Cliff Stamp
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Anyone with a 20" Kobra, could you provide some specs, basically; balance, weight, thickness. A top down shot of it against a 20" Sirupati would be ideal.
-Cliff
-Cliff
Kobra specs : 20"
- Thread starter Cliff Stamp
- Start date
My 20" kobra weighs just a tad over 20 oz, compared to about 28 oz for one of my 20" sirupatis.
POB is about the same on each, roughly 2" back from the shoulder.
Thicknesses are, essentially, about 5/16" and 3/8".
If you like I could try and throw them in my scanner in any configuration you need.
-Dave
POB is about the same on each, roughly 2" back from the shoulder.
Thicknesses are, essentially, about 5/16" and 3/8".
If you like I could try and throw them in my scanner in any configuration you need.
-Dave
Cliff Stamp
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Dave, thanks for the info, that was exactly what I was looking for. If you have the time, I would appreciate a top down view to check the taper, and a side view for the profile characteristics.
-Cliff
-Cliff
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Thanks for good help.
Dave, getting your taxes done already!!!!!!!!
Dave, getting your taxes done already!!!!!!!!
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I've read Cliff's amazing tests on AKs and Villagers but has he done others? I've never seen more thorough or objective tests for knives. Objectvity is difficult but his look good.
Cliff Stamp
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I have done other reviews of khukuris, and khukuri like blades, and some other not so khukuri like but of similar intent, and some not khukuri like in intent or design. You can see them here :
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/reviews.html
-Cliff
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/reviews.html
-Cliff
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Sams: Sorry, but everyone here is responisible for their own actions.
No matter what their food requirements are.
It comes with being fortunate enough to find this site.
Cliff does excellent reviews and they are often viewed secretly by some who are looking to buy one of the knives Cliff has tested.
Some people are critical about how anyone does anything, but those same people don't offer any solutions in researching or testing knives themselves.
Cliff handles it excellently!!!!
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Ok here's my Kobra specs:
length: 20"exactly
weight: 20.2oz
Width at widest point of belly (if you can call it a belly):34mm(1 3/8")
Thickness just in front of habaki bolster: 8mm
thickness at "hump" where spine bends:7mm
thickness where fullers converge below spine:6mm
POB: 9.5cm (3.74")
Handle length (from bolster's end to buttcap's start) 5"
length: 20"exactly
weight: 20.2oz
Width at widest point of belly (if you can call it a belly
):34mm(1 3/8")Thickness just in front of habaki bolster: 8mm
thickness at "hump" where spine bends:7mm
thickness where fullers converge below spine:6mm
POB: 9.5cm (3.74")
Handle length (from bolster's end to buttcap's start) 5"
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Thanks for excellent help, all.
Cliff does it right and the same way I'd do it if I were 40 years younger and built like a yeti -- or like Cliff and Terry Sisco.
At the Catoosa Convention I handed Terry Bro's dingy finish Kobra or whatever it is and said, "Here, Terry. See if you can bend this one?"
Bro game me the Cherokee "have you gone crazy" stare so I added, "with your bare hands."
Sometimes my sense of humor gets us all in trouble.
Cliff does it right and the same way I'd do it if I were 40 years younger and built like a yeti -- or like Cliff and Terry Sisco.
At the Catoosa Convention I handed Terry Bro's dingy finish Kobra or whatever it is and said, "Here, Terry. See if you can bend this one?"
Bro game me the Cherokee "have you gone crazy" stare so I added, "with your bare hands."
Sometimes my sense of humor gets us all in trouble.
Cliff Stamp
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Dave, thanks for the images, and thanks for the kinds words all. We do what we do because we love doing it. Four to five hours in the afternoon with a khukuri felling, bucking and limbing is a fine way to spend the day, and it is still cold enough here so there are no flies around, what more could you want.
-Cliff
-Cliff
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I don't understand why anyone would have an issue w/ Cliff's tests. What's the story or am I asking a sensitive question?
(Besides a guy who can do the things he's done needs to given a wide berth)
(Besides a guy who can do the things he's done needs to given a wide berth)
Cliff Stamp
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Roger Smith :
Essentially, there are a few main arguments
1) They are not scientific, but are promoted as such either because I don't understand what science is, don't understand how to do proper numerical analysis, or intentionally ignore it
2) They are biased, meaning the results are distorted (intentionally or subconsciously) based on feeling towards various makers / manufacturers
3) I am don't know what I am doing because of a lack of "real life / field" experience
4) The knives are not used in the manner that they are intended to be used, which is probably because of three
5) The tests are too abusive and the results meaningless because you can't conclude anything from such extreme work
There is merit to most of above, to some extent. I mention such factors from time to time in the reviews, and have looked at some of them in detail to see just how much influence they have. For example, thanks to Ray Kirk I had four identical unmarked blades (different steels and hardness) to work with which allowed me to see if I was without knowing it, projecting my expectations of blade performance onto the knives, I wasn't.
The biggest problem with interpreting the results in general, is dealing with two main factors :
1) the quality control of the blades, how much one you buy will be similar to mine
2) the effect of my method and physical abilities, for example if your chopping technique is better than mine, you will experience better edge durability and edge retention with the exact same blade
You get around one by simply asking the maker or manufacturer if they will support the results. You get around two by looking at the relative performance as well as dropping me an email to discuss your own experience so we can compare and project. Of course you also spend time discussing knives with other people to round out the perspective, there are dozens in this very forum alone. Finally, you get blade experience any way you can. if all you can do is chop some 2x4's in your basement, that is *much* better than nothing.
The real problem with the reviews is quite simple, some knives do very poorly in comparison to others and I do a lot of direct comparison work. Secondly I have called a lot of makers on hyping performance without backing it up, this doesn't tend to make a positive impression on them. Finally a lot of nonsense has been spread by people who have been put off by the first two effects, for example that I am paid by Jerry Busse to say positive things about his knives, that I set out to ruin knifemakers who don't give me knives etc. . This by the way is the source of the whole "I am Jerry Busse" thing you will see referenced on occasion. That was another rumor.
I don't pay any of that much heed, I know who I am and what I do. If you want to actually discuss knives, based on experience or knowledge of materials or geometry, then by all means drop me an email or make a post. I have learned a lot from such interactions and will continue to do so. And when I realize that I was mistaken about something either through a lack of experience or knowledge, I'll make a post to address it. But in general, you can't please everyone, and I realized a long time ago that if I was going to speak about performance in an unbiased way I was not going to please the people behind the blades who didn't rate very strongly. So be it. I would much rather have the respect of experienced users and makers of quality blades.
-Cliff
Essentially, there are a few main arguments
1) They are not scientific, but are promoted as such either because I don't understand what science is, don't understand how to do proper numerical analysis, or intentionally ignore it
2) They are biased, meaning the results are distorted (intentionally or subconsciously) based on feeling towards various makers / manufacturers
3) I am don't know what I am doing because of a lack of "real life / field" experience
4) The knives are not used in the manner that they are intended to be used, which is probably because of three
5) The tests are too abusive and the results meaningless because you can't conclude anything from such extreme work
There is merit to most of above, to some extent. I mention such factors from time to time in the reviews, and have looked at some of them in detail to see just how much influence they have. For example, thanks to Ray Kirk I had four identical unmarked blades (different steels and hardness) to work with which allowed me to see if I was without knowing it, projecting my expectations of blade performance onto the knives, I wasn't.
The biggest problem with interpreting the results in general, is dealing with two main factors :
1) the quality control of the blades, how much one you buy will be similar to mine
2) the effect of my method and physical abilities, for example if your chopping technique is better than mine, you will experience better edge durability and edge retention with the exact same blade
You get around one by simply asking the maker or manufacturer if they will support the results. You get around two by looking at the relative performance as well as dropping me an email to discuss your own experience so we can compare and project. Of course you also spend time discussing knives with other people to round out the perspective, there are dozens in this very forum alone. Finally, you get blade experience any way you can. if all you can do is chop some 2x4's in your basement, that is *much* better than nothing.
The real problem with the reviews is quite simple, some knives do very poorly in comparison to others and I do a lot of direct comparison work. Secondly I have called a lot of makers on hyping performance without backing it up, this doesn't tend to make a positive impression on them. Finally a lot of nonsense has been spread by people who have been put off by the first two effects, for example that I am paid by Jerry Busse to say positive things about his knives, that I set out to ruin knifemakers who don't give me knives etc. . This by the way is the source of the whole "I am Jerry Busse" thing you will see referenced on occasion. That was another rumor.
I don't pay any of that much heed, I know who I am and what I do. If you want to actually discuss knives, based on experience or knowledge of materials or geometry, then by all means drop me an email or make a post. I have learned a lot from such interactions and will continue to do so. And when I realize that I was mistaken about something either through a lack of experience or knowledge, I'll make a post to address it. But in general, you can't please everyone, and I realized a long time ago that if I was going to speak about performance in an unbiased way I was not going to please the people behind the blades who didn't rate very strongly. So be it. I would much rather have the respect of experienced users and makers of quality blades.
-Cliff
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Hey Cliff,
I was just wondering...what do you do with all the knives you break?
Do they all go back to the manufacturer?
I was just wondering...what do you do with all the knives you break?
Do they all go back to the manufacturer?
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Cliff,
It seems that the only people who would do the griping would be those who can't back up the hype.
Rumors are a great way to discredit because someone will always believe even the most implausible crap.
The fact that you can admit you could be wrong speaks volumes.
Keep on keeping on Cliff!
It seems that the only people who would do the griping would be those who can't back up the hype.
Rumors are a great way to discredit because someone will always believe even the most implausible crap.
The fact that you can admit you could be wrong speaks volumes.
Keep on keeping on Cliff!
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I am amazed by the amount of work Cliff does with a knife and the amount of data he generates and keeps track of. The critics I've seen seem to have little in the way of alternative suggestions, or comparable results.
Who else will put a variety of edges on the knife, and test each one counting number of cuts or chops? As to "abusive" tests, testing to failure is pretty common with other metal components where a large safety factor is desired. I'm glad that's done while designing automobile brake parts for instance. If you're counting on a knife in winter woods it would nice to know how far you can go without breaking out half the edge.
His methods seem to match the possible uses the knife could be put to, I don't think he'd chop frozen spruce with a chef's knife, but he might hack up a lot of frozen food. Is that "abuse"? I'd try to avoid that, but that's certainly something that might need to be done.
Unless everyone chops/cuts like Cliff, and he chops/cuts the same eveytime, comparison is the best way to go.
If I needed a knife for a chopping machine that used identical perfect strokes, then such a machine would be a good way to test knives for it.
For knives humans use, I hope he keeps cranking out those reviews.
Who else will put a variety of edges on the knife, and test each one counting number of cuts or chops? As to "abusive" tests, testing to failure is pretty common with other metal components where a large safety factor is desired. I'm glad that's done while designing automobile brake parts for instance. If you're counting on a knife in winter woods it would nice to know how far you can go without breaking out half the edge.
His methods seem to match the possible uses the knife could be put to, I don't think he'd chop frozen spruce with a chef's knife, but he might hack up a lot of frozen food. Is that "abuse"? I'd try to avoid that, but that's certainly something that might need to be done.
Unless everyone chops/cuts like Cliff, and he chops/cuts the same eveytime, comparison is the best way to go.
If I needed a knife for a chopping machine that used identical perfect strokes, then such a machine would be a good way to test knives for it.
For knives humans use, I hope he keeps cranking out those reviews.