Quick Update: My first CPK! Light Chopper first impressions (pic heavy)

About brute force vs finesse? Sigh, yeah. I remember. But I did get completely over my concerns with the blade.

@Justin: Oh, damn. I forgot to respond to one of your posts about approaching a new knife and the ergonomics. That was a good response and got me doing a little introspection. If you were to ask my kids, I'm old and grumpy and set in my ways. Stupid kids. What do 11 and 16 year olds know, anyway?

I try to approach each knife as objectively as possible but sometimes habit gets in the way. Especially if the new knife resembles one I already have in size or in intended use. With the LC, I had already assumed it would fill the role of chopper in the same way the SHE does/did. So when I started evaluating it I decided to approach the tasks the same way and see how the LC differed rather than starting with a clean slate.

I still run into the mini spear point finger guard every once in a while but it's like the little road pucks on highways. You don't drive over them. But when you do inadvertently drift too far, they are a gentle reminder that you might want to pay attention. It mostly comes up when I use the LC for tasks better suited for, say, a Field Knife.

So thank you for insight. You always bring good points!
 
Ifellonscissors said:
I still run into the mini spear point finger guard every once in a while but it's like the little road pucks on highways. You don't drive over them. But when you do inadvertently drift too far, they are a gentle reminder that you might want to pay attention. It mostly comes up when I use the LC for tasks better suited for, say, a Field Knife.
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perfect! You've discovered its purpose, (one of em).
 
I'm really impressed with that plank you made. My cuts are always brutish in comparision. Good review as well.
 
Thanks, Cookie!

I've really enjoyed going out to the woods and experimenting with building techniques. I've got a few other threads in other knife threads with some fun things I've tried, mostly around shelter structures and joining. It's relaxing.

Take care!
 
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Great write-up Ifellonscissors, I enjoyed reading it. I don't have the same issue with the guard because when chopping I have gripped at the end of the knife as opposed to choking up on it, and chopping is really all I have done so far with the LC. I agree completely about the choil, and feel it should have been left off or made bigger (usable). Now that I have read Lorian's comments about it, I can understand why it was designed that way, but I still feel the same about it. Not a huge deal, I almost always have several different sized knives around for different tasks.

In regards to the Busse, what angle did you sharpen it to? I have a lot of Busse's, and with a very few exceptions the factory edge needs some work to be really efficient at cutting, which I'm sure is what you found as well. They come from the Busse factory with a pretty bullet proof angle, but often times the edge is a bit weak until it's sharpened a few times, which I'm guessing is a byproduct of how they sharpen it with their belts. When I say weak I don't really mean weak, but the factory edge will typically ding up much more with use than after it has been sharpened a few times.
 
@Z: I've had some of the same experiences with a few Busse blades that seemed to fare better after a few sharpening sessions. On the SHE I've taken it to about 20 DPS with diamond stones and then just a tad more with ceramic rods at 25 DPS. Last step, leather strop! It made it much more useful.
 
I'm looking forward to picking up my freshly reground bushwacker mistress from my knife making buddy on sunday. Always better to compare apples to apples.
 
I opted for bevel geometry that could actually cut. I'll post up a photo after I pick it up tomorrow.
 
Why a Busse and not an axe? In my mind, no knife is going to top an axe for doing what an axe does, so to me the LC fits perfectly into "I'm not an axe but I do what a knife should do as best as it possibly can with out being a 1/4" thick pretend axe." Like a heavier machete for cutting woody things more than green soft things, but a Busse can't do that.

Help me understand!!
 
JustinFournier said:
Why a Busse and not an axe? In my mind, no knife is going to top an axe for doing what an axe does, so to me the LC fits perfectly into "I'm not an axe but I do what a knife should do as best as it possibly can with out being a 1/4" thick pretend axe." Like a heavier machete for cutting woody things more than green soft things, but a Busse can't do that.

Help me understand!!
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Why use an axe when you can use a chainsaw? A chainsaw is far quicker for most things you would use an axe for. To me large knives are fun. Are they very practical? Nope, not at all. That being said, to me nothing is more fun when pleasure camping than to use a BIG knife, even when it is not all that practical to do so. To each their own of course.
 
Ifellonscissors said:
There are so many people that re-profile their Busses. I've always wondered why they don't send them out with a more useful grind...

A pic would be great! Thanks!
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my opinion about it is this; the performance advantages of INFI can't really be explored fully with the thick primary bevel that knives made from it often come with. I assume that they come this way in order to provide maximum strength, and no one would deny their bulletproof integrity. What I'm interested in is being able to measure D3V against an industry benchmark, and in order to get there, some grinding is required.
 
"What I'm interested in is being able to measure D3V against an industry benchmark"

Oh yes! This is going to be fun to witness!
 
zmbhntr said:
Why use an axe when you can use a chainsaw? A chainsaw is far quicker for most things you would use an axe for. To me large knives are fun. Are they very practical? Nope, not at all. That being said, to me nothing is more fun when pleasure camping than to use a BIG knife, even when it is not all that practical to do so. To each their own of course.
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I have a big job on the go now which requires breaking down a huge pile of limbs that came off a 100' amabilis fir we just felled. When a big tree is felled in a small area where shit can get broken, the faller spirals his way up the tree, removing limbs as he goes. The pile of debris that results is dense and intertwined. With the LightChopper, I can get in there, yank limbs out of the pile and cut free as required. A chainsaw, even my top handle saw, is still too heavy, too loud and too dangerous for this task. An axe is pretty much a no-go as well. A big blade is the most efficient and effective tool for this sort of work.

If you have a smallish amount of chopping to do, an axe is great. For a lot, a power saw is better. For everything else, a knife is where it's at.
 
Ifellonscissors said:
"What I'm interested in is being able to measure D3V against an industry benchmark"

Oh yes! This is going to be fun to witness!
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sorry, just for Nate's and my info. Not looking to get into a pissing contest
 
zmbhntr said:
Why use an axe when you can use a chainsaw? A chainsaw is far quicker for most things you would use an axe for. To me large knives are fun. Are they very practical? Nope, not at all. That being said, to me nothing is more fun when pleasure camping than to use a BIG knife, even when it is not all that practical to do so. To each their own of course.
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Because I like it is fair enough!

I'm not getting into the chainsaw vs axe, way different argument :) Though I do have both and when using my Stihl pro on some smaller limbs on top of a ladder I have thought, this is what ER trips are made of.
 
Well that was one fine writeup.
I don't know if I will ever get my hands on one but it look like a great tool for what I want in a knife.
 
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