- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 27,860
With his focused change of career, new tooling and all, keep your eye on this man.
He's unleashing his inner demon, and coming out swingin as a full time cutler!
Although his work speaks for itself, you have to have it in front of you in order to find out what it has to say, which happens to be a lot. Matthew is a talented designer, who is methodical in his approach to design. He fits neatly into the 'less is more' camp, so the things that make his knives great, from a design perspective, are things that tend toward the subtle which create an aggragate effect of wholistic simplicity.
Matt's kwaiken pattern has been refined over the course of 5 or 6 years at least, and the one pictured here, though atypical of this pattern, is the most recent version.
The knife overviewed in this thread is not my first Matthew Gregory piece, but the circumstances surrounding its acquisition eerily mirror the acquisition of my first Gregory knife. In both cases, I knew immediately upon seeing the knives on my computer screen that they'd fit nicely into my little collection, however, no one else seemed to feel the same way! So, in both cases, Matt and I did tradesies.
*********
No straight knife is much use if you can't carry it around. So, let's start with the scabbard.
I'd classify this scabbard as 'gentlemen's grade'. Its IWB strap is leather, and the fasteners are Allen fittings. I suggested to Matt that he refine his kwaiken pattern into two seperate models; Gentlemen Grade, and Explorer Grade. The suggestion for the Explorer Grade scabbard is to include an industrial rubber IWB strap, a Tekloc or similar device compatible with MOLLE and pack straps, and slotted fasteners.
This knife has found a home on my belt for about a week, during work. I have no interest in carrying concealed weapons, in part due to the law, in part due to the fact that I think it's silly to carry weapons around. That being said, the knife pretty much disappears and carries comfortably. It draws smooth and quiet, perfect for deanimating sentries
.
Here's Matt's video, showing how it works;
[video=youtube;-hCUQMdJ67A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=-hCUQMdJ67A[/video]
Although the photos suck, I've included them in order to show Matt's obsessive attention to precision. The grinds are symmetrical, and the plunges are cut with an unusual accuracy.
The knife itself features a blade which is distally tapered. It balances right at the Turk's Head, and the knife has a nice heft to it.
Matt finished the edge to 1000 grit, and stropped, leaving a toothy edge. Personally, I can't help myself from polishing the edge bevels of my knives, but I have so far resisted with this knife in order to test it out as is. It is very sharp.
The handle is JUST long enough to fill the hand. For a knife like this, less handle = easier concealed carry. The wrap is spaced perfectly for traction, with the tip of each finger resting on the smooth G10 underneath. The combination of rough, epoxy soaked cord, and smooth understory makes for a delicious grip and a pleasingly tactile sensation.
This kwaiken is definitely 'Explorer Grade', with it's powdercoated blade and composite handle. My suggestion to Matt was to develop a 'Gentleman's Grade' version. For that, my sense is that the blade ought to be about 1/8" shorter and the blade very slightly less wide. I'd like to see the handle wrapped in a material that is softer against the skin, like tsunami cord, silk or leather, as I find the hard, epoxy soaked cord to be a little less comfortable than it would otherwise be. Premium wood, fossilised tooth or antler, along with a polished blade with hamon is something Matt already does. A laminated blade would be pretty cool, as well.
I spent a little time messing around this morning. It's difficult to cut freestanding object, in this case rolled up paper. The constant curvature of the blade goes a long way in shearing through stuff, and no doubt the toothiness of the edge was helpful. Fine newsprint is also difficult to slice cleanly, especially when it's crumpled up. The material is rough and inconsistent, and so light that it tears before it shears if the edge isn't keen enough.
[video=youtube;lhAU2i6Ck9I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhAU2i6Ck9I&feature=youtu.be[/video]
[video=youtube;-c0H561I5os]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c0H561I5os&feature=youtu.be[/video]
My first experience carrying it in the bush occurred after dark on Sunday. We'd gotten home from a day taking care of stuff in Port Angeles, and I noticed what I thought was my friend's truck in the parking lot of the trailhead adjacent to our house. Knowing that he often goes riding on his own, I was a little worried that he might be injured and stuck in the woods after dark. So, I took my trusty kwaiken and set off into the dark woods with my headlamp and tried to track Tom down. Well, spending 45 minutes in the bush at night by myself is not unheard of, but that doesn't mean it doesn't making me a little nervous, hearing the sounds of wildlife all around. It was comforting to have this knife in hand.
I've since had it during a couple of hikes, and it's reassuring to have a purpose built weapon in the unlikely event that a predator sees me as prey.
He's unleashing his inner demon, and coming out swingin as a full time cutler!
Although his work speaks for itself, you have to have it in front of you in order to find out what it has to say, which happens to be a lot. Matthew is a talented designer, who is methodical in his approach to design. He fits neatly into the 'less is more' camp, so the things that make his knives great, from a design perspective, are things that tend toward the subtle which create an aggragate effect of wholistic simplicity.
Matt's kwaiken pattern has been refined over the course of 5 or 6 years at least, and the one pictured here, though atypical of this pattern, is the most recent version.
The knife overviewed in this thread is not my first Matthew Gregory piece, but the circumstances surrounding its acquisition eerily mirror the acquisition of my first Gregory knife. In both cases, I knew immediately upon seeing the knives on my computer screen that they'd fit nicely into my little collection, however, no one else seemed to feel the same way! So, in both cases, Matt and I did tradesies.
*********
No straight knife is much use if you can't carry it around. So, let's start with the scabbard.
I'd classify this scabbard as 'gentlemen's grade'. Its IWB strap is leather, and the fasteners are Allen fittings. I suggested to Matt that he refine his kwaiken pattern into two seperate models; Gentlemen Grade, and Explorer Grade. The suggestion for the Explorer Grade scabbard is to include an industrial rubber IWB strap, a Tekloc or similar device compatible with MOLLE and pack straps, and slotted fasteners.
This knife has found a home on my belt for about a week, during work. I have no interest in carrying concealed weapons, in part due to the law, in part due to the fact that I think it's silly to carry weapons around. That being said, the knife pretty much disappears and carries comfortably. It draws smooth and quiet, perfect for deanimating sentries
.
Here's Matt's video, showing how it works;
[video=youtube;-hCUQMdJ67A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=-hCUQMdJ67A[/video]
Although the photos suck, I've included them in order to show Matt's obsessive attention to precision. The grinds are symmetrical, and the plunges are cut with an unusual accuracy.
The knife itself features a blade which is distally tapered. It balances right at the Turk's Head, and the knife has a nice heft to it.
Matt finished the edge to 1000 grit, and stropped, leaving a toothy edge. Personally, I can't help myself from polishing the edge bevels of my knives, but I have so far resisted with this knife in order to test it out as is. It is very sharp.
The handle is JUST long enough to fill the hand. For a knife like this, less handle = easier concealed carry. The wrap is spaced perfectly for traction, with the tip of each finger resting on the smooth G10 underneath. The combination of rough, epoxy soaked cord, and smooth understory makes for a delicious grip and a pleasingly tactile sensation.
This kwaiken is definitely 'Explorer Grade', with it's powdercoated blade and composite handle. My suggestion to Matt was to develop a 'Gentleman's Grade' version. For that, my sense is that the blade ought to be about 1/8" shorter and the blade very slightly less wide. I'd like to see the handle wrapped in a material that is softer against the skin, like tsunami cord, silk or leather, as I find the hard, epoxy soaked cord to be a little less comfortable than it would otherwise be. Premium wood, fossilised tooth or antler, along with a polished blade with hamon is something Matt already does. A laminated blade would be pretty cool, as well.
I spent a little time messing around this morning. It's difficult to cut freestanding object, in this case rolled up paper. The constant curvature of the blade goes a long way in shearing through stuff, and no doubt the toothiness of the edge was helpful. Fine newsprint is also difficult to slice cleanly, especially when it's crumpled up. The material is rough and inconsistent, and so light that it tears before it shears if the edge isn't keen enough.
[video=youtube;lhAU2i6Ck9I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhAU2i6Ck9I&feature=youtu.be[/video]
[video=youtube;-c0H561I5os]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c0H561I5os&feature=youtu.be[/video]
My first experience carrying it in the bush occurred after dark on Sunday. We'd gotten home from a day taking care of stuff in Port Angeles, and I noticed what I thought was my friend's truck in the parking lot of the trailhead adjacent to our house. Knowing that he often goes riding on his own, I was a little worried that he might be injured and stuck in the woods after dark. So, I took my trusty kwaiken and set off into the dark woods with my headlamp and tried to track Tom down. Well, spending 45 minutes in the bush at night by myself is not unheard of, but that doesn't mean it doesn't making me a little nervous, hearing the sounds of wildlife all around. It was comforting to have this knife in hand.
I've since had it during a couple of hikes, and it's reassuring to have a purpose built weapon in the unlikely event that a predator sees me as prey
.
