I'm trying to do two things at once here so will no doubt end up doing them both badly! A brief review of a knife and a discussion about the steel.... Hmm.
I was recently in the wrong place at the wrong time (surfing late!) and saw what looked to me pretty much like my perfect knife. It's a knife by Gayle Bradley, a custom knife and part of a series of knives he's produced which he's called work/utility knives (which makes me chuckle a little
). This one is the 2WL model.
I only started collecting a few years ago and have been refining my tastes ever since. The useability of a knife is equal to, if not more important than the aesthetics for me. Put simply, if a knife doesn't work as a knife I don't keep it for long. I won't bang on about all the factors I'm looking for but rather, highlight some that have brought this knife to the top.
Size, the handle/blade ratio is bang on (Blade Length: 3", Overall Length: 7"), enough handle to work with and a controllable blade.
Subtle choil - I never got on with knives like the Sage (an early purchase....), finding the choil uncomfortable and restrictive. Gayle's choil inspires confidence without getting in the way.
Blade - FFG, drop point. Real nice as you'd expect from Gayle. Just perfect grind, thin, balanced and even with not too much belly and a nice, pointy tip. Shaaarrp (ouch!).
Hand position in relation to the blade - something that doesn't get discussed much. Personally I like my hand to be as close to the working edge as safely possible and I like the cutting edge of a knife to be in line with the underside of the handle (or as close as possible). Both these factors add control and make a knife nimble.
Depth of handle from spine to choil - I've worked out a formula for this! At the point where your index finger sits the handle should be no deeper than the middle joint of said finger from spine to choil (now I sound anal!). The reason being, this is the optimum depth to allow you to alter the position of the knife in your hand whilst retaining full control.
I could go on...!
Some other features of the knife are that he has milled out the liners and bolsters in one piece from stainless before fitting the carbon scales. This makes the knife feel rock solid. Everything subtly tapers towards the bolsters in an elegant fashion.
Some things I didn't appreciate until I received the knife - One touch which Gayle has done and I've never seen before is he's milled a doveltail slot into one of the liners and then slid the lock bar (as a separate piece) into it (impossible to photograph!).
Wherever possible he's flushed the blade tang with the handle frame. The underside of the blade tang sits flush with the spine of the handle when the knife is closed before swinging round whilst opening to sit flush with the choil when open! His craftsmanship is quite something!
Anyhoo, the second part of my thread was to talk about the steel.
A little bit of blurb....
PSF27 is a Chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium alloyed cold work tool steel produced by a spray forming process. This allows for a fine and homogeneous microstructure which makes the wear resistance superior to conventional cold working tool steels like D2
I'm curious to know if anyone else has dabbled? I believe there is a Spyderco Mule floating around made from it.
I'm very impressed, I've carried the knife for a few weeks now and worked it quite hard from time to time (whittling is my therapy!). I've just stropped it back and am probably spoiled by Mr Bradley's grind which would make Aus 6 look good! I think the D2 description is a good one, it keeps a really nice aggressive edge (hard for a lay person to explain!). It has patina'd slightly, following some lime chopping but it's a strange patina (looks more like a stain!). The odd rust spot appeared when I let it but not severe and easy to manage.
The few comments that have been written have been a little disparaging, suggesting that it's nothing special as a 'super' steel but rather a cheaper way of producing a steel similar to CPM steels. Well, I'd say that's a good thing. If your can bring a CPM comparable steel to the cheaper, mass market then great.
Looking forward to more knives appearing with it.
Thanks for reading
Sam
I was recently in the wrong place at the wrong time (surfing late!) and saw what looked to me pretty much like my perfect knife. It's a knife by Gayle Bradley, a custom knife and part of a series of knives he's produced which he's called work/utility knives (which makes me chuckle a little
). This one is the 2WL model.
I only started collecting a few years ago and have been refining my tastes ever since. The useability of a knife is equal to, if not more important than the aesthetics for me. Put simply, if a knife doesn't work as a knife I don't keep it for long. I won't bang on about all the factors I'm looking for but rather, highlight some that have brought this knife to the top.
Size, the handle/blade ratio is bang on (Blade Length: 3", Overall Length: 7"), enough handle to work with and a controllable blade.
Subtle choil - I never got on with knives like the Sage (an early purchase....), finding the choil uncomfortable and restrictive. Gayle's choil inspires confidence without getting in the way.
Blade - FFG, drop point. Real nice as you'd expect from Gayle. Just perfect grind, thin, balanced and even with not too much belly and a nice, pointy tip. Shaaarrp (ouch!).
Hand position in relation to the blade - something that doesn't get discussed much. Personally I like my hand to be as close to the working edge as safely possible and I like the cutting edge of a knife to be in line with the underside of the handle (or as close as possible). Both these factors add control and make a knife nimble.
Depth of handle from spine to choil - I've worked out a formula for this! At the point where your index finger sits the handle should be no deeper than the middle joint of said finger from spine to choil (now I sound anal!). The reason being, this is the optimum depth to allow you to alter the position of the knife in your hand whilst retaining full control.
I could go on...!
Some other features of the knife are that he has milled out the liners and bolsters in one piece from stainless before fitting the carbon scales. This makes the knife feel rock solid. Everything subtly tapers towards the bolsters in an elegant fashion.
Some things I didn't appreciate until I received the knife - One touch which Gayle has done and I've never seen before is he's milled a doveltail slot into one of the liners and then slid the lock bar (as a separate piece) into it (impossible to photograph!).
Wherever possible he's flushed the blade tang with the handle frame. The underside of the blade tang sits flush with the spine of the handle when the knife is closed before swinging round whilst opening to sit flush with the choil when open! His craftsmanship is quite something!
Anyhoo, the second part of my thread was to talk about the steel.
A little bit of blurb....
PSF27 is a Chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium alloyed cold work tool steel produced by a spray forming process. This allows for a fine and homogeneous microstructure which makes the wear resistance superior to conventional cold working tool steels like D2
I'm curious to know if anyone else has dabbled? I believe there is a Spyderco Mule floating around made from it.
I'm very impressed, I've carried the knife for a few weeks now and worked it quite hard from time to time (whittling is my therapy!). I've just stropped it back and am probably spoiled by Mr Bradley's grind which would make Aus 6 look good! I think the D2 description is a good one, it keeps a really nice aggressive edge (hard for a lay person to explain!). It has patina'd slightly, following some lime chopping but it's a strange patina (looks more like a stain!). The odd rust spot appeared when I let it but not severe and easy to manage.
The few comments that have been written have been a little disparaging, suggesting that it's nothing special as a 'super' steel but rather a cheaper way of producing a steel similar to CPM steels. Well, I'd say that's a good thing. If your can bring a CPM comparable steel to the cheaper, mass market then great
.Looking forward to more knives appearing with it.
Thanks for reading
Sam
