Reb

Lorien

Lorien

Nose to the Grindstone
Moderator
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 5, 2005
Messages
27,820
this little knife pattern's been on paper for maybe a couple of years, and was meant as a companion to the dismal failure that was meant to be the Sentinel project.

It's the kind of knife that asks no questions. In use, it should be intuitive to hold and easy to use, putting the edge in a position where it's easily controllable and effective for regular knife stuff. It's meant to be as compact as possible, but still hand-filling and of a useful size. With all that in mind, my bro Ryan Weeks thought it might be a good component for a survival tin kit. Huh, never thought of that :):thumbup:

Some folk have a hate on for trailing points on knives, and I understand why. That being said, I tweaked REB so that there will be a dropped point version as well.



For now, these will get made from high carbon steel, but I'd like to see a version is something like M390.

And, if you were curious, REB is short for rebel.
 
Hey,

Nice effort on making a sharp looking knife. I was wondering if it was a laser, waterjet or plasma cut.

Greetings,

Robert
 
this was made by Ryan in his shop using standard tools. Future iterations will likely be cut by waterjet.
 
Nice.
Are we seeing a trend back to a small fixed blade for EDC?
That's my direction.
rolf
 
Rolf, Will Leavitt really made a believer outta me in the pocket straight knife department.
They'll never fill the role a folder can completely, but a folder sometimes can't fill the role a straight knife can. Depends on what sort of dude you are, I suppose.
 
Some great things come in small packages - good looking knife.

Please enlighten me; why would some people single out trailing point knives as a focal point for hatred?

BTW IM not arguing. Just interested as my humble Spydie Moran worked fine for me.
 
Lorien- Good to hear that. Can you post a pic of your Leavitt?
I have been EDCing my Nick Rossi forged Ti kiradashi. I'll get a pic up.
Bladescout- No hate, just different tastes.
rolf
 
BladeScout said:
Please enlighten me; why would some people single out trailing point knives as a focal point for hatred?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I can provide much enlightenment here, but I'll certainly take the opportunity to point out that there are some very heavy hitters who took the trailing point design down a few notches. In particular, Bob Loveless made a very solid and lasting case for the dropped point, which took over the trailing point in the mass market. I think there are still a lot of knife users who swear by a trailing point, in particular those who hunt. I've seen a bit of resurgence in the interest in trailing point knives by way of a seemingly growing number of makers coming up with their own version of the 'sharpfinger' pattern.

Ed Fowler wrote an article for Blade magazine that I just found;




I don't really like or dislike 'kinds' of knives. I usually judge each knife I see on its merits and try not to let a bias toward its 'genre' or 'style' interfere with the judgement.



Here's the Leavitt EDU that really got me interested in pocket straight knives, just for you Rolf!

 
Lorien- That's a beaut. I love the hemp!
I have a Hempie kwkn from Pohan. Maybe I'll EDC this one for awhile.
Thanks for the pic and the love... :D
rolf
 
Lorien said:
I'm not sure I can provide much enlightenment here, but I'll certainly take the opportunity to point out that there are some very heavy hitters who took the trailing point design down a few notches. In particular, Bob Loveless made a very solid and lasting case for the dropped point, which took over the trailing point in the mass market. I think there are still a lot of knife users who swear by a trailing point, in particular those who hunt. I've seen a bit of resurgence in the interest in trailing point knives by way of a seemingly growing number of makers coming up with their own version of the 'sharpfinger' pattern.

Ed Fowler wrote an article for Blade magazine that I just found;
-PICS-

I don't really like or dislike 'kinds' of knives. I usually judge each knife I see on its merits and try not to let a bias toward its 'genre' or 'style' interfere with the judgement.
Click to expand...
Thanks for background/info.
As you say, the trailing point was/is popular for hunting.
I find that with a finger along the spine, my small Spyderco-Moran in the trailing point version works at least as well as the dropped point version for skinning deer.
Personally, I quite like a triling point on a knife. It has grown on me. I used to not like them, but I guess long enough exposure to 'Sharpfingers' will make a man cave:D
I could easily see the 'REB' being used as a hunting knife. Nice knife, good name.
 
A good friend is an outfitter for big game in three states and has been for about 20 years. He is also real handy stitching up wounds, he tells me that over the years most of the self inflicted wounds he could not take care of in camp occurred with folks using trailing point knives.

When he checks out a client's gear he cautions about the use of a trailing point knife and offers a substitute blade design, he is not prejudiced against the trailing point design, just hates having to leave camp for visits to the emergency room.
 
hey Ed, I appreciate you taking the time to weigh in on this. I really enjoy your Blade articles.

Ryan suggested making a variant of the REB with a dropped point. Here is the result;

 
Those look really nice. I love the Drop Point aswell. I just sent a little fixed blade EDC off to heat treat. Can't wait to get it back.
 
You are most welcome Lorien and thanks for the compliment.

If you are gong to Blade show I will be more than happy to share a few thoughts with you.
 
Ed- that in itself would make it worth the trip. I think I'd really enjoy a chin wag with you.
Thank you!
 
I've actually come around a bit on trailing points. I used to not like them at all. But I've seen a few lately that look pretty good. I prefer the sweep up in the tip to be fairly subtle and not too radical.

I've even made a few myself that I've become fond of.
 
Lorien - is there anyway you could get a clearer shot of that article - it would be greatly appreciated since I am quite fond of Trailing point knives! -- What are the dimensions of your knife?

Ed Fowler said:
... he tells me that over the years most of the self inflicted wounds he could not take care of in camp occurred with folks using trailing point knives.

When he checks out a client's gear he cautions about the use of a trailing point knife and offers a substitute blade design, he is not prejudiced against the trailing point design...
Click to expand...

Would you please elaborate on this a little? What causes people to have issues?

I guess i could see them being unstable along the curved tip portion..
 
Last edited:
I'd love to help you out with that ISKski, but I already feel like I'm mowing Blade's grass a bit posting what I did.
the knife is a little under 7" oa, with about 3" of blade
 
Personally I see the knife as a simple tool, for me it is most efficient when it is a natural extension of my hand.

Hold your hand out, thumb up - now extend your index finger as high from the other three fingers as you can. Try to put your hand in your pocket or a glove, you will find the index finger gets in the way. This is why a good sheath is hard to make for a trailing point knife.

Try to do some work with that single index finger extended and you may find it does not work too well. Walk around for a day, keeping that finger extended and you will become significantly more aware of its presence every time it gets in the way or you stub it on something hard.

In my experience the drop point blade is more in tune with my arm and hand when it comes to utility, being able to index the blade and do work with it. My nature may very well be different than yours.

I do not mean to suggest that you should agree with me or that you are wrong because you like trailing point knives, we are all free in the knife community use what you like.

Subjects like this should be discussed and through debate and sharing opinions we will all make individual decisions based on the variables discussed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top