- Joined
- Apr 7, 2003
- Messages
- 2,315
So, since I have a desk job and haven't been out camping or anything, I decided to test out my new Mid-Tech Razel by preparing dinner with it. The dinner in question? Pot roast in a slow cooker.
The ingredients:
First up was potatoes. No problems cutting them up to appropriate size.
I didn't get a shot of the carrot-cutting, but I found that (probably due to its thickness) the Razel worked better using a slicing motion than push-cutting. If you tried push-cutting, the pieces tended to go flying about the kitchen when they *popped* off.
Now, a trick I learned from my wife is to cut slits in the roast, and to put peeled garlic cloves into the slits prior to cooking. I was very interested to see how the Razel would work doing this, and it worked VERY well. I wasn't by any means performing "full force" stabs, but the sharpened front edge of the knife cut into the roast with no problems at all. It was easier to do this task with the Razel than with cooking knives I've used.
In this shot of the nearly-ready-to-cook meal, you can see the garlic peeking out of the roast.
All in all, while not an ideal cooking knife, the Razel worked very well for prepping this type of meal, and it's a heck of a lot easier to clean than my old AFCK!
Spiced and ready to go:
********************************
Overall, I've been very pleased with the fit and finish of my Mid-tech razel. There have only been two "problems", and neither is a show-stopper.
1. I ordered a leather sheath to go with it, in addition to the kydex that the MT normally comes with. The sheath fit fine, except that the front edge of the scale was left sharp, and was catching on the edge of the sheath when I tried re-inserting the knife.
I mentioned this to Josh Graham in an email, and asked him how hard it would be for me to file it down myself. He said that it should be very easy to do, but also immediately offered to take the knife back and fix it himself if I wanted. (I said it before in TGBU, but I'll say it here... these guys are GREAT to deal with! :thumbup: ) I decided to give it a go, and a few minutes with the file on my Leatherman had it rounded off well. (I have since rounded off the other scale to match.)
2) I hesitate to call this a "problem", but I noticed that, upon very close inspection, the grind for the two sides of the chisel edge are not exactly even. I was going to try to take a picture, but it seems like my camera has disappeared for the day.
(Probably off taking pictures of plants with my wife.) I can't tell if they are different angles, or if one side is just slightly more rounded off than the other, but it's a very slight slight difference... the kind of thing you only notice upon quite close inspection. I don't consider it a functional defect in the least, just a minor cosmetic one.
Now, with that out of the way, my Razel has the green micarta scales, which I find to be just grippy enough without acting like sandpaper on my pants. The knife looks awesome and feels very stout in my hand (as it should, being 3/16" thick steel.)
The ingredients:
First up was potatoes. No problems cutting them up to appropriate size.
I didn't get a shot of the carrot-cutting, but I found that (probably due to its thickness) the Razel worked better using a slicing motion than push-cutting. If you tried push-cutting, the pieces tended to go flying about the kitchen when they *popped* off.
Now, a trick I learned from my wife is to cut slits in the roast, and to put peeled garlic cloves into the slits prior to cooking. I was very interested to see how the Razel would work doing this, and it worked VERY well. I wasn't by any means performing "full force" stabs, but the sharpened front edge of the knife cut into the roast with no problems at all. It was easier to do this task with the Razel than with cooking knives I've used.
In this shot of the nearly-ready-to-cook meal, you can see the garlic peeking out of the roast.
All in all, while not an ideal cooking knife, the Razel worked very well for prepping this type of meal, and it's a heck of a lot easier to clean than my old AFCK!
Spiced and ready to go:
********************************
Overall, I've been very pleased with the fit and finish of my Mid-tech razel. There have only been two "problems", and neither is a show-stopper.
1. I ordered a leather sheath to go with it, in addition to the kydex that the MT normally comes with. The sheath fit fine, except that the front edge of the scale was left sharp, and was catching on the edge of the sheath when I tried re-inserting the knife.
I mentioned this to Josh Graham in an email, and asked him how hard it would be for me to file it down myself. He said that it should be very easy to do, but also immediately offered to take the knife back and fix it himself if I wanted. (I said it before in TGBU, but I'll say it here... these guys are GREAT to deal with! :thumbup: ) I decided to give it a go, and a few minutes with the file on my Leatherman had it rounded off well. (I have since rounded off the other scale to match.)
2) I hesitate to call this a "problem", but I noticed that, upon very close inspection, the grind for the two sides of the chisel edge are not exactly even. I was going to try to take a picture, but it seems like my camera has disappeared for the day.
(Probably off taking pictures of plants with my wife.) I can't tell if they are different angles, or if one side is just slightly more rounded off than the other, but it's a very slight slight difference... the kind of thing you only notice upon quite close inspection. I don't consider it a functional defect in the least, just a minor cosmetic one.Now, with that out of the way, my Razel has the green micarta scales, which I find to be just grippy enough without acting like sandpaper on my pants. The knife looks awesome and feels very stout in my hand (as it should, being 3/16" thick steel.)
