- Joined
- Feb 4, 1999
- Messages
- 5,786
A full review is forthcoming, but I jusr received this knife today so I thought I'd relay my initial impressions. I will have to email the person I got the knife from to find out its age because it is a bit different from another Greco I made a sheath for in the last year.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I unwrapped the package. I knew the knife had Micarta handles, but I naturally assumed black slabs with a matching black sheath. The slabs are a distinctive orange color instead! I don't know if these are the color of what is called "natural" Micarta or if these are actually an orange color. In any case, it is a typical Greco piece...1/4" thick A-2 coated to reduce corrosion. It is hollow ground and has a 5" clip blade with 5.5" or so handle. There is an integral guard and an exposed butt for hammering or the like. Holes are drilled in the butt for lanyard and there is a hole in the guard as well.
The blade has a swedge (unsharpended false edge) and all of the grinds are pretty close to symmetrical. The edge is thick, but sharp. Three allen bolts keep the handles on. There is an inch and a half or so of jimping on the spine of the tang/choil intersection, giving good thumb traction. The jimping is nicely rounded, so no cheese-grater effect here!
The choil is stamped "GRECO" on one side and "A" on the other, denoting A-2 stock was used.
The handle seems too long to me. I think taking an inch off of its total length would work great. This would be fine with gloves on, though. The knife is very heavy and the balance point is 4.5" forward from the end of the tang. Despite having only a 5" blade, you could do some pretty serious chopping with this thing. John's knives beg to be beaten hard!
One thing I will say is that quality control is lacking on this knife. Greco's knives are definitely using pieces, so they lack some of the finish of more expensive knives, but this one has a few things that just plain look like sloppy QC (which is why I'd like to find out if it is a new or old model). One handle slab fits the tang perfectly, but the other is off (a little small) by about 1mm all that way around. Strange. The other gripe is that there are very deep grind lines evident all the way around the profile of the blade and tang (except where the edge is, of course). It wouldn't take long to clean up the grind lines before coating the blade, so maybe this one slipped through the cracks or something. The coating fills them is pretty well, and they aren't abrasive on the hand, but they are sloppy-looking.
Finally, the sheath is very nice. Very rich brown leather with a nice;y formed loop and a snap to hold the knife securely in place. It is a very well-made sheath, and it suits the knife well. I was going to make a Kydex sheath for it, but I think I like the leather too much to ditch it! A lot of character, certainly. Overall, an A-2 semi-production knife with a protective coating and high quality leather sheath is a bargain at the sub-$100 asking price, so the few QC measures are understandable. I like every knife of John's that I see, and this one is no different, especially with its distinctive orange scales! I'll have a full review at a later date...
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My Knife & Sheath Pages:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/frames.html
Palmer College of Chiropractic
Sheath Makers Referral Directory
agocs_s@dd.palmer.edu
Madpoet (Mel Sorg, Jr.) Tribute page:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/madpoet/main.html
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I unwrapped the package. I knew the knife had Micarta handles, but I naturally assumed black slabs with a matching black sheath. The slabs are a distinctive orange color instead! I don't know if these are the color of what is called "natural" Micarta or if these are actually an orange color. In any case, it is a typical Greco piece...1/4" thick A-2 coated to reduce corrosion. It is hollow ground and has a 5" clip blade with 5.5" or so handle. There is an integral guard and an exposed butt for hammering or the like. Holes are drilled in the butt for lanyard and there is a hole in the guard as well.
The blade has a swedge (unsharpended false edge) and all of the grinds are pretty close to symmetrical. The edge is thick, but sharp. Three allen bolts keep the handles on. There is an inch and a half or so of jimping on the spine of the tang/choil intersection, giving good thumb traction. The jimping is nicely rounded, so no cheese-grater effect here!
The handle seems too long to me. I think taking an inch off of its total length would work great. This would be fine with gloves on, though. The knife is very heavy and the balance point is 4.5" forward from the end of the tang. Despite having only a 5" blade, you could do some pretty serious chopping with this thing. John's knives beg to be beaten hard!
One thing I will say is that quality control is lacking on this knife. Greco's knives are definitely using pieces, so they lack some of the finish of more expensive knives, but this one has a few things that just plain look like sloppy QC (which is why I'd like to find out if it is a new or old model). One handle slab fits the tang perfectly, but the other is off (a little small) by about 1mm all that way around. Strange. The other gripe is that there are very deep grind lines evident all the way around the profile of the blade and tang (except where the edge is, of course). It wouldn't take long to clean up the grind lines before coating the blade, so maybe this one slipped through the cracks or something. The coating fills them is pretty well, and they aren't abrasive on the hand, but they are sloppy-looking.
Finally, the sheath is very nice. Very rich brown leather with a nice;y formed loop and a snap to hold the knife securely in place. It is a very well-made sheath, and it suits the knife well. I was going to make a Kydex sheath for it, but I think I like the leather too much to ditch it! A lot of character, certainly. Overall, an A-2 semi-production knife with a protective coating and high quality leather sheath is a bargain at the sub-$100 asking price, so the few QC measures are understandable. I like every knife of John's that I see, and this one is no different, especially with its distinctive orange scales! I'll have a full review at a later date...
------------------
My Knife & Sheath Pages:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/frames.html
Palmer College of Chiropractic
Sheath Makers Referral Directory
agocs_s@dd.palmer.edu
Madpoet (Mel Sorg, Jr.) Tribute page:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/madpoet/main.html
