Koster BOB knife proto

[1066vik]

A while back Dan put out a post looking for some knife testers.
My pair showed up yesterday. I have no idea what the steel is, or what it's going to be when they go into production.
I got ugly, as quenched blades with a decent functional edge. 1 scandi, and the other what I would consider a high flat saber grind.
Out of the box, the points are needle sharp and quick flicking cuts shredded the cardboard - all the way through. push and pull cuts in newsprint were also easy.
The handle has plenty of holes of differing sizes that would be useful as lashing points or for attaching permanent scales.
The notched cut into the spine for thumb index are a bit too close together IMHO - they're sharp enough to use as a wood or plastic file/saw. OTOH, they also worked great for shaving a magnesium bar for fire starting and the spine is squared perfectly for the flint rod - threw great sparks.
The edges all the way around are "sharp", and the butt of the blade dug into the meat at the back of my hand, so first thing to do was to cover the handles. One got about 14' of paracord wrapped around it (ugly, but it works), the other got scales made of cardboard wrapped in electrical tape. (again, ugly - but effective)
After cooking dinner, I cut up a laundry detergent jug (hobo kydex) and made quick positive retention sheathes for them - heat plastic until it's floppy, then fold over blade and mash in towel -- the heat made the plastic soft enough at the edges to melt/seal the seam. then folded a strip over the end of the tang to lock it in place. not as fast as cardboard & duct tape, but more durable.
Food prep - the flat grind worked better for slicing veggies. (onion & broccoli)
Fire starting - both made great feathersticks, shaved magnesium, and threw sparks on the flint rod. When held perpendicular to a piece of beechwood, the scandi scraped see through feather shavings, the flat merely made dust.
Wood carving: my wife preferred the flat grind for detail work, even though she considered the blade shape too "fat" for fine detail carving. I had equal luck with both drilling holes, cutting, whittling, shaving, etc... on a green walnut stick I had in the woodpile -- either would be fine for making traps, triggers, etc...

Overall, I found this to be a good design. No overall preference for either grind, as each does some things better than the other, and the only suggestions I can make for improvement would be to use coarser jimping at the spine or leave it off altogether, maybe round the butt a little more so it doesn't bite, and to make the handles about 1/8" narrower for folks with smaller hands than mine. (I love the handle size - my wife, her sister, and BiL all thought it was a little wide - but then they're fine boned and have small hands, while I'm... um, not...)

I'm happy enough with the functionality of the blade that I'm taking the scandi on a roofing job this afternoon.

 

[Mistwalker]

Those look pretty darn good. Curious to see the tests in progress.

 

[amcardon]

I received my test blade as well, with a scandi grind. If I remember correctly they are 1095. It arrived similar to 1066vik's blades, with the scale on them but a nicely ground blade and surprisingly sharp point. The blade is nice and light, something I definitely look for in a BOB knife or neck knife. I have small hands so the handle is a little big for me without scales but functional just the same. I was thinking about doing a paracord wrap on the handle but since 1066vik put one on his I will let him review what he thinks of the knife after wrapping. I will most likely put on some G11 for scales. I know Dan is looking at these blades as great BOB blades and to be used, hence the scale on the blade. I am totally fine with the scale on there and like the look of it, more rustic I guess, and makes me not too worried about getting it dirty

So, my review of the blade without scales. Well, the blade arrived with a workable edge but wasn't quite as sharp as I like but since it's a scandi a few minutes on a stone sharpened her right up. For the preliminary pictures, here's one of the knife in my hand and how it performed cutting curls in some fatwood and some seasoned cherry:

 

[1066vik]

Took the scandi roofing - and since I was dealing with moderately high winds, did not take a camera -- it pulled roofing staples & cut tar paper with no effort or signs of damage. Cutting asphalt composition shingles was a different story - as would be expected by anyone who's ever dealt with the nasty things.
When I got home, cleaned the tar off with goo gone and checked it over - the edge was rolled, so I took a smooth steel to it and straightened that up.
Test cutting cardboard showed it was a lot duller, but 5 minutes with a diamond followed by 30 seconds of stropping it on some cardboard, and it was back to needle sharp slicing just like last night.
No problems with hot spots or controlling the blade, despite the thin cardboard & tape grips.

 

[amcardon]

I have mine gluing up with some G11 right now, it will get kydex pants, possibly a set of leather if she behaves... As one would expect with a thin knife, using it without paracord or some sort of handle attached it eventually does create some hotspots. Personally I don't mind paying less for a knife so that I can handle it myself or use it without if its comfortable - that's one of the reasons I bought an Izula. I'll post pics and do some more playing with this blade once the scales are finished.

 

[amcardon]

A couple teaser shots of the unfinished G11 scales:

 

[PB Wilson]

Nice job on the handle. Looks comfy and I'd guess that it makes that knife so much more useable. Cool blade shape. Kinda like his Bushcrafter but much shorter. The handle size and shape look well thought out too.

 

[1066vik]

nice job! that looks a lot better than my hobo handles!

 

[amcardon]

This is a really comfy knife. As I mentioned I have medium sized hands and without scales it was a little big for me but with scales it is very comfortable. One thing I forgot to mention is that before I put on the scales I tried it out with some winter gloves and some work gloves and the oversized (for me) handle worked out great with both pairs of gloves. The blade gripped will into the leather without being uncomfortable at all.

So far I am really liking this knife. One thing is I would probably go for an extra 3/4" or so to the blade but so far that's the only thing I'd change... I'll try to finish the handle tonight, but most likely it won't be until tomorrow...

Oh, one more thing - this is some of the best jimping I've felt on a knife before. Not so sharp it cuts your thumb up but sharp enough you can really get a fantastic grip. I was thinking at first that I would probably like almost twice the length of jimping but I changed my mind - this is perfect!

 

[amcardon]

By the way, don't know how this got overlooked but here's the specs:

1095 high carbon steel with heat treat scale still on
7 3/4" OAL
2 7/8" cutting edge
1/8" thick steel
scandi edge

 

[hollowdweller]

I like the design.

However the other Mora thread that GKK put up this weekend sort of makes me think.

I understand why say, a neck knife might need to be smaller than ideal, or even skeletonized.

But if it was for a BOB why not grab something like one of those mora's GKK posted up?

They're cheap, they'e good. If they get stolen you're not out a great amount of money.

If I was going to have some sort of a blade in an emergency bag, why not something near full size?? I have one of the AHTI pukkoflies in my truck. 17 bucks!:thumbup:

Don't get me wrong, I like the knife and even have and love several in that size range but if I wanted one for a B0b I'd go full size probably.

 

[1066vik]

You'd have to ask Dan Koster about that, I'm just testing the knife out, I had no input into the design up to this point. (although I agree with amcardon that another 5/8"-3/4" of blade would visually balance the knife and add some functionality to it, the current size is plenty useful) I also have no idea what price Dan has in mind for it.
I love my Mora's, and their price point, but this is a made in the USA blade for those who care, 1/8" (3mm) thick with a full tang, full size grip that you can customize however you want. (micarta, wood, G11, paracord, etc...)
If a Mora meets your needs, great. If a person wants something different, this may be a way to meet that desire.

 

[amcardon]

Scales are done. This is my first time using G11, I like how it grinds but I don't like how see-through it is when it's thin - you can see through to the steel underneath it... Oh well, it's comfortable and this knife wasn't made to be pretty! I haven't had a chance to play around with her more today but I'll start her kydex pants tonight...

Now that the scales are on I do not feel that the handle is oversized at all, it really fits great in my hand whether its gloved or bare. For a bushy PSK this is the correct size blade and grind. If this was supposed to be more of an all-around knife I would prefer 3/4" more blade and more of a belly for skinning but as this knife is to be a lightweight BOB/PSK to do many tasks I am really enjoying it.

Anyway, finished knife:

 

[amcardon]

Hey guys, I know that Dan is trying to finalize the design on this knife. I know you don't all have a chance to hold one for yourself but what do you think of the design? What would you like to see different? These knives are meant to be flat, compact knives one could throw in a BOB or PSK. They will be sold with scale on them and no scales to keep them as cheap as possible. As far as I know only a scandi-grind is available but he did have a flat ground and hollow ground prototype reviewed as well.

Anyway, I am all about helping out makers who are willing to listen to what people are looking for in a production blade and am willing to do whatever I can to help Dan in his endeavor. I don't receive any personal benefit from this other than to know that my critiques and opinions went in to the final product.

 

[superfluities]

Scales are done. This is my first time using G11, I like how it grinds but I don't like how see-through it is when it's thin - you can see through to the steel underneath it... Oh well, it's comfortable and this knife wasn't made to be pretty! I haven't had a chance to play around with her more today but I'll start her kydex pants tonight...

Now that the scales are on I do not feel that the handle is oversized at all, it really fits great in my hand whether its gloved or bare. For a bushy PSK this is the correct size blade and grind. If this was supposed to be more of an all-around knife I would prefer 3/4" more blade and more of a belly for skinning but as this knife is to be a lightweight BOB/PSK to do many tasks I am really enjoying it.

Anyway, finished knife:

I love it. I have a bunch of G-11. Maybe I'll use a white liner!

 

[amcardon]

Random that there was another post on here - I finally got around to making a proper sheath for the knife. Up to this point it's been stored in a quick kydex wrap with a single rivet in it, now she's in a proper leather sheath. I use this knife quite a bit around the shop and I have hit it on leather once or twice but that is all. I love true scandi edges! This has been a fabulous knife that gets a lot of use.