Well I had this savage chopper out in the bush over the weekend, and I have to tell you all that it was worth every cent!
I spent two hours on foot, cruising the trail and removing Scotch Broom, (
http://www.shim.bc.ca/invasivespecies/_private/Scotchbroom.htm) along the way. As my home is located pretty much at the epicenter of this noxious, invasive plant, there was lots of opportunity to test out my blade. Broom stalks vary in size from about 4mm in diameter up to 15mm. It is extremely fibrous and tough. It also grows thick, and a maneuverable blade is key.
Of course, one of the first things that happened was that I christened the edge on a rock! It sucks chipping your edge, but I expected that something like that would happen at some point, so best get it out of the way early! I was able to remove most of the damage, and this blade will pop hairs off my carcass just like when it was new. Even after almost two hours of continuous hacking through nasty plant matter, the edge remained keen.
I found that the handle had a couple of hot spots, and got home with a blister on my index finger and one on the heel of my hand. No problem! I had initially asked Matt to leave the handle rough and full, so I've since removed material and smoothed the handle where it was chafing my delicate hands

Usually I wear gloves for this kind of work, as I always encounter Black Cap tendrils, which are covered in very irritating prickles not to mention the broom itself which always leaves slivers and perforates hand skin with ease. But I wanted to get a handle which fits me perfectly, so I went au natural. My hands are torn up a bit, but the handle on this knife is sooo dialed now!
So, with all that being said, this knife was born to kill broom. Its heft and broad blade, coupled with a dropped handle heel creates a lot of force and power- allowing me to sever, in one swing, limbs up to 10mm in diameter. This custom/handmade knife is a tool without comparison in the production knife world, which goes to show that custom/handmade knives definitely have their place with those who need specific tools that they can depend on.
Great job Matt! This knife gets a ten out of ten:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: