This is not a regular review.
Rarely does one get the chance or rather the direct instructions to ruin one of Jerry Hossom millenium Bowie fighters.
I had this rare chance - and I - reluctantly - took it.
I set out to ruin Jerrys 8" Millenium Bowie that up to that point has been the number one knife in my collection
How does one go about doing that?
Well, sit back and listen to my story:
During a conversation with Jerry, I almost jokingly suggested / asked if any of his knives could be broken while fighting with it
Jerry was shocked at first, and then said very bluntly this could not happen in no regular cutting task - no matter how hard the material or tough the person - none of my knives would break like that
It was a long and heated debate over the email one that ended when Jerry said:
GO ahead - I dare you to ruin your knife I tried to weasel out of it I really didnt like the idea of even cutting anything with it - this has been my loyal night drawer knife the one you reach out to when awoken in the middle of the night (as soon as the ammo in the P-14 runs out of course all 6 magazines that is)
(Side note: I never use any of my fighting knives- they all maintain their original sharpness so theyll be ready when THAT day comes...users get used and sharpened- fighters never do )
But Jerry has already made up his mind: he said - dont try to ruin it - I want you to destroy it! I want you to know what it takes
And then he said - Ill make you another one - better then the one you currently have (how can it get any better??)
So on a lovely Saturday morning I set out to my garden to destroy my favorite knife
This is the knife before I started: (Spyderco Gunting for size comparison)
http://hossom.com/pix2/
Ive cut anything I found and it did nothing to impress the knife like trying to race a STI / WRX Subaru in a parking lot the knife never even revved...wood, rope, plastic, boxes nothing
Among other things I cut in half was a soda can filled with water (to simulate the test described in the last issue of blade magazine) my swing was so effective it went through the base on which the can was placed
This is the second image on the link above - and you can see the cut on the white board which shows I am right handed..
Seeing this is the case I proceeded to cut the board itself in half this is the cover of a drawer made of dense plywood and lots of other s#$hit in it too Jerry said this stuff is very hard on knives cause it has other elements in it but wood, pieces of junk, metal, what not - I couldnt notice anything the knife simply chewed it and spit it out.
Here is the end result:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0001.html
By now I was getting tired and frustrated. So I took out a log I kept in my yard for more then 6 months. This is VERY tough wood and it is dry as hell - hence - the worst thing you could try and cut with a knife
I started throwing cuts in it from all directions - and prying the blade out after it was stuck in the wood this was hard for me but had no visible effect on the knife...this is where I lost any trace of desire to let this knife walk away from this test
Here is how the log looked like, after repeated cuts and stabs:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0002.html
By now I wasnt cutting anymore - I was stabbing and snapping it out
Now we are not talking Busse blade geometry (refereed to by many as a pry bar with a sharp edge) this is a-lighter-and-faster-than-the-eye-can-catch-Hossom-fighter still it snapped and snapped once I got it stuck so deep I had to bend it 85-90 (!!) degrees sideways to get it out
Jerry later said hed love to see a picture of this one well - I was too scared it will snap and fly, I let it go back easily and bent the tip some 25 degrees
Without any ceremonies I stuck it back and straiten it as best I could by applying force to the other direction
After numerous other attempts I finally did it I broke the tip! At the time it was broken, it was stuck in the log a good 2 inches deep and broke while being snapped out
Here is that gruesome moment:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0003.html
Jerry later commented that trying to pry out of this dry wood with or against the thread of the wood is mighty different and I was constantly snapping against the direction of the threads
Any way I pried out the piece and sent them off to Jerry for him to study them
Here are the pieces:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0004.html
In this image you can see the broken knife along with the upper section of the log - notice the amount of damage it sustained from cuts and slashes..
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0005.html
I now wait for my new Hossom and still feel sorry to ruin such a fine knife.
The conclusion is simple: I cant see a way to destroy this knife in any regular way apart from intentionally placing it in a vise and bending it repeatedly...and that takes a lot of effort too...
Actually - I think the wood was even harder on the knife then a wise, and the reason is this:
A wise - tightly closed - will not allow any movement in the blade hence keeping the stress and pressure at the point the wise grips the blade - the leverage is therefor kept at that point. The wood on the other hand allows the knife to swing sideways hence putting the pressure at a lower point- towards the tip and the leverage also grows I think that is what got the tip to break eventually
Rarely does one get the chance or rather the direct instructions to ruin one of Jerry Hossom millenium Bowie fighters.
I had this rare chance - and I - reluctantly - took it.
I set out to ruin Jerrys 8" Millenium Bowie that up to that point has been the number one knife in my collection
How does one go about doing that?
Well, sit back and listen to my story:
During a conversation with Jerry, I almost jokingly suggested / asked if any of his knives could be broken while fighting with it
Jerry was shocked at first, and then said very bluntly this could not happen in no regular cutting task - no matter how hard the material or tough the person - none of my knives would break like that
It was a long and heated debate over the email one that ended when Jerry said:
GO ahead - I dare you to ruin your knife I tried to weasel out of it I really didnt like the idea of even cutting anything with it - this has been my loyal night drawer knife the one you reach out to when awoken in the middle of the night (as soon as the ammo in the P-14 runs out of course all 6 magazines that is)
(Side note: I never use any of my fighting knives- they all maintain their original sharpness so theyll be ready when THAT day comes...users get used and sharpened- fighters never do )
But Jerry has already made up his mind: he said - dont try to ruin it - I want you to destroy it! I want you to know what it takes
And then he said - Ill make you another one - better then the one you currently have (how can it get any better??)
So on a lovely Saturday morning I set out to my garden to destroy my favorite knife
This is the knife before I started: (Spyderco Gunting for size comparison)
http://hossom.com/pix2/
Ive cut anything I found and it did nothing to impress the knife like trying to race a STI / WRX Subaru in a parking lot the knife never even revved...wood, rope, plastic, boxes nothing
Among other things I cut in half was a soda can filled with water (to simulate the test described in the last issue of blade magazine) my swing was so effective it went through the base on which the can was placed
This is the second image on the link above - and you can see the cut on the white board which shows I am right handed..
Seeing this is the case I proceeded to cut the board itself in half this is the cover of a drawer made of dense plywood and lots of other s#$hit in it too Jerry said this stuff is very hard on knives cause it has other elements in it but wood, pieces of junk, metal, what not - I couldnt notice anything the knife simply chewed it and spit it out.
Here is the end result:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0001.html
By now I was getting tired and frustrated. So I took out a log I kept in my yard for more then 6 months. This is VERY tough wood and it is dry as hell - hence - the worst thing you could try and cut with a knife
I started throwing cuts in it from all directions - and prying the blade out after it was stuck in the wood this was hard for me but had no visible effect on the knife...this is where I lost any trace of desire to let this knife walk away from this test
Here is how the log looked like, after repeated cuts and stabs:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0002.html
By now I wasnt cutting anymore - I was stabbing and snapping it out
Now we are not talking Busse blade geometry (refereed to by many as a pry bar with a sharp edge) this is a-lighter-and-faster-than-the-eye-can-catch-Hossom-fighter still it snapped and snapped once I got it stuck so deep I had to bend it 85-90 (!!) degrees sideways to get it out
Jerry later said hed love to see a picture of this one well - I was too scared it will snap and fly, I let it go back easily and bent the tip some 25 degrees
Without any ceremonies I stuck it back and straiten it as best I could by applying force to the other direction
After numerous other attempts I finally did it I broke the tip! At the time it was broken, it was stuck in the log a good 2 inches deep and broke while being snapped out
Here is that gruesome moment:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0003.html
Jerry later commented that trying to pry out of this dry wood with or against the thread of the wood is mighty different and I was constantly snapping against the direction of the threads
Any way I pried out the piece and sent them off to Jerry for him to study them
Here are the pieces:
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0004.html
In this image you can see the broken knife along with the upper section of the log - notice the amount of damage it sustained from cuts and slashes..
http://hossom.com/pix2/index_page0005.html
I now wait for my new Hossom and still feel sorry to ruin such a fine knife.
The conclusion is simple: I cant see a way to destroy this knife in any regular way apart from intentionally placing it in a vise and bending it repeatedly...and that takes a lot of effort too...
Actually - I think the wood was even harder on the knife then a wise, and the reason is this:
A wise - tightly closed - will not allow any movement in the blade hence keeping the stress and pressure at the point the wise grips the blade - the leverage is therefor kept at that point. The wood on the other hand allows the knife to swing sideways hence putting the pressure at a lower point- towards the tip and the leverage also grows I think that is what got the tip to break eventually
