After doing the Hollow Handle Shootout I realized how much fun it was comparing multiple blades rather than just doing a single knife review, they seem much more informative as well as much more work, well worth it once all is said and done.
I'll be comparing 3 knives in this shootout, all with short blades, 4 inch or less.
The Contenders are: Randall Fireman, Tops XCEST Alpha and Kabar JAB Gamestalker.
First let's take a look at the knives and their sheaths. As you can see all 3 are quite different. Varying thickness, handle styles, and costs. The Randall is the largest measuring in at 4 inches in length and .25 inches wide. The Tops XCEST is is .188" thick and 3 1/8" long. Gamestalker is .188" thick and 4" long.
Both the Tops and Kabar come with MOLLE compatible sheaths with pockets on the front. The Randall comes with a much nicer, high ride leather sheath. As you'll notice about Randall's, they come with the nicest sheaths.
Onto the testing.
For the first test, as always, I did carving. The Gamestalker excelled at carving, the very high hollow grind worked well. It's very nimble and light in the hand, it's one of my main goto knives for simple carving tasks such as trap parts and trolls. It does have a few drawbacks though. The knobbies on the scales will cause blisters, they need to be sanded off. The handle shape isn't the greatest either, not the most comfortable but doesn't cause any problems. Pushing on the spine of the blade with your thumb will also cause blistering, it's somewhat squard off and thin compared to the other knives in this test.
The Randall was acceptable for carving tasks, it really didn't excel at this, though it was passable. It performed better than its blade thickness and grind would lead you to believe. It definetly isn't the best carver, but it was the most comfortable carver to use. I've come to appreciate the finger grooved Randalls, they feel as if they were made for my hand(Medium Husky and Mechanix gloves fit me snugly, to give you an idea). The back of the spine at a full 1/4" thick was also comfortable to press against with your thumb.
The Tops XCEST is something of a let down when it comes to carving. The grind is extra thick like the Randall, except it has a very thick coating on it. Reminds me of an old paint stirring stick, you can literally carve the coating off with another knife. It seems to require far more work to make simple cuts than I'd prefer. A positive note about this knife, the handle is very comfortable, fits my hand well.
Next task was making a fuzzy stick and lighting it with a ferro rod using the knife. I was able to light all 3, was only able to use the spine of the Randall on the ferro rod, the other two I used the edge. All worked fine.
Everyone's favorite again, batonning. I chose 3 pieces of seasoned, somewhat knotty wood again. I had to thump on each knife fairly hard to get these pieces batonned.
Each knife with its piece of wood.
I beat and beat, and this is the final product, all the pieces are in kindling. I wailed on all the knives, especially the Randall. I beat on it like no ones ever beat on one before, really wish I got that on video. The Randall as the clear winner in this competition, it splits wood like a champ and can take a beating. All the knives worked fine for this, or did they? (ominous music plays)...
Today I headed out into the woods to finish the shootout. I decided to test cross grain batonning. These short blades can't really be used for chopping, and sometimes things need to be chopped, so batonning it is.
Here are the knives on the downed green tree limb.
Here is the scene in the aftermath. The Randall did fine with this task, as it did with standard batonning. The Tops did ok, but seemed to take alot more effort to accomplish the same amount of work. As you can see from the pic the Gamestalker didn't do so hot, I pushed this little fella beyond its limits. It sucks that I broke it, I'm fairly certain Kabar will take care of me though.
Next I made fishing spears. I was able to make servicable spears with both knives. It took more than one try each, I messed a few up, due to the thickness of the blade I imagine. What makes the knives so great for batonning isn't so great when it comes to making spears, how agressively they split. Neither tool would be my first choice for this job, but the task was accomplished.
The knives after everything is said and done.
The Randall is clearly the superior knife in this shootout, it also has the superior price tag. All three of the knives have their positive and negatives. I would recommend the Randall if you want an indestructable tool. I would recommend the Gamestalker if you need a knife for carving, skinning and kitchen tasks. I'd suggest the Tops if you don't mind putting some work in it to make it a better tool.
I hope everyone enjoys the shootout and I look forward to feedback as always.
I'll be comparing 3 knives in this shootout, all with short blades, 4 inch or less.
The Contenders are: Randall Fireman, Tops XCEST Alpha and Kabar JAB Gamestalker.
First let's take a look at the knives and their sheaths. As you can see all 3 are quite different. Varying thickness, handle styles, and costs. The Randall is the largest measuring in at 4 inches in length and .25 inches wide. The Tops XCEST is is .188" thick and 3 1/8" long. Gamestalker is .188" thick and 4" long.
Both the Tops and Kabar come with MOLLE compatible sheaths with pockets on the front. The Randall comes with a much nicer, high ride leather sheath. As you'll notice about Randall's, they come with the nicest sheaths.
Onto the testing.
For the first test, as always, I did carving. The Gamestalker excelled at carving, the very high hollow grind worked well. It's very nimble and light in the hand, it's one of my main goto knives for simple carving tasks such as trap parts and trolls. It does have a few drawbacks though. The knobbies on the scales will cause blisters, they need to be sanded off. The handle shape isn't the greatest either, not the most comfortable but doesn't cause any problems. Pushing on the spine of the blade with your thumb will also cause blistering, it's somewhat squard off and thin compared to the other knives in this test.
The Randall was acceptable for carving tasks, it really didn't excel at this, though it was passable. It performed better than its blade thickness and grind would lead you to believe. It definetly isn't the best carver, but it was the most comfortable carver to use. I've come to appreciate the finger grooved Randalls, they feel as if they were made for my hand(Medium Husky and Mechanix gloves fit me snugly, to give you an idea). The back of the spine at a full 1/4" thick was also comfortable to press against with your thumb.
The Tops XCEST is something of a let down when it comes to carving. The grind is extra thick like the Randall, except it has a very thick coating on it. Reminds me of an old paint stirring stick, you can literally carve the coating off with another knife. It seems to require far more work to make simple cuts than I'd prefer. A positive note about this knife, the handle is very comfortable, fits my hand well.
Next task was making a fuzzy stick and lighting it with a ferro rod using the knife. I was able to light all 3, was only able to use the spine of the Randall on the ferro rod, the other two I used the edge. All worked fine.
Everyone's favorite again, batonning. I chose 3 pieces of seasoned, somewhat knotty wood again. I had to thump on each knife fairly hard to get these pieces batonned.
Each knife with its piece of wood.
I beat and beat, and this is the final product, all the pieces are in kindling. I wailed on all the knives, especially the Randall. I beat on it like no ones ever beat on one before, really wish I got that on video. The Randall as the clear winner in this competition, it splits wood like a champ and can take a beating. All the knives worked fine for this, or did they? (ominous music plays)...
Today I headed out into the woods to finish the shootout. I decided to test cross grain batonning. These short blades can't really be used for chopping, and sometimes things need to be chopped, so batonning it is.
Here are the knives on the downed green tree limb.
Here is the scene in the aftermath. The Randall did fine with this task, as it did with standard batonning. The Tops did ok, but seemed to take alot more effort to accomplish the same amount of work. As you can see from the pic the Gamestalker didn't do so hot, I pushed this little fella beyond its limits. It sucks that I broke it, I'm fairly certain Kabar will take care of me though.
Next I made fishing spears. I was able to make servicable spears with both knives. It took more than one try each, I messed a few up, due to the thickness of the blade I imagine. What makes the knives so great for batonning isn't so great when it comes to making spears, how agressively they split. Neither tool would be my first choice for this job, but the task was accomplished.
The knives after everything is said and done.
The Randall is clearly the superior knife in this shootout, it also has the superior price tag. All three of the knives have their positive and negatives. I would recommend the Randall if you want an indestructable tool. I would recommend the Gamestalker if you need a knife for carving, skinning and kitchen tasks. I'd suggest the Tops if you don't mind putting some work in it to make it a better tool.
I hope everyone enjoys the shootout and I look forward to feedback as always.