- Joined
- Jan 17, 1999
- Messages
- 539
The Jens Anso BIG False Edge Hunter:
Let me start by stating that Jens is a great person to order a knife from. He responds ASAP to questions and has shown himself to be willing to work with a customer to ensure they have exactly what they want. When I first saw his posting asking for folks to review his knives I took a look at his site and decided to give it a try. I have enjoyed every bit of the experience. His site is HERE
I initially requested his false edge hunter but asked for two changes. First, I wanted to try the damasteel A stainless version of damascus from the folks at Damasteel but was unable to determine much from their website as the graphics are not up to snuff IMO. Jens promptly copied and emailed his pictures from their brochure for me to choose from. I decided to go with the Odin's Eye pattern. Second, I wanted a bit more length in the blade and Jens provided detailed sketches of what the design would look like and after slimming down the width of the handle to ½" he was ready to go.
He met his stated delivery time and kept to the initial quote. Both plusses in my rating system
Fur Not included in the purchase price
Well, I received my knife Monday. I am one happy camper. Jens has done an overall outstanding job on this piece. The handle is composed of three separate types of wood and is put together like a fine jewelry box. Nicely figured emburl composes the majority of the handle and it is accented with Wenge and has a false bolster of Cocobolo. VERY nicely put together. One of my co-workers even said, "How in the Hell did he get those details in the wood?" The blade is of damasteel as I stated earlier, with nice even grind lines and a very nice plunge. He even added some decorative filework on the spine as an accent.
It came shaving sharp and set to a 20-degree angle, which I like on a knife that will suffer impacts from time to time. The false edge is brought to a very thin grind and would be very easy to sharpen were one so inclined. My wife saw it and immediately said "Hey you could sharpen that, flip it upside down and make it do double duty as a vegetable chopper" (Not a bad idea, but I like it as is, and live in TX where double edged is a no no.) The overall feel of the knife is light and lively with the balance just at the edge of the handle. Where the handle and blade meet has been sealed with a clear epoxy and while it will serve nicely to keep gunk from penetrating the juncture, I wish the epoxy were completely invisible. A really minor gripe
It is a slim package and came in a well executed and solid feeling sheath that is well fitted to the knife. It almost locks into place when inserted. He makes these using "Halftanned" leather. Then it spent the night in the kitchen with me, as that is where most of my knives get their workouts.
I set aside my usual BJ 1-7 that serves as my "everything" knife and prepared a chicken stirfry. The knife naturally indexes itself into a saber grip by virtue of the handle shape. The bottom of the fishtail sits naturally between the pinkie and ring finger and makes for a secure grip even when covered with chicken fat. I beat the heck out of a couple of chickens with it. One was frozen and one was fresh. I had no problems with the blade rolling or chipping out on bones and found that the swedge makes a very useful tool to pry apart unwilling joints. I had a great time using it. After I was done with the chicken and vegetables, I cut up some tomatoes for my youngest and as an experiment set the knife aside for the night. When I checked it in the morning there was no noticeable staining although the pattern in the damascus was more visible. (Rinse, wring, use again.)
Overall, Jens makes a great knife. I will be sure to post more on it as I use it. His false edge hunter is slim and ergonomic package with wonderful lines.
As this is my first review, I am sure I have not covered all the significant areas so feel free to ask anything you wish.
Thanks for reading.
Sam.
[This message has been edited by SammyB (edited 04 August 1999).]
Let me start by stating that Jens is a great person to order a knife from. He responds ASAP to questions and has shown himself to be willing to work with a customer to ensure they have exactly what they want. When I first saw his posting asking for folks to review his knives I took a look at his site and decided to give it a try. I have enjoyed every bit of the experience. His site is HERE
I initially requested his false edge hunter but asked for two changes. First, I wanted to try the damasteel A stainless version of damascus from the folks at Damasteel but was unable to determine much from their website as the graphics are not up to snuff IMO. Jens promptly copied and emailed his pictures from their brochure for me to choose from. I decided to go with the Odin's Eye pattern. Second, I wanted a bit more length in the blade and Jens provided detailed sketches of what the design would look like and after slimming down the width of the handle to ½" he was ready to go.
He met his stated delivery time and kept to the initial quote. Both plusses in my rating system
Fur Not included in the purchase price
Well, I received my knife Monday. I am one happy camper. Jens has done an overall outstanding job on this piece. The handle is composed of three separate types of wood and is put together like a fine jewelry box. Nicely figured emburl composes the majority of the handle and it is accented with Wenge and has a false bolster of Cocobolo. VERY nicely put together. One of my co-workers even said, "How in the Hell did he get those details in the wood?" The blade is of damasteel as I stated earlier, with nice even grind lines and a very nice plunge. He even added some decorative filework on the spine as an accent.
It came shaving sharp and set to a 20-degree angle, which I like on a knife that will suffer impacts from time to time. The false edge is brought to a very thin grind and would be very easy to sharpen were one so inclined. My wife saw it and immediately said "Hey you could sharpen that, flip it upside down and make it do double duty as a vegetable chopper" (Not a bad idea, but I like it as is, and live in TX where double edged is a no no.) The overall feel of the knife is light and lively with the balance just at the edge of the handle. Where the handle and blade meet has been sealed with a clear epoxy and while it will serve nicely to keep gunk from penetrating the juncture, I wish the epoxy were completely invisible. A really minor gripe
It is a slim package and came in a well executed and solid feeling sheath that is well fitted to the knife. It almost locks into place when inserted. He makes these using "Halftanned" leather. Then it spent the night in the kitchen with me, as that is where most of my knives get their workouts.
I set aside my usual BJ 1-7 that serves as my "everything" knife and prepared a chicken stirfry. The knife naturally indexes itself into a saber grip by virtue of the handle shape. The bottom of the fishtail sits naturally between the pinkie and ring finger and makes for a secure grip even when covered with chicken fat. I beat the heck out of a couple of chickens with it. One was frozen and one was fresh. I had no problems with the blade rolling or chipping out on bones and found that the swedge makes a very useful tool to pry apart unwilling joints. I had a great time using it. After I was done with the chicken and vegetables, I cut up some tomatoes for my youngest and as an experiment set the knife aside for the night. When I checked it in the morning there was no noticeable staining although the pattern in the damascus was more visible. (Rinse, wring, use again.)
Overall, Jens makes a great knife. I will be sure to post more on it as I use it. His false edge hunter is slim and ergonomic package with wonderful lines.
As this is my first review, I am sure I have not covered all the significant areas so feel free to ask anything you wish.
Thanks for reading.
Sam.
[This message has been edited by SammyB (edited 04 August 1999).]
