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- Feb 28, 2007
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Well, this isn't so much a review as a Golly Gee, I just opened up a package in the mail today and I can't wait to brag about it on the forums, kind of post. I ordered the Scrapyard 5 about 1.5 months ago. Actually I was on W&SS chat at the time and my wife decided to order one for me as a little surprise. That was pretty cool.
So this knife is made by the Scrapyard Knifeworks company which is the economic subsidiary of the Busse shop group. Scrapyard knives boast time proven toughness at an economic cost. They way the ordering process works with them is that they will release a knife pattern making it available for orders for between 4-6 weeks. After that period the knives are built and shipped. In this case, the SY was shipped within 4 weeks of the sale closure which I believe is their fastest response time yet. There isn't a limit on the number of knives produced during the window it is offered, but it is no longer available after that window unless the company chooses re-release it at a later date.
My first scrapyard was a SOD (Son of Dogfather), and I was impressed with its brute toughness and balance orientated towards chopping. Not as nice for overall chores as my RC-6, but the SOD is completely bombe proof.
When scrapyard offered this smaller/thinner knife I couldn't resist getting in on it. I was excited by the fact that Dumpster Dan indicated the knife to be thinner than 3/16" specing somewhere larger than 1/8". It is also made of SR101 steel, which is a Busse proprietary steel used mostly in the Swamp Rat line (middle line of Busse Knives).
Initial impressions. The muddy grips feel good in the hand and the handle is quite comfortable. The muddy grips are made of Respirene C as are all the handles on Scrapyard knives. The muddy grips are a bit harder than the normal grips and provide slightly less give than those on my SOD. However, they are probably tougher too. Overall, I think I prefer the normal grips slightly over the muddy ones, but those little nodules do grip the palm well and seem comfortable.
Here is the Scrapper next to a few other knives - Breeden Bigpaw, Breeden Pathfinder, JK Kephart and RC4.
As far as comfort goes, I rate the Scrapyard at about equal to the Pathfinder/Big Paw and Kephart. I don't really like the thumb ramp on the spine. It isn't that uncomfortable, but I feel it would be more comfortable if it wasn't there. I haven't used the knife for any real cutting yet, so I'm going to reserve judgment until later.
One thing I was disappointed in was that the blade length is actually 4 5/8" not 5", with the Spec including part of the choil. You can see that the pathfinder with a 5" blade actually has a longer cutting edge to it.
I'm not one of those guys who hates choils and I do appreciate that the one supplied with the Scrapper is a usable one. Some people also find the square choil odd, but I'm used to it as the same square choil can be found on the SOD. When using the choil to choke up, the thumb ramp doesn't seem to get in the way. So I can say that the ramp isn't all that bad.
The thickness of this knife is actually pretty close to 3/16" somewhere slightly thicker than 5/32". I was hoping it was going to be closer to 1/8" but oh well - it is supposed to be a tough knife. I appreciate the fact that it isn't 1/4" for this bladesize!
Profile below scrapper surrounded by RC-4 (3/16") and Pathfinder (1/8")
Here it is next to the Breeden Big Paw (5/32").
A few slices into some softwood gave good cutting performance. The edge is sharp enough to shave hair. I also found that the edge of my SOD came very sharp from the factory. I'm sure that I will be convexing this one as soon as I get a chance to do it. Convexing helps the cut, but particularly on a coated blades, smooths the coating at the bevel.
So far I like it. It produced some pretty nice curls and felt good doing so. The blade length is long enough to get buy as your sole knife, thick enough to be at the ready for almost any chore and thin enough to cut things and offer a good edge. The point is sharp and usable. The choil lets you choke up, and do so comfortably. This knife is considerably lighter than the RC-4, mainly due to the lighter weight of Respirene C compared to mircata.
I always like having a punishment knife on hand for doing the kind of things you don't really want to do to your prettier knives - like prying stuff and such. This one will be a good beater blade but far more versatile than the SOD which because of its balance is pretty much only good for chopping IMO. Mind you the SOD is great for chopping, but I find I take it out less because I like my knives to be balanced more neutral. The scrapper 5 is light and fast in the hand.
Overall a good blade at a good price from a rock solid company. Over time I should be able to get in some dirt time with it. At this very moment, I have to say between my Breeden Big Paw and the Scrapper 5, I'm a bit more smitten with the Big Paw. That is kind of saying a lot given I just opened up this blade 45 minutes ago. However, time may prove the Scrapper to be finding its way on my belt more often, especially given its light weight. We'll see. I am glad I bought this knife (make that my wife bought it), but also glad I didn't order 5 of them.
It will go great in kydex and I plan to have Eric make one up for me sometime this summer. A very good knife from a great company.
Hope you guys enjoyed my mini review.
So this knife is made by the Scrapyard Knifeworks company which is the economic subsidiary of the Busse shop group. Scrapyard knives boast time proven toughness at an economic cost. They way the ordering process works with them is that they will release a knife pattern making it available for orders for between 4-6 weeks. After that period the knives are built and shipped. In this case, the SY was shipped within 4 weeks of the sale closure which I believe is their fastest response time yet. There isn't a limit on the number of knives produced during the window it is offered, but it is no longer available after that window unless the company chooses re-release it at a later date.
My first scrapyard was a SOD (Son of Dogfather), and I was impressed with its brute toughness and balance orientated towards chopping. Not as nice for overall chores as my RC-6, but the SOD is completely bombe proof.
When scrapyard offered this smaller/thinner knife I couldn't resist getting in on it. I was excited by the fact that Dumpster Dan indicated the knife to be thinner than 3/16" specing somewhere larger than 1/8". It is also made of SR101 steel, which is a Busse proprietary steel used mostly in the Swamp Rat line (middle line of Busse Knives).
Initial impressions. The muddy grips feel good in the hand and the handle is quite comfortable. The muddy grips are made of Respirene C as are all the handles on Scrapyard knives. The muddy grips are a bit harder than the normal grips and provide slightly less give than those on my SOD. However, they are probably tougher too. Overall, I think I prefer the normal grips slightly over the muddy ones, but those little nodules do grip the palm well and seem comfortable.
Here is the Scrapper next to a few other knives - Breeden Bigpaw, Breeden Pathfinder, JK Kephart and RC4.
As far as comfort goes, I rate the Scrapyard at about equal to the Pathfinder/Big Paw and Kephart. I don't really like the thumb ramp on the spine. It isn't that uncomfortable, but I feel it would be more comfortable if it wasn't there. I haven't used the knife for any real cutting yet, so I'm going to reserve judgment until later.
One thing I was disappointed in was that the blade length is actually 4 5/8" not 5", with the Spec including part of the choil. You can see that the pathfinder with a 5" blade actually has a longer cutting edge to it.
I'm not one of those guys who hates choils and I do appreciate that the one supplied with the Scrapper is a usable one. Some people also find the square choil odd, but I'm used to it as the same square choil can be found on the SOD. When using the choil to choke up, the thumb ramp doesn't seem to get in the way. So I can say that the ramp isn't all that bad.
The thickness of this knife is actually pretty close to 3/16" somewhere slightly thicker than 5/32". I was hoping it was going to be closer to 1/8" but oh well - it is supposed to be a tough knife. I appreciate the fact that it isn't 1/4" for this bladesize!
Profile below scrapper surrounded by RC-4 (3/16") and Pathfinder (1/8")
Here it is next to the Breeden Big Paw (5/32").
A few slices into some softwood gave good cutting performance. The edge is sharp enough to shave hair. I also found that the edge of my SOD came very sharp from the factory. I'm sure that I will be convexing this one as soon as I get a chance to do it. Convexing helps the cut, but particularly on a coated blades, smooths the coating at the bevel.
So far I like it. It produced some pretty nice curls and felt good doing so. The blade length is long enough to get buy as your sole knife, thick enough to be at the ready for almost any chore and thin enough to cut things and offer a good edge. The point is sharp and usable. The choil lets you choke up, and do so comfortably. This knife is considerably lighter than the RC-4, mainly due to the lighter weight of Respirene C compared to mircata.
I always like having a punishment knife on hand for doing the kind of things you don't really want to do to your prettier knives - like prying stuff and such. This one will be a good beater blade but far more versatile than the SOD which because of its balance is pretty much only good for chopping IMO. Mind you the SOD is great for chopping, but I find I take it out less because I like my knives to be balanced more neutral. The scrapper 5 is light and fast in the hand.
Overall a good blade at a good price from a rock solid company. Over time I should be able to get in some dirt time with it. At this very moment, I have to say between my Breeden Big Paw and the Scrapper 5, I'm a bit more smitten with the Big Paw. That is kind of saying a lot given I just opened up this blade 45 minutes ago. However, time may prove the Scrapper to be finding its way on my belt more often, especially given its light weight. We'll see. I am glad I bought this knife (make that my wife bought it), but also glad I didn't order 5 of them.
It will go great in kydex and I plan to have Eric make one up for me sometime this summer. A very good knife from a great company.
Hope you guys enjoyed my mini review.
I'm kind of wishing I'd ordered one, but I don't see it filling any role that my SS4 and Ratmadu can't, though I think the '5 is more pleasing aesthetically than the '4.
