- Joined
- Aug 30, 2008
- Messages
- 3,214
Like many of you, if not most of you, I love knives. Without intending to do so, I have collected a couple dozen knives over the past 30 years. Some are frivolous, some are utilitarian--I have options.
But when I wanted a new survival knife, a stake-my-life-on-it survival knife, I started talking to Bryan Breeden.
I had a rough idea of what I wanted, but kicking some ideas around with Bryan led to the development of a simple design based on his TH Bushcrafter pattern; a knife that would be adaptable to a wide range of uses. I waited for its arrival with eager anticipation.
When the knife finally arrived in the mail, I became a little nervous: the box it was shipped in was tightly sealed with duct tape.
Duct tape?
I wondered if Bryan was worried the knife would cut its way out the box and take off for the hills. Before I had even seen the knife, it started to take on a fierce aura. Once opened, the box revealed a knife wrapped in paper and yet more duct tape. The duct tape reminded me of a straitjacket restraining some insane, out-of-control knife. What had I bought? Had Bryan shipped me some psycho blade? Yeah, I was nervous.
Once in hand though, it was obvious this insane little blade was ready to work. The big handle felt right and, out of the straitjacket, the polished edge proved to be hair-shaving sharp.
Oh indeed, she was ready for the hills. The only question was whether or not I could keep up.
Now just to look at this knife she seems relatively unremarkable. She's fashioned from 5/32 O-1 steel, formed and heat treated by Bryan. The slightly clipped blade is about 5.5 long and the brown micarta handle is roughly 5 long. Overall, she is a bit smaller than a K-bar.
Holding the knife gives one an entirely different appreciation of its abilities. The handle is large and amenable to a variety of grips. The finger notch at the front provides a secure grip and allows the user to choke up on the knife comfortably.
I know you guys want some field trials in your reviews, so outside we went. First, I did a little cutting with various materials: wood, rope, 550 cord, and cardboard. All comers got cut-up easily and the edge retention seemed good. So far, so good.
Next I decided to make a figure four trap and whittled up the pieces. This project demonstrated this bigger knifes ability to handle smaller work: a big stick was sectioned to length with cross-grain cuts, the pieces were batonned into halves, and the final pieces were whittled into shape.
Now I dont have the picture to prove it (operator error) but I found a patch of snow and lit a small fire with a little jute, dry grass, and a few twigs using the spine of the knife and a fero-rod.
Back inside I couldnt put the knife down.
Honey...what are you doing?
This question asked while I was obviously working up a smaller figure 4 trap. Was I becoming obsessed?
Bryans little psycho is an awesome blade. A bit bigger than the average survival knife, it cuts well and has great edge retention (still shaving sharp after a day of playing outside). The blade is versatile and big handle gives a secure grip while providing all-day comfort.
She may be crazy, but shes good to go.
Thanks for a great knife Bryan.
But when I wanted a new survival knife, a stake-my-life-on-it survival knife, I started talking to Bryan Breeden.
I had a rough idea of what I wanted, but kicking some ideas around with Bryan led to the development of a simple design based on his TH Bushcrafter pattern; a knife that would be adaptable to a wide range of uses. I waited for its arrival with eager anticipation.
When the knife finally arrived in the mail, I became a little nervous: the box it was shipped in was tightly sealed with duct tape.
Duct tape?
I wondered if Bryan was worried the knife would cut its way out the box and take off for the hills. Before I had even seen the knife, it started to take on a fierce aura. Once opened, the box revealed a knife wrapped in paper and yet more duct tape. The duct tape reminded me of a straitjacket restraining some insane, out-of-control knife. What had I bought? Had Bryan shipped me some psycho blade? Yeah, I was nervous.
Once in hand though, it was obvious this insane little blade was ready to work. The big handle felt right and, out of the straitjacket, the polished edge proved to be hair-shaving sharp.
Oh indeed, she was ready for the hills. The only question was whether or not I could keep up.
Now just to look at this knife she seems relatively unremarkable. She's fashioned from 5/32 O-1 steel, formed and heat treated by Bryan. The slightly clipped blade is about 5.5 long and the brown micarta handle is roughly 5 long. Overall, she is a bit smaller than a K-bar.
Holding the knife gives one an entirely different appreciation of its abilities. The handle is large and amenable to a variety of grips. The finger notch at the front provides a secure grip and allows the user to choke up on the knife comfortably.
I know you guys want some field trials in your reviews, so outside we went. First, I did a little cutting with various materials: wood, rope, 550 cord, and cardboard. All comers got cut-up easily and the edge retention seemed good. So far, so good.
Next I decided to make a figure four trap and whittled up the pieces. This project demonstrated this bigger knifes ability to handle smaller work: a big stick was sectioned to length with cross-grain cuts, the pieces were batonned into halves, and the final pieces were whittled into shape.
Now I dont have the picture to prove it (operator error) but I found a patch of snow and lit a small fire with a little jute, dry grass, and a few twigs using the spine of the knife and a fero-rod.
Back inside I couldnt put the knife down.
Honey...what are you doing?
This question asked while I was obviously working up a smaller figure 4 trap. Was I becoming obsessed?
Bryans little psycho is an awesome blade. A bit bigger than the average survival knife, it cuts well and has great edge retention (still shaving sharp after a day of playing outside). The blade is versatile and big handle gives a secure grip while providing all-day comfort.
She may be crazy, but shes good to go.
Thanks for a great knife Bryan.
