- Joined
- Aug 4, 2009
- Messages
- 6,234
I got my zebrawood R Murphy Canadian Belt Knife in the mail yesterday. Made in the USA from quality 1095 High Carbon steel. I've seen them with walnut and rosewood scales as well.
Initial impressions were that the blade was well worth the 18 dollars I paid for it, but it definitely needed some work. The scales were not perfectly fitted, there was a horrendous secondary bevel on a beautiful convex grind, and the crappy alligator skin finish they put on the scales needed to be stripped. The blade is almost exactly as thick as my RC3, so I'd put the width of the blade at .125 inches.
Some 100 grit sandpaper, gunstock wax and 30 minutes with an arkansas softstone later, I had what is now a professional quality USA made Canadian Belt knife, made from great steel. I'd put the blade hardness at RC57/58. The sheath came as naked tooled leather, which I dyed and finished in about 10 minutes to a dark treebark brown.
I used it to prep dinner tonight, and this style of blade is 100% completely designed for camp cooking. I threw a pound and a half cut of pork sirloin on the skillet, grilled it up and started slicing away. The now full convex grind sliced like a pro. The offset handle and continuous rock to the blade makes for a super veggie chopper as well.
In short, if you're on a budget looking for a quality, traditional companion blade for trail or camp, have half a brain when it comes to DIY stuff and 30 minutes on your hands, this is the blade for you.
Initial impressions were that the blade was well worth the 18 dollars I paid for it, but it definitely needed some work. The scales were not perfectly fitted, there was a horrendous secondary bevel on a beautiful convex grind, and the crappy alligator skin finish they put on the scales needed to be stripped. The blade is almost exactly as thick as my RC3, so I'd put the width of the blade at .125 inches.
Some 100 grit sandpaper, gunstock wax and 30 minutes with an arkansas softstone later, I had what is now a professional quality USA made Canadian Belt knife, made from great steel. I'd put the blade hardness at RC57/58. The sheath came as naked tooled leather, which I dyed and finished in about 10 minutes to a dark treebark brown.
I used it to prep dinner tonight, and this style of blade is 100% completely designed for camp cooking. I threw a pound and a half cut of pork sirloin on the skillet, grilled it up and started slicing away. The now full convex grind sliced like a pro. The offset handle and continuous rock to the blade makes for a super veggie chopper as well.
In short, if you're on a budget looking for a quality, traditional companion blade for trail or camp, have half a brain when it comes to DIY stuff and 30 minutes on your hands, this is the blade for you.
