Got out to test some knives! PIC HEAVY

[KiljoyKutlery]

Well,
Yesterday a new knife arrived in the mail. It was the Cold Steel Leatherneck. I had seen this knife in a catalog, and had to give it a try. I am a big fan of many of Cold Steels products, and this one looked like a great spin off of a favorite of mine, the Kabar combat bowie.
Growing up, one of my good friends had a Kabar, and I always admired it. I carried a then NEW design, the SRK in carbonV. Here we are today, and it all reminded me of those camping trips with my buddies when I was a teenager (20+ years ago)

One of the things I never liked about the SRK back then was the super thick edge...well the Leatherneck has none of those problems. With a 3/16" spine and a full flat grind, it slices and dices. It is light and fast in hand. I took many snap chops with it today on branches ranging from 1/2" - 1-1/2" and it chops pretty good for a little guy. This is a mid range knife in my eyes, but I think its headed to my BOB for a while. I think It can handle all the tasks I need from a knife and then some. The SK5 blade sharpens up very quickly, I dulled the hell outta this knife today using a buffing wheel to finish the strip job I gave it. A couple of minutes on an Arkansas stone and it was popping hairs.
It had a full guard when new, but I don' t like anything near the spine of a woods knife, so I cut the guard down, allowing me to place my thumb were I like it.

I give the knife a 9 out of 10 for its intended purpose, although I didn't fight anyone with it...LOL. It's handle is awesome, I love the fit for my hands anyway. And the tang is heavy duty..something that I was worried about. Its the widest hidden tang I have ever seen from a production knife.

If your looking for a mid sized camp knife, I wouldn't hesitate to give the Leatherneck a big thumbs up!

Some of the other knives that got out with me today are as follows.

My custom Sgt Kadka 15" CAK. I took off the horn handle and added a natural micarta handle with tube rivets. This is the ultimate survival and bushcraft tool IMO. You just aren't going to beat its performance. I am a big fan of Kuks and what they can do to wood...pure chopping muscle.

My FOX Hitam Golok. I had traded this off a while ago, to Marcelo, and then begged him to let me trade it back to myself....(does that make any kind of sense??)...well, Hes a cool dude, and I love this thing. It is pretty light for a 9 inch X 1/4" thick peace of N690C steel. The full convex grind gives it some serious bite...and the hidden tang allows for a bit extra forward energy. Overall, its a keeper. Functions like trap making and draw knifing a made easy with this one.

My baby...my San Mai Trailmaster. I took the back guard off of this one to...what can I say. Its a beast of a bowie, and I just like it a ton. Its VG1 sAn mai, and fully convexed. Its comfortable and beefy. I made a custom sheath for it, that carries my compass and a misch metal rod. Great one knife platform IMO.

Also along was a Kukri that I traded into from RescueRiley. This little guy is a beast!!! I have shown in one pic how thick the spine is...the power to size ratio is off the charts.
If you are on the fence about owning a kukri, go for it. You have to own at least one, to understand the amount of stuff you can do with one. I really thought I wouldn't like a kuk this small, but I carry this one in the back of the truck all the time. I KNOW it can handle an chore...it might not kick ass in the kitchen, but I have used it to slice tomatoes and it does pretty good. But it can split logs better than the wifes ginsu, so it wins in my eyes. I don't know why, but this one holds an edge much better than many of my other Kuks, I assume its the small size and the way the Kami's heat treat...I don't know though.

Well, I wanted to try out all the tools that I had bought or traded for, and many I had made some personal "tweaks" to, and they all were pretty cool. It was a long time coming to just get out and chop and whittle. Good stuff for the soul. Sorry for the long post, but its been a while..take care and happy holidays.

More in the next post..
Keep an eye out, I have some new knives coming in from Rock Creek (Hanwei) and can't wait to test them out.

Trailmaster and Leatherneck

Leatherneck and baby Kukri CAK

Look at the tang in the next 2 pics!

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

Well,
Before I went out to the back lot and sent wood chips flying, I went in the shop, to customize my new knife.
First comes my favorite..the Strippers! whoops, I mean STRIPPER, Citristrip to be exact.
Then comes a little hacksaw action, then its off to the grinder, and then the buffer. I lost it on the buffer and took a chunk of handle with it...but whatever, its going to be a user for me...and I don't mind ugly...as long as its easy.......sssh. Rick....ssshhhh,
SAFETY FIRST

Recon Scout Bowie and Leaatherneck

glamour shot of my awesome handle...LOL

And finally, the action...
It was a good thing I was heavily armed.
Adolf the Squirrel launched an offensive with his Storm Turkeys...It was a tough fight, but I made it out alive.
The Leatherneck can take of a StormTurkey head in one pass...no problemo

 

[baldtaco-II]

That Cold Steel looks like a good tool for a niche. I wouldn't want one now but I can see the merits. I'd have to ablate the logo off the rubber though. Interesting observations on the SRK thickness. I bought one of those for my brother and I hated that about it. He used to sharpen it up very roughly [P120 or worse] to try to compensate. Clod. .........................................................I was very tempted to buy the big sibling to that Fox. I know its a step down from N690C but still a very good steel. Everything I've seen about that including the way it sometimes failed in the first run when folks were rolling it mashing on some stuff that it was clearly too acute to take made it very attractive for tweaking. I just wouldn't use it but if I thought I would I'd grab one immediately.....................................................Curious about the Rock Creek. I've never got to the bottom of the composition of those, just that they are a proprietry steel. The other day I saw a lone transgression and they were listed somewhere as 1095. That's nothing like what I thought. I'm curious what you'll get from that...............................Can't see ya pics. Drat. I'm sure that's my end though.

 

[pitdog]

Great stuff buddy, I liked the looks of that knife the very first time I saw it, keep us updated on how you find it over time.

Gotta say I love that FOX knife as well, they come up with some really cool designs !

 

[ivan51]

awsome job on the cak! looks great

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

That Cold Steel looks like a good tool for a niche. I wouldn't want one now but I can see the merits. I'd have to ablate the logo off the rubber though. Interesting observations on the SRK thickness. I bought one of those for my brother and I hated that about it. He used to sharpen it up very roughly [P120 or worse] to try to compensate. Clod. .........................................................I was very tempted to buy the big sibling to that Fox. I know its a step down from N690C but still a very good steel. Everything I've seen about that including the way it sometimes failed in the first run when folks were rolling it mashing on some stuff that it was clearly too acute to take made it very attractive for tweaking. I just wouldn't use it but if I thought I would I'd grab one immediately.....................................................Curious about the Rock Creek. I've never got to the bottom of the composition of those, just that they are a proprietry steel. The other day I saw a lone transgression and they were listed somewhere as 1095. That's nothing like what I thought. I'm curious what you'll get from that...............................Can't see ya pics. Drat. I'm sure that's my end though.

Yes, I agree, the Leatherneck is a niche knife for sure. But the blade shape is so much like the MK's of WWII and other hunting knives of that era, that it was to hard for me to resist.
As far as the handle logo, worrying about that is like asking a hooker to change her dress, because you don't like the way it looks on her....
I really like the looks of the FOX Golok Machete, its not to badly priced actually. I might have to give it a try one of these days..for now, this one suits me.
Much of what I have read about the HW-1 steel is that its a Stainless, or at least corrosion resistant. We shall see, I ordered 2 of their models, the Nyala and the Sable.

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

Great stuff buddy, I liked the looks of that knife the very first time I saw it, keep us updated on how you find it over time.

Gotta say I love that FOX knife as well, they come up with some really cool designs !

Thanks Bro,
Everything I get from FOX has been very well done!

The Cold Steel is gonna see a lot of use, so if all of a sudden it turns to butter and melts, I will let you guys know.
I don't see that happening..I won't be using it in place of my Axe or anything...

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

awsome job on the cak! looks great

Thanks, I really like it. I did the handle on this one about a year ago, when the kukri was owned by another member. I finally traded it off of him...

 

[baldtaco-II]

Yes, I agree, the Leatherneck is a niche knife for sure. But the blade shape is so much like the MK's of WWII and other hunting knives of that era, that it was to hard for me to resist. As far as the handle logo, worrying about that is like asking a hooker to change her dress, because you don't like the way it looks on her.... I really like the looks of the FOX Golok Machete, its not to badly priced actually. I might have to give it a try one of these days..for now, this one suits me.Much of what I have read about the HW-1 steel is that its a Stainless, or at least corrosion resistant. We shall see, I ordered 2 of their models, the Nyala and the Sable.

I envisage quite a bit of overlap with that Leatherneck also being handy at field work as well as anything else. It seems to have overcome the major beef I had with my SOG Government – Had the grind been full height I could have got more cutting power from it................................... I don't mind small tasteful logos. I don't like big garish adverts. I prefer to drive an understated Merc with a tasteful logo than a fantastic Porsche with a NASCAR style paint job with Porsche written all over it. This quirk covers everything in my world. I saw a SOG Stingray Mino recently - it was interesting to me because it is laminated VG-10 like Fällkniven have, and I didn't know they did that. Even if the design of the knife was to my taste the hideous logo cut out would nerf it. Frankly I'd rather carry a £13 Magnum Cuisine II just on the strength of the more tasteful presentation regardless of any other factors. I know, funny peculiar............................... I was thinking [optimistically] that the HW-1 steel might be akin to D2. If that's right I'd peg them up as one of the best bargains around.

 

[trailbum]

I like that fox golok.
Looks like a good time.

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for the info. I have liked the look of the leatherneck since I saw it on their website. I love the grind and now that I get a better look at it I'm really liking the tang for a hidden tang knife. I have an infatuation going with the FOX Trapper model, I checked it out at Blade.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Curious about the Rock Creek. I've never got to the bottom of the composition of those, just that they are a proprietry steel. The other day I saw a lone transgression and they were listed somewhere as 1095. That's nothing like what I thought. I'm curious what you'll get from that...............................Can't see ya pics. Drat. I'm sure that's my end though.

The Rock Creek series uses HWS-1 which is a proprietary stainless. So definitely not 1095.

 

[upnorth]

Interesting post, thanks. Not interested in the Leatherneck, but I'm surprised\impressed with that tang. :thumbup:

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

The Rock Creek series uses HWS-1 which is a proprietary stainless. So definitely not 1095.

Correct, sorry I missed that. I just received them in the mail. They deserve a write up all there own. I can say that the first impression is overall great. The fit and finish is way better than I imagined, and the sheaths are unbelievable. Usually when spending around $80, you can get a serviceable blade, but the sheath is some nylon piece of junk, not the case here...I could imagine paying almost as much on just a sheath made in this fashion for some of my more expensive blades....
Initial carving is good, they came sharp...not up to my standards, but almost none do. Now if they hold an edge, they are winners. I will sharpen them up, and start some carving tonight. I have some birch wood in the house for just such an occasion.
I am going to come right out and say, I am most likely going to get some more of these...I will wait until I am 100% sure, but there are 2 more models that I really like. So far, so good on the Rock Creek!

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

Thanks for the info. I have liked the look of the leatherneck since I saw it on their website. I love the grind and now that I get a better look at it I'm really liking the tang for a hidden tang knife. I have an infatuation going with the FOX Trapper model, I checked it out at Blade.

If you can swing it, you won't be let down. I have another FOX on the wish list, the Pro Hunter, and I like the looks of the Jungle survival as well. The knives are made to be used, and the weird looking handles are very comfortable.

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

I envisage quite a bit of overlap with that Leatherneck also being handy at field work as well as anything else. It seems to have overcome the major beef I had with my SOG Government – Had the grind been full height I could have got more cutting power from it................................... I don't mind small tasteful logos. I don't like big garish adverts. I prefer to drive an understated Merc with a tasteful logo than a fantastic Porsche with a NASCAR style paint job with Porsche written all over it. This quirk covers everything in my world. I saw a SOG Stingray Mino recently - it was interesting to me because it is laminated VG-10 like Fällkniven have, and I didn't know they did that. Even if the design of the knife was to my taste the hideous logo cut out would nerf it. Frankly I'd rather carry a £13 Magnum Cuisine II just on the strength of the more tasteful presentation regardless of any other factors. I know, funny peculiar............................... I was thinking [optimistically] that the HW-1 steel might be akin to D2. If that's right I'd peg them up as one of the best bargains around.

I hear what you are saying..the logo on the blade is deeply etched as well, you can see in my pics, I had just buffed that Leatherneck on a buffing wheel, and the logo is still clear as day.
I will say, Cold Steel did there homework on this one, the handle is very ergo friendly. I like the ramps on the sides towards the guard..it allows for a reverse draw grip, and the indented sides really work for a solid grip.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Great post Gene

Hope all is well!!

 

[Daniel L]

Great to hear the Leatherneck is holding up. On paper it looks like a good one - full flat ground 3/16" carbon steel goodness in a proven pattern.
I hate top guards too... great work!