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http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=714919
FAST AXE 2's.
Reference the Original TOPS FAST AXE.
A while back, we asked TOPS Knives to mod some of their existing Fast Axes, to make the Fast Axe 2's - we actually didn't ask, technically, we begged and whined...LOL....
The Fast Axes that TOPS has sold for a few years, and are an original design by a man whom I really admire, Allen Jensen. - he's a great guy, not just for his knife designs but also because he has a lot of character, and he has extensive guide and scout experience, which i think reflects in his no-nonsense designs like the Fast Axe.
Anyways,
As a composites designer, and as a shameless opportunist, my little rat brain saw the Fast Axe and immediately wanted one for my own nefarious purposes;
TOPS let me borrow a sample and I put it on Solidworks and ran a bunch of diagnostics on the design to confirm my suspicions of what I could do to it to milk its physics and (perhaps) widen its Performance Envelope ( - i hope ya like that last euphemism - what i mean by "widen its Performance Envelope" is I wanted to weaponize the heck out of it - hehehe! - while keeping its excellent field knife characteristics, that is. )
The result of my endless bawling about man's inhumanity to man finally cracked their stoic exterior and they produced a limited run of two versions of the Fast Axe 2's for me - one that was based on the old design, and one that was based on my exact request - it's a little heavier and lacked the cut-outs - each version pleased me quite a bit, because both left the false edge on top out as I had asked for a stronger tip, and both versions had distinct advantages from each other.
It was a Win-Win. Yay, Me!!! HAR!!!
Voila! - Two Versions - Solid Tang Fat Axe 2 for absolute strength, and the Cut-Out Version Fast Axe for weight minimization and a few other possibilities....
TOPS provided us with a wonderfully simple Kydex Sheath that has a Belt Clip on it - and as a minimalist it appeals to me greatly, but I also like the sheath because I've wanted to make a Shoulder Holster Chopper Set-Up for myself, and the low-profile characteristics of this little chopper could be perfect - especially since the Investors could easily adapt the sheath to their liking in an instant - by just making a paracord or hybrid shoulder strap and hanging the Fast Axe 2 off of it comfortably out of the way under their arm. I'll have to experiment with that idea, but I think it will work very well.
I mean, come on; You pull a vectorized Fast Axe out from under your shirt or jacket, and all a bad guy is going to thing is "RUN!!!"
But I don't think you need a Fast Axe 2 just for its weapons capability as is.
The beautiful thing about this blade is that its 1095 zone-hardened edge makes it a fantastic field knife, even before I lay some composite options down.
I tend to use a saw or a hawk instead of batoning my knife through logs, on the few occaisons that I choose to take that route in the field, but the Fast Axe 2 series really blurs the edges of when I would do that and when I would not;
The Fast Axe 2 is very knife-like - as a matter of fact it really is a knife, with its sharp 5-inch blade, honed to near-perfection IMHO. - That's one reason this design has disturbed me so deeply, in fact - since it is so ready to go into the field before I even put a handle on it, I'm thinking of offering these to the Investors, who could just wrap the handles or they or I could do some minimal scales or something for them. - I think the Cut-Out Fast axes would be especially great for backpackers, especially since they could just put a carabiner through one of the cutouts in the tang to have the Fast Axe 2 ready and handy on a shoulder strap, etc., while being very secure.
I'd really like to get some feedback on what you cool cats think of the design as is.
- Like I said, I am an admirer of minimalism in design and I don't really want to add anthing to a design that is so elegant as it is (unhafted, as a field knife and small axe, froe, covert weapon, etc.) as these Fast Axe 2's seem to me to be - they are just wonderful IMHO.
I think I might leave my Fast Axe 2 without even a wrap, since the forward weight of the head makes feedback very minimal when iI use it as a knife.
I am going to leave the few cutout versions aside for a little while to see what the Investors and other folks want to do. - So please let's hear what you have to say, brethren! - I have some people in Afghanistan that might appreciate an unmodified Fast Axe 2 alongside of an ECO Hawk. - this cleaver idea is not new as a lot of you realize;
A cleaver and pig sticker was a common thing in trench warfare during the Civil War evidently, as well as in more-recent campaigns in various parts of the globe.
The Cutout Fast Axe 2 is really making me think. it immediately gets attention when you draw it - it sings. - I could just see pulling that out and letting it hang from its lanyard as you smiled at your threat....
Pardon my misty-eyed drooling and ranting. - There goes another couple of hours with my finger in my mouth plotting and planning madly....
I've never had anything like a Fast Axe 2, in either version.
it just feels so good in the hand.
So slim and handy.
Usually I am hot to get right to work on new stuff, but this little knife/axe just says to me "I am perfect already." IMHO....
When I think about modding these, I feel like I am trying to convince a beautful woman to get plastic surgery or something... needlessly....
Am I kidding myself? or do you guys somewhat agree, from what you can tell at least...?
The edge is a generous 5 inches, with plenty of belly - just perfect for dressing big game, or slashing an attacker.
the pre-modded knife/axe and sheath system are less than 11.5 inches in their longest dimensions - think about how easy that would be to hide or just pack in a bag.
the Cut-Out Fast Axe 2's are only about a featherweight 11.6 Ounces, and the Solid-Tang Fast Axe 2's weigh a little less than an ounce more.
I am seeing a lot of similar tools crop up by great makers that cost a lot more than what I would sell these for, modded or not.
i am trying not to throw my personal Fast Axe 2... goldang things are trying to control my mind as much as the hawks do...
I look forward to hearing your first impressions here, or just contact Saint Erica;
ericag@equinoxcoronado.com
At any rate - I will update some more as I start getting handles on these, the Daisy Cutters, the BUG Hawks, the ECO hawks, the - ah crap, I'll see ya soon....
Thanks for looking. - And thanks especially for your impressions before I mod these beauties!
Fast Axe 2.
I love it.
vec
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=714919
FAST AXE 2's.
Reference the Original TOPS FAST AXE.
A while back, we asked TOPS Knives to mod some of their existing Fast Axes, to make the Fast Axe 2's - we actually didn't ask, technically, we begged and whined...LOL....
The Fast Axes that TOPS has sold for a few years, and are an original design by a man whom I really admire, Allen Jensen. - he's a great guy, not just for his knife designs but also because he has a lot of character, and he has extensive guide and scout experience, which i think reflects in his no-nonsense designs like the Fast Axe.
Anyways,
As a composites designer, and as a shameless opportunist, my little rat brain saw the Fast Axe and immediately wanted one for my own nefarious purposes;
TOPS let me borrow a sample and I put it on Solidworks and ran a bunch of diagnostics on the design to confirm my suspicions of what I could do to it to milk its physics and (perhaps) widen its Performance Envelope ( - i hope ya like that last euphemism - what i mean by "widen its Performance Envelope" is I wanted to weaponize the heck out of it - hehehe! - while keeping its excellent field knife characteristics, that is. )
The result of my endless bawling about man's inhumanity to man finally cracked their stoic exterior and they produced a limited run of two versions of the Fast Axe 2's for me - one that was based on the old design, and one that was based on my exact request - it's a little heavier and lacked the cut-outs - each version pleased me quite a bit, because both left the false edge on top out as I had asked for a stronger tip, and both versions had distinct advantages from each other.
It was a Win-Win. Yay, Me!!! HAR!!!
Voila! - Two Versions - Solid Tang Fat Axe 2 for absolute strength, and the Cut-Out Version Fast Axe for weight minimization and a few other possibilities....
TOPS provided us with a wonderfully simple Kydex Sheath that has a Belt Clip on it - and as a minimalist it appeals to me greatly, but I also like the sheath because I've wanted to make a Shoulder Holster Chopper Set-Up for myself, and the low-profile characteristics of this little chopper could be perfect - especially since the Investors could easily adapt the sheath to their liking in an instant - by just making a paracord or hybrid shoulder strap and hanging the Fast Axe 2 off of it comfortably out of the way under their arm. I'll have to experiment with that idea, but I think it will work very well.
I mean, come on; You pull a vectorized Fast Axe out from under your shirt or jacket, and all a bad guy is going to thing is "RUN!!!"
But I don't think you need a Fast Axe 2 just for its weapons capability as is.
The beautiful thing about this blade is that its 1095 zone-hardened edge makes it a fantastic field knife, even before I lay some composite options down.
I tend to use a saw or a hawk instead of batoning my knife through logs, on the few occaisons that I choose to take that route in the field, but the Fast Axe 2 series really blurs the edges of when I would do that and when I would not;
The Fast Axe 2 is very knife-like - as a matter of fact it really is a knife, with its sharp 5-inch blade, honed to near-perfection IMHO. - That's one reason this design has disturbed me so deeply, in fact - since it is so ready to go into the field before I even put a handle on it, I'm thinking of offering these to the Investors, who could just wrap the handles or they or I could do some minimal scales or something for them. - I think the Cut-Out Fast axes would be especially great for backpackers, especially since they could just put a carabiner through one of the cutouts in the tang to have the Fast Axe 2 ready and handy on a shoulder strap, etc., while being very secure.
I'd really like to get some feedback on what you cool cats think of the design as is.
- Like I said, I am an admirer of minimalism in design and I don't really want to add anthing to a design that is so elegant as it is (unhafted, as a field knife and small axe, froe, covert weapon, etc.) as these Fast Axe 2's seem to me to be - they are just wonderful IMHO.
I think I might leave my Fast Axe 2 without even a wrap, since the forward weight of the head makes feedback very minimal when iI use it as a knife.
I am going to leave the few cutout versions aside for a little while to see what the Investors and other folks want to do. - So please let's hear what you have to say, brethren! - I have some people in Afghanistan that might appreciate an unmodified Fast Axe 2 alongside of an ECO Hawk. - this cleaver idea is not new as a lot of you realize;
A cleaver and pig sticker was a common thing in trench warfare during the Civil War evidently, as well as in more-recent campaigns in various parts of the globe.
The Cutout Fast Axe 2 is really making me think. it immediately gets attention when you draw it - it sings. - I could just see pulling that out and letting it hang from its lanyard as you smiled at your threat....
Pardon my misty-eyed drooling and ranting. - There goes another couple of hours with my finger in my mouth plotting and planning madly....
I've never had anything like a Fast Axe 2, in either version.
it just feels so good in the hand.
So slim and handy.
Usually I am hot to get right to work on new stuff, but this little knife/axe just says to me "I am perfect already." IMHO....
When I think about modding these, I feel like I am trying to convince a beautful woman to get plastic surgery or something... needlessly....
Am I kidding myself? or do you guys somewhat agree, from what you can tell at least...?
The edge is a generous 5 inches, with plenty of belly - just perfect for dressing big game, or slashing an attacker.
the pre-modded knife/axe and sheath system are less than 11.5 inches in their longest dimensions - think about how easy that would be to hide or just pack in a bag.
the Cut-Out Fast Axe 2's are only about a featherweight 11.6 Ounces, and the Solid-Tang Fast Axe 2's weigh a little less than an ounce more.
I am seeing a lot of similar tools crop up by great makers that cost a lot more than what I would sell these for, modded or not.
i am trying not to throw my personal Fast Axe 2... goldang things are trying to control my mind as much as the hawks do...
I look forward to hearing your first impressions here, or just contact Saint Erica;
ericag@equinoxcoronado.com
At any rate - I will update some more as I start getting handles on these, the Daisy Cutters, the BUG Hawks, the ECO hawks, the - ah crap, I'll see ya soon....
Thanks for looking. - And thanks especially for your impressions before I mod these beauties!
Fast Axe 2.
I love it.
vec
:thumbup:
