- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,885
Rambling Wall of Text Warning
I was recently kindly given a gift card to the big river site which gave me enough "why the hell not?" license to purchase something impractical. After getting a Master Tanto for my birthday from my awesome wife (I have a whole other series of thoughts on just how special that design is that I may blather on in another thread), I decided to go with something ridiculous. Enter the Espada XL with blacked out blade and ruby red handle.
This thing is... ridiculous.
For comparison I put it up against he Master Tanto and a couple or random knives in the kitchen junk drawer. It's super silly...but maybe not when you factor in what it is designed for.
I have seen videos of people using it for camp chores and pretending that choking up on it is going to make you look any less like a psychopath if you pull out almost 18" of knife from your pocket. I'm not kidding myself. I bought it because I have a lot of time behind a khukuri and have always been a fan of the logic chain of James Keating's bowie techniques that I studied for a bit. This is a big knife for big social problems that fits in your pocket (mostly...depending on the pocket).
What drew me to the knife was that when pulled from a pocket, your hand naturally falls into the middle/rear grip where the subhilt locks right under your pointer finger. I have size Large (that is to say not that large) hands and this feels perfect for me in terms of my blade weight forward khukuri preference. After dehorning the G10 with some 600 grit sand paper, it feels so good. Obviously rocking the chops and snap cuts of a khuk, but even without a sharpened clip, the Keating backcuts are brutal and the subhilt let's the knife sort of roll backward and give a nasty beak strike around a block or parry. It really dances even for someone like me who is a novice but understands how a knife moves.
So I was pretty pleased with how it handled. Then I did a little digging on how else you could use this knife in a fight. I remembered watching Rolando Estocada demonstrating this in a cloak and dagger style on YouTube, and while I don't see myself ever drawing this and going toe to toe with someone in a bladed duel with my jacket draped over my arm (I'd probably lose or certainly wouldn't win), the rear stance and grip change ups are something I find really fascinating and potentially useful.
In practice, I actually found this really practical if I were to snap open the blade with a wrist flick. The knife is so large, and I actually have a better handle on the knife when my grip is more forward on the handle. Snapping it open here still gives me 8+" reach and the rest of the handle counter balances it without it feeling like the weight will get away from me. Very quick snap cuts and thrusts that if done in a flurry would be pretty unsettling to whomever was on the receiving end. I found that as I brought the on knife back to rear by my hip, it was super easy to adjust back to the subhilt position out of the line of sight of your opponent. This is a game changer. Not only did I find my cuts were now more leveraged and powerful chops, but whoever is guarding against an expected 7.5" blade has to adjust that knife reach is about 4" LONGER at this point. You've gone from a Recon Bowie to a Natchez just by covertly moving your hand back.
In short this is a very cool if impractical knife. There is no reason to pretend this is anything other than a down and dirty fighting knife. If I were to carry this, it would be for the same reason I carry a Spyderco Civilian. There is no other purpose that I can think of short of wanting to carry a larger fighter but not being able to conceal a fixed blade. The Espada XL folds up to be about the length of the blade of a Leatherneck bowie, but when opened is actually a touch longer in reach. Yes the handle is a ridiculous part of the length, but after messing around with it, what I thought was a goofy necessity actually makes the knife more versatile and dangerous.
I have no use for this knife, but honestly, if you made me pick between this thing an a belly gun at bad breath range...this is going to do a lot more damage in a hurry if you can get it out of your pocket. Not the most elegant social engagement knife, but LT and Demko were onto something with one. Color me impressed enough to be saving up for the fancy polished version
I was recently kindly given a gift card to the big river site which gave me enough "why the hell not?" license to purchase something impractical. After getting a Master Tanto for my birthday from my awesome wife (I have a whole other series of thoughts on just how special that design is that I may blather on in another thread), I decided to go with something ridiculous. Enter the Espada XL with blacked out blade and ruby red handle.
This thing is... ridiculous.
For comparison I put it up against he Master Tanto and a couple or random knives in the kitchen junk drawer. It's super silly...but maybe not when you factor in what it is designed for.
I have seen videos of people using it for camp chores and pretending that choking up on it is going to make you look any less like a psychopath if you pull out almost 18" of knife from your pocket. I'm not kidding myself. I bought it because I have a lot of time behind a khukuri and have always been a fan of the logic chain of James Keating's bowie techniques that I studied for a bit. This is a big knife for big social problems that fits in your pocket (mostly...depending on the pocket).
What drew me to the knife was that when pulled from a pocket, your hand naturally falls into the middle/rear grip where the subhilt locks right under your pointer finger. I have size Large (that is to say not that large) hands and this feels perfect for me in terms of my blade weight forward khukuri preference. After dehorning the G10 with some 600 grit sand paper, it feels so good. Obviously rocking the chops and snap cuts of a khuk, but even without a sharpened clip, the Keating backcuts are brutal and the subhilt let's the knife sort of roll backward and give a nasty beak strike around a block or parry. It really dances even for someone like me who is a novice but understands how a knife moves.
So I was pretty pleased with how it handled. Then I did a little digging on how else you could use this knife in a fight. I remembered watching Rolando Estocada demonstrating this in a cloak and dagger style on YouTube, and while I don't see myself ever drawing this and going toe to toe with someone in a bladed duel with my jacket draped over my arm (I'd probably lose or certainly wouldn't win), the rear stance and grip change ups are something I find really fascinating and potentially useful.
In practice, I actually found this really practical if I were to snap open the blade with a wrist flick. The knife is so large, and I actually have a better handle on the knife when my grip is more forward on the handle. Snapping it open here still gives me 8+" reach and the rest of the handle counter balances it without it feeling like the weight will get away from me. Very quick snap cuts and thrusts that if done in a flurry would be pretty unsettling to whomever was on the receiving end. I found that as I brought the on knife back to rear by my hip, it was super easy to adjust back to the subhilt position out of the line of sight of your opponent. This is a game changer. Not only did I find my cuts were now more leveraged and powerful chops, but whoever is guarding against an expected 7.5" blade has to adjust that knife reach is about 4" LONGER at this point. You've gone from a Recon Bowie to a Natchez just by covertly moving your hand back.
In short this is a very cool if impractical knife. There is no reason to pretend this is anything other than a down and dirty fighting knife. If I were to carry this, it would be for the same reason I carry a Spyderco Civilian. There is no other purpose that I can think of short of wanting to carry a larger fighter but not being able to conceal a fixed blade. The Espada XL folds up to be about the length of the blade of a Leatherneck bowie, but when opened is actually a touch longer in reach. Yes the handle is a ridiculous part of the length, but after messing around with it, what I thought was a goofy necessity actually makes the knife more versatile and dangerous.
I have no use for this knife, but honestly, if you made me pick between this thing an a belly gun at bad breath range...this is going to do a lot more damage in a hurry if you can get it out of your pocket. Not the most elegant social engagement knife, but LT and Demko were onto something with one. Color me impressed enough to be saving up for the fancy polished version
