I Never Thought I Would View The CLAX as "Wimpy"......

harkamus said:
I never cared for smatchets. This thing is more like a gladius!
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taking another look at some smashets, yeah the blade is a lot slimmer but still, one interesting hunk of steel

Claxton said:
There are Smatchets bringing over 2K these days !!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AF-COMBAT-SMATCHET-NO-25MADE-OREGON-USA-REX-APPLEGATE-FAIRBAIRN-NAMES-BL-/190601802067?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item2c60c0b153
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thats pretty intense but were they ground out of 1/2' bar stock of S90v? I think the labor alone would merit a 2k easy. plus the gold and finishing touches. yowza.
 
I believe the one above started out as 5/8 or 3/4 stock. Thickness at the ricasso is reportedly OVER 1/2 inch finished and the "butt cone" looks to have required upward of 3/4 inch. Hard to tell from the photos though so I will mic the dimensions when it arrives. True this one looks much closer to the "Gladius" style with a much narrower blade. I think of the"Smatchet" types, the Bark River CLAX is my personal favorite. The wider and much flatter looking early ones don't do much for me either. The only thing I would have done differently on the CLAX would have been a full intregral guard, tang, and pommel as used here
 
Tell you what, send it on over to me, and I will tell you how it throws........


Just saying. 32 ounces, .5 thick integral begs to be thrown.........

I know you won't be able to bring your self to do it, so I am volunteering my throwing talents, because I am a giver!
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I'd say it looks more like a Greek "xiphos" than a gladius. More of a leaf blade than a wasp waist.
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Or maybe a bit pugio-like?

Pugio-big.jpg
 
brets-ftw said:
taking another look at some smashets, yeah the blade is a lot slimmer but still, one interesting hunk of steel
thats pretty intense but were they ground out of 1/2' bar stock of S90v? I think the labor alone would merit a 2k easy. plus the gold and finishing touches. yowza.
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I showed photos of the beast to a couple of knife makers I know this afternoon. They both agreed that starting with a bar of s90v would entail a long wait just to obtain the metal, and one hell of alot of work thereafter. One said months of grinding and shaping and the other maybe less working more hours. In either case, neither of them said they would tackle anything like that, and those who would might start at 5K ......... (start !?!). It's nothing to see customs going for 8 or 10 thousand dollars these days, so who knows on one like this. While I can appreciate fancy metals, engraving, file work, exotic handle materials, and so on, there is just something to be said for the beauty of simplicity. I won't go into specifics, but it was worth every cent to me. I think I could double my money in a weeks time if I put a few feelers out. But needless to say......... it will be a very long time before this one sees the market again, if ever. One of the few knives in my collection that I immediately dropped the cash with no questions asked, it's that nice and unusual.
 
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