- Joined
- Sep 28, 2003
- Messages
- 1,235
PART ONE
Custom knife collecting, a strange yet compulsive pastime, consuming and rewarding on many different levels. There is a tremendous amount of satisfaction to be had from collecting, and displaying, pristine, mint condition knives, and that will continue to be the primary way I collect for the foreseeable future.
But there is an equal, yet different satisfaction to be had from using a custom knife, in particular a unique, functional, and aesthetically pleasing hand made tool, exploring the application of design theories, construction techniques and good old cutting power, oh and it makes you grin as well. Now let me qualify myself first by saying that there are many knives in my collection that I would never use, their value is too high for my personal means, in either a monetary or intrinsic sense. So when I look for a custom knife to be used and (not really)abused I am looking for that magical combination of:
For a user the collectability of a "name" is not as important, what I am looking for is someone with a growing reputation and clear pride in their work. Late last year I decided I would like to get hold of a nice all round camp knife for general work around the house, camping and field trips. Being an avid forged blade fan I wanted the knife to be such, and I had also developed an interest in finding out how good sheephorn (which, yes, I like the look of) would perform in use, as it strikes me as having a nice balance of natural looks, colour, texture and durability.
As luck would have it ( as is often the way), a young maker who I had exchanged emails with in the past, happened to post a knife on these forums which fitted the bill perfectly. Matt Roberts (Longrifle) is a part time maker (and tells me he will always remain so
), based in Ohio, he has been making knives for around 2 1/2 years, he is also a law student, but don't let that put you off 
. Matt's work first came to my attention when I saw an earlier hunter of his and since then I have watched his work continue to go from strength to strength and at a very quick rate. In my email exchanges with him his passion for knives and desire to improve and continuously better himself came across strongly.
So before long I took delivery of a new Matt Roberts camp knife, sheephorn handle and, a real selling point for me, a wonderfully radiused spine. Heres a brief summary of the specs:
This first image is of the knife as delivered, fondled but still virgo intacta as far as use is concerned.
Now I will be the first too admit that I can be a bit over critical, and when it comes to knives I look at each with the same eyes, and those eyes seek perfection, symmetry, flatness of grinds, matching plunges, symmetrical clips, precise joints, smooth transitions, even finish, perfect curves, and good balance, both physically and visually. Any knife I examine is treated the same, the only thing that varies is my expectation level. My expectation is determined by factors such as price, reputation, experience level, ABS rating etc. But my expectations are also on the high side.
Put simply, Matts knife far exceeded my expectations, yes there are areas to be improved, Matt is developing his skills and we shared our views on some of the finer details of the knife ( and he only swore at me once), but I have no doubt that those aspects will be long gone from his future offerings, his quest for perfection appears very strong. I would not be overstating the matter my saying that if you where to pick up this knife from a well known JS, at a price 2 times higher you would not be disappointed. :thumbup:
The feel of the knife is also very good, the sheephorn handle is warm and the rough texture provides good grip. The balance and heft is about right for a general purpose knife, not too heavy with a forward momentum to aid chopping. Matt has done a superb finish on the blade, which is supremely durable and easy to maintain (see end of review), its highly polished and flat as glass, the radiused spine is both visually pleasing and immensely practical for manipulating the blade for close work, but also putting pressure on the blade comfortably. I want to also comment on the top clip, both its understated appearance and the spine transition are really well done, giving the blade a really strong and purposeful look. Matt also supplied his own sheath, which was a friction pouch design, high riding, but with plenty of movement in the belt loop to position in the most suitable way. I tend to wear my knives on the right hip or lower down on the thigh, and found this sheath easy to get along, if a touch too high for my tastes.
So, I have a knife that is good value, the fit and finish are very good, and higher than I expected, and visually the knife "floats my boat". But you bought it as a user I hear you cry, does it meet your criteria for function and performance, ............ well that's part two of this review!
Custom knife collecting, a strange yet compulsive pastime, consuming and rewarding on many different levels. There is a tremendous amount of satisfaction to be had from collecting, and displaying, pristine, mint condition knives, and that will continue to be the primary way I collect for the foreseeable future.
But there is an equal, yet different satisfaction to be had from using a custom knife, in particular a unique, functional, and aesthetically pleasing hand made tool, exploring the application of design theories, construction techniques and good old cutting power, oh and it makes you grin as well. Now let me qualify myself first by saying that there are many knives in my collection that I would never use, their value is too high for my personal means, in either a monetary or intrinsic sense. So when I look for a custom knife to be used and (not really)abused I am looking for that magical combination of:
- Good value for money.
- Balance of form and function.
- Good materials
- Good to high level of Fit and Finish.
For a user the collectability of a "name" is not as important, what I am looking for is someone with a growing reputation and clear pride in their work. Late last year I decided I would like to get hold of a nice all round camp knife for general work around the house, camping and field trips. Being an avid forged blade fan I wanted the knife to be such, and I had also developed an interest in finding out how good sheephorn (which, yes, I like the look of) would perform in use, as it strikes me as having a nice balance of natural looks, colour, texture and durability.
As luck would have it ( as is often the way), a young maker who I had exchanged emails with in the past, happened to post a knife on these forums which fitted the bill perfectly. Matt Roberts (Longrifle) is a part time maker (and tells me he will always remain so
), based in Ohio, he has been making knives for around 2 1/2 years, he is also a law student, but don't let that put you off . Matt's work first came to my attention when I saw an earlier hunter of his and since then I have watched his work continue to go from strength to strength and at a very quick rate. In my email exchanges with him his passion for knives and desire to improve and continuously better himself came across strongly. So before long I took delivery of a new Matt Roberts camp knife, sheephorn handle and, a real selling point for me, a wonderfully radiused spine. Heres a brief summary of the specs:
- Blade Steel: 52100
- Blade length: 8 in
- OAL: 12.5 in
- Blade width (max): 1 1/2 in
- Blade Thickness (spine): 0.25 in
- Weight: 12 oz
- Balance point: 1/4 in in front of ricasso
- Fittings: Stainless Steel
- Handle Material: Morticed Sheephorn with single stainless pin.
- Design Features: Radiused Spine, unsharpened top clip ideal for firesteels, polished and durable finish.
This first image is of the knife as delivered, fondled but still virgo intacta as far as use is concerned.
Now I will be the first too admit that I can be a bit over critical, and when it comes to knives I look at each with the same eyes, and those eyes seek perfection, symmetry, flatness of grinds, matching plunges, symmetrical clips, precise joints, smooth transitions, even finish, perfect curves, and good balance, both physically and visually. Any knife I examine is treated the same, the only thing that varies is my expectation level. My expectation is determined by factors such as price, reputation, experience level, ABS rating etc. But my expectations are also on the high side.
Put simply, Matts knife far exceeded my expectations, yes there are areas to be improved, Matt is developing his skills and we shared our views on some of the finer details of the knife ( and he only swore at me once), but I have no doubt that those aspects will be long gone from his future offerings, his quest for perfection appears very strong. I would not be overstating the matter my saying that if you where to pick up this knife from a well known JS, at a price 2 times higher you would not be disappointed. :thumbup:
The feel of the knife is also very good, the sheephorn handle is warm and the rough texture provides good grip. The balance and heft is about right for a general purpose knife, not too heavy with a forward momentum to aid chopping. Matt has done a superb finish on the blade, which is supremely durable and easy to maintain (see end of review), its highly polished and flat as glass, the radiused spine is both visually pleasing and immensely practical for manipulating the blade for close work, but also putting pressure on the blade comfortably. I want to also comment on the top clip, both its understated appearance and the spine transition are really well done, giving the blade a really strong and purposeful look. Matt also supplied his own sheath, which was a friction pouch design, high riding, but with plenty of movement in the belt loop to position in the most suitable way. I tend to wear my knives on the right hip or lower down on the thigh, and found this sheath easy to get along, if a touch too high for my tastes.
So, I have a knife that is good value, the fit and finish are very good, and higher than I expected, and visually the knife "floats my boat". But you bought it as a user I hear you cry, does it meet your criteria for function and performance, ............ well that's part two of this review!
Luckily I had one lying around from my last camping trip so I thought it would be a good idea to smash it up for fire wood for the patio burner, err, I mean, for spit roasting wild boar! Having watched the cutting comp at Blade I thought I'd try to emulate one of the challenges ........... all I can say is well done guys, you make it look very easy ........ so I set about cutting through one of the 4 X 1 (smaller than ABS) planks in the palette and again was pleased with the way the knife handled itself, if also a little perplexed with my cutting style, never the less it performed well, with similar comments as the log chop holding here as well. The image below shows the product of less than a minutes work. 
