Her first hike and time on my belt lol
I hiked the Smokey Hollow, Bruce side trail in Waterdown Ontario.
Unfortunately I didn't take that many photos as it was getting dark and I ended up hiking the last 1/2 hour in the dark.
I hiked for a about an hour before I pulled her out. I was just being picky about the wood I found for my walking stick. I left the stick I carved at the trail head as it had a few small rotten spots at the bottom. Hopefully someone else will find it helpful on the trail. Once my skills with it improve and I find a better piece of wood I'll make myself a walking stick to keep.
On a side note I found lots and lots of hickory. I'm just not sure if I can cut it down without the risk of a fine. I think this area is designated conservation.
First impressions:
*It took me a little bit to get used to how the knife handles as it's my first fixed blade, first big knife and as the design is totally different than anything I've ever used before*
- I figured out snap cuts fairly quickly and was able to take off 1" + green limbs with just one cut. Occasionally I'd need a second cut for the bark, but the limb was definitely removed.
- Cutting logs was a matter of bracing the log properly but I found it alot easier and quicker than using a hatchet as I didn't have to worry about hitting the handle. Turning the as I currently helped and I was able to cleanly snap larger branches/ sm logs doing this.
- I experimented with several grip/ holding options for small cuts and found it very very versatile. (once I narrow down my proffered grips I'll post pics of them) I also found it helped that the various grips allowed me to balance the blade or use the forward weight to my advantage if I needed to.
- I'm also not very experienced with blade grinds/ angles but I liked how I could vary my cutting depth for fine/ deep cuts. Again very versatile!
- It was my first time performing draw cuts and found this task easily performed. Again I found it easy to do fine/ deep and short/long cuts.
- I used the knife as a scrapper to smooth rough spots on my sticks handle and it did a great job making the stick feel very comfortable to hold.
- I have nothing else to compare the OOTB sharpness with but I never struggled cutting anything or wished that it had been sharper.
- Carrying the blade on my blade was no problem and I found the sheath didn't swing while walking/ light jogging. I was also able to drive without removing it from my belt.
- One handed removal and sheath closure was not an issue. Thou I did have to keep reminding myself which way I liked the handle to face when sheathing it.
- Weight was also not an issue in the sheath and I carried it the last quarter of the hike without it feeling heavy in my hands.
- I did not baton with it but I will next time.
Final Thoughts:
- An amazing and thoroughly well thought out design.
- Easy and very intuitive to use.
- Easy to carry (weight wise and sheath design).
- Performed all the task I need it to really really well, quickly and with ease.
- I could see this blade being used hard all day with issue.
- I would recommend this knife in a heartbeat
Last but not least I found this knife reminded me of my old Jeep as it looked good when it was dirty from playing in the woods.
W.M.
