EDIT: No pics. I bring a GPS unit and a Satellite phone(for emergencies)
Please Note:
-I didn't buy it for myself as I knew it's limitations but I decided to put it through it's paces.
-All blades are air bleeding sharp convex. Which In my opinion are the best/easiest to sharpen in the woods.
I do nearly the same kinda of forest whacking as Lorein here on BF. The wet boreal forest (Taiga) is a dreary place for many a forest tool this time of year. Wet. Everything is wet and slippery even though it hasn't rained for 2 days. Under the big canopy it's all moss and ferns and slippery like ice, lots of stumps, fallen logs and holes, nearly impossible to hike through. In the clearings is thin soft woods and scrub/grasses. the creek ravines are pretty wet and either have the clearing floral of the deep forest flora... AND STEEP 30degrees or more.
I took the regulator out on a camping trip. Which encompasses all these terrains.
My usual set up is: A machete and Cegga axe or a GB SFA with a small hunting knife. My other setup is my Chopper (Battle mistress or a custom chopper Lamey, Burt, Seigle etc...) with a small hunting knife.
The Review:
It didn't do well in the clearings. It's not a Bush clearing knife. The handle was perfect but it did not Zing through 1-2 inch diameter trees like a bigger chopper (Lamey Chopper or a battle mistress) or a machete (cheap condor) would.
In the mossy forest I never have a blade in hand because it's better to walk around obstacles than it is to attack them if avoidable. I tried it at some large towering ferns that we could not get around on a steep hill but the machete did a better job and I wasn't afraid of hitting a rock it with the machete. Also I needed some reach that the Regulator did not have. (One hand was on a stump so I didn't fall down the hill)
It was decent at chopping up some wood for the fire. I found the saber grind to be too stout though (reminds me of a light cleaver). If it had some more length it would be perfect but I much prefer my hatchet (thanks Cegga) then I'd use a chopper.
Cutting up meat and camp chores it did well. I have always used a machete /small thin hunting knife for all camp chores so I found the stout blade the be sluggish even though It is air bleeding sharp. The coating also made cutting a bit sluggish also I didn't feel confident when I was cleaning it between uses.
It's a quick blade to deploy compared to a chopper or a machete but I keep a hunting knife in reach at all times. That is much lighter and thinner and easier to manipulate and cuts much better.
The Negs: All in all: The Regulator was a bit much. The grind was too thick to Zing through anything that needed cutting. I am not a huge fan of thick knives. Over built = Useless weight. Overbuilt = wrist fatigue. Overbuilt = sluggish at cutting chores (even as a chopper. My Battle mistress is a tiresome blade to use but it's a decent chopper)
On the Plus side: It could do everything I threw at it. Just not ideal. I'd call it an everything knife but I am prefer specialized tools.
Keep in mind I have an ideal setup for what I do and I knew coming into this that the Reg. would not perform very well. Rust is no problem with proper care. All my knives are carbon steel and I never Never NEVER suffer from rusting issues. So the coating is not a plus to me.
I also have lot's of Busse knives so this isn't a knock at them.
Good blade but not What look for.
Please Note:
-I didn't buy it for myself as I knew it's limitations but I decided to put it through it's paces.
-All blades are air bleeding sharp convex. Which In my opinion are the best/easiest to sharpen in the woods.
I do nearly the same kinda of forest whacking as Lorein here on BF. The wet boreal forest (Taiga) is a dreary place for many a forest tool this time of year. Wet. Everything is wet and slippery even though it hasn't rained for 2 days. Under the big canopy it's all moss and ferns and slippery like ice, lots of stumps, fallen logs and holes, nearly impossible to hike through. In the clearings is thin soft woods and scrub/grasses. the creek ravines are pretty wet and either have the clearing floral of the deep forest flora... AND STEEP 30degrees or more.
I took the regulator out on a camping trip. Which encompasses all these terrains.
My usual set up is: A machete and Cegga axe or a GB SFA with a small hunting knife. My other setup is my Chopper (Battle mistress or a custom chopper Lamey, Burt, Seigle etc...) with a small hunting knife.
The Review:
It didn't do well in the clearings. It's not a Bush clearing knife. The handle was perfect but it did not Zing through 1-2 inch diameter trees like a bigger chopper (Lamey Chopper or a battle mistress) or a machete (cheap condor) would.
In the mossy forest I never have a blade in hand because it's better to walk around obstacles than it is to attack them if avoidable. I tried it at some large towering ferns that we could not get around on a steep hill but the machete did a better job and I wasn't afraid of hitting a rock it with the machete. Also I needed some reach that the Regulator did not have. (One hand was on a stump so I didn't fall down the hill)
It was decent at chopping up some wood for the fire. I found the saber grind to be too stout though (reminds me of a light cleaver). If it had some more length it would be perfect but I much prefer my hatchet (thanks Cegga) then I'd use a chopper.
Cutting up meat and camp chores it did well. I have always used a machete /small thin hunting knife for all camp chores so I found the stout blade the be sluggish even though It is air bleeding sharp. The coating also made cutting a bit sluggish also I didn't feel confident when I was cleaning it between uses.
It's a quick blade to deploy compared to a chopper or a machete but I keep a hunting knife in reach at all times. That is much lighter and thinner and easier to manipulate and cuts much better.
The Negs: All in all: The Regulator was a bit much. The grind was too thick to Zing through anything that needed cutting. I am not a huge fan of thick knives. Over built = Useless weight. Overbuilt = wrist fatigue. Overbuilt = sluggish at cutting chores (even as a chopper. My Battle mistress is a tiresome blade to use but it's a decent chopper)
On the Plus side: It could do everything I threw at it. Just not ideal. I'd call it an everything knife but I am prefer specialized tools.
Keep in mind I have an ideal setup for what I do and I knew coming into this that the Reg. would not perform very well. Rust is no problem with proper care. All my knives are carbon steel and I never Never NEVER suffer from rusting issues. So the coating is not a plus to me.
I also have lot's of Busse knives so this isn't a knock at them.
Good blade but not What look for.
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