Nyala for Christmas - Impressions added

T

ThumperACC

Joined
Feb 28, 2009
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Well, I finally got to open the box that's been under the tree for a week or so. Got to check out my new Nyala. Wow! Pictures do NOT do this thing justice! It is gorgeous, just beatiful.:D:D

Feels amazing in the hand, like it was made for me. The balance is superb. Different blade geometry from the Sebenza. The Sebenza is a slicer, this is more of a hard use knife.

Can't wait to use this thing and make my own impressions of S35vn and the Nyala itself.

The sheath design is 'different', not sure what I think of it yet. It is finely crafted though, really nicely made.

That's it for now, be back later with usage impressions and pics,
ThumperACC
 
Last edited:
ThumperACC said:
Well, I finally got to open the box that's been under the tree for a week or so. Got to check out my new Nyala. Wow! Pictures do NOT do this thing justice! It is gorgeous, just beatiful.:D:D

Feels amazing in the hand, like it was made for me. The balance is superb. Different blade geometry from the Sebenza. The Sebenza is a slicer, this is more of a hard use knife.

Can't wait to use this thing and make my own impressions of S35vn and the Nyala itself.

The sheath design is 'different', not sure what I think of it yet. It is finely crafted though, really nicely made.

That's it for now, be back later with usage impressions and pics,
ThumperACC
Click to expand...

I went out in the yard and made myself a baton and proceeded to cut down 4 saplings (about 3" in diameter) that were encroaching in my yard and getting in the way when I'd mow. I then stripped the saplings of branches and cut them to 6' lengths so they could be put in the pile for chipping later. I also cut one of them into 2 foot sections and split them into ~1/2" sections. The Nyala was very comfortable to use throughout and responds very very nicely to batoning, very easy to control. It was still scary sharp (no noticable reduction in sharpness compared to out of the box) after this. :thumbup::thumbup:

I then cleaned up the cardboard from Christmas and cut it up to put it in the recycle bin. I took 6 boxes, that were on average 2'x1'x3' and cut them into pieces that were around 4"x4". This was a little overkill for fitting them in the recycle bin, but hey I have a new knife to test. :D Given how small I cut up those boxes it was like cutting up 20-30 boxes normally. After this it was still cutting, with the occasional hitch in the cardboard and it would no longer shave. It wasn't too far from shaving but would not. This performance is on par for S30v in my experience.

The Sebenza is a better slicer, the Nyala is a better hard-use knife (Edge of Seb is 0.020", Edge of Nyala is 0.035" : edge angle of Seb is 30 deg with 40 deg microbevel, edge angle of Nyala is 40 deg with 45 deg microbevel).

I then went to my Sharpmaker and strop to sharpen the Nyala after its workout. I blackened the bevel with a sharpie to determine the main edge bevel. I found this to be 40 degress or 20 degrees per side. Once I'd done that on the Sharpmaker I had to use a very old Crock Stick sharpener (it offers angles of 35 deg and 45 deg, where the sharpmaker offers 30 and 40) to apply the microbevel. After that I did a few strokes on the strop and its scary sharp again. Nice sharpening experience. I'd say maybe a little easier than S30v, but I'll have to sharpen it a few more times to be sure. Under 100x magnification, the edge is finer, less toothy. So far, for me, I'd say S35vn is a win. It cut as much cardboard as I'd expect out of my Sebenza and was a little easier to sharpen with a resulting smoother edge. I wish I had a Sebenza in S35vn for direct comparison, but I don't.

The sheath functions better than I'd expected and it's growing on me. I did slice the interior once by putting the blade in at the wrong rotation relative to the sheath. It hangs on the belt well.

Very pleased with my Christmas present.:cool::cool:

ThumperACC
 
Great post on a great knife. I'm particularly interested to see that the Nyala held up well to both the batoning and the cardboard with no edge problems. Enjoy!

ThumperACC said:
I went out in the yard and made myself a baton and proceeded to cut down 4 saplings (about 3" in diameter) that were encroaching in my yard and getting in the way when I'd mow. I then stripped the saplings of branches and cut them to 6' lengths so they could be put in the pile for chipping later. I also cut one of them into 2 foot sections and split them into ~1/2" sections. The Nyala was very comfortable to use throughout and responds very very nicely to batoning, very easy to control. It was still scary sharp (no noticable reduction in sharpness compared to out of the box) after this. :thumbup::thumbup:

I then cleaned up the cardboard from Christmas and cut it up to put it in the recycle bin. I took 6 boxes, that were on average 2'x1'x3' and cut them into pieces that were around 4"x4". This was a little overkill for fitting them in the recycle bin, but hey I have a new knife to test. :D Given how small I cut up those boxes it was like cutting up 20-30 boxes normally. After this it was still cutting, with the occasional hitch in the cardboard and it would no longer shave. It wasn't too far from shaving but would not. This performance is on par for S30v in my experience.
Click to expand...
 
JNewell said:
Great post on a great knife. I'm particularly interested to see that the Nyala held up well to both the batoning and the cardboard with no edge problems. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I often read here for impressions on a knife I'm interested in. It's nice to give back a little. I've learned so much from this forum.

ThumperACC
 
Wow...great descriptive experience...i'd feel confident in getting a Nyala after reading that:thumbup:
 
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