New Arrival: Chamblin Hiker

expwmbat said:
It's pinchable for me--but then again, all of the slip joints I've had are. If my other two knives are a 6 (pinchable but stronger), this one is somewhere about 5. Maybe slightly weaker pull than the knife it replaced (my Erickson), which was slightly weaker than the other two. The numbers confuse me, but if you want a pinchable blade this one definitely fits the bill. I wouldn't mind for it to be stronger, but it's just fine where it is. And I trust Joel's judgment, after all--the man knows what he's doing.

DJK
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Thanks for the extra info. Yeah, the pull numbers are pretty much irrelevant for me.
 
Thanks for the picture as well--it's nice to place a face with the name and emails. Joel was a really pleasant guy to correspond with.

DJK
 
trevytrev said:
Very nice!! Looks a lot like a soddy, which tops in my book:thumbup:
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There are some similarities, but also some noticeable differences in design. Here's a picture of my sodbuster from the same angle, and then the Chamblin below it:







The sodbuster (KR Johnson) has a nice curve from the point to the butt--it effectively drops the point from the center line of the handle when holding it (draw a straight line through the handle and it comes out above the point by a fair bit). And overall the angle of the blade in relation to the handle is noticeably different than on the Chamblin Hiker--it feels different in use. The Hiker has the point directly in line with the handle (right down the center line). Additionally, the sodbuster handle is somewhat wider, rounded, and less deep. The Hiker is deeper, narrower (which is better in the pocket), and has a different grip due to the shape. With this blade shape, orientation and handle design, it feels like it was made for use outdoors--whittling stick, drilling holes (gently--pretty thin grind on the tip, much thinner than the sodbuster), and general use like that. The sodbuster is similarly useful, but the angles are different and the grind is a bit more robust (on mine, at least).

I should add that the other difference are the sunk joints. There are low on my sodbuster, but not sunk. And the Hiker has half stops, while the soddie does not. I'm happy with both, but there is something cool about the lack of halfstops that I like. Joel put extra care into the edges of the joint on the Hiker--on close examination they have been carefully polished to a higher level, which makes the walk/talk exceptionally smooth.



Cheers,
Daniel
 
Congratulations on your receiving an excellent knife from an excellent man who happens to be an excellent maker. (Though you'll always have a hard time convincing Joel, he's that modest.)
 
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