Livesay/Vancook Sandbar Bowie

[Edd Harbin]

After a lot of waiting , My sandbar finally got here . When I took it out of the box , I thought I had been sent a shortsword at first , but upon handeling it , #7 came alive. It looks big , and handles smaller. The finish (satin) was done well , with only a few marks (for now ) on it , probably from putting the edge on it .

The sheathes sent by Newt are the only gripeing point I have heard so far. The work , but not as good as Newt's usual fair . In defense of Newt , he had planned a leather sheath , and then the hoof and mouth hit his leather supply right in the you-no-what .

That is where I decided to try my hand at a sheath here are some pics of the finished product .

this is what it looked like before the oiling/waxing.

I have since done some cutting (some trees fell in a recent storm ). While it doesnt chop like my HI khuk , it does come very close . I also prepared a stew in the kitchen ( while the wife wasn't looking) with the sandbar . It went through the vegi's like a lightsaber , and cut the meat as though it REALY liked doing so. Now again I have to say that it didn't cut as well as a few kitchen knives that I have (very thin , very sharp flexable blades) , but it came close .

I think that for the money , It's one of the best BIG blades that can be had. It chops well , and cuts like a razor . I am realy pleased .

[This message has been edited by Edd Harbin (edited 06-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Edd Harbin (edited 06-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Edd Harbin (edited 06-08-2001).]

 

[Edd Harbin]

Just thought you might like to see a comparison

the smaller knife is also a livsay . It's called the UJI . It has 1000 year old iron wood handles with imbedded tuquiose stones.

Any body else have good experiance with NEWT ? ....

 

[recondoc1]

I just ordered my first Livesay after drooling over his work. I went for total function and not a lot of pretty. Ordered his HKR Utility Combat Model. Will let yall know how it turns out when it gets here.
recondoc

------------------
Semper Fi!
Corpsman Up! Answering the call for 103 years.
Proud member of PETA (People For The Eating of Tasty Animals)

 

[RokJok]

Hi Edd,

Since you ask, I've got several of Newt's blades in the collection. His blades tend to be well-designed, well-made users that are affordable. To touch on just a couple of them:

-- RTAK --
The RTAK micarta handle fits my hand very nicely and doesn't fatigue the hand during extended chopping. As a mini-machete its 9.5" blade in 3/16" 1095 steel works very well. It's also got an extended tang pommel for hammering, which can be handy. The pommel has a thong hole, so you can lash this beast to your wrist for added security when whipping it through non-resistant vegetation. Newt's blade geometry (doublesided flat ground to the rounded spine) and heat treat (~RC 60) on this thing is great. While Jeff Randall says this blade was designed for green vegetation in the jungles, it's a pretty good cutter and I've had good luck chopping green cedar wood with it as well. The high RC did work against me when I inadvertantly whacked it against a metal corner & the blade edge chipped out a bit, as would be expected. Overall, the RTAK is a well designed and executed survival blade at a good price.

-- Executive NRGS --
This is a very handy little utility neck knife with a 4" drop point blade in 1/8" flat ground parkerized (I think) 1095 steel. The well shaped micarta scales on the Exec version of the NRGS are not polished and remain secure in hand, even when wet. The scaled down version of his #2 handle on this knife is very comfortable and has a single finger index groove. The ExecNRGS, like most of his blades, does not have a guard so the finger index helps keep your hand from ramping up onto the blade if you happen to stab into something solid. I thinned out the edge on my ExecNRGS to make it a better pure slicer. I find it handy for kitchen food prep (especially boneless meat), mail opening, and other low stress cutting. The negligible weight makes it easy to forget your wearing it around your neck. I'd recommend an aftermarket belt sheath for added versatility.

A nice rig for handling the whole range of survival chores would be an RTAK/ExecNRGS combo riding in a single custom sheath that could also carry a sharpener, paracord, multi-tool, and Firesteel. The wide flat kydex sheath for the RTAK is big & sturdy enough to accomplish this easily with a bit of adding things onto it.

Yours,
Greg

[This message has been edited by RokJok (edited 06-15-2001).]

 

[RokJok]

Executive NRGS redux:
I wear this little utility blade all the time & use it pretty regularly. While I was looking at it again tonight, I noticed for the first time a nice very subtle touch Newt Livesay has put into the knife.

At a point just ahead of the blade/handle juncture the spine of the blade has been gently rounded over. It is right where you'd rest your thumb for exerting pressure on the blade while cutting. It starts where the ricasso ends and the cutting edge starts, then extends for about 3/4" toward the point of the blade. The rest of the spine has square edges.

The fact that Newt would take time to put this kind of work into a $50 knife to alleviate pressure & wear on your thumb from sharp edges shows his attention to detail, that his designs are based on experience & use, and that he is willing to insure that the blade is right so his customers will be happy with it. I am.

 

[recondoc1]

Recieved my Livesay HKR yesterday. True to all that I have read about Livesay, the edge was mediocre at best. Somewhere in the 30-35 degree area. I am hand honing it to a 25-27 degree edge similare to the old Blackjack edge. Sharpness aside, this is a beautiful knife. I must have gotten the last one he had in stock prior to going out of country. What I recieved had a polished micarta handle and parkerized blade. The portion of the blade material runing through the handle is also high polished as are the brass handle rivets. Fit is exquiset. Kydex sheath is nice and tight with more brass grommets than you can shake a stick at.
I originally purchased this one as a field tool. Now I am considering sending it back to have the blade mirror polished as well and just adding it to my meager but hopefully growing collection. Newts knives are worth every penny and then some.
Best
recondoc

------------------
Semper Fi!
Corpsman Up! Answering the call for 103 years.
Proud member of PETA (People For The Eating of Tasty Animals)

 

[rawhide_clyde]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by recondoc1:
Newts knives are worth every penny and then some.
Best
recondoc</font>

Yes, they are alot of knife for the price. I'm real fond of my Air Assault, good working blade with a very comfortable handle.
Regards,
Clyde