I have been quite interested in the R series of knives since I first saw them back when they where introduced back in March. At the time only the R-5 interested me, however after seeing a deal that I could not pass up in the recent DOTD on December 1, I picked up the R-4. Yangdu got the knife out to me in record speed of only 2 days.
Blade - The blade on the R-4 has an interesting shape. The shape for some reason has always reminded me of a kris, but really it does not have as many curves as a kris. The blade on mine was crafted by Kumar, and boy did he do a fantastic job. The blade's sides are straight and without any wavering or signs of hammer or grind marks. The finish is the same near mirror finish as found on the standard kukri and it is very well done without any rough areas. The grind on the blade is unique, the first inch away from the handle in the recurve area the edge is a perfect flat grind, however after the first inch the edge it has a very healthy convex edge. Even the swedge has a good amount of convex to it, which should really help keep the point strong. The edge came with a paper cutting sharp, but after a few swipes with a fine ceramic rod it was noticeably sharper. I only spent a few minutes on the edge before the review, however I do plan on making it a little razor.
Handle - The handle on the R-4, like the blade, is very well done. The handle is smooth and well finished without any rough areas or possible hot spot. The full tang on the knife is very nice, it is even with the handle slabs and it comes with the same polish as on the blade. The handle slabs fit around the handle is well done with only a few minor spots that have had filler. At first handling the knife I thought the finger cut outs where to small, but after using it this is not the case. The handle offers a verity of grips that are all comforable.
Sheath - The sheath of the R-4 is fairly well made; it has a good quality leather and is certainly sturdy, however the fit of the knife in the sheath is a bit to be desired. When sheathed the knife fits well enough, but it seems that the sheath has far to much extra room, with a little over an extra inch near the tip and about 1/2" to each side of the blade. The keeper, while made of quality leather, is to loose; the sheath when tipped upside down the blade will just slide right out and fall. Since I don't plan on being upside down while wearing this knife, I don't see it as a big problem, especially since I paid $38 for a hand made knife that came with a sheath and the price included shipping.
Cutting - This knife is a wonder to hold while cutting. I took it out into my woods and found a sapling that was around 10' tall and maybe 2" thick that I figured would be a good test of this knife. I took the tree down by taking strips of it out a little at a time and doing a little chopping, and after a few minutes it had fallen. Once it had been taken down I removed the limbs and started cutting it into smaller pieces to make moving it easier, in the same manor as I cut it down. After the tree was in portable pieces I decided to see how the knife would fair at batoning. The knife went though them like butter and before I knew it I had twice as many pieces to carry.
While this knife was never really on my to buy list, I found myself getting it anyway, and I could not be happier with the way it feels and performs. Being able to get a hand forged knife that came with a decent sheath and included shipping for less then $40 is beyond a great deal, it's a fantastic deal that certainly can not be beat. I can see myself picking up a few more of the R series knives, and if any perform nearly as well as this one, I will surly not be disappointed.
Thanks Yangdu for the awesome service and the wonderful knife. :thumbup:
Here are some stats of the knife
Blade - 3 7/8"
Blade Thickness - 3 mm
Handle - 4"
Tang Thickness - 4.5 mm
Weight - 5 oz
Point of Balance - 1" into the handle
Kami - Kumar
Blade - The blade on the R-4 has an interesting shape. The shape for some reason has always reminded me of a kris, but really it does not have as many curves as a kris. The blade on mine was crafted by Kumar, and boy did he do a fantastic job. The blade's sides are straight and without any wavering or signs of hammer or grind marks. The finish is the same near mirror finish as found on the standard kukri and it is very well done without any rough areas. The grind on the blade is unique, the first inch away from the handle in the recurve area the edge is a perfect flat grind, however after the first inch the edge it has a very healthy convex edge. Even the swedge has a good amount of convex to it, which should really help keep the point strong. The edge came with a paper cutting sharp, but after a few swipes with a fine ceramic rod it was noticeably sharper. I only spent a few minutes on the edge before the review, however I do plan on making it a little razor.
Handle - The handle on the R-4, like the blade, is very well done. The handle is smooth and well finished without any rough areas or possible hot spot. The full tang on the knife is very nice, it is even with the handle slabs and it comes with the same polish as on the blade. The handle slabs fit around the handle is well done with only a few minor spots that have had filler. At first handling the knife I thought the finger cut outs where to small, but after using it this is not the case. The handle offers a verity of grips that are all comforable.
Sheath - The sheath of the R-4 is fairly well made; it has a good quality leather and is certainly sturdy, however the fit of the knife in the sheath is a bit to be desired. When sheathed the knife fits well enough, but it seems that the sheath has far to much extra room, with a little over an extra inch near the tip and about 1/2" to each side of the blade. The keeper, while made of quality leather, is to loose; the sheath when tipped upside down the blade will just slide right out and fall. Since I don't plan on being upside down while wearing this knife, I don't see it as a big problem, especially since I paid $38 for a hand made knife that came with a sheath and the price included shipping.
Cutting - This knife is a wonder to hold while cutting. I took it out into my woods and found a sapling that was around 10' tall and maybe 2" thick that I figured would be a good test of this knife. I took the tree down by taking strips of it out a little at a time and doing a little chopping, and after a few minutes it had fallen. Once it had been taken down I removed the limbs and started cutting it into smaller pieces to make moving it easier, in the same manor as I cut it down. After the tree was in portable pieces I decided to see how the knife would fair at batoning. The knife went though them like butter and before I knew it I had twice as many pieces to carry.
While this knife was never really on my to buy list, I found myself getting it anyway, and I could not be happier with the way it feels and performs. Being able to get a hand forged knife that came with a decent sheath and included shipping for less then $40 is beyond a great deal, it's a fantastic deal that certainly can not be beat. I can see myself picking up a few more of the R series knives, and if any perform nearly as well as this one, I will surly not be disappointed.
Thanks Yangdu for the awesome service and the wonderful knife. :thumbup:
Here are some stats of the knife
Blade - 3 7/8"
Blade Thickness - 3 mm
Handle - 4"
Tang Thickness - 4.5 mm
Weight - 5 oz
Point of Balance - 1" into the handle
Kami - Kumar
