...The first run NMFBM were thinner. However, they were not flat ground like the AnSHBM. They have a pretty robust full height convex, so that at half height, they are still pretty thick. The NMFBM may therefore have more metal and weight out in front of the handle than the AnSHBM. Jerry has commented on the excellent balance of the AnSHBM, so maybe blowing out your shoulder would not be a problem.
I think this could be very illuminating.
For example, the convex-ground skinny ASH1 (nominally .1875” thick) weighs within a half ounce of the full-flat-ground ASH1 LE (nominally .22” thick). If you use that differential, the weight for a full-flat-ground 5/16” NMFBM (which never existed) would be about the same as a convex-ground NMFBM at .2678” thick—in other words, somewhere between the original NMFBM and the NMFBM LE. This on a knife that has the same nominal blade size as the ASHBM.
If you then replace the fusion handle with the shorter SHBM handle and go a step further by skeletonizing the tang (per Jerry’s description), you would end up with a 5/16” thick, 11-plus-inch-blade knife that could weigh about the same as a standard 1/4” thick NMFBM.
I’m not saying this comparison will be spot-on accurate, but it certainly begins to illuminate the handling potential Jerry mentioned.
Also, as many others have said, I like the chopping comfort of the fusion handles compared with the old straights, but I'm interested to see what the new ASHBM handle feels like with the thicker, more contoured slabs. The extra slab thickness near the rear talon, combined with the wider 5/16" tang thickness, will be interesting to try, and depending on how the new contours affect grip, I'm reserving judgement until I have the ASHBM in hand. Of course, I'm sure my optimism is fueled by a desire to let myself fully fall in love with such a sexy new mistress.
:thumbup:
