- Joined
- May 18, 2008
- Messages
- 1,168
I wanted to make a thread to show off a couple of very special knives that have come to me recently from some very cool people here in the traditional forum.
Carl recently posted about the "ultimate traditional pocket knife" and I think he is absolutely right! There's something that just works about the design of a friction folder, no nonsense, just a blade and a handle, grab it and cut! Such simplicity and yet the variety that's possible is astounding and the beauty that can be achieved...well I'll let the pictures do the talking.
First I want to show off a pair of Svord's that were made by our very own Sitflyer. Duane and I had a long trade going on for a while and in the process I got these two absolutely stunning knives. Duane really knows how to make a piece of wood pop! His attention to detail is amazing.
Just look at the contours and shaping on the handles, these knives just meld into my hand when I hold them. On the left is Ipe wood and on the right is Wenge wood.
I don't know how Duane made the grain on this wenge wood pop like it did, I've never seen anything quite like it.
The thumb ramp on the larger Svord is no mistake, it was carefully thought out by Duane to allow for easier opening of the knife and to give a better grip when doing pull cuts. This small detail makes it much easier to fully open the knife one handed and it actually fits in the palm better as well.
And in case you were wondering about the steel, I am absolutely amazed at the performance of the L6. It gets incredibly sharp with little effort, and yet it stays sharp for longer than I would expect given how easy it was to sharpen. I don't know if it has to do with the small amount of alloying elements, but I am finding that L6 along with 52100 are two of my absolute favorite steels. I find that the tiny bit of alloying elements help to ease the knife into a patina, so when cutting acidic foods, the knife doesn't lose it's razor edge so quickly due to oxidation build up on the edge.
Speaking of patina, here is the knife after cutting of a sapling to make a walking stick, making a point on some sticks, a few notches for traps, and of course an apple for a snack while on the trail. The knife performed admirably. I usually carry a BK14 on my hikes, but I found the Svord to be much easier to use due to the bigger handle and actually I found that the Svord had very slightly better edge retention.
There's a bit more patina on the Wenge Svord, I've been using that one for a little while now, it makes a great EDC. Very light, slices with the best of them and it's so easy to clean, I just unscrew the pivot pin, clean out any gunk and viola, good as new. The simplicity of the thing makes maintenance a breeze.
Another small detail that makes a big difference...check out the back spacer, it's thinner stock than the blade on the Ipe wood Svord, this mean that when I open the knife the wood kinda grabs the tang of the blade and when it's fully open this baby is so solid it feels like a fixed blade! And check out that end grain, this wood has some really tight grain and it's very dense too. The knife just feels solid in your hand. When I first unwrapped this one first thing that popped into my head was "wow, this is an impressive knife" the nice full handle, the big blade, the heft of the wood, it all added up to make me wanna say "Now this is a knife!"
Taking a little nap in the grass you can see a little hint of the gold specs that the Ipe has in the grain and also some of the darker grayish spots, it's really something to see it up close on a sunny day.
Next up I want to show off a nice Sardinian Resolza that I very recently received with the help of Fausto our resident Sardinian representative
I contacted Fausto some months ago inquiring about getting a Pattadese of my own after seeing a couple of posts and getting that "feeling" that I would love the knife...well that feeling was definitely right, from the moment I unwrapped the Pattadese from its yellow envelope I've been smitten.
Fausto hooked me up with a Sardinian knife maker and he even went so far as to go to the workshop himself to inspect the materials himself. I can't say enough about Fausto and his generosity with his time and effort, thank you Fausto!
The knife has a VERY fine point, detail work, piercing cuts, slicing, spreading, filleting, anything to do with food and this knife is hard (maybe impossible) to beat!
This knife has such wonderful action. The ram's horn is perfect for this knife, it adds the perfect amount of friction to secure the blade, but it does not swell up when there is moisture present, a great feature for a knife that will be around food alot.
Unfortunately it was a little cloudy so the first 2 pictures didn't quite show off the full beauty of the ram's horn. This one does a better job
I only got the Resolza recently, but it's quickly becoming a favorite. It also has a tapered back spacer that works in a similar manner to the thinner back spacer on the Ipe wood Svord to provide friction on the blade in the close position. I am also stunned at the beauty and depth of the Ram's horn, it's so hard to capture on camera.
So I want to give a big thank you to Duane and Fausto for making me a happy knife knut! I feel very lucky to get to experience these fine and unique pieces of cutlery and to be honest to journey was as fun as the destination. I am even luckier to have gotten to know these two fine gentlemen in the process!
Cheers to you Duane and Fausto! :thumbup:
Carl recently posted about the "ultimate traditional pocket knife" and I think he is absolutely right! There's something that just works about the design of a friction folder, no nonsense, just a blade and a handle, grab it and cut! Such simplicity and yet the variety that's possible is astounding and the beauty that can be achieved...well I'll let the pictures do the talking.
First I want to show off a pair of Svord's that were made by our very own Sitflyer. Duane and I had a long trade going on for a while and in the process I got these two absolutely stunning knives. Duane really knows how to make a piece of wood pop! His attention to detail is amazing.
Just look at the contours and shaping on the handles, these knives just meld into my hand when I hold them. On the left is Ipe wood and on the right is Wenge wood.
I don't know how Duane made the grain on this wenge wood pop like it did, I've never seen anything quite like it.
The thumb ramp on the larger Svord is no mistake, it was carefully thought out by Duane to allow for easier opening of the knife and to give a better grip when doing pull cuts. This small detail makes it much easier to fully open the knife one handed and it actually fits in the palm better as well.
And in case you were wondering about the steel, I am absolutely amazed at the performance of the L6. It gets incredibly sharp with little effort, and yet it stays sharp for longer than I would expect given how easy it was to sharpen. I don't know if it has to do with the small amount of alloying elements, but I am finding that L6 along with 52100 are two of my absolute favorite steels. I find that the tiny bit of alloying elements help to ease the knife into a patina, so when cutting acidic foods, the knife doesn't lose it's razor edge so quickly due to oxidation build up on the edge.
Speaking of patina, here is the knife after cutting of a sapling to make a walking stick, making a point on some sticks, a few notches for traps, and of course an apple for a snack while on the trail. The knife performed admirably. I usually carry a BK14 on my hikes, but I found the Svord to be much easier to use due to the bigger handle and actually I found that the Svord had very slightly better edge retention.
There's a bit more patina on the Wenge Svord, I've been using that one for a little while now, it makes a great EDC. Very light, slices with the best of them and it's so easy to clean, I just unscrew the pivot pin, clean out any gunk and viola, good as new. The simplicity of the thing makes maintenance a breeze.
Another small detail that makes a big difference...check out the back spacer, it's thinner stock than the blade on the Ipe wood Svord, this mean that when I open the knife the wood kinda grabs the tang of the blade and when it's fully open this baby is so solid it feels like a fixed blade! And check out that end grain, this wood has some really tight grain and it's very dense too. The knife just feels solid in your hand. When I first unwrapped this one first thing that popped into my head was "wow, this is an impressive knife" the nice full handle, the big blade, the heft of the wood, it all added up to make me wanna say "Now this is a knife!"
Taking a little nap in the grass you can see a little hint of the gold specs that the Ipe has in the grain and also some of the darker grayish spots, it's really something to see it up close on a sunny day.
Next up I want to show off a nice Sardinian Resolza that I very recently received with the help of Fausto our resident Sardinian representative
I contacted Fausto some months ago inquiring about getting a Pattadese of my own after seeing a couple of posts and getting that "feeling" that I would love the knife...well that feeling was definitely right, from the moment I unwrapped the Pattadese from its yellow envelope I've been smitten.
Fausto hooked me up with a Sardinian knife maker and he even went so far as to go to the workshop himself to inspect the materials himself. I can't say enough about Fausto and his generosity with his time and effort, thank you Fausto!
The knife has a VERY fine point, detail work, piercing cuts, slicing, spreading, filleting, anything to do with food and this knife is hard (maybe impossible) to beat!
This knife has such wonderful action. The ram's horn is perfect for this knife, it adds the perfect amount of friction to secure the blade, but it does not swell up when there is moisture present, a great feature for a knife that will be around food alot.
Unfortunately it was a little cloudy so the first 2 pictures didn't quite show off the full beauty of the ram's horn. This one does a better job
I only got the Resolza recently, but it's quickly becoming a favorite. It also has a tapered back spacer that works in a similar manner to the thinner back spacer on the Ipe wood Svord to provide friction on the blade in the close position. I am also stunned at the beauty and depth of the Ram's horn, it's so hard to capture on camera.
So I want to give a big thank you to Duane and Fausto for making me a happy knife knut! I feel very lucky to get to experience these fine and unique pieces of cutlery and to be honest to journey was as fun as the destination. I am even luckier to have gotten to know these two fine gentlemen in the process!
Cheers to you Duane and Fausto! :thumbup:
