- Joined
- Dec 3, 2000
- Messages
- 3,002
About a year and a half ago I ordered up a Kellam Slasher, kinda on a whim. When it first arrived, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. With it's 7" blade I figured it was too long for typical pocket knife camp tasks, and too light to be any kinda chopper, so it sat in the safe for a few months while I scratched my head and pondered what to do with it.
Then about last summer I had an incredibly, novel, unheard of idea! I decided to take it out and try USING IT!!
So I stuffed it in my woodsloafing bag and started stomping around the woods with it.
#1 good observation- incredibly light, easy to carry knife, weighs less than some knives I have that are approximately half the length. The sheath is very well made, although like all leather it could use some conditioning now and then.
I decided to use it to make a small campfire, which brought me to
#2 observation: It was incredibly sharp, and truly amazingly nimble, and easy to control for fuzz sticks, kindling, etc. It's longish blade is pretty handy for batoning, but it's too light for much chopping. a non-green piece of birch about the diameter of your thumb is about the best it's gonna do in one swing, or snap cut, as the case may be.
It did camp kitchen work extremely well, and I then proceeded to fart around the campfire. Between the Leuku and a Coldsteel Trailhawk, I managed to make a pretty nice little bowl and a pretty primitive version of a drinking mug.
It was very FUN to whittle with. big power, but still sharp and nimble enough to do all but the very finest work.
The handle is very comfortable for my thick, short, fingered bear-pawish hands. It seemed to hold an edge very well, and it has come back every time thus far with very little trouble.
It's final testing was this week...I gave it to the wife....
She decided it was time to go out in the yard and harvest her rhubarb, nettle, yarrow, dandelions, etc. and I just kinda threw it at her and asked her to try it out and lemme know what she thought.
It sounds like light work, but there's something about that woman and knives....she has a very tender, delicate touch with everything EXCEPT my knives. she could break a khukuri in half trimming a rose bush, I swear it!
To make a long story short, she fell in love with the thing. said she'd never had a better knife for grubbin' 'round and plant gathering. The edge came back with a simple stropping. (STILL no chips, or serious dings!)
I might have failed to mention this, but it's one of the most absolutely, insanely sharp knives I've ever owned. How sharp? the night she'd gathered plants with it, I caught her shaving her legs with the darn thing.
The final test was today. After about five weeks on the slope my beard had gotten pretty unruly, and she decided to trim it for me. My electric beard trimmer which was always a POS just flat out didn't work at all today.
SO...yup! you got it. My wife trimmed my beard with a 7" bladed Leuku.
She did a helluva job of it, and the process was only slightly painful for me.
In short, I'm loving this thing. It's my new summer time stomping knife, and for me, it might be the ultimate answer to that stupid "if you could only have one...." question.
Then about last summer I had an incredibly, novel, unheard of idea! I decided to take it out and try USING IT!!
So I stuffed it in my woodsloafing bag and started stomping around the woods with it.
#1 good observation- incredibly light, easy to carry knife, weighs less than some knives I have that are approximately half the length. The sheath is very well made, although like all leather it could use some conditioning now and then.
I decided to use it to make a small campfire, which brought me to
#2 observation: It was incredibly sharp, and truly amazingly nimble, and easy to control for fuzz sticks, kindling, etc. It's longish blade is pretty handy for batoning, but it's too light for much chopping. a non-green piece of birch about the diameter of your thumb is about the best it's gonna do in one swing, or snap cut, as the case may be.
It did camp kitchen work extremely well, and I then proceeded to fart around the campfire. Between the Leuku and a Coldsteel Trailhawk, I managed to make a pretty nice little bowl and a pretty primitive version of a drinking mug.
It was very FUN to whittle with. big power, but still sharp and nimble enough to do all but the very finest work.
The handle is very comfortable for my thick, short, fingered bear-pawish hands. It seemed to hold an edge very well, and it has come back every time thus far with very little trouble.
It's final testing was this week...I gave it to the wife....
She decided it was time to go out in the yard and harvest her rhubarb, nettle, yarrow, dandelions, etc. and I just kinda threw it at her and asked her to try it out and lemme know what she thought.
It sounds like light work, but there's something about that woman and knives....she has a very tender, delicate touch with everything EXCEPT my knives. she could break a khukuri in half trimming a rose bush, I swear it!
To make a long story short, she fell in love with the thing. said she'd never had a better knife for grubbin' 'round and plant gathering. The edge came back with a simple stropping. (STILL no chips, or serious dings!)
I might have failed to mention this, but it's one of the most absolutely, insanely sharp knives I've ever owned. How sharp? the night she'd gathered plants with it, I caught her shaving her legs with the darn thing.
The final test was today. After about five weeks on the slope my beard had gotten pretty unruly, and she decided to trim it for me. My electric beard trimmer which was always a POS just flat out didn't work at all today.
SO...yup! you got it. My wife trimmed my beard with a 7" bladed Leuku.
She did a helluva job of it, and the process was only slightly painful for me.
In short, I'm loving this thing. It's my new summer time stomping knife, and for me, it might be the ultimate answer to that stupid "if you could only have one...." question.
Can't wait ! 
