Ok, here's the short version...
I originally ordered the knife in January. I already had an Apogee on order, which was supposed to be my "perfect" knife. Every time I got on Darrel's site, I drooled over the EDCs, though, and finally decided to get one of those, too. At the time I had no plan for the EDC. It was going to be the first knife I bought just for the pleasure of owning it. As luck would have it, Darrel got around to making EDCs before Apogees (he'd starting making knives in small batches to avoid the confusion of having several different dissimilar projects going at once, and to help speed his delivery times). The knife arrived in March.
I have a habit of carrying any new knife purchase (excluding large fixed blades, and tiny pocket knives) to work, and testing its ability to handle a variety of tasks. Not because I intend to use every knife at work, but because it gives me a pretty clear view of what kind of performance the knife is capable of on different materials, and what I can expect of it. Also builds alot of confidence in my everyday carry knives-assuming they do well, of course.
So, the BM Nimravus, and 710HS that I normally use at work were set aside so I could try out the EDC for a week or so. "A week or so" would turn into several months.
The day after recieving the EDC, I got my first inkling of what this knife was all about. Had stood a cardboard box on a steel table, and planned to section it. Figured to make a cut most of the way down one side, and finish with a second cut down to the corner. I was a little surprised when I started the cut and gave a good tug-the knife glided completely through 3 1/2 feet of 3/8" carboard (covered in dirt, btw), and cleanly cut the double-layered bottom of the box, before impacting edge first on the corner of the steel table. So yeah, I chipped it on day one
Though it was chipped (that would have chipped any knife, probably, so it is not a reflection on the steel), I thinned out the edge to see how much performance there was to gain. Darrel had left the edge on the thick side, since I'd told him what I'd be doing with the knife, so thinning it out compromised it's strength, but also gave much better performance on most materials.
The knife has been used to section hundreds of pieces of industrial air/water lines, cut belts off machinery, section carboard ranging from 1/16" to approaching 1" in thickness (usually full of grit), and on various other materials. It's been used in the kitchen, and cuts meat aggressively, and surprisingly, slices homemade bread pretty easily-long as it's not the grainy kind. It bites into wood very well, but the blade is too wide for whittling-one of the few things it's not suited for. Cuts easily through rope, cord, and thick nylon line. The only time it's failed to completely cut a rope in one slice was a length of heavy line, maybe 2 1/2 inches in diameter that was soaking wet, and (you guessed it) full of mud and grit. Thought something was wrong with my knife!
My EDC has been returned to Darrel twice. The first time was because the clip screws were too short (I thought they were stripped), and the second when I couldn't remove the pivot pin. It had been Loc-Tited, and the entire assembly was rotating rather than the screw coming out (I wouldn't mind the female ends being slotted to avoid this problem). Both times Darrel ground the chips out of the edge for me. The first was from the table I mentioned, and the second, I think, was from the edge hitting metal banding material while the blade was being forced through a large container. No other chips, though the edge has rolled a couple of times from impacting steel pipe, while cutting plastic straps. Straightens right out with a steel.
I had the idea that 420V might be fragile, since wear resistance usually compromises toughness, but the blade has held up well. Darrel leaves 420V a point or so lower than some makers, ~57, but I have no way of comparing them. Benchmades ATS-34 makes up a significant portion of my experience with small blades, and I can't put a put a number on it, as I have never done any side by side testing, but my perception is that Darrel's 420V is at least as tough, and holds an edge at least 3-4x as long, maybe more. I say maybe more, because I've never let it go very long without a touchup (did let it go for almost a month one time, and it was still scrape shaving hair).
Not only do I love the versatility of the blade shape, but the handles get very high marks in my book, too. Their shape lends to a secure grip, and this is the most comfortable knife I have held, bar none. The only real compromise is the use of carbon fiber for the scale material. It does get slippery with wet or muddy hands. At Darrel's suggestion, I roughed the scales up a bit with a Scotchbrite pad, though this didn't make a huge difference-it did make a difference. Probably not an issue for the the type of use I imagine most people would use a knife in this price range for, but canvas micarta or textured G-10 would be more suitable for hard use (wouldn't look nearly as good, though).
Overall, that incredibly comfortable handle, an impressive blade/handle ratio, well-designed recurve, high performance grind, and good steel make quite a package, IMO.
Almost forgot about the blade grind. Generally, I prefer flat ground blades, as they consistently outperform hollow grinds on the materials I typically cut, but Darrel uses a 14" wheel, which makes for a high shallow grind without the exaggerated shoulder that I normally associate with a hollow grind.
So you get the best of both worlds-thin behind the edge for less resistance, and a smooth transition from the grind to the flats, that doesn't bind in thicker materials.
The ceramic peen that Darrel uses on the grinds appear to be very durable, too. My blade has a number of small scratches, but none that are noticeable, and barely shows any wear.
Yeah, I like it
Owen
