Lion Steel "Roundhead" Euro-Barlow

Pomsbz said:
Anyone already owning a Roundhead thinking of getting in on the new preorder for Roundheads? The current roundhead is too thick for my taste behind the edge for true perfection. Trying to decide between sending it away to be thinned out behind the edge (though no idea who would do it affordably) or just getting one of the new ones and hoping it's better.
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I am. Also, I am a big fan of micarta so I am looking forward to the upgraded version. Now the only question is spear or clip?
 
LastRodeo said:
Congratulations on winning Mike's Best Slipjoint of 2017 giveaway.

In that spirit, maybe you could do a giveaway of your Roundhead?
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The only way I could possibly afford a new one would be to sell the old one. Currently at two months off work due to illness, one month in hospital with two surgeries and will probably only be able to start to walk in another week or so.
 
Pomsbz said:
The only way I could possibly afford a new one would be to sell the old one I'm afraid. Two months off work due to illness, one month in hospital with two surgeries and will probably only be able to walk in another week or so.
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God bless. Sounds like the Roundhead being too thick behind the edge is the least of your worries.
 
LastRodeo said:
God bless. Sounds like the Roundhead being too thick behind the edge is the least of your worries.
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5th surgery this year so technically yes but hobbies are a great way to get your mind off stuff and the Roundhead is part (and possibly the end?) of my '10+ year knife' search that I've been on for a couple of years now. :) My knife is a great aid for the disability in my hands so it's a very real search for me.
 
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@Ramrodmb reminded me that I haven't updated the thread about how the fixed edge has been doing since I got my knife back from that Australian review. The edge I got back from him was hair popping but that didn't last very long at all. It did stay at the 'sharp' stage despite cutting a cardboard box to tiny shreds specifically to see if it would dull further. The sharpness was identical after, zero further dulling. I brought the edge back to hair popping easily enough on my sharpmaker yesterday and will be interested to see how long that lasts. This is my first time with M390 and I'm still learning the steel.

I am interested in running it in a test against a couple of other knives, a SAK and a D2 to see how it holds up in cutting compared to them. Not for oneupmanship but to learn my new knife. One thing I did find out is that in slicing cardboard mine requires double the energy of a SAK (literally) due to the thickness behind the edge. No doubt what prompted that change in the next batch to come and my above question. I like a slicer but I love my Roundhead. The question now is whether to get a regrind or just buy a new one, to be frank, the up front cost is about the same. Buying a new one would be the cheaper option for me as I would sell the old one.
 
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Pomsbz said:
One thing I did find out is that in slicing cardboard mine requires double the energy of a SAK (literally) due to the thickness behind the edge. No doubt what prompted that change in the next batch to come and my above question. I like a slicer but I love my Roundhead. The question now is whether to get a regrind or just buy a new one, to be frank, the up front cost is about the same.
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I doubt that is what prompted the change in the next batch;) Competing with the steel thickness of a SAK in order for easier cardboard slicing was not a consideration. The blade is not any thinner at the spine and only a couple hundredths BTE - so if you want something that goes thru cardboard like a sharp SAK I would recommend the regrind.
 
knifeswapper said:
I doubt that is what prompted the change in the next batch;) Competing with the steel thickness of a SAK in order for easier cardboard slicing was not a consideration. The blade is not any thinner at the spine and only a couple hundredths BTE - so if you want something that goes thru cardboard like a sharp SAK I would recommend the regrind.
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I wasn't being that specific :), I was assumimg that thinning the blade out behind the edge was due to earlier customer feedback similar to my own (later) realisations?

I did the same test with my fixed blade L.T. Wright Patriot and it also sliced far easier due to being thinner behind the edge despite being thicker than the roundhead at the top. I don't cut cardboard all that often but it's a good measure of slicing ability which of course translates to all kinds of cutting tasks. Trying to cut cardboard with a hollow grind vs a FFG really explains why hollow grind is so much less 'apple' friendly for example. :) I actually do think 0.02" thinner behind the edge would make a difference but I don't have calipers to test my current knives to see the difference. Would be interesting!

Going to make the Roundhead work though, heck but it's a great knife. Many have commented on the steel, the ti bolsters or the scales. One thing I've found which is mentioned less is just how incredibly user friendly this knife is. First of all it's hugely comfortable in hand. More than any folder I've ever held. It fits in the hand and stays there without any hot points, any uncomfortable bits or strain. The handle feels like a far more palm filling tool than it actually is. Then there is the super friendly opening, springing into the half stop is perfect for my disabled fingers, helped by the genius of dual nail nicks (why doesn't everyone do this! :) ).
 
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Pomsbz said:
I wasn't being that specific :), I was assumimg that thinning the blade out behind the edge was due to earlier customer feedback similar to my own (later) realisations?

I did the same test with my fixed blade L.T. Wright Patriot and it also sliced far easier due to being thinner behind the edge despite being thicker than the roundhead at the top. I don't cut cardboard all that often but it's a good measure of slicing ability which of course translates to all kinds of cutting tasks. Trying to cut cardboard with a hollow grind vs a FFG really explains why hollow grind is so much less 'apple' friendly for example. :) I actually do think 0.02" thinner behind the edge would make a difference but I don't have calipers to test my current knives to see the difference. Would be interesting!

Going to make the Roundhead work though, heck but it's a great knife. Many have commented on the steel, the ti bolsters or the scales. One thing I've found which is mentioned less is just how incredibly user friendly this knife is. First of all it's hugely comfortable in hand. More than any folder I've ever held. It fits in the hand and stays there without any hot points, any uncomfortable bits or strain. The handle feels like a far more palm filling tool than it actually is. Then there is the super friendly opening, springing into the half stop is perfect for my disabled fingers, helped by the genius of dual nail nicks (why doesn't everyone do this! :) ).
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I did a "regrind" on mine--nothing serious--I just took a waterstone (I have a 1000 grit) and took down the angle as deliberately as I could. I wouldn't say that I've changed the profile as much as, say, the Apostle P did on the one he modified, but I have seen better performance just for a half-hour to an hour of sharpening on the waterstone. I agree with you comments about the friendliness of the roundhead. It fits great and I am really enjoying the blade steel.
 
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I'm super psyched to get one of these, the wait has been killing me. I went through phases of utter desire, to waning interest, to dismissing it for something I could buy sooner, to once again wanting one. The only thing that's changed is: do I want carbon fiber or wood handle? Had my first encounter with an all CF handled knife and wasn't too impressed, it felt way too light and the feel of the material seemed off (like G-10 but somehow seemed more fragile). I hope the wood is a darker one.
 
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lieferung said:
I'm super psyched to get one of these, the wait has been killing me. I went through phases of utter desire, to waning interest, to dismissing it for something I could by sooner, to once again wanting one. The only thing that's changed is: do I want carbon fiber or wood handle? Had my first encounter with an all CF handled knife and wasn't too impressed, it felt way too light and the feel of the material seemed off (like G-10 but somehow seemed more fragile). I hope the wood is a darker one.
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I went through the same phases waiting for this second run. I’ve decided to be strong and wait. I have a rams horn roundhead and a stag shuffler on pre-order. These will check off several boxes for me since I have no stag or rams horn in my small collection. I’m also excited to have non carbon steel so I don’t have to worry as much about pepper spots.
 
When I paid for my GEC 78 on reserve on CK last week it entered me in Mike's Christmas giveaway and I won the carbon fiber roundhead prototype! The two main differences from the production run is this has nothing etched on the blade and the pull is about a 6-7 as compared to the 4-5 pull from the regular run. I absolutely love the strong pull and this knife. Thanks again Mike!
 

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LTSweeney18 said:
When I paid for my GEC 78 on reserve on CK last week it entered me in Mike's Christmas giveaway and I won the carbon fiber roundhead prototype! The two main differences from the production run is this has nothing etched on the blade and the pull is about a 6-7 as compared to the 4-5 pull from the regular run. I absolutely love the strong pull and this knife. Thanks again Mike!
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Congratulations, Luke!
 
LTSweeney18 said:
When I paid for my GEC 78 on reserve on CK last week it entered me in Mike's Christmas giveaway and I won the carbon fiber roundhead prototype! The two main differences from the production run is this has nothing etched on the blade and the pull is about a 6-7 as compared to the 4-5 pull from the regular run. I absolutely love the strong pull and this knife. Thanks again Mike!
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What a sweet looking knife! How do you like the feel of carbon fiber vs traditional materials?
 
lieferung said:
What a sweet looking knife! How do you like the feel of carbon fiber vs traditional materials?
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The carbon fiber has a different feel than micarta, but I would say I like it just as much. Looks amazing when the light hits it. A perfect material for this knife.
 
mas113m said:
Congrats! I have an ER for the Roundhead and the Shuffler. The wait is starting to hurt though.
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Yeah I use to have a stag one from the first run then I sold it when I saw they were going to have natural micarta in the 2nd so I have an ER on that and now I have this one. If the pull is lighter on these I'm gonna switch the covers to the prototype. Either way I'm pumped to see all these including the Shuffler even though I'm not a clip point guy.
 
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