- Joined
- Apr 8, 2004
- Messages
- 187
Last year, I replied to a post from Scott Gossman of Razorback knives looking for someone to conduct a long-term test of his semi-skinner knife. Ill admit I had never heard of this knife maker, but the chance to use someone elses knife, free, sure held its own appeal. After an email or two, we agreed that Id use it and try my best not to abuse (no concrete chopping, prying, etc) his knife for six to nine months and report my feedback. The knife arrived quickly and it included a leather sheath, honing stone and directions for use in the field.
Now a word of warning to you, fellow knife fans I have written this in a style that is informative and liberally sprinkled with humor and a splash of sarcasm. So, with that said, on to the review
Dimensions: 8 ½ inches long, blade length 4 ½ inches long, handle at its thickest ¾ of an inch, blade at its highest point from spine to edge 1 1/16 and lastly, blade thickness 1/8.
Steel type: D2 Tool Steel. D2 is a high carbon, high chromium heat treatable tool steel intended for applications requiring high wear resistance. Typical applications include, Blanking Dies & Punches, Thread Roll Dies, Trim Dies, Mold Inserts, Injection Screw Components, Draw Dies, Forming Rolls & Dies and Gauges.
Handle material: Jigged bone. This natural material provides an excellent grip when damp or wet. Dampness encountered during use was most often from dunking the knife in water to rinse off blood or miscellaneous innards from game being skinned or butchered. The handle of Scotts semi-skinner dried quickly and stayed dimensionally stable over the past year. This is important, Ive had prior experiences where the handle swelled or cracked or split in half from repeated exposure to moisture.
Blade style and impressions: The knife arrived ready for action straight out of the bag. The semi-skinner shape lends itself to all those routine things like skinning game (as if you didnt figure that out), general butchering, slicing open stuff (ammunition boxes, mail etc), an emergency blister relief tool and general camp tasks.
It was sharp upon receipt, but not in the way, some would think. By that I mean, Ive received many a knife that was shaving sharp but it could not cut a thing. This knife was different, the grind was no-nonsense and while it failed the arm-hair-shaving-test, it could slice though a piece of 3 thick steak as if it was butter. What, youre asking yourself, Atlasfields, you used this knife to cut steaks? Well of course deer, bear, elk, a smallish gazelle and a ground hog (long story, dont ask!) Game dressing was a breeze and trimming between ribs and slicing through joints proved easy. Even tough muscle yielded to the sharp edge and peeled away from the blade as if it were Teflon coated. You can attribute that to the thickness and height of the blade.
The D2 steel lends it self very well to this style of knife and its intended mission. The edge stayed sharp even after yours truly hit more then a bone or two during its use. As a bonus, especially for someone whos not known for being a master sharpener, edge touch up was a total no-brainer. It does of course it needs to be mentioned that some care and no small degree of common sense is required on part of the owner to realize this is not a dive knife. Due to its D2 construction and possessing high carbon content, you would be wise to wash it in hot, soapy water, rinse well and dry it promptly after use. Otherwise, this knife will rust.
Leather sheath: Nothing too fancy here, that is not a slam, just a fact. The sheath does however serve its intended purposes, securely holding the knife when not in use and protecting the user from unintentionally making contact with the blade. The leather is quite thick and it feels like it is lightly waxed. On the backside of the sheath, there is a very sturdy belt loop, which could not be torn off. Note to the reader; I did try once, by accident, and that loop just wouldnt tear (once again, long story.) Try to imagine a 225-pound man hanging from a tree, only being held from a painful impact with the ground, by the knife hes wearing that found itself wedged between two tree limbs.
I was pleasantly surprised with no loop to hold the knife in its sheath; the knife never once fell out. Friction fit alone was sufficient for all but the most strenuous activities around camp. Now, this warning is for all you mall ninjas and special operations want-a-bes this is not a tactical sheath and caution should be used during night operations, fast repelling, HALO jumps, submarine insertions, etc. The knife will most likely come out of the sheath and injure you or your fellow SpecOp's teammates.
Overall: Okay, enough of the good things, here are some cosmetic things that at first pass would have bothered me had I had to pay for this knife, but in no way would affect its use. There is minor pitting on the surface of the blade. Scott did mention that it had to do with his source of the D2 steel used in this knife and not a property of the steel itself. The brass pins used to hold the handles to the knife were a little too long and I used a hand file to smooth them down. Now were talking less then 1/16th on an inch, but just enough to cause a blister under hard or prolonged use. Lastly, very small gaps between the blade and the handle could provide a place for nasty things to grow in if the owner isnt mindful of camp side hygiene.
This is an excellent, hand made knife, which looks as good as it performs. The weight of the knife, overall size (length), handle thickness all helped it function at a level belaying its size. Quick in the hand, maneuverable and while in use, allows the user a degree of feedback not often found in knives today. I would categorize that last feature as an intangible, but an important intangible. You can feel the knife as it cuts. You can feel the grain of the meat as the knife is drawn though it. Does that make more sense? Im not sure if it does. I suppose its one of those things you have to experience to understand.
I guess the question youre thinking of is would Atlasfields buy this knife? The quick answer is yes. I could see this knife finding its way into my bag any time Im heading out on a hunt. Think of it this way its a big knife in a little package. Hey Scott, thats not a bad slogan huh?
Ps. Here is the link to Scotts website www.razorback-knives.com
Now a word of warning to you, fellow knife fans I have written this in a style that is informative and liberally sprinkled with humor and a splash of sarcasm. So, with that said, on to the review
Dimensions: 8 ½ inches long, blade length 4 ½ inches long, handle at its thickest ¾ of an inch, blade at its highest point from spine to edge 1 1/16 and lastly, blade thickness 1/8.
Steel type: D2 Tool Steel. D2 is a high carbon, high chromium heat treatable tool steel intended for applications requiring high wear resistance. Typical applications include, Blanking Dies & Punches, Thread Roll Dies, Trim Dies, Mold Inserts, Injection Screw Components, Draw Dies, Forming Rolls & Dies and Gauges.
Handle material: Jigged bone. This natural material provides an excellent grip when damp or wet. Dampness encountered during use was most often from dunking the knife in water to rinse off blood or miscellaneous innards from game being skinned or butchered. The handle of Scotts semi-skinner dried quickly and stayed dimensionally stable over the past year. This is important, Ive had prior experiences where the handle swelled or cracked or split in half from repeated exposure to moisture.
Blade style and impressions: The knife arrived ready for action straight out of the bag. The semi-skinner shape lends itself to all those routine things like skinning game (as if you didnt figure that out), general butchering, slicing open stuff (ammunition boxes, mail etc), an emergency blister relief tool and general camp tasks.
It was sharp upon receipt, but not in the way, some would think. By that I mean, Ive received many a knife that was shaving sharp but it could not cut a thing. This knife was different, the grind was no-nonsense and while it failed the arm-hair-shaving-test, it could slice though a piece of 3 thick steak as if it was butter. What, youre asking yourself, Atlasfields, you used this knife to cut steaks? Well of course deer, bear, elk, a smallish gazelle and a ground hog (long story, dont ask!) Game dressing was a breeze and trimming between ribs and slicing through joints proved easy. Even tough muscle yielded to the sharp edge and peeled away from the blade as if it were Teflon coated. You can attribute that to the thickness and height of the blade.
The D2 steel lends it self very well to this style of knife and its intended mission. The edge stayed sharp even after yours truly hit more then a bone or two during its use. As a bonus, especially for someone whos not known for being a master sharpener, edge touch up was a total no-brainer. It does of course it needs to be mentioned that some care and no small degree of common sense is required on part of the owner to realize this is not a dive knife. Due to its D2 construction and possessing high carbon content, you would be wise to wash it in hot, soapy water, rinse well and dry it promptly after use. Otherwise, this knife will rust.
Leather sheath: Nothing too fancy here, that is not a slam, just a fact. The sheath does however serve its intended purposes, securely holding the knife when not in use and protecting the user from unintentionally making contact with the blade. The leather is quite thick and it feels like it is lightly waxed. On the backside of the sheath, there is a very sturdy belt loop, which could not be torn off. Note to the reader; I did try once, by accident, and that loop just wouldnt tear (once again, long story.) Try to imagine a 225-pound man hanging from a tree, only being held from a painful impact with the ground, by the knife hes wearing that found itself wedged between two tree limbs.
I was pleasantly surprised with no loop to hold the knife in its sheath; the knife never once fell out. Friction fit alone was sufficient for all but the most strenuous activities around camp. Now, this warning is for all you mall ninjas and special operations want-a-bes this is not a tactical sheath and caution should be used during night operations, fast repelling, HALO jumps, submarine insertions, etc. The knife will most likely come out of the sheath and injure you or your fellow SpecOp's teammates.
Overall: Okay, enough of the good things, here are some cosmetic things that at first pass would have bothered me had I had to pay for this knife, but in no way would affect its use. There is minor pitting on the surface of the blade. Scott did mention that it had to do with his source of the D2 steel used in this knife and not a property of the steel itself. The brass pins used to hold the handles to the knife were a little too long and I used a hand file to smooth them down. Now were talking less then 1/16th on an inch, but just enough to cause a blister under hard or prolonged use. Lastly, very small gaps between the blade and the handle could provide a place for nasty things to grow in if the owner isnt mindful of camp side hygiene.
This is an excellent, hand made knife, which looks as good as it performs. The weight of the knife, overall size (length), handle thickness all helped it function at a level belaying its size. Quick in the hand, maneuverable and while in use, allows the user a degree of feedback not often found in knives today. I would categorize that last feature as an intangible, but an important intangible. You can feel the knife as it cuts. You can feel the grain of the meat as the knife is drawn though it. Does that make more sense? Im not sure if it does. I suppose its one of those things you have to experience to understand.
I guess the question youre thinking of is would Atlasfields buy this knife? The quick answer is yes. I could see this knife finding its way into my bag any time Im heading out on a hunt. Think of it this way its a big knife in a little package. Hey Scott, thats not a bad slogan huh?
Ps. Here is the link to Scotts website www.razorback-knives.com
