review request cammilus talon

[shootist16]

would like to get some input about pro's and con's of the talon.

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Dennis Bible

 

[jeffj]

Dennis,

I purchased one from madog2020 about a month ago and he asked me the same question...so let me see if I can elaborate. I will not give a performance review but only a comparison of my custom Talonite Cetan and the Talon. Okay...here it goes.

Here are some random thoughts:
The handle is a little bulkier, I think it is from the fluting on the sides of the scales...my custom is not fluted (which is what I requested) so the handles are somewhat slimmer and actually feel better in my hand (medium sized hand). The grinding is not quite symmetric near the heel of the blade. On the other hand, the edge is ground nicely thin (the knife surprised me being as sharp as it was), but got much thicker near the tip. The custom I have the edge is the same thickness along the entire edge, but was slightly thicker behind the edge than the Talon. The plunge grind near the finger choil is further back on the Talon which actually gives you a little less than 1/4" more edge...nice. The top and bottom ridges on the blade for the thumb and fore finger are a bit deeper and larger (also more of them on the top) on the Talon...but also a little less "grippy" than on the custom. The finish is nowhere close to the custom finish...too many grind lines left. The sheath on the custom is of thinner material but it covers most of the knife. I think that the teklok is too bulky, but it is a very nice gadget. I will probably buy the smaller one when available. If you didn't own a Cetan then you would be hard pressed to really tell the differences. The performance should be identical. If you don't own a Cetan, it is a great design. One of the best all-round utility designs I own.

I am thinking of making a cocobolo handle for it and press a new kydex sheath in brown. Should be pretty!

Jeff Jenness

[This message has been edited by jeffj (edited 07-19-2000).]

 

[dp]

Hello Dennis, Jeff gave a great comparison to the Cetan. I don't have a Cetan but got to handle one a while back...and just recently purchased the Talon. I was impressed with the quality of the Talon, not custom quality, but pretty close. Jeff's dead on about how sharp the Talon is, I was really amazed. For "pros", the Talon has a great blade to handle ratio, it fits me perfectly (and I have medium sized hands); the blade shape makes it a natural for utility chores ranging from game dressing, to card board cutting. Being utterly stainless, I've been using it around the kitchen a lot, and all I've been doing is rinsing it off. The sheath is top notch, but yes the Tech-Lock (TM), is a little bulky, but it rides very well under my BDU blouse at work. The "cons" are most definately the price, but when compared to the custom Cetan it is very reasonable with immediate shipment as well! I haven't had to do any serious sharpening, just stropping, so I can't comment on that yet. Overall, it's a great utility knife that would make that excellent backpacking 4" blade utility, kitchen, skinning/dressing knife.

That and $0.98 will get you a large cup of coffee!

Dave

 

[jeffj]

Dave is right...and that is the primary reason that I purchased the knife...a fixed blade for backpacking. I'll bet you would be able to find one under $200 is you were patient. That price makes it a very good value.

Jeff

 

[David1967]

I posted this in the Talonite Good, Bad and Ugly thread but it is toooo long so I will copy it here:

I have been fan of Rob's desingn since I saw his work for the first time. I do not think that you can get better utility blade. But his knives are quite expensive for me (due to our exchange rate) so I was very happy to learn that Camillus was going to produce one of his designs.
And just for a little more than custom Cetan would cost I bought the Talon. It is my most expensive knife so far (it is almost my monthly net income here). Still I do not regret and I am happy with it.

I (and my girlfriend) use the knife in the kitchen every day (we do not buy the TV dinners and owen-ready food) and it is great on vegetables and meat. I am sure you saw that TV commercial how difficult it is to cut ripe tomatoe, didn't you?? Well this knife would fit into that commercial even better than those flexible, serrated, never need sharpening blades.

And with meat it is even better. I do not hunt, but sometimes we put whole pig on the grill (if you have special term for that I do not know) and we cut pieces of meat as they are done. The talonite knife performs much better than any other I have. And what do I have?? Spyderco kitchen knives (they are great BTW), knives made of ATS-34, ATS-55, CPM 440V, and few knives made of some kind of mystery European steel.

I have had the knife for about 2 months now (I know it is not too long) and it still has the factory edge. It does not shave anymore and looks dull - but keeps cutting (even very soft tomatoes ).

So if you need good utility-kitchen knife you should try it. And do not tell me it is tooooo expensive for you that you cannot afford it. If I can buy it you can definitely too. And if you do not like it - you can always sell it with a little loss (equal to a few value meals at MD or BK) don't you think so???????

As you can see I like the knife and I think that for 200.00 USD it is a good deal.

David


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