Hi all. My order from CutleryShoppe.com just arrived a week ago, and it's been sitting in Customs since then. Today, I unboxed the knives, two of which are for friends and one for myself. The knives are:
-The Cold Steel Pocket Bushman. One of my friends wanted something big to flick around, so I got him this. Bad choice...will elaborate more later.
-The Spyderco Ladybug, black FRN and VG10. Another friend wanted a keychain knife, and was going between the Boker Sub/Whar/Keycoms and this. He wanted foliage green, but CS didn't have it. I'm thinking of bleaching the FRN and dying it for him, but not sure if it'll work.
-The Spyderco Stretch, Blue FRN, ZDP blade. For me. I wanted something larger than a Delica, smaller than a Mili, somewhere between their respective price ranges and capable of out-cutting them both.
So, on to the 1st impressions!
CS Pocket Bushman: First ever Cold Steel product and I must say I am impressed. Fit and finish, even on a budget model, isn't bad. The CS Pocket Bushman is meant to imitate a fixed blade, and it does so spectacularly. Open, it is rock solid; closed, however, it rides as well as my Military.
Much like the Mili, the Pocket Bushman packs a relatively lightweight frame, large, flat-ground blade that slices darned well, and an absurdly strong lock. It's an excellent knife when opened, and a good carry package when closed, considering its size. The blade is nicely finished, about as thick as that of the Stretch. The ergos aren't bad, surprisingly. The knife has a swell in the middle that helps the otherwise thin handle fill the hand more. Slightly thicker scales would have been better, though. The lockup is absolutely confidence-inspiring. I've been able to get more play out of a fixed blade (tang/handle flexing
)
Where it loses out is in between open and closed. The Pocket Bushman is absurdly hard to open with the poorly placed and undersized thumb studs, leaving me to operate it more like a slip joint. The Ram Safe lock, while very strong, gives it an equally strong closing bias. Closing the knife is even harder. The lock's mechanism requires two hands to operate, and takes a lot of work. It's a fine knife for its intended use, but my friend would have been much happier with a Kershaw AO or a Buck Vantage.
That said, the Pocket Bushman looks to be a great outdoor folder for those on a budget. I'm thinking of getting my friend another, better, knife, and leaving the PB in the Scout den to be abused.
On to the Ladybug. It's a Spyderco FRN-handled lockback, in the same family as the Delica and Endura. It posesses the same saber-ground VG10 blade, black bi-directional FRN and handle shape, but no nested liners or clip.
The Ladybug really is a little gem. One-piece handle and pinned design is a downside for some, but mine came with very little play. The lanyard hole is big enough to admit 550 cord. The Ladybug hits it home on every point-NKP friendliness, sharpness and blade geometry, ergos and grip- except aesthetics.
The Ladybug is a very small knife, for keychain use or precise work. It's small enough that my mum and sister called it "cute." In its various colours, it's most likely to earn that name from NKPs.
The blade on the Ladybug is a thin, saber-ground drop point. Although listed as 3mm, same as the Stretch, on the Spyderco site, it's probably around half a mm thinner. It cuts very well, and VG10 is one of my fave steels. I've recently decided I like it better than S30V, yet to try ZDP 189 (soon to change)
In terms of ergos, it fits 3 fingers comfortably, with little purchase for the 4th. The thumb fits the thumb ramp very snugly, giving lots of cutting precision. The FRN is nicely textured, though I'd prefer that it be a little deeper.
All in all, a fine keychain knife.
Now, on to the prize: the FRN Stretch.
First time I set eyes upon the Stretch, I thought it was ugly as sin, especially the FRN versions. I had no idea why The Deacon and Mr Blonde, among others, praised it so highly. The blade shape, to me, sucked, the handle looked ugly...I ended up dismissing it, as many would do with Spydercos.
Well, as I looked at it more and more, hearing it often mentioned as a "good slicer", "lightweight carry" among others, I got more curious. I watched Nutnfancy's review of the Stretch, which he termed "Greatness Achieved", and ended up ordering one. The doubts I had about it still persisted, and I considered offering to trade it for a Gayle Bradley.
It arrived and was unboxed. I instantly fell in love, and any thoughts of trading it off were instantly banished. The ergos are near-perfect, the clip getting in the way at times. It fits very well in a saber grip, or reverse grip. In a standard grip with edge up the butt end bites the palm a bit, but it's a small issue.
Blade is very, very good. It came with a typical hair-popping edge, the thin flat grind easily capable of push-cutting paper and newsprint. I'm excited to see what ZDP will do with an acute, polished edge. The Stretch isn't robust, nor is it overbuilt, but it does slice and pierce well.
Lock-wise, the Stretch is like most Spyderco lockbacks: smooth opening, closing bias, slight vertical play but no horizontal. When I hold the blade and move it, the blade seems to flex rather than the pivot. The lockback is easily closed one-handed given practice, and is a fine, ambidextrous lock.
The Stretch easily fills the void between Mili and Delica, being in between size-wise, large enough to give extra functionality, not sacrificing precision or ease of carry, and outcuts both easily. I'll post more about the Stretch specifically when I've used it a bit.
-The Cold Steel Pocket Bushman. One of my friends wanted something big to flick around, so I got him this. Bad choice...will elaborate more later.
-The Spyderco Ladybug, black FRN and VG10. Another friend wanted a keychain knife, and was going between the Boker Sub/Whar/Keycoms and this. He wanted foliage green, but CS didn't have it. I'm thinking of bleaching the FRN and dying it for him, but not sure if it'll work.
-The Spyderco Stretch, Blue FRN, ZDP blade. For me. I wanted something larger than a Delica, smaller than a Mili, somewhere between their respective price ranges and capable of out-cutting them both.
So, on to the 1st impressions!
CS Pocket Bushman: First ever Cold Steel product and I must say I am impressed. Fit and finish, even on a budget model, isn't bad. The CS Pocket Bushman is meant to imitate a fixed blade, and it does so spectacularly. Open, it is rock solid; closed, however, it rides as well as my Military.
Much like the Mili, the Pocket Bushman packs a relatively lightweight frame, large, flat-ground blade that slices darned well, and an absurdly strong lock. It's an excellent knife when opened, and a good carry package when closed, considering its size. The blade is nicely finished, about as thick as that of the Stretch. The ergos aren't bad, surprisingly. The knife has a swell in the middle that helps the otherwise thin handle fill the hand more. Slightly thicker scales would have been better, though. The lockup is absolutely confidence-inspiring. I've been able to get more play out of a fixed blade (tang/handle flexing
) Where it loses out is in between open and closed. The Pocket Bushman is absurdly hard to open with the poorly placed and undersized thumb studs, leaving me to operate it more like a slip joint. The Ram Safe lock, while very strong, gives it an equally strong closing bias. Closing the knife is even harder. The lock's mechanism requires two hands to operate, and takes a lot of work. It's a fine knife for its intended use, but my friend would have been much happier with a Kershaw AO or a Buck Vantage.
That said, the Pocket Bushman looks to be a great outdoor folder for those on a budget. I'm thinking of getting my friend another, better, knife, and leaving the PB in the Scout den to be abused.
On to the Ladybug. It's a Spyderco FRN-handled lockback, in the same family as the Delica and Endura. It posesses the same saber-ground VG10 blade, black bi-directional FRN and handle shape, but no nested liners or clip.
The Ladybug really is a little gem. One-piece handle and pinned design is a downside for some, but mine came with very little play. The lanyard hole is big enough to admit 550 cord. The Ladybug hits it home on every point-NKP friendliness, sharpness and blade geometry, ergos and grip- except aesthetics.
The Ladybug is a very small knife, for keychain use or precise work. It's small enough that my mum and sister called it "cute." In its various colours, it's most likely to earn that name from NKPs.
The blade on the Ladybug is a thin, saber-ground drop point. Although listed as 3mm, same as the Stretch, on the Spyderco site, it's probably around half a mm thinner. It cuts very well, and VG10 is one of my fave steels. I've recently decided I like it better than S30V, yet to try ZDP 189 (soon to change
) In terms of ergos, it fits 3 fingers comfortably, with little purchase for the 4th. The thumb fits the thumb ramp very snugly, giving lots of cutting precision. The FRN is nicely textured, though I'd prefer that it be a little deeper.
All in all, a fine keychain knife.
Now, on to the prize: the FRN Stretch.
First time I set eyes upon the Stretch, I thought it was ugly as sin, especially the FRN versions. I had no idea why The Deacon and Mr Blonde, among others, praised it so highly. The blade shape, to me, sucked, the handle looked ugly...I ended up dismissing it, as many would do with Spydercos.
Well, as I looked at it more and more, hearing it often mentioned as a "good slicer", "lightweight carry" among others, I got more curious. I watched Nutnfancy's review of the Stretch, which he termed "Greatness Achieved", and ended up ordering one. The doubts I had about it still persisted, and I considered offering to trade it for a Gayle Bradley.
It arrived and was unboxed. I instantly fell in love, and any thoughts of trading it off were instantly banished. The ergos are near-perfect, the clip getting in the way at times. It fits very well in a saber grip, or reverse grip. In a standard grip with edge up the butt end bites the palm a bit, but it's a small issue.
Blade is very, very good. It came with a typical hair-popping edge, the thin flat grind easily capable of push-cutting paper and newsprint. I'm excited to see what ZDP will do with an acute, polished edge. The Stretch isn't robust, nor is it overbuilt, but it does slice and pierce well.
Lock-wise, the Stretch is like most Spyderco lockbacks: smooth opening, closing bias, slight vertical play but no horizontal. When I hold the blade and move it, the blade seems to flex rather than the pivot. The lockback is easily closed one-handed given practice, and is a fine, ambidextrous lock.
The Stretch easily fills the void between Mili and Delica, being in between size-wise, large enough to give extra functionality, not sacrificing precision or ease of carry, and outcuts both easily. I'll post more about the Stretch specifically when I've used it a bit.
