- Joined
- Sep 26, 2013
- Messages
- 2,466
Early this summer, my family will be taking a 5 night back packing trip to Gannet Peak, in Wyoming. One way, we will be hiking 12+ miles each day for two days.
Thus, weight is a real concern. I would feel under knifed with anything smaller than a 5 inch blade, as conditions are unpredictable and I could need to baton/chop wood for fires. (Normally I just gather small sticks when backpacking, but in a storm, I might not be able to travel far from camp.)
Last November, in this thread, you guys recommended that I work with Big Chris to complete the perfect knife for my needs. After exchanging a few emails, we decided on a knife with these features:
Blade length: 5 inches
Steel: M4 @ 0.1 thickness
Handle material: Natural linen Micarta
Sheath: Kydex
Grind: Full flat
Weight: 5 oz w/no sheath; 6.5 oz w/sheath
Here is a design (top one in the picture) that Chris came up with after looking at a few pictures that I provided:
Here are a few work-in-progress shots that he gave me:
Fast forward to today. I just got the knife! It is awesome--thanks for making such a great knife, Chris!
Time to take it out and test it.
First up: feather sticking. It worked swell, as would be expected for a sharp, slicy knife.
Next: light batoning for kindling. Again, it performed flawlessly.
Next: I know this knife wasn't designed for it, but how about some chopping. Once again, it worked! Of course, it's not a BK9, but with light strokes it cleared a 3 inch section of 2x4 in about 15 strokes.
That's it for now. Future tests will include slicing food.
More pictures:
Thus, weight is a real concern. I would feel under knifed with anything smaller than a 5 inch blade, as conditions are unpredictable and I could need to baton/chop wood for fires. (Normally I just gather small sticks when backpacking, but in a storm, I might not be able to travel far from camp.)
Last November, in this thread, you guys recommended that I work with Big Chris to complete the perfect knife for my needs. After exchanging a few emails, we decided on a knife with these features:
Blade length: 5 inches
Steel: M4 @ 0.1 thickness
Handle material: Natural linen Micarta
Sheath: Kydex
Grind: Full flat
Weight: 5 oz w/no sheath; 6.5 oz w/sheath
Here is a design (top one in the picture) that Chris came up with after looking at a few pictures that I provided:
Here are a few work-in-progress shots that he gave me:
Fast forward to today. I just got the knife! It is awesome--thanks for making such a great knife, Chris!
Time to take it out and test it.
First up: feather sticking. It worked swell, as would be expected for a sharp, slicy knife.
Next: light batoning for kindling. Again, it performed flawlessly.
Next: I know this knife wasn't designed for it, but how about some chopping. Once again, it worked! Of course, it's not a BK9, but with light strokes it cleared a 3 inch section of 2x4 in about 15 strokes.
That's it for now. Future tests will include slicing food.
More pictures:
