Scrap Yard Sykco 911 vs Survive! GSO-10

I feel the taller (also thinner) blade does better at chopping/cutting than does the thicker more wedge shape of the thicker 911. I haven't compared them head to head for battoning though, as I can see it going either way, the thinner non-coated blade of the GSO-10 going through wood easier, but the 911 with its thicker spine splitting it easier so I'm not sure on that one, here's a couple comparison pictures, I laid a pencil across the point that the each will balance on my finger, which are actually pretty similar, the GSO-10 is just about 1/2" more blade heavy.



 
Thomas Linton said:
Well, you got me. :o

I couldn't sleep last night. Kept having nightmares about micro-ounces of water clinging to my plasticized knife handles. 0___0
Click to expand...

Awesome. :thumbup:


My $0.02 on the matter is as follows:

I own a GSO-10 and the 911's cousin Rodent 9 (same blade, different choil & handle). Performance wise, the GSO-10's lighter weight and extra length and THINNER geometry lend superiority in nearly any cutting task - it swings faster and penetrates deeper without binding overly much, functions as a machete as well as a hatchet. Limbing trees and cutting smaller branches, I'd take the GSO-10:

[video=youtube;jNyRf8jgdvU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNyRf8jgdvU[/video]

The Rodent 9 (and likely the 911) are thicker behind the edge so that they can handle heavy abuse (e.g. concrete) but suffer in cutting performance and take longer to resharpen as there is more material to be removed. I'd assume that CPM-3V will also hold an edge longer than SR-101, but i haven't done a controlled test on that. Batonning, the 911 will wedge sooner to force the wood apart, but the GSO-10 will slide further into the wood - I'm not sure which would take less effort/time to get the job done. That stout 911 geometry certainly increases one's confidence doing stuff like this:

[video=youtube;iCphmLgvaV4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCphmLgvaV4[/video]

The Rodent 9 definitely has better balance and feels better in my hand, is more comfortable in a choked grip, and the 911's Res-C is likely even nicer, esp. if you taper the guard section down to the choil. Impact shock and temperature extremes, Res-C reigns supreme. The GSO-10 handle isn't uncomfortable (something I was initially concerned about), but it may not fit everyone's hands as well as my own. Also, the 911 just looks sexier ;)

Regarding corrosion-resistance, I re-sheathed my GSO-10 after using it in the snow, the blade was spotted with rust "freckles" the next day, removed by rubbing the blade with a simple sheet of paper, the edge had no spots. I did the same with my Rodent 9 and found a LOT of rust all along the edge where the coating was removed. Most of this wiped away just as easily, but the edge lost some sharpness.

In summary, I think that you get what you pay for with the GSO-10, which includes higher cutting performance, but if you don't like how it looks or feels in hand then it'll never satisfy. I still have and use both the Rodent 9 and GSO-10. Until finances force me to choose between them, I am going to wait until I have a few more years of use out of each before I decide which I prefer.

Good luck!
 
Chiral, any problem with the finger grooves on the GSO developing hot spots?

As for me, I'm a res-c fan. My Battle Rat (same steel as the 911) is my chopper until a kuk is released by the Yard!

Here's some stoopid I unleashed last year with the BR (thought the tree was dead and rotten..was just dead and hard! :eek:) This has a thinned out edge and sustained minor/tiny damage that sharpened right out.



 
rpn said:
Chiral, any problem with the finger grooves on the GSO developing hot spots?

As for me, I'm a res-c fan. My Battle Rat (same steel as the 911) is my chopper until a kuk is released by the Yard!

Here's some stoopid I unleashed last year with the BR (thought the tree was dead and rotten..was just dead and hard! :eek:) This has a thinned out edge and sustained minor/tiny damage that sharpened right out.

Click to expand...

Yeah, when i first started felling dead pines on my property, I was surprised by how dense the core was inside the punky outer wood! Bought a chainsaw soon thereafter ;)

While I wouldn't compare the GSO handle to Res-C comfort, I was actually very surprised at how comfortable the GSO handle is. No hot spots from the grooves, indeed they really assist in re-indexing after particularly hard hits - my fingers loosen a bit on impact but stay in the edges of the grooves. The grooves are probably unnecessary, a vestige from Guy's previous designs, but they serve a function and don't hurt. Also, the wide handle makes it easy to keep the edge pointing exactly the direct i want, increasing control in the event of a glance. The extra retention & control means I don't need to squeeze the handle as tight to maintain the same level of control (even when wet/cold), so my hand doesn't get tired quite as quickly. One thing I would change about the handle is a wider pommel-flare - I've added some ranger bands to further reduce the risk of the knife sliding out of my grasp, whatever lets me work harder and longer to get the job done with less effort or in less time. :thumbup:
 
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