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- Jan 21, 2000
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I recently received the fighter pictured below from Jason Knight, one of ten in his Founders Bowie series. I asked Jason to put a single guard on mine rather than the double hilt designed for the series, and he kindly obliged. The reason was so that I could test the piece as a general camp knife.
Ordinarily, I would never think to use a fighter as a camp knife, as fighters are typically lightweight and built for nimble, slashing speed rather than being stout and durable and built for power chopping and general utility work. But through the collaborative efforts of Jason and Joe Paranee, a devout student of fighting knives and compatriot to some of the world's top makers of fighting bowies, this knife incorporates extreme geometry designed to enhance both agility and striking impact. I wanted to experience that for myself, and I'm delighted to say that now I have. In short, it works.
The 10" W2 blade is .350" thick at the ricasso, tapering to .32" at the start of the swedge grinds and then tapers at an extremely acute rate to an ice-pick point. (See photo of spine below).
The seminal idea behind this acute geometry is to achieve a fighter with plenty of heft to get the striking momentum of a freight train and still have a stiletto point that will dance under control like a Ferrari. The radical distal taper on this knife achieves that by keeping the weight back near the handle so it doesn't generate too much momentum in the forward part of the blade. The effect is remarkably successful in Jason's design, and I've not experienced anything else quite like it--seems I could just as quickly and gracefully stab a pickle from a jar or chop through a fence post with ease. Once I handled the knife, I was itching to try it.
I wanted to compare the new bowie with two of my favorite choppers, an Ontario 12" machete and a Busse Basic 11. I decided to use all three in some head-to-head work on ½" to 2 1/2" diameter aspen saplings I had been intending to remove from around our home.
I had set up the Ontario's edge with a razor convex micro-bevel, and I have modified the Busse's edge to an asymmetrical bevel, convexed on one side and flat on the other. These two knives are the very best I've found for light brush in this size range, such as might be encountered clearing trail or setting up a campsite. They are light and compact enough for general belt carry, and are at the outer limit of that size range in my opinion, both in weight and length. The 12" Ontario is nominally 1/8" thick and mine is actually a little under that. The Busse is ¼" thick and 11 ¼" long from handle to point. The Ontario weighs 16.5 oz. and the Busse 17.5 oz, which is exactly the weight of the Knight. The Ontario gets its chopping power from light-weight speed and enough length of blade to generate good momentum. The Busse relies on a combination of thick steel all the way to the point for weight behind the edge, plus its length, which also generates good momentum.
I did a little work with the Ontario and the Busse to refresh myself with their characteristics, which always impress me. Both are a joy to use. Then I picked up the Knight. As I began taking easy swings into the aspen, I was immediately impressed. The blade is almost 2" wide even out at the start of the clip, with a flat primary grind that is nicely acute down to almost a zero edge with just a micro bevel--a very high-efficiency cutting grind. With 1/3 inch of spine thickness behind it, the edge sinks extremely deep with very little effort. The sweet spot is not as far out along the blade as on either the Busse or the machete, as you can plainly see by the marks on the three blades in the photo below.
But the depth of bite from the Knight was at least the equal of the other two, and my impression was that it was not as easily deflected from its course at impact as either of the two longer, thinner blades. You can see a little of this in the angles of the three knives as they sit where they stopped after impact in the photo below.
None of these in the photo were swung with full-house power--just nice, controlled strokes as consistent as I could make them. Also, the thick upper blade on the Knight tended to spread the sides of deep cuts more than the other blades did, which seemed to reduce binding.
I'm frankly amazed that a shorter, thicker blade can keep up with these two extreme choppers at all, much less push them to their limit of efficiency and comfort. I felt very little vibration from the handle of the Knight--much less than I expected. It was very comfortable even at high impact, due I think to the damping effect of the thick steel near the handle on both sides of the guard, as well as the masterful contouring Jason sculpts into his grips. I would have thought the wood more likely to transmit vibration than the Resiprene (hard rubber) of the Busse or the molded polymer handle on the machete. But it was not an issue, and the way the smooth grip of the big Knight rocked back and forth in hand was truly a delight to experience.
So the question that presents itself to me now is, after finding the Knight to be so competitive with these two knives for their designed function as pure choppers (obviously not the Knight's mission): How could they possibly be compared with the Knight in the other area the Knight was designed for--agility. The answer is, in short, no way. The thick point of the Busse and the almost blunt point of the machete offer very little to compare with the extremely efficient cutting/penetrating point on the Knight, and the factor described earlier of enhanced control achieved with the extreme distal taper on the Knight puts it in an entirely different class when it comes to agility in-hand. For use as a camp cook's knife to deftly slice meat and vegetables or for general tasks like pull-cutting through rope or fashioning a piece of canvas or rip-stop tarp into functional shape, I would ordinarily want something other than a machete or the big Busse, but the Knight is so delightfully quick and non-fatiguing to use that I doubt I'd ever bother hunting for another blade if it was handy for most camp chores.
Obviously, batonning with the Knight would best be restricted to pounding on the broad spine behind the clip, but in fact that area is ample and so thick that it invites heavy whacking without compunction. Also just as obviously, the tip on the Knight will in no way stand up to the prying sustainable by the Busse. However, in an emergency, if you had to jam a blade into something to break it open or make it move, and could get the thick part of the Knight's blade in place, it would obviously take more pressure than most men could exert to break it with nothing more than arm strength, even using leverage.
Conclusion: I believe I may have experienced in this knife the dawn of a new era in large blade design. I like it.
Ordinarily, I would never think to use a fighter as a camp knife, as fighters are typically lightweight and built for nimble, slashing speed rather than being stout and durable and built for power chopping and general utility work. But through the collaborative efforts of Jason and Joe Paranee, a devout student of fighting knives and compatriot to some of the world's top makers of fighting bowies, this knife incorporates extreme geometry designed to enhance both agility and striking impact. I wanted to experience that for myself, and I'm delighted to say that now I have. In short, it works.
The 10" W2 blade is .350" thick at the ricasso, tapering to .32" at the start of the swedge grinds and then tapers at an extremely acute rate to an ice-pick point. (See photo of spine below).
The seminal idea behind this acute geometry is to achieve a fighter with plenty of heft to get the striking momentum of a freight train and still have a stiletto point that will dance under control like a Ferrari. The radical distal taper on this knife achieves that by keeping the weight back near the handle so it doesn't generate too much momentum in the forward part of the blade. The effect is remarkably successful in Jason's design, and I've not experienced anything else quite like it--seems I could just as quickly and gracefully stab a pickle from a jar or chop through a fence post with ease. Once I handled the knife, I was itching to try it.
I wanted to compare the new bowie with two of my favorite choppers, an Ontario 12" machete and a Busse Basic 11. I decided to use all three in some head-to-head work on ½" to 2 1/2" diameter aspen saplings I had been intending to remove from around our home.
I had set up the Ontario's edge with a razor convex micro-bevel, and I have modified the Busse's edge to an asymmetrical bevel, convexed on one side and flat on the other. These two knives are the very best I've found for light brush in this size range, such as might be encountered clearing trail or setting up a campsite. They are light and compact enough for general belt carry, and are at the outer limit of that size range in my opinion, both in weight and length. The 12" Ontario is nominally 1/8" thick and mine is actually a little under that. The Busse is ¼" thick and 11 ¼" long from handle to point. The Ontario weighs 16.5 oz. and the Busse 17.5 oz, which is exactly the weight of the Knight. The Ontario gets its chopping power from light-weight speed and enough length of blade to generate good momentum. The Busse relies on a combination of thick steel all the way to the point for weight behind the edge, plus its length, which also generates good momentum.
I did a little work with the Ontario and the Busse to refresh myself with their characteristics, which always impress me. Both are a joy to use. Then I picked up the Knight. As I began taking easy swings into the aspen, I was immediately impressed. The blade is almost 2" wide even out at the start of the clip, with a flat primary grind that is nicely acute down to almost a zero edge with just a micro bevel--a very high-efficiency cutting grind. With 1/3 inch of spine thickness behind it, the edge sinks extremely deep with very little effort. The sweet spot is not as far out along the blade as on either the Busse or the machete, as you can plainly see by the marks on the three blades in the photo below.
But the depth of bite from the Knight was at least the equal of the other two, and my impression was that it was not as easily deflected from its course at impact as either of the two longer, thinner blades. You can see a little of this in the angles of the three knives as they sit where they stopped after impact in the photo below.
None of these in the photo were swung with full-house power--just nice, controlled strokes as consistent as I could make them. Also, the thick upper blade on the Knight tended to spread the sides of deep cuts more than the other blades did, which seemed to reduce binding.
I'm frankly amazed that a shorter, thicker blade can keep up with these two extreme choppers at all, much less push them to their limit of efficiency and comfort. I felt very little vibration from the handle of the Knight--much less than I expected. It was very comfortable even at high impact, due I think to the damping effect of the thick steel near the handle on both sides of the guard, as well as the masterful contouring Jason sculpts into his grips. I would have thought the wood more likely to transmit vibration than the Resiprene (hard rubber) of the Busse or the molded polymer handle on the machete. But it was not an issue, and the way the smooth grip of the big Knight rocked back and forth in hand was truly a delight to experience.
So the question that presents itself to me now is, after finding the Knight to be so competitive with these two knives for their designed function as pure choppers (obviously not the Knight's mission): How could they possibly be compared with the Knight in the other area the Knight was designed for--agility. The answer is, in short, no way. The thick point of the Busse and the almost blunt point of the machete offer very little to compare with the extremely efficient cutting/penetrating point on the Knight, and the factor described earlier of enhanced control achieved with the extreme distal taper on the Knight puts it in an entirely different class when it comes to agility in-hand. For use as a camp cook's knife to deftly slice meat and vegetables or for general tasks like pull-cutting through rope or fashioning a piece of canvas or rip-stop tarp into functional shape, I would ordinarily want something other than a machete or the big Busse, but the Knight is so delightfully quick and non-fatiguing to use that I doubt I'd ever bother hunting for another blade if it was handy for most camp chores.
Obviously, batonning with the Knight would best be restricted to pounding on the broad spine behind the clip, but in fact that area is ample and so thick that it invites heavy whacking without compunction. Also just as obviously, the tip on the Knight will in no way stand up to the prying sustainable by the Busse. However, in an emergency, if you had to jam a blade into something to break it open or make it move, and could get the thick part of the Knight's blade in place, it would obviously take more pressure than most men could exert to break it with nothing more than arm strength, even using leverage.
Conclusion: I believe I may have experienced in this knife the dawn of a new era in large blade design. I like it.
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