- Joined
- Mar 20, 1999
- Messages
- 1,163
Howdy All!
I just picked up a Benchmade Nimravus in a trade from a fellow forumite. I have handled a few, but have never been overly impressed my them. This knife changed my mind.
The first thing I did was take it apart and get rid of the black coating. Just a little while with a green Scotchbrite pad and voila....you can see the results below.
The second thing I had to do was re-sharpen the knife due to the dulling of the edge by the Scotchbrite. It wasn't hard to re-sharpen and now shaves hair. (Cuts calves nicely too if you don't angle it right!)
Third, I started playing with the knife. Here are a few observations:
The handle is more comfortable than I remembered. The only things I can think of that would improve the grip are more agressive thumb serrations on the top and the addition of serrations in the finger groove on the underside of the knife. Perhaps the scales could be a tad thicker.
The factory supplied Kydex sheath appears to be extremely well made. Thick Kydex, good lines, simple but effective design. However, the fit of the knife in the sheath is atrocious. The knife rattles loosely and will fall out if turned upside down and shaken lightly. Hence the warning printed on the sheath clip: "-WARNING- THIS SHEATH IS NOT TO BE USED FOR HANDLE-DOWN CARRY." I did carry the knife around inside my waistband with this sheath. It was very comfortable and quite handy, just loose. I figure a little time with the gas burner on the stove and we'll have it all taken care of.
Fortunately, a Newt Livesay custom Kydex sheath was generously thrown in on the trade. Newt's sheath is made from thinner Kydex and has near unlimited carry options. The sheath holds the knife securely. I strapped it upside down to my gear and jumped to the ground from about 6 feet up. The knife stayed in the sheath! I CAN sling the knife out, but it takes considerable effort.
The Nimravus isn't what I would call a "skinning knife," however, I will be testing the knife in this role during the upcoming hunting season. I used it in the kitchen yesterday with satisfactory results. I would prefer this knife over our Cold Steel kitchen knives anyday. A nice "camp" knife? Sure! The knife seems to be very utilitarian in nature and that feeling is backed up by the following quote from Benchmade's website:
"As you can see it has a very good utility blade shape, and will perform equally well in a diverse selection of uses."
All in all, I am pleased with the trade and hope to pass this one along to the kids someday. The hard part will be trying to get them to stop fighting over it!
<center><img src=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=33630&a=208307&p=12895999&Sequence=1></center>
[This message has been edited by the4th (edited 22 October 1999).]
I just picked up a Benchmade Nimravus in a trade from a fellow forumite. I have handled a few, but have never been overly impressed my them. This knife changed my mind.
The first thing I did was take it apart and get rid of the black coating. Just a little while with a green Scotchbrite pad and voila....you can see the results below.
The second thing I had to do was re-sharpen the knife due to the dulling of the edge by the Scotchbrite. It wasn't hard to re-sharpen and now shaves hair. (Cuts calves nicely too if you don't angle it right!)
Third, I started playing with the knife. Here are a few observations:
The handle is more comfortable than I remembered. The only things I can think of that would improve the grip are more agressive thumb serrations on the top and the addition of serrations in the finger groove on the underside of the knife. Perhaps the scales could be a tad thicker.
The factory supplied Kydex sheath appears to be extremely well made. Thick Kydex, good lines, simple but effective design. However, the fit of the knife in the sheath is atrocious. The knife rattles loosely and will fall out if turned upside down and shaken lightly. Hence the warning printed on the sheath clip: "-WARNING- THIS SHEATH IS NOT TO BE USED FOR HANDLE-DOWN CARRY." I did carry the knife around inside my waistband with this sheath. It was very comfortable and quite handy, just loose. I figure a little time with the gas burner on the stove and we'll have it all taken care of.
Fortunately, a Newt Livesay custom Kydex sheath was generously thrown in on the trade. Newt's sheath is made from thinner Kydex and has near unlimited carry options. The sheath holds the knife securely. I strapped it upside down to my gear and jumped to the ground from about 6 feet up. The knife stayed in the sheath! I CAN sling the knife out, but it takes considerable effort.
The Nimravus isn't what I would call a "skinning knife," however, I will be testing the knife in this role during the upcoming hunting season. I used it in the kitchen yesterday with satisfactory results. I would prefer this knife over our Cold Steel kitchen knives anyday. A nice "camp" knife? Sure! The knife seems to be very utilitarian in nature and that feeling is backed up by the following quote from Benchmade's website:
"As you can see it has a very good utility blade shape, and will perform equally well in a diverse selection of uses."
All in all, I am pleased with the trade and hope to pass this one along to the kids someday. The hard part will be trying to get them to stop fighting over it!
<center><img src=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=33630&a=208307&p=12895999&Sequence=1></center>
[This message has been edited by the4th (edited 22 October 1999).]