Zuluninja
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2009
- Messages
- 2,825
This is an OKC SP19 Task Force that I got on the bay from Chestnut Ridge. It is marked as a "2nd" but was assured that this would not have a negative effect on the knife integrity. After I received it, it had some marks on the coating and a nick on the top false edge, nothing to cry about.
The blade is 7 3/8 inches long, 12 3/8" overall and 1/4" thick at the spine, 1095 steel. It is a hidden full tang with a grooved single guard kraton handle and a brass tube for lanyard. The sheath is cordura in the front with leather in the back, a snap strap for the guard and another goes around the handle, and a loop at the bottom for a cord strap, included. I know people generally complain about this sheath but I find it quite serviceable :thumbup:
The first thing I noticed was the thick edge. The sabre grind did not remove a lot, so basically this is a "sharpened pry bar". It feels a bit heavy in the hand but quite solid. So, my first task was to give it a decent edge. At first I tried with stones, but it was slow progress, so I switched to diamonds. After a while I got a decent edge so it was taken out to test on wood. Wish I had taken photos but I didn't, it bites deep due to the weight (14.6 oz) and retains edge pretty good.
After a while I decided to improve both edge and aesthetics (at least to me, I know this is very subjective) and used 150, 220 and 400 grit sandpaper to convex it. I also polished the spine, but am still waiting for the rotary tool I ordered online to completely get rid of the heavy grind marks that were on it, revealed after taking the coat off. Also sanded the swedge to give it a 2-tone look.
I still have not taken it out to the backyard to see how it destroys wood, but I feel confident that the convex + no grind coat will improve performance. A search of OKC's current catalog does not list it but it can be found online for aound $50-60 dollars, which I believe is a reasonable price for this knife that feels as solid as a tank.
polished spine, some grind marks can still be seen
the little nick on the swedge is barely visible in this shot; been thinking about making it bigger for mag rod
The blade is 7 3/8 inches long, 12 3/8" overall and 1/4" thick at the spine, 1095 steel. It is a hidden full tang with a grooved single guard kraton handle and a brass tube for lanyard. The sheath is cordura in the front with leather in the back, a snap strap for the guard and another goes around the handle, and a loop at the bottom for a cord strap, included. I know people generally complain about this sheath but I find it quite serviceable :thumbup:
The first thing I noticed was the thick edge. The sabre grind did not remove a lot, so basically this is a "sharpened pry bar". It feels a bit heavy in the hand but quite solid. So, my first task was to give it a decent edge. At first I tried with stones, but it was slow progress, so I switched to diamonds. After a while I got a decent edge so it was taken out to test on wood. Wish I had taken photos but I didn't, it bites deep due to the weight (14.6 oz) and retains edge pretty good.
After a while I decided to improve both edge and aesthetics (at least to me, I know this is very subjective) and used 150, 220 and 400 grit sandpaper to convex it. I also polished the spine, but am still waiting for the rotary tool I ordered online to completely get rid of the heavy grind marks that were on it, revealed after taking the coat off. Also sanded the swedge to give it a 2-tone look.
I still have not taken it out to the backyard to see how it destroys wood, but I feel confident that the convex + no grind coat will improve performance. A search of OKC's current catalog does not list it but it can be found online for aound $50-60 dollars, which I believe is a reasonable price for this knife that feels as solid as a tank.
polished spine, some grind marks can still be seen
the little nick on the swedge is barely visible in this shot; been thinking about making it bigger for mag rod