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- Sep 10, 2010
- Messages
- 3,737
As many of you know I recently scored two NMFBM's and was having trouble deciding which one to keep. I decided to keep both and make the SOS NMFBM my first ever safe queen.
I picked the standard NMFBM to be my user because I felt that the hand smoothed grips would be more comfortable for prolonged chopping and also the lighter weight would make it easier and possibly allow it to bit a little deeper than its thicker brother.
I originally bought the NMFBM to use as a back yard chopper but after carrying it around the house a big I decided it was light enough to carry on hikes. Upgrading from the M9 or Basic 11 which I usually carried to the NMFBM meant I would be carrying significantly more weight than usual.
To counter this I switched from carrying a RMD to a War Dog which saved me a good amount of weight.
Here's the Results
As someone who has owned and extensively used a Rat Daddy LE, Dogfather, Basic 11, Killa Zilla 2, Cold steel Kukri, M9, and Junglas I can say without a doubt that the NMFBM is hands down the most powerful and most comfortable chopper I have ever used.
The Fusion handle and great geometry is what makes it such a beast. I give Jerry props for developing the Fusion handle. When he said "no hot spots" he wasn't joking. I chopped down a fully grown tree and my hand has no blisters and Im not sore.
Compared to the Killa Zilla the NMFBM is better at everything except splitting wood by a large margin. It bites very deep, has a healthy forward balance and is so comfortable to use that you have to experience it to believe it.
After a long chopping session with the Zilla my hand would be shot and my rotator cuff would be very stiff. It was more like swinging a baseball bat than a knife. I think much of the reason it was so painful to use came from the Thick edge that didnt allow you to sink it into wood. Instead you were smashing into it and all the shock was being returned to your hand and shoulder.
My brother and I did a head to head chopping comparison with the Dogfather vs. NMFBM and the NMFBM got through the same log in less than half the number of strokes. However It lost in the brush clearing department due to it being much slower.
The NMFBM bites deep every swing, and has the perfect balance of weight and speed that makes it a breeze to use. And again, I can't emphasize how comfortable the Fusion handle it. Jerry really nailed this one.
Here is the tree that I chopped down. Took me about 6 minutes and I used both arms to chop so it probably went faster than usual. The tree was about 60 feet tall.
Here's the tree once it was fallen. It broke into several pieces when it hit another tree but you can get an Idea of its size.
Not bad at the fine work either
Onto the War Dog.
Ive owned a few war dogs but Never really got out and used one hard. I liked the handle but I always picked up my RMD instead. To save weight I decided to take it out and really put it through its paces and see if it was a capable replacement for the much heavier RMD. I also wanted to see how INFI performed in a non chopping blade.
I sat down infront of the fireplace and used the war dog to make about thirty feather sticks to see how it handled in a typical wood working role. at the end my hand was shot but the War dog handle was very comfortable and really allowed you to get alot of power behind push cuts.
with other knives like the ESEE 3 that have smaller, less filling handles, I don't always feel like I can use the knife to its maximum potential because I can't get a good grip on it. The war dog was very comfortable and filled out the palm well. I think the Basic 4 will be a winner.
As for the blade, I wasn't used to the convex edge/grind on the war to so it took be a few attempts to adjust to the new edge geometry. However once I got used to it I could make some awesome feather sticks.
I used it to carve a fork as well and it did a decent job for how thick the blade is.
I then used it to split up some wood and it splits like a champ. Much better than the thinner RMD.
At then end of the knight, after making at least 30 feather sticks, carving a fork, and splitting a bunch of wood the War dog would still shave easily. The 154CM sabozafly my brother was using would not and it did less work that the war dog.
My favorite thing about the War Dog is its tremendous weight to performance ratio. It is so light you forget you are carrying it but when it comes time to DO WORK it is just as capable as a larger, heavier knife.
To conclude,
The war dog and NMFBM are both awesome examples of INFI and I will be carrying them as a Duo for a long time to come
I picked the standard NMFBM to be my user because I felt that the hand smoothed grips would be more comfortable for prolonged chopping and also the lighter weight would make it easier and possibly allow it to bit a little deeper than its thicker brother.
I originally bought the NMFBM to use as a back yard chopper but after carrying it around the house a big I decided it was light enough to carry on hikes. Upgrading from the M9 or Basic 11 which I usually carried to the NMFBM meant I would be carrying significantly more weight than usual.
To counter this I switched from carrying a RMD to a War Dog which saved me a good amount of weight.
Here's the Results
As someone who has owned and extensively used a Rat Daddy LE, Dogfather, Basic 11, Killa Zilla 2, Cold steel Kukri, M9, and Junglas I can say without a doubt that the NMFBM is hands down the most powerful and most comfortable chopper I have ever used.
The Fusion handle and great geometry is what makes it such a beast. I give Jerry props for developing the Fusion handle. When he said "no hot spots" he wasn't joking. I chopped down a fully grown tree and my hand has no blisters and Im not sore.
Compared to the Killa Zilla the NMFBM is better at everything except splitting wood by a large margin. It bites very deep, has a healthy forward balance and is so comfortable to use that you have to experience it to believe it.
After a long chopping session with the Zilla my hand would be shot and my rotator cuff would be very stiff. It was more like swinging a baseball bat than a knife. I think much of the reason it was so painful to use came from the Thick edge that didnt allow you to sink it into wood. Instead you were smashing into it and all the shock was being returned to your hand and shoulder.
My brother and I did a head to head chopping comparison with the Dogfather vs. NMFBM and the NMFBM got through the same log in less than half the number of strokes. However It lost in the brush clearing department due to it being much slower.
The NMFBM bites deep every swing, and has the perfect balance of weight and speed that makes it a breeze to use. And again, I can't emphasize how comfortable the Fusion handle it. Jerry really nailed this one.
Here is the tree that I chopped down. Took me about 6 minutes and I used both arms to chop so it probably went faster than usual. The tree was about 60 feet tall.
Here's the tree once it was fallen. It broke into several pieces when it hit another tree but you can get an Idea of its size.
Not bad at the fine work either
Onto the War Dog.
Ive owned a few war dogs but Never really got out and used one hard. I liked the handle but I always picked up my RMD instead. To save weight I decided to take it out and really put it through its paces and see if it was a capable replacement for the much heavier RMD. I also wanted to see how INFI performed in a non chopping blade.
I sat down infront of the fireplace and used the war dog to make about thirty feather sticks to see how it handled in a typical wood working role. at the end my hand was shot but the War dog handle was very comfortable and really allowed you to get alot of power behind push cuts.
with other knives like the ESEE 3 that have smaller, less filling handles, I don't always feel like I can use the knife to its maximum potential because I can't get a good grip on it. The war dog was very comfortable and filled out the palm well. I think the Basic 4 will be a winner.
As for the blade, I wasn't used to the convex edge/grind on the war to so it took be a few attempts to adjust to the new edge geometry. However once I got used to it I could make some awesome feather sticks.
I used it to carve a fork as well and it did a decent job for how thick the blade is.
I then used it to split up some wood and it splits like a champ. Much better than the thinner RMD.
At then end of the knight, after making at least 30 feather sticks, carving a fork, and splitting a bunch of wood the War dog would still shave easily. The 154CM sabozafly my brother was using would not and it did less work that the war dog.
My favorite thing about the War Dog is its tremendous weight to performance ratio. It is so light you forget you are carrying it but when it comes time to DO WORK it is just as capable as a larger, heavier knife.
To conclude,
The war dog and NMFBM are both awesome examples of INFI and I will be carrying them as a Duo for a long time to come
