- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
- Messages
- 1,508
Introductory Tidbits:
For the last week, I have been carrying my Glock 78 Feldmesser as my primary work knife. I am a college student, but for the last two years I have been working as summer help for a nearby municipalitys water department. My day to day tasks tend to vary, doing anything from landscaping to maintaining water department assets, but having a knife is a very helpful thing. Since beginning work in mid-May, I have used a number of knives, including the Spyderco Military and the Zero Tolerance ZT200. Both of these knives have held up quite well to heavy use, but I was eager to see how a hard use fixed blade would perform.
A Note on Hard Use:
Hard Use is a term that is thrown around a lot, but there isnt really any consensus for what actually constitutes it. In this review, hard use refers to prying, probing, digging, etc.
Landscaping Performance:
The Spyderco Military had been my go-to landscaping knife, performing quite well at cutting brush or weeds. Additionally, ergonomics have been superb, particularly when wearing gloves. The Feldmesser does have some advantages over the Millie, however. The heavier weight gives the Feldmesser a bit more chopping ability than the military. Additionally, the long, slender blade shape lends very well to weeding, something that I would not wish to do with the Millie. Despite these advantages, the Feldmessers thick blade stock does not give the greatest cutting performance, even after being reprofiled.
Field Use:
One of the tasks that summer help are typically assigned is to check water-shutoff valves for houses after their sidewalk panels have been replaced. In order to check the valve, the cover needs to be unscrewed. Although some of these covers are exposed and perfectly clean, the vast majority are located a few inches underground. I have used the ZT previously to dig out these valve covers, but I have had some problems. The lock tends to get somewhat fouled with mud, but the large blade has proven helpful when digging. The feldmesser has excelled at this role. The long blade makes probing for the valve box a fairly easy task, while also making cutting out sod a trivial task. Mud has not proven to be an issue, with the sheath locking even when caked with mud. I also have found the fixed blade to be more convenient than folders when doing this sort of work. One of the Feldmessers biggest advantages also stems from its low cost. I dont mind whaling on this knife as much as I do with the ZT.
General Opinions of the Glock Feldmesser:
If your line of work entails a lot of hard use, it is kind of hard not to recommend the Feldmesser. Its cheap, of reasonable quality, carries well, and will stand up to a fair amount of abuse. If you value cutting performance, however, the Feldmesser is not for you. Even after thinning down the edge, it is still more of a sharpened prybar than a real knife. The carbon steel is fairly tough, shrugging off hits against concrete or metal fence, although I did lose the tip. The tip was bent after a fairly hard impact while probing and was busted off while attempting to pry. The black phosphate coatings durability is downright comical, stripping off after a few days of cutting sod. Additionally, the knife must be oiled. If it gets wet, it will literally rust within an hour. Overall, it is a good knife if you need to do a lot non-knife things, and dont want to spend a whole lot of money.
For the last week, I have been carrying my Glock 78 Feldmesser as my primary work knife. I am a college student, but for the last two years I have been working as summer help for a nearby municipalitys water department. My day to day tasks tend to vary, doing anything from landscaping to maintaining water department assets, but having a knife is a very helpful thing. Since beginning work in mid-May, I have used a number of knives, including the Spyderco Military and the Zero Tolerance ZT200. Both of these knives have held up quite well to heavy use, but I was eager to see how a hard use fixed blade would perform.
A Note on Hard Use:
Hard Use is a term that is thrown around a lot, but there isnt really any consensus for what actually constitutes it. In this review, hard use refers to prying, probing, digging, etc.
Landscaping Performance:
The Spyderco Military had been my go-to landscaping knife, performing quite well at cutting brush or weeds. Additionally, ergonomics have been superb, particularly when wearing gloves. The Feldmesser does have some advantages over the Millie, however. The heavier weight gives the Feldmesser a bit more chopping ability than the military. Additionally, the long, slender blade shape lends very well to weeding, something that I would not wish to do with the Millie. Despite these advantages, the Feldmessers thick blade stock does not give the greatest cutting performance, even after being reprofiled.
Field Use:
One of the tasks that summer help are typically assigned is to check water-shutoff valves for houses after their sidewalk panels have been replaced. In order to check the valve, the cover needs to be unscrewed. Although some of these covers are exposed and perfectly clean, the vast majority are located a few inches underground. I have used the ZT previously to dig out these valve covers, but I have had some problems. The lock tends to get somewhat fouled with mud, but the large blade has proven helpful when digging. The feldmesser has excelled at this role. The long blade makes probing for the valve box a fairly easy task, while also making cutting out sod a trivial task. Mud has not proven to be an issue, with the sheath locking even when caked with mud. I also have found the fixed blade to be more convenient than folders when doing this sort of work. One of the Feldmessers biggest advantages also stems from its low cost. I dont mind whaling on this knife as much as I do with the ZT.
General Opinions of the Glock Feldmesser:
If your line of work entails a lot of hard use, it is kind of hard not to recommend the Feldmesser. Its cheap, of reasonable quality, carries well, and will stand up to a fair amount of abuse. If you value cutting performance, however, the Feldmesser is not for you. Even after thinning down the edge, it is still more of a sharpened prybar than a real knife. The carbon steel is fairly tough, shrugging off hits against concrete or metal fence, although I did lose the tip. The tip was bent after a fairly hard impact while probing and was busted off while attempting to pry. The black phosphate coatings durability is downright comical, stripping off after a few days of cutting sod. Additionally, the knife must be oiled. If it gets wet, it will literally rust within an hour. Overall, it is a good knife if you need to do a lot non-knife things, and dont want to spend a whole lot of money.
