Ok, I have the Zambezi, Fallkniven A-1 and the S&W HRT Combat knife.
Here's my take on'em:
The
Timberline/Lightfoot Zambezi is the very definition of a sharpened pry bar. It is 1/4" stock so thick at the edge it makes my Cold Steel SRK nervous. However, it should make for a butt kicker of a dive knife with the epoxy coated 440c steel used in the blade that also covers the whole tang. The blade is thick enough to pry with and the edge is very sharp. This is not a knife you'll be slicing tomatos with but should be an adequate chopper/whacker and self defense piece. The handle has a built in sub-hilt that is also a guard. The handle on the knife is long enough to use it either way. The butt end has a skull crusher/hammer that is just big enough to be useful. The blade also has notches and grooves in all the right places for a great grip.
The sheathing system on the Zambezi has more bells and whistles than your average county fair. It is fairly complicated for me anyway. This is an ideal system if you are a real life operator in need of ALICE tiedown, leg tiedown and jump rating capabilities in your knife system. For the average Joe like me, it's a bit of overkill. The sheath has at least a yard and a half of Velcro fastened Nylon strapping with it.
The knife retention device on the sheath is first rate in my book. You have to depress a "button" to unlock the knife from the sheath. It is very secure and accidentally losing the blade is next to impossible.
The good thing is the system can be simpled down for the average non-operator person like me. It is still a
lotta knife and sheath for the money and the handle gives you several grip options in use.
If you can,
YOU REALLY SHOULD HANDLE THIS KNIFE BEFORE YOU BUY IT. I can't stress this enough. This is a knife that, IMHO, is not for everyone. Really.
The
Fallkniven A-1 speaks for itself. It is probably one of the best production fixed blades on the market today. And deservedly so. It may not be the best option for stabbing due to a fairly abbreviated guard, but as an every day work knife it soars with the eagles IMO. This knife makes you wanna use it when you hold it. Every time I pick it up I think "hmmmm...now what needs to be cut around here?" Drives my wife absolutely crazy.
The A-1 is a definate keeper.
The
S&W HRT Combat knife is a steal at the price you pay for it.
It is one of the more under rated knives on the market today due to it's affiliation with the often maligned Taylor Cutlery. True, they have in the past been given to some rather dubious busines practices, but, Darrel Ralph thought enough of them to give them a second chance and I followed suit.
I'm glad I did.
The HRT Combat knife is one of the best compact choppers I've used to date. I say compact because the 7" blade length is a couple of inches under what I normally consider ideal "chopper" blade length.
It is of re-curve design, 7/32" stock(mine is anyway, between 3/16" and 1/4") and is nicely thinned out to the edge. Not too thin and not thick gives this knife a nice workable edge. It has contoured Zytel scales and has a fairly flat feel to the handle. This is another knife you should try to handle before buying.
Last year we had a tropical storm come thru my area and left considerable tree fall in my neighborhood and my yard in particular. My neighbor several houses down had a HUGE oak tree in his yard fall onto his garage totally taking it and his new Lincoln Town car out(the Town Car was totaled). I had a Dogwood and a Comphor or Mulberry, (I can't remember which it was now, getting old sucks, ya can't remember squat) tree come down. I used the HRT knife for several days limbing out the fallen trees in the yard so I could get to the main trunk and introduce it to Mr. Chainsaw.
Wading thru tight quarters within the branches, the sheath did not get tangled in the branches and the knife performed very well for me chopping 1 and 2" branches often in a single swing. The sweet spot is right where the belly begins it's upward sweep. After working several days on this the knife had quite a few scratches on the blade but the blade was still hair scraping sharp. About a minute on the Sharpmaker 204 and it was hair poppin' sharp again.
After the thunderstorm we had two days ago, a major limb(4" across and apprx. 16' long) on another one of my old Dogwoods has succumbed to a lightning strike and when I go out to process it, the HRT will be utilized prior to bringing out Mr. Chainsaw once again.
The HRT Combat knife does have it's down sides too. I've yet to meet a knife that doesn't. This knife's possible problem areas are in the sheath. It is a bit cheesy. I can't decide whether it's kydex or Zytel and it is a little thin. The knife's scales are secured to the tang with huge Phillip's screws that are bead blasted and appear to be rust prone. The handle may be construed as too wide and flat for people with smaller hands and the blade itself is bead blasted.:barf:
Even with it's down sides, this knife has garnered a good deal of my respect. It is a sound working design and I have no doubt it would be a shockingly devastating defense knife if it ever came down to that.
Please keep in mind that this is all my opinion and may not jive with the experience/preference of others.
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Mike U.
