New Skinner from NWA

Brian Andrews

Brian Andrews

Joined
Dec 11, 2006
Messages
1,659
All I can say is WOW! This knife seriously has to be felt to appreciate. Photos are not going to do this one justice, mainly because of the weight and balance can not be comprehended.

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First, some background on this knife. I have been wanting a knife of this style since before I have been making knives. Even after, it is just something that I have not got around to making.

I threw the idea of this style knife by Nick one day, with only a portion of what I was thinking. He thought it was cool, but the project sat for a few weeks. We started talking about it again and finally, Nick got off his lazy a$% and made one! :D Just kidding Nick! (Nick is a pretty big dude, in case you couldn’t tell from his avatar and one of the hardest working guys I know!). Nick made a template, then made a couple more mods and came up with this final design in this first knife. It is a new design, yet with Nick’s signature style.

Don’t let the hump on the back of the blade fool you. That does not automatically make the knife a “nessmuk.” IMO, it is nowhere near what the original nessie design, even though it has been bastardized by many production and custom knife makers. If you want to see a Nessie, go visit Fiddleback’s forum.

Make no mistake, it is a bull nose. It is a classic design that has been time proven in butchering and large game skinning applications. To me, it brings up visions of large game hunting, safari style. I guess that is kind of the appeal of a lot of knives to me……they remind me of adventure. If I can’t go, I tend to daydream about it : )

Before I get on with the pics, lets get the specs out of the way.

Steel: D2
Thickness: 1/8
Grind: Full height flat
Handle: Natural micarta
Blade Length: 5” (from handle to tip)
Overall Length: 9 7/8”
Overall weight: 7 oz (on my crappy postal scale)

Enough talking, let’s see the knife in action.

First, how it was intended……..skinning and game.

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The continuous curve lends itself perfectly for the application of skinning. Maximum amount of edge for a given length of steel.

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The balance is exactly where it should be.

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To Be Continued.....
 
There are also a couple grip variations that are very easy with this style.

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This grip is the one that really gets me excited. It turns a fairly large knife into a very detailed skinner.

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The slight curve on the final portion of the blade gives a little extra security in doing a reverse grip on the knife. Especially if you hand bulges like mine when you grab something.

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What is the best use for a reverse grip? I never thought you would ask : ) It goes along with the purpose of the hump on the back. It allows you to cut material, open up game, etc, without the tip snagging and hanging up on you.

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How about wood work? While not its full time purpose, the thickness of the knife, curvature of the blade, and the sharpness, makes this knife capable of doing pretty much anything you want.

The thinness actually made it baton extremely easy.

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Of course, the the blade curvature, you would expect it to curl sticks like mad. And it does.

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To Be Continued.......
 
Finally, my favorite……..food! I don’t know about you, but when I camp, I cook a lot, and you need a knife for that. This was another reason this style of knife was highly sought after, for me. I knew that it would excel in the kitchen, and there is something cool about a woods knife, skinning knife, and game knife that can be used for food prep and work great at it. Rather than having to take a dedicated kitchen knife while camping.

One of the most important things is that the blade shape and handle combination gives you knuckle room that you need.

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Also, they say the test of a good knife is cutting a soft tomato. That is usually for sharpness, and this thing was screaming sharp so I didn't bother. IMO a good test is cutting up something firm like a potato, onions, apple, carrots, etc. The reason is the firmness of the food doesn't let it deform, and you get an idea of if the geometry of the blade is working for you, or hurting you.

While I didn't cut up a lot of stuff in the kitchen yet, I can tell I like it.

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This is nowhere near a full review, and is just showing pretty limited usage so far. But, I have held literally thousands of knives and I know when I like and don’t like something. For me, this knife is way beyond winner!

While this knife isn’t exactly what I would be carrying on my belt 100% of the time in the woods, for me, it is a must have. Especially after I got my hands on one that is exactly the way I wanted (this is a classic design, so there are obviously tons of other variations out there from other manufacturers). I would definitely have it in my pack while hunting, bring it into camp while camping or keep it anywhere handy.

Sorry for such a lengthy, long winded post. I am just so far beyond excited about this knife that I couldn't help it!

B
 
Your pictures are freekin amazing Brian:eek:! Course, you already knew that. Your reviews and write ups, stand alone by themselves:thumbup:


Thanks man
Nick:)
 
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Another great knife! Nick makes amazing products! Thanks for the review and enjoy your new knife.
 
Looks like Nick has a winner to add to his line.

His eye for Aesthetics has always impressed me. All too often a maker makes nice blades but they look poor. The whole package is there with Nick. If someone were to ask me if they would buy one of his knives - all I would have to do is see if the model they are talking about suits my tastes - you know the construction and execution is top notch.

Nice.

TF
 
I think that is as close to a one-knife-for-everything you can get without making the most common tasks too unwieldy. I think it deserves the place of fixed blade in a trio much better that the Nessmuk design. It looks like an absolute winner and is one of the few knives I've seen that to me is damn near perfect. If I could have it with a high convex edge and slight microbevel to give it the strength for light chopping it would be the epitome of design in a knife that is not a whittler IMO.

Congrats, I'm very jealous.

Chris
 
Another fantastic knife by Nick! As well as an excellent reiew ny Brian.

If I could afford it, I would have every knife in the NWA line!
 
WOW! That is a beauty for sure. Nick is one helluva maker. I got to play with one of his forums knives a while back, and it still ranks right up there as one of the nicest feeling knives I have ever held.
 
Awesome blade, and great pics to go along with it! Thanks for the review :thumbup:
 
That's a nice one! I too will sometimes just look at my knife or hatchet and think of adventure. I'm glad I'm not the only day dreamer.:D
 
Exactly the blade design/profile I've been looking for for quite a while.

Just in the wrong steel. I can't stand D2.
 
wildmike said:
Just in the wrong steel. I can't stand D2.
Click to expand...

I thought so too for a long time. A lot depends on the heat treat and manufacturer.

I have come to find out that there are many steels that I thought were pretty crappy based on a knife made of that steel from various manufacturers. I find that I now have to throw that previous bias out the window and find stuff out for myself.

Either way, Nick works in other steels as well.

B
 
I don't care for the way D2 doesn't take the quailty of edge that I prefer. It also has a real reputation for being overly brittle and breaking as well as edge chipping.

My preferneces are along the lines of 1095 and 5160 with the nod going to 1095. I just haven't forund anything else that gives the same crispness of edge.

Other than that I really like the design.

It appears from what I've seen that the problem with D2 is probably due to the heat treat. However since I have seen similar problems in blades from far more than one or two makers/manufacturers it is probably a characteristic of this tool steel series. D2 probably requires a very rpecise heat treat.
 
That's too bad you had some bad experiences with this stuff. From what I have seen of this material, it performs extremly well with no edge chipping and it holds a great edge for an extended period of time. I can make and HT this knife in O-1 or A-2 as well, I just chose D-2, because I had planned on using it more in the kitchen.


Thanks for responding to my question Mike

Nick:)
 
I only have one knife in D2 and it's a Ka-Bar. It takes a great keen edge and I have actually dropped it some 6 feet or so( by accident )onto some rocks and there was no chipping at all...how many knives would have escaped that unscathed ?


Great looking knife by the way, love the design !!!!
 
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