We finally got a few hours free to drive up to our deer hunting spot, just to make sure it hadn't been paved or turned into condos.
My wife got a chance to plink with our new Savage BV .22, (what a great gun) while I got a chance to try out a few knives I'd picked up recently. Due to my obsessive compulsive disorder all had been sharpened and polished to about 20 degrees. The 20cv took the longest to grind, and I was curious if that meant the 20cv edge would last the longest, but until we get more time that question will have to wait.
SOG Team Leader with 20cv steel, RAT RC-6 with 1095, and a Paul Savage custom with 1084:
Sheaths- I'm partial to leather, so for belt carry I preferred the SOG and Savage, with the Savage getting the nod because it allowed me to blind draw and sheath. It has a molded tight fit and holds the knife securely. My wife said it's awesome because it "looks the best." Yes dear.
She wanted me to swagger like Jax from Sons of Anarchy, but I refrained...
The SOG is super secure in the sheath, but I really had to pay attention otherwise I'd cut through the retaining strap on each draw.
The nicest thing about the RC-6 was the kydex retention clip that snapped over the guard and secured the knife. Unfortunately, our backpacks don't have much webbing and I didn't feel like tying the knife up, so we just threw it in my backpack.
Whittling, Fuzz Sticks, etc.- It had rained the day before and all night, so I chopped off some deadfall branches, shaved off the dirty and wet bark, and fuzzed up about a half-dozen sticks per knife. I had to hurry because daylight was already fading and my wife was running out of ammo.
For wood the SOG handle was a disappointment. Luckily, I bought it because I wanted to try 20cv steel for field dressing deer, but still I was surprised at how much it wanted to roll in my hand. I'm hoping its aggressive texture will be great when my hands are bloody, but for woodworking the handles tendency to roll just caused irritation.
When I choked up on the blades and used their jimping, the RC-6 was easily the best. It was wide, comfortable, and evenly spread out the pressure. The balance is also perfect on the RC-6 because of the big blade, even though I'm biased towards bigger blades anyway.
When I just used a regular grip, the Savage was the most comfortable because of the sweet index finger contour and the wide flare in the back. It seemed to naturally wrap around my hand and felt the most secure.
None of the edges got chips or rolls, and after I got the fire going all the knives still sliced newsprint fairly cleanly. After testing with 5 sheets of large newsprint and a few dozen slices, for some reason the 20cv seemed to tear a bit more than the 1095 and 1084. I didn't buy it for cutting wood though, so if the deer Gods smile on us I'll be able to test it on game sooner or later.
It was a fun afternoon, but time passes too quickly when you're not at work.:grumpy:
Happy Halloween everyone ! As a shout-out to Noss we came prepared...:thumbup:
My wife got a chance to plink with our new Savage BV .22, (what a great gun) while I got a chance to try out a few knives I'd picked up recently. Due to my obsessive compulsive disorder all had been sharpened and polished to about 20 degrees. The 20cv took the longest to grind, and I was curious if that meant the 20cv edge would last the longest, but until we get more time that question will have to wait.
SOG Team Leader with 20cv steel, RAT RC-6 with 1095, and a Paul Savage custom with 1084:
Sheaths- I'm partial to leather, so for belt carry I preferred the SOG and Savage, with the Savage getting the nod because it allowed me to blind draw and sheath. It has a molded tight fit and holds the knife securely. My wife said it's awesome because it "looks the best." Yes dear.
She wanted me to swagger like Jax from Sons of Anarchy, but I refrained...
The SOG is super secure in the sheath, but I really had to pay attention otherwise I'd cut through the retaining strap on each draw.
The nicest thing about the RC-6 was the kydex retention clip that snapped over the guard and secured the knife. Unfortunately, our backpacks don't have much webbing and I didn't feel like tying the knife up, so we just threw it in my backpack.
Whittling, Fuzz Sticks, etc.- It had rained the day before and all night, so I chopped off some deadfall branches, shaved off the dirty and wet bark, and fuzzed up about a half-dozen sticks per knife. I had to hurry because daylight was already fading and my wife was running out of ammo.
For wood the SOG handle was a disappointment. Luckily, I bought it because I wanted to try 20cv steel for field dressing deer, but still I was surprised at how much it wanted to roll in my hand. I'm hoping its aggressive texture will be great when my hands are bloody, but for woodworking the handles tendency to roll just caused irritation.
When I choked up on the blades and used their jimping, the RC-6 was easily the best. It was wide, comfortable, and evenly spread out the pressure. The balance is also perfect on the RC-6 because of the big blade, even though I'm biased towards bigger blades anyway.
When I just used a regular grip, the Savage was the most comfortable because of the sweet index finger contour and the wide flare in the back. It seemed to naturally wrap around my hand and felt the most secure.
None of the edges got chips or rolls, and after I got the fire going all the knives still sliced newsprint fairly cleanly. After testing with 5 sheets of large newsprint and a few dozen slices, for some reason the 20cv seemed to tear a bit more than the 1095 and 1084. I didn't buy it for cutting wood though, so if the deer Gods smile on us I'll be able to test it on game sooner or later.
It was a fun afternoon, but time passes too quickly when you're not at work.:grumpy:
Happy Halloween everyone ! As a shout-out to Noss we came prepared...:thumbup:
