladeforums.
Here we're talking about customs (and CRK are NOT), with cryo and triple tempering, as my Kevin Wilkins.
And here we're again:should S30V at61HRC deliver a quantum leap forward in edge holding, i.e. an edge lasting the double than N690Co at 61? Not at all. Then ?

S30V deserves cryo and triple tempering to give its best, as all of the CPM high alloyed steels. N690Co at 58-60 (Shrapnel) is more forgiving and more resilient than S30V@58-60 HRC. Edge will last slightly less, corr. resistance will be on par. Sharpening on the field will be far easier.

Last but not least: Kevin on his biggest folder uses N690Co 3.2mm thick. Should you opt for S30V it would be 4mm thick. Does this say something or not?

If you have any other question here I'm
 
I got my CRK Shadow III in today! Wow, great workmanship with the knife and the sheath. I slipped the sheath on to my belt and I like how it sits high and snug just like it's not there. It will be a great EDC.
 
i'm holding my new ER shrapnel right now...

this thing is so perfect. you guys have no idea. perfect size, perfect weight, feels tough, nice balance, good blade/handle ratio, handles are grippy and comfortable, blade is sharp and very thick... i admit, i'm not a fan of the top guard, but it doesn't bother me much... assuming there's a representative stateside that will do complementary sharpening and maintenance (thanks for the link to italianblade.com, daberti), this knife might be "the one".

i'll post some pics later on.
 
I've got the shrapnel, the top guard is a non issue, it doesn't get in the way, for fine cutting, grip the top of the blade itself, the guard just isn't in the way.
Great choice of knife by the way. I've not had any problems with mine.
 
A_Zone said:
Is the shadow III concealable under a t-shirt?
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When I received my Shadow III, I just came home from work and was wearing a Hawaiian dress shirt. The shirt draped right over the whole sheath and you couldn't tell I had the knife there on my belt. The sheath is setup to be worn high and snug on your belt line for some discreet EDC. The sheath is kind of unique looking unlike other fixed blade sheaths. In fact the handle of the Shadow III looks almost like a screwdriver handle to give it a less threatening look.
 
Midget said:
i'm holding my new ER shrapnel right now...

this thing is so perfect. you guys have no idea. perfect size, perfect weight, feels tough, nice balance, good blade/handle ratio, handles are grippy and comfortable, blade is sharp and very thick... i admit, i'm not a fan of the top guard, but it doesn't bother me much... assuming there's a representative stateside that will do complementary sharpening and maintenance (thanks for the link to italianblade.com, daberti), this knife might be "the one".
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Should you need it to be sharpened or even to regrind the edge, buy the EdgePro sharpening system. I've already given to you angle references.
Or I'll be glad to do it myself.

How much did you pay your Shrapnel?

Cheers
 
IMO the stock sheath needs some work... it's fairly tight and rubs against the handle, and wearing it on the belt kind of screams "knife." it's kind of bulky and prints under a t-shirt. i'm sure it's tough and suitable for military application but.... i live in the city.


to answer A_Zone's question, i think this knife is fairly suitable for IWB carry if you can get a sheath. the knife itself is not too bulky or uncomfortable to tuck in at the 5o'clock position.

i made an IWB sheath this morning. it still needs some work, i'll give it another go tonight, perhaps.


shrapsheath2.jpg


shrapsheath.jpg


i made the sheath all curvy, kind of how mike snody(?) does it on some of his benchmade collaborations.. it doesn't really compliment the ER much, since the ER has more straight lines and edges and like a polygonal design.. but it's more comfortable for IWB.
 
A_Zone said:
Midget, at what place is the balance point of the Shrapnel? Is it at the guard?
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i'd say the balance on this knife is a tad bit blade heavy, compared to some other fixed blades i've held. it's right up against that guard thing with the hole in it. i like it like that. if you were to take off the handle, there's actually very little metal left for the tang. i'll take a pic tonight maybe.
 
here's a few updates on that IWB sheath i was making.

also my shrapnel sans top guard (it was driving me crazy).

DSC_0009.JPG


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DSC_0015.JPG
 
A-Zone said:
Thanks for the pictures. It looks as if the knife is a bit to large for discreet carry. I really like the design of the shrapnel, to bad it’s not a little smaller.
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A lite jacket or "wind breaker" will make that knife dissapear. How do you think people with CCWs carry guns? I am known to toute a Steel frame CZ-75, and i keep in concealed with the help of a good holster and an untucked shirt.
 
daberti said:
Pretty good work Midget.
How did you get rid of upper guard?

Cheers
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it's fairly simple. i used a grinder to grind off most of the guard, fairly close to the blade. then i just used my belt grinder to flatten/smoothen it out so it's *almost* flush with the spine. it's not quite flush, but i didn't want to mess up the testudo coating or anything.

it was a really easy mod, you just have to take your time to be very careful and to insure the blade doesn't get too hot. if i had a bead blaster, i'd blast the whole knife so you couldn't tell it was modded at all--right now there's that shiny spot where the guard used to be. :barf:

but thanks for the kind words. aesthetics aside, i like it a lot better w/o the top guard.
 
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