- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 6,105
Howdy folks-
Recently Walter put a bushcraft blade up for sale that he called 'ugly'. My wallet disagreed with him and today it arrived! The 'ugliness' was due to an inadvertent grind that lowered the tip a bit more than expected, to make a spearpoint (or more so). I certainly can't see or imagine any aesthetic flaws after seeing it in person.
I played with it a bit this afternoon and wanted to share some quick thoughts, though I'm gonna stay brief so I can include more when the passaround blades arrive.
The handles are well shaped & rounded, and it feels pretty 'warm' in the hand. I like the texture left on the micarta too: not too course but not too slick. There was only one small cosmetic flaw, with a teensy gap at the handles towards the edge. It made no functional difference and wasn't noticeable unless you were hunting for it.
The edge came in really, really good shape. Convex grind with a small secondary bevel. It came sharp enough to shave, but a few strops and it was just gliding through material. Loved it! Fuzzies were really smooth. I batoned through a couple of limbs just to see how it'd do, there was no change at all in the edge, still shaved my arm bare.
There was only one thing that didn't 'fit' perfectly for me about the handle. I loved the shape and the width and the contours, but the swell was just a bit futher back than my hand wanted. It pushed it about a half inch away from 'all the way up'. Moving the swell forward about 1/2 or so would probably make it tops. :thumbup: Now this is entirely subjective, many or most may find the swell to be in a perfect location. Totally personal. I think (as Walter has) that a person with particularly wide palms or who uses a 'thumbs up' grip often would find it perfect. Here's a grip with my thumb out of the way just to show what I mean..
Overall I'm really pleased with it, and definitely pleased considering the price point (super affordable). The edge is just fantastic and the blade length/width really work well for me. There's only one change I'd have made, which is mucho better than most bushcraft blades that reach me. I'm just excited to handle the passaround blades at this point!
Recently Walter put a bushcraft blade up for sale that he called 'ugly'. My wallet disagreed with him and today it arrived! The 'ugliness' was due to an inadvertent grind that lowered the tip a bit more than expected, to make a spearpoint (or more so). I certainly can't see or imagine any aesthetic flaws after seeing it in person.
I played with it a bit this afternoon and wanted to share some quick thoughts, though I'm gonna stay brief so I can include more when the passaround blades arrive.
The handles are well shaped & rounded, and it feels pretty 'warm' in the hand. I like the texture left on the micarta too: not too course but not too slick. There was only one small cosmetic flaw, with a teensy gap at the handles towards the edge. It made no functional difference and wasn't noticeable unless you were hunting for it.
The edge came in really, really good shape. Convex grind with a small secondary bevel. It came sharp enough to shave, but a few strops and it was just gliding through material. Loved it! Fuzzies were really smooth. I batoned through a couple of limbs just to see how it'd do, there was no change at all in the edge, still shaved my arm bare.
There was only one thing that didn't 'fit' perfectly for me about the handle. I loved the shape and the width and the contours, but the swell was just a bit futher back than my hand wanted. It pushed it about a half inch away from 'all the way up'. Moving the swell forward about 1/2 or so would probably make it tops. :thumbup: Now this is entirely subjective, many or most may find the swell to be in a perfect location. Totally personal. I think (as Walter has) that a person with particularly wide palms or who uses a 'thumbs up' grip often would find it perfect. Here's a grip with my thumb out of the way just to show what I mean..
Overall I'm really pleased with it, and definitely pleased considering the price point (super affordable). The edge is just fantastic and the blade length/width really work well for me. There's only one change I'd have made, which is mucho better than most bushcraft blades that reach me. I'm just excited to handle the passaround blades at this point!
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Nice pics and writeup. I'm looking forward to handling Walters knives in the passaround.
