- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,427
My first review. Here goes.
Christmas arrived, finally, with delivery of the Marble's Fieldcraft with stacked leather grip, which I ordered from Blowoutknives (thanks for the excellent service).
First impression: This is one solid piece. It's a scaled down (2/3 size) version of their Woodcraft, a classic blade which goes back nearly 100 years. That one was in good old 1095 high carbon steel; the new one is in 52100, which should be even better.
This is a substantial little knife. It weighs good in the hand. Every fitting is solid and tight; there is no gap whatsoever between blade and the brass fingerguard. It balances about 1/2" behind the guard. Think: trout knife on steroids.
The stacked leather oval handle is 3 3/4" from guard to buttcap, 1" deep and 5/8" wide. The thumb falls naturally on the beginning of the curve on the back of the blade. The grip is also available in tigerwood, curly maple and stag. I wanted traditional (and cheap stacked leather is the least expensive).
The blade is 3/16" thick, the same as the larger Woodcraft, 3 5/8" long and 1" wide at its deepest point, with a continuous curve from choil to tip. Should be an excellent skinner. Nice distal taper, of course, and a rolled edge meaning no discernible secondary bevel. It was very sharp out of the box - I'd rate it as good as any of Cold Steel's new blades - but with a slight burr on the forward third of the blade. A few sweeps along a DMT fine diamond hone took care of that, and a stropping on a leather with chromium dioxide stropping compound, followed by a finishing strop on plain leather took it to a razor edge. This thing cuts like a big fresh scalpel. I whittled a piece of yellow cedar for five minutes, producing a pile of shavings, and it still shaved without any drag. I think I'm going to like 52100 steel. The heat treat and temper is followed by an in-house multi-step cryogenic process, according to Marble's.
A few nits: the grind is a little bit uneven at the choil and on the top of the blade, and a little rough just in front of the brass fingerguard. A light pass with a Dremel buffer wheel could fix the latter, but I don't think I'll bother. None of these affect its utility in the least.
The one piece pouch-type brown leather sheath, which I prefer, is easily the best production sheath I've come across. It holds the knife firmly without any need for a strap, yet it's not so tight two hands are needed to draw the knife. Theres no snap or strap to secure the knife; however, the flared buttcap would accommodate a Turkshead knot for a lanyard, if need be. The leather is 1/8" thick, with a very substantial welt 3/16" thick. A shelf or step on the welt inside the sheath intercepts the fingerguard and keeps the knife from slipping further down. There's a slight hole at the toe of the sheath where moisture can drain. I'll apply a coat of SnowSeal inside and out to seal the pores. It's obvious that someone put a fair amount of thought into its design. The butt protrudes 1 5/8" above the top of the sheath. Normally I like the belt strap longer so the butt doesn't protrude above my belt line, but I can live with this one. I'll probably hang it around my neck most of the time anyway. It wouldn't be difficult to figure out some kind of swivel extension if I want it to hang lower.
I'm going to be packing this one a lot this winter on the x-country trails.
Conclusion: Marble's has a little way to go on precision grinding, but the design is great, the steel is superb, and I think they're going to sell a lot of this one.
Christmas arrived, finally, with delivery of the Marble's Fieldcraft with stacked leather grip, which I ordered from Blowoutknives (thanks for the excellent service).
First impression: This is one solid piece. It's a scaled down (2/3 size) version of their Woodcraft, a classic blade which goes back nearly 100 years. That one was in good old 1095 high carbon steel; the new one is in 52100, which should be even better.
This is a substantial little knife. It weighs good in the hand. Every fitting is solid and tight; there is no gap whatsoever between blade and the brass fingerguard. It balances about 1/2" behind the guard. Think: trout knife on steroids.
The stacked leather oval handle is 3 3/4" from guard to buttcap, 1" deep and 5/8" wide. The thumb falls naturally on the beginning of the curve on the back of the blade. The grip is also available in tigerwood, curly maple and stag. I wanted traditional (and cheap stacked leather is the least expensive).
The blade is 3/16" thick, the same as the larger Woodcraft, 3 5/8" long and 1" wide at its deepest point, with a continuous curve from choil to tip. Should be an excellent skinner. Nice distal taper, of course, and a rolled edge meaning no discernible secondary bevel. It was very sharp out of the box - I'd rate it as good as any of Cold Steel's new blades - but with a slight burr on the forward third of the blade. A few sweeps along a DMT fine diamond hone took care of that, and a stropping on a leather with chromium dioxide stropping compound, followed by a finishing strop on plain leather took it to a razor edge. This thing cuts like a big fresh scalpel. I whittled a piece of yellow cedar for five minutes, producing a pile of shavings, and it still shaved without any drag. I think I'm going to like 52100 steel. The heat treat and temper is followed by an in-house multi-step cryogenic process, according to Marble's.
A few nits: the grind is a little bit uneven at the choil and on the top of the blade, and a little rough just in front of the brass fingerguard. A light pass with a Dremel buffer wheel could fix the latter, but I don't think I'll bother. None of these affect its utility in the least.
The one piece pouch-type brown leather sheath, which I prefer, is easily the best production sheath I've come across. It holds the knife firmly without any need for a strap, yet it's not so tight two hands are needed to draw the knife. Theres no snap or strap to secure the knife; however, the flared buttcap would accommodate a Turkshead knot for a lanyard, if need be. The leather is 1/8" thick, with a very substantial welt 3/16" thick. A shelf or step on the welt inside the sheath intercepts the fingerguard and keeps the knife from slipping further down. There's a slight hole at the toe of the sheath where moisture can drain. I'll apply a coat of SnowSeal inside and out to seal the pores. It's obvious that someone put a fair amount of thought into its design. The butt protrudes 1 5/8" above the top of the sheath. Normally I like the belt strap longer so the butt doesn't protrude above my belt line, but I can live with this one. I'll probably hang it around my neck most of the time anyway. It wouldn't be difficult to figure out some kind of swivel extension if I want it to hang lower.
I'm going to be packing this one a lot this winter on the x-country trails.
Conclusion: Marble's has a little way to go on precision grinding, but the design is great, the steel is superb, and I think they're going to sell a lot of this one.
