- Joined
- Mar 21, 2005
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- 3,355
This review is for the Kerry Hapmton back pocket knife that is set up as a permanent passaround here at Bladeforums. If you want to check out a custom slipjoint I highly recommend you sign up when the next round is organized.
Given that I have about 40 pictures here I thumbnailed them to keep the thread 56K friendly. If you want to peruse all of the pictures in an album format you can use the following link. http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/jujigatame/Knives/KH Backpocket/
First, the quality and construction of this knife is excellent. It is very smooth and solid. All of the surfaces your hand comes in contact with are cleanly finished. There are no gaps or mismatches. It feels all of a piece and that does a lot to inspire confidence in the knife’s durability.
The walk and talk on the back pocket is great. A firm spring gives strong snap into the open, half, and closed positions. The spring is flush against the liners in all positions and sits perfectly against the blade tang when the knife is open. The liners are relieved as well.
The blade steel is A2 and it held a great edge through all the cutting I did. I love the look that the A2 has from the etch Kerry gave it and from the all the use it has gotten so far. To me it’s a look that says the knife earns its keep as a hard working tool. The blade profile was quite good for everyday use. There is enough belly for cutting into a sandwich or making a rocking cut through a piece of cord. There is more than enough straight edge for slicing through paper or cardboard. The tip worked well for piercing through a plastic blister pack though, ultimately, my personal preference in single blade folder would be for something with a more acute point.
How does the knife feel in your hand when you’re doing all this cutting? In a word – great. As mentioned above the handle is smoothly finished. Nothing could poke or abrade against my hand. The shape of the handle really filled my hand nicely and gave a very secure feeling that my grip would hold steady.
Note that for the type of grip shown below where I choke up on the handle and put my index finger along the spine the top to bottom width at the end of the handle really allows the knife to sit firmly in my palm. Still comfortable and still secure.
Now I have some pictures to compare the back pocket’s size and shape with my other traditionals that see regular carry.
Against the A.G. Russell Medium Gunstock Lockback. The AGR gunstock is a tank of a folder with a thicker blade and bolsters at both ends. The back pocket is almost as long but much slimmer and lighter overall.
Against the GEC #48 single blade slim trapper. A much closer match here in size and shape. The blade is slightly broader on the back pocket. The thickness is a pretty close match. The handle doesn’t look that much bigger from some angles but when you hold the knife you can really feel the difference.
Against a Schrade Uncle Henry 885 stockman. A slimmer handle top to bottom on the 885 but that is partially offset by the protrustion of the sheepsfoot blade. The 885 is thicker with the multiple blades but not by a lot. The difference in that dimension seems more noticeable in hand than on paper.
*continued in next post*
Given that I have about 40 pictures here I thumbnailed them to keep the thread 56K friendly. If you want to peruse all of the pictures in an album format you can use the following link. http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/jujigatame/Knives/KH Backpocket/
First, the quality and construction of this knife is excellent. It is very smooth and solid. All of the surfaces your hand comes in contact with are cleanly finished. There are no gaps or mismatches. It feels all of a piece and that does a lot to inspire confidence in the knife’s durability.
The walk and talk on the back pocket is great. A firm spring gives strong snap into the open, half, and closed positions. The spring is flush against the liners in all positions and sits perfectly against the blade tang when the knife is open. The liners are relieved as well.
The blade steel is A2 and it held a great edge through all the cutting I did. I love the look that the A2 has from the etch Kerry gave it and from the all the use it has gotten so far. To me it’s a look that says the knife earns its keep as a hard working tool. The blade profile was quite good for everyday use. There is enough belly for cutting into a sandwich or making a rocking cut through a piece of cord. There is more than enough straight edge for slicing through paper or cardboard. The tip worked well for piercing through a plastic blister pack though, ultimately, my personal preference in single blade folder would be for something with a more acute point.
How does the knife feel in your hand when you’re doing all this cutting? In a word – great. As mentioned above the handle is smoothly finished. Nothing could poke or abrade against my hand. The shape of the handle really filled my hand nicely and gave a very secure feeling that my grip would hold steady.
Note that for the type of grip shown below where I choke up on the handle and put my index finger along the spine the top to bottom width at the end of the handle really allows the knife to sit firmly in my palm. Still comfortable and still secure.
Now I have some pictures to compare the back pocket’s size and shape with my other traditionals that see regular carry.
Against the A.G. Russell Medium Gunstock Lockback. The AGR gunstock is a tank of a folder with a thicker blade and bolsters at both ends. The back pocket is almost as long but much slimmer and lighter overall.
Against the GEC #48 single blade slim trapper. A much closer match here in size and shape. The blade is slightly broader on the back pocket. The thickness is a pretty close match. The handle doesn’t look that much bigger from some angles but when you hold the knife you can really feel the difference.
Against a Schrade Uncle Henry 885 stockman. A slimmer handle top to bottom on the 885 but that is partially offset by the protrustion of the sheepsfoot blade. The 885 is thicker with the multiple blades but not by a lot. The difference in that dimension seems more noticeable in hand than on paper.
*continued in next post*
