Shadow pattern strengh?

J

jackknife

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Oct 2, 2004
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A while back there was a discussion of this, and somebody made a comment that a test had been done by a knifemaker and proved that a well made shadow pattern was actually stronger than the same knife with bolsters.

Am I understanding that right, or am I 'round the bend? And if there was some testing done, does anyone have a link to that thread?

Thanks.
 
jackknife,
I do not know about any thread,but I think the shadow pattern is strong.I have used the Menefee in my avatar alot now & it remains strong ,with no pivot wobble ,at all!
-Vince
 
I don't know the thread but it was a response from Todd Davison to Don Hanson showing how he had been able to bend the blade without destroying the handle.
 
I have been using my Case Shadow Bone Baby Butterbean for several years...it shows no sign of blade wobble, granted it is a small knife.
 
I'd guess that the construction (ie, liner material, thickness) has a lot to do with the strength. I don't have any idea if the bolster adds any real strength to a pattern, unless it has to do with the method of manufacture (attached vs. milled one-piece bolster/liners).
 
In building construction,staggering seams is always stronger.The bridging of one sheet over the seam of two others,adds strength,always a better job.On the shadow style knife,the spot where there would be a seam,(bolster to scale) is bridged,with no seam,by the scale,and of course,synthetic being the stronger material.
Thats what I say,
-Vince
 
Which is why Ken Coats did my 4 inch jack in a Barehead with a bolster in the pivot end for strength. He felt that long on a shadow might be weaker in bone.
 
argel55 said:
I don't know the thread but it was a response from Todd Davison to Don Hanson showing how he had been able to bend the blade without destroying the handle.
Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but wasn't that a linerless knife?
 
I don't know the link either, but what I read was a post by Mr. Tony Bose that the Shadow pattern's stronger because where the bolster meets the handle material "can" be a weak point. IIRC, he said the bolsterless pattern (Shadow) was stronger due to no joints or weak areas.

I have a Menefee Back Pocket Shadow that I've used quite a bit & it certainly shows no signs of play or anything. It's also fairly big, in that it's 4 1/8" (Blade's 3 3/8").
 
CL01 said:
I don't know the link either, but what I read was a post by Mr. Tony Bose that the Shadow pattern's stronger because where the bolster meets the handle material "can" be a weak point. IIRC, he said the bolsterless pattern (Shadow) was stronger due to no joints or weak areas.

I have a Menefee Back Pocket Shadow that I've used quite a bit & it certainly shows no signs of play or anything. It's also fairly big, in that it's 4 1/8" (Blade's 3 3/8").
Click to expand...

These shadow patterns are stronger when you are using micarta or other similiar material. If it was bone then it wouldn't be as strong as a bolstered knife. These things like just posted in the Bose thread are real work horses, just ask Duckman.
 
jackknife said:
A while back there was a discussion of this, and somebody made a comment that a test had been done by a knifemaker and proved that a well made shadow pattern was actually stronger than the same knife with bolsters.

Am I understanding that right, or am I 'round the bend? And if there was some testing done, does anyone have a link to that thread?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yep, Todd Davison bent a blade with micarta slabs 90 degrees and showed that the scale and the pin didn't move a bit.

God Bless
 
I have used this old knife hard for better than twenty years...skinned a jillion coons, castrated lots of calves and even a few hogs, cut walking sticks, you name it, and it has held up exceptionally well.

I didn't know they were stronger when i bought this knife, or even what the name of the pattern was.

I just know it caught my eye as a big eyed, knife loving kid at the big Tulsa Gun Show.

It has served me well.

002-8.jpg
 
I haven't seen the original discussion, but an Australian knifemaker - Alistair Phillips AKA Cubane on the forums - did a strength test. I'm assuming this is kind of what you all are referring to, since he mentions that Todd Davison did a similar test.

http://www.knives.mutantdiscovery.com/destruction.html

Very impressive, I've been meaning to get another shadow pattern besides the Sodbuster Jr.
 
7rip13a said:
I haven't seen the original discussion, but an Australian knifemaker - Alistair Phillips AKA Cubane on the forums - did a strength test. I'm assuming this is kind of what you all are referring to, since he mentions that Todd Davison did a similar test.

http://www.knives.mutantdiscovery.com/destruction.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for this link! Does *anyone* have a link to Todd Davidson's testing? I've heard about it several times and would love to see it. Thanks!

-- Dwight
 
Another thanks for the link. Very impressive, destroying the blade but the pin or scales were fine.

When I went through my sodbuster phase, I always felt they were a solid knife for heavy duty use. I used the Case and Eye-Brand hard, but they never developed any wobble or slack. And I always wondered about those guys I worked with who were not knife knuts like us, but knew they needed a knife in the shop, so they all bought those Gerber LST's from the Galyan's we had right down the road. What those guys did with those LST's made the knife knut in me cringe in horror, but they never broke. I'd sharpen them up once in awhile for them, and those LST's seemed to take punnishment like a sponge. No bolsters, just the zytel handles with the stainlless pins in them.

Seems like a shadow has a lot going for it.
 
I'll be darned. I had been avoiding the linerless knives because I didn't think they would be very strong. It's nice to see that I was wrong.
 
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