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- Feb 28, 2007
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Rick Marchand showed up at my door today to show me a few of his new wrap jobs and his bushy blades. Damn, he has a new style going on that is super clean, pleasing to the eye and a dream come true to your hands.
The new wrap, and admittedly the picture below doesn't do the blades justice (bad lighting) for their awesome visuals, is basically the Rick-invented version of micarta. It has a solid grippy feel to it but yet is not rough on the hand. The wrap consists of a new type of cordage he found that is overlaid on top of a thick slab of leather. The rap is then epoxy soaked and he goes through some magical finishing processes. All, I can say is that this one feels a bit like Rat Cutlery's micarta in the hand, with a slight amount of give owning to the leather and very light bit of tacky grip. When the wrap gets wet, the fibres swell and make the handle become even more grippy then when dry. Its like magic. This stuff is as tough as micarta but with an organic look that nicely complements his trademark etched blade. I know how tough Rick's wraps are because I've accidentally hit the wrapped portion of my S-curve a few times with a baton and it didn't leave the slightest big of mark. His new wraps have a more refined (cleaner looking) look than his older wraps and I love the juxtaposition between the vertical direction of the wrapping and the horizontal plane of the etching. This is some classy stuff!
Among the blades he brought was a modified RC-3 (bottom of picture) which I'm told will be donated back to Shotgunner11 who may offer it up the ratpackers (wouldn't that be peachy!), a bushcrafter model which my hand fell in love with, his bushguppy and tanto. My two Brian Andrews knives, a bushcrafter in green micarta and bitterroot in African blackwood are in the center. Again, these knives were shot under flash which is never very forgiving to them. I hope Rick will post some natual sunlight shots of his blades later.
The RC-3 sports a modification to remove the choil and blade coating. He preserved the RC-logo under his classic etching. The pommel and lanyard hole is removed and the top file work is smoothened out a bit. The wrap is thicker than the standard handle and the loss of the guard/choil makes the handle actually much more roomy in the hand then the original. This is a killer mod!
The bushcrafter model is basically a Woodlore clone with Rick's flat grind and ultrasharp convex edge. He has a big handle on this one with a bit of a contour in the center that just feels right. When I buy my next Rick blade, this will probably be it. In the picture, Ricks new bushcrafter is placed beside my Brian Andrews' bushy. Its blade profile is slightly wider, but in keeping with Woodlore clones 1" blade height. It sports a near spear point tip and plenty of belly to work with. This one will be perfect for batoning, carving and drilling. I think the blade is 4.25" blade. I really want one of these!
The Tanto and guppy are bigger blades, both around 5" in length. They feel like big knives but will still be compact for carry. The guppy sports a slight drop down blade below the handle and is very comfy in the hand. This one could be a stand alone knife, great for camp chores, kitchen prep and general bushy stuff. The tanto is more of a Japenese style knife that could be classified as a fighter. The blotchy look on the tanto is an artifact of the photo. Damn, I really hate the flash included on my camera!
All of the blades come around 3/16" thick, but they all have different tapers to them. As all of Rick's blades are forged, he puts a lot of effort into making the tapers work with the knife design. The bushcrafter is aggressively tapered at the back of the tang to provide a neutral balance while preserving blade strength at the spine and in the front part of the handle. Despite its size, this is still a light knife and much lighter in the hand then the B. Andrews bushy. The guppy remains thick through most of the blade spine and the tanto has a strong tapering from spine to tip making it an efficient stabber.
The very top blade is an unfinished scalper that Rick made while doing a blacksmith demo at Fort Malden park. He says he is going to go all retro with this one and include a rawhide leather sheath.
Anyhow, I know this thread is more knife oogling than it is outdoor skills. However, Rick's blades are designed as die hard users with tough being a central part of the equation. The knives are of 1084 except the tanto which was a different steel (I think it was 5160). Rick is still in the process of making his leather sheaths for them. I'm also told that these guys are all spoken for, so we won't be seeing them in the Maker's fixed blade for sale area. Too bad, these one are some real winners!
The new wrap, and admittedly the picture below doesn't do the blades justice (bad lighting) for their awesome visuals, is basically the Rick-invented version of micarta. It has a solid grippy feel to it but yet is not rough on the hand. The wrap consists of a new type of cordage he found that is overlaid on top of a thick slab of leather. The rap is then epoxy soaked and he goes through some magical finishing processes. All, I can say is that this one feels a bit like Rat Cutlery's micarta in the hand, with a slight amount of give owning to the leather and very light bit of tacky grip. When the wrap gets wet, the fibres swell and make the handle become even more grippy then when dry. Its like magic. This stuff is as tough as micarta but with an organic look that nicely complements his trademark etched blade. I know how tough Rick's wraps are because I've accidentally hit the wrapped portion of my S-curve a few times with a baton and it didn't leave the slightest big of mark. His new wraps have a more refined (cleaner looking) look than his older wraps and I love the juxtaposition between the vertical direction of the wrapping and the horizontal plane of the etching. This is some classy stuff!
Among the blades he brought was a modified RC-3 (bottom of picture) which I'm told will be donated back to Shotgunner11 who may offer it up the ratpackers (wouldn't that be peachy!), a bushcrafter model which my hand fell in love with, his bushguppy and tanto. My two Brian Andrews knives, a bushcrafter in green micarta and bitterroot in African blackwood are in the center. Again, these knives were shot under flash which is never very forgiving to them. I hope Rick will post some natual sunlight shots of his blades later.
The RC-3 sports a modification to remove the choil and blade coating. He preserved the RC-logo under his classic etching. The pommel and lanyard hole is removed and the top file work is smoothened out a bit. The wrap is thicker than the standard handle and the loss of the guard/choil makes the handle actually much more roomy in the hand then the original. This is a killer mod!
The bushcrafter model is basically a Woodlore clone with Rick's flat grind and ultrasharp convex edge. He has a big handle on this one with a bit of a contour in the center that just feels right. When I buy my next Rick blade, this will probably be it. In the picture, Ricks new bushcrafter is placed beside my Brian Andrews' bushy. Its blade profile is slightly wider, but in keeping with Woodlore clones 1" blade height. It sports a near spear point tip and plenty of belly to work with. This one will be perfect for batoning, carving and drilling. I think the blade is 4.25" blade. I really want one of these!
The Tanto and guppy are bigger blades, both around 5" in length. They feel like big knives but will still be compact for carry. The guppy sports a slight drop down blade below the handle and is very comfy in the hand. This one could be a stand alone knife, great for camp chores, kitchen prep and general bushy stuff. The tanto is more of a Japenese style knife that could be classified as a fighter. The blotchy look on the tanto is an artifact of the photo. Damn, I really hate the flash included on my camera!
All of the blades come around 3/16" thick, but they all have different tapers to them. As all of Rick's blades are forged, he puts a lot of effort into making the tapers work with the knife design. The bushcrafter is aggressively tapered at the back of the tang to provide a neutral balance while preserving blade strength at the spine and in the front part of the handle. Despite its size, this is still a light knife and much lighter in the hand then the B. Andrews bushy. The guppy remains thick through most of the blade spine and the tanto has a strong tapering from spine to tip making it an efficient stabber.
The very top blade is an unfinished scalper that Rick made while doing a blacksmith demo at Fort Malden park. He says he is going to go all retro with this one and include a rawhide leather sheath.
Anyhow, I know this thread is more knife oogling than it is outdoor skills. However, Rick's blades are designed as die hard users with tough being a central part of the equation. The knives are of 1084 except the tanto which was a different steel (I think it was 5160). Rick is still in the process of making his leather sheaths for them. I'm also told that these guys are all spoken for, so we won't be seeing them in the Maker's fixed blade for sale area. Too bad, these one are some real winners!
