Review: Schrade SCHF56 & SCHF56L (Releasing Feb. 2016) 1095 Steel,TPE, Fixed Blade

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mhanlen

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Aug 21, 2015
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Got a brand new knife review. This review actually covers two knives from Schrade, the soon-to-be-released SCHF56 and SCHF56L. These knives, I was told by Schrad,e should retail in the $25-$30 when they're released sometime early next year. Schrade provided these blades for review, and told me they are the final production models. They share a lot with the SCHF51 and SCHF52, in terms of construction and cosmetics- the main difference are the dimensions. They have big handles, and are full tang 1095 steel blades, with a non-stick, sorta-slick coating. The big difference is the size, the SCHF56 has a blade length of about 3.2 inches, and the SCHF56L has a blade length of about 4.3 inches- although the handle is the same size on both.

I actually filmed quite a bit of stuff that I didn't include- well more batoning- but I try to keep the reviews well paced. My point is- I beat the crap out of the blades and they held up quite well. Things to note: the blades are sort of sharp out of the box, although they require a tiny bit of force to shave arm hair. The sheaths aren't super high quality, but they should hold up reasonably well.

And about me: I kind of started doing reviews a few years ago, but started doing knife reviews later this year. I'm not the most experienced reviewer, but I try to give a balanced view of the blades, and try and have fun beating the crap out of them.

Let's see that's about it. I shoot these on 2 nice cameras- the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera and a Panasonic Lumix GH3. The Lumix died during this review, but since I had a backup camera, it didn't affect much. It's tangential information that I'm including because I take a lot of time to make sure the picture, editing, and sound are all spot on. And in case you missed it, here is my SCHF51 and SCHF52 review from last month. Hope you like it.



[video=youtube;Q-FUh_imdtQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-FUh_imdtQ[/video]​
 
Yeah, I'm impressed with it. The handle length is just about perfect for me- on both knives.
 
These look great, though I think would be more useful with steel half as thick. Your review style is great as well, had me laughing! Thanks.
 
Nicely done man, I like your approach. :)


tknife said:
These look great, though I think would be more useful with steel half as thick. Your review style is great as well, had me laughing! Thanks.
Click to expand...

I agree on the thickness. I wanted to do the 55 in 5/32 or 4mm thickness, but their handle attachment system doesn't allow for that. I am hoping to change that. Hopefully that will be less difficult than it was for me to convince them to use 1095 again :)
 
tknife said:
These look great, though I think would be more useful with steel half as thick. Your review style is great as well, had me laughing! Thanks.
Click to expand...


They are a bit heavy... They'd still be pretty stout if they'd shed a few Mms.


mistwalker said:
Nicely done man, I like your approach. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah my style is a bit different than the usual knife stuff. I've been doing flashlight and headlamp reviews for a few years now, and it's sort of an adaptation of the style I began doing with those. I figure if you don't see a knife/headlamp/flashlight being used then it's not much of a review.

It takes longer to do these, but I have fun making them.
 
I like how Schrade and Taylor Brands have compelled the famously finicky denizens of bladeforums by doing nothing but improving (maybe rediscovering) their fundamentals, to respect them again. Would love to read if not do a business case study on how they went about it.

I carry the F16 almost daily now as it has impressed me with its usability if not the aesthetics. While these are very promising for their purpose, the classic bushcraft style is not for me. I cannot,however, wait for the F55 (reduced size F42D). 1095 Carbon steel, flat ground small FB that, in my mind, might actually compete with the Izula, BK14/24 and their ilk, as a fixed blade EDC. And it comes with a kydex-ish sheath. As long as its not blade-dulling GRN or something, that's a winner as well. I like the Brian Griffin aesthetic too.
Cpl videos from YT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRTfkwYOzLI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8gmE77dbaE

PS: Oh and already looking for a clear coat/ uncoated micarta handle version, please. Since they seem to be listening, what with re-releasing a knife without the recurve and so on.
 
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