Small Spirit, with pics

flava

flava

Joined
Mar 3, 2000
Messages
2,785
Here is my latest acquisition. It's a "Small Spirit" by Shiva Ki, in samurai steel.
I got this knife here in France so I got to handle it before the buy. It is kind of unusual for me as I buy most of my knives from the USA and I see them after the buy.
The edge has 7" and it's crazy sharp. It is the sharpest blade in my collection right now, and I have quite a few very sharp blades.
Samurai steel looks like pattern welded steel but without the dark etch.
The knife feels good in hand. The handle could have been a bit longer (I have wide hands) but it is big enough to fit my hand if I grab it close to the guard. The construction is mortised with a bamboo pin, very good fit and easy to take off. The line separating the two parts of the handle is so thin I didn't notice it until taking the handle off. The wood is genuine "darkwood", meaning it's dark and I don't know more about it :)
This thread is intended for me to brag about a new buy and not about starting a flamewar about Shiva Ki, so please enjoy the pics and behave :)
The pics are so-so but I don't have a set-up and depend on the natural light, which is bad today.
 

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Flavius,
Congrats.:thumbup:
You did get it :cool:,am happy for you.SK will not be making Samurai Steel anymore for the reasons I messaged you.
Gonna' hazard a guess and say Walnut,may be completely off base though.
Irregardless,it is a stunning knife and if you ever plan on letting it go let me know.
I didn't notice the line separating the two sides of the handle until my second Spirit blade.
Sharp you say! :p :D

Doug
 
leatherbird said:
Flavius,
Congrats.:thumbup:
You did get it :cool:,am happy for you.SK will not be making Samurai Steel anymore for the reasons I messaged you.
Gonna' hazard a guess and say Walnut,may be completely off base though.
Irregardless,it is a stunning knife and if you ever plan on letting it go let me know.
I didn't notice the line separating the two sides of the handle until my second Spirit blade.
Sharp you say! :p :D

Doug
Click to expand...

Thank you Doug :)
 
I got my small Spirit about a month ago.

Differences-

1.Crazy assed cocobolo handle, no metal pins(which I prefer), still has bamboo take down pin, though.
2.Blade is 8" long
3.Obviously, not Samurai Steel
4.The handle was so long for me, that I HAD to Garssonize about 3/4" off the end. You must have some big honkin hands.:D
5.The guard on mine is of similar length front to back, more "bowie like" if you will.
6.The choil on mine is more oval to the "L'ish" one on yours.

I plan to thrash mine fairly soon, in a cut-off with some other knives. Really hope that you enjoy you new knife, how much was it, if I may be so bold, in US$? PM me if you don't want to be public with the info.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
The knife looks great. I like the Samurai Steel, but am not sure it is worth the extra cost. I would love to see a test between one Spirit Blade with the regular steel and one with the Samurai Steel.
 
Anthony Lombardo said:
Thanks. That is pretty thin considering a US issue KA-BAR style knife is .187".
Click to expand...

Mine is .232 at the spine, and .221 at the ricasso, facing side. This is right at the guard.

Not sure when Flavius's was made, but mine was made last month, after all the discussion of Ki, I decided to try my own, the price was not too much, but the Samurai Steel was cost prohibitive. Are we sure that the regular steel is 1095?

I will try to work up the rest of the measurements later today.

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
Keith Montgomery said:
I like the Samurai Steel, but am not sure it is worth the extra cost.
Click to expand...

I'm not even sure what it is - if anyone knows, I'm all ears.

Roger
 
WE are sure the steel is 1095.Flava's is two or three years old as SK quit pinning them several,at least 2 years ago.

Doug
 
leatherbird said:
WE are sure the steel is 1095.Flava's is two or three years old as SK quit pinning them several,at least 2 years ago.

Doug
Click to expand...

Which steel is 1095 Doug - the samurai or the non-samurai?

Roger
 
1095 is the non-Samurai.As I've said before Shiva holds his cards pretty close to the vest and his Samurai steel is known only to him,his son(deployed, Army RANGERS)may know.
As is his manipulation of the material(s).

Doug
 
I may just have to pick up one of these or the full size model. I still really like this knife. I know Shiva won't sell me one, but I'm pretty sure I will be able to get one somewhere.
 
leatherbird said:
1095 is the non-Samurai.As I've said before Shiva holds his cards pretty close to the vest and his Samurai steel is known only to him,his son(deployed, Army RANGERS)may know.
As is his manipulation of the material(s).

Doug
Click to expand...

Doug, does Shiva have two or more sons? He told me that his kid just got out of military service.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Keith Montgomery said:
I may just have to pick up one of these or the full size model. I still really like this knife. I know Shiva won't sell me one, but I'm pretty sure I will be able to get one somewhere.
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't he sell you one, Keith?

I made just as much noise on the many Ki threads as you have, and identified myself by name, he chatted with me, took my order and delivered on time.

Have you been doing bad things behind our backs?:D

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Steven,
His son just got out of the Marines,and had some time to spend with his father before entering Army RANGERS as a Sargent.

Doug
 
Steven, my criticism of him went overboard at times and it seems to be me that he had the most anger towards.

Anyway, let's keep this thread discussing that fine knife and not let it go off track.
 
I received the Gator Hunter model from SK just last month. The blade is 9" of Sam steel and is so sharp I am reluctant to let my knife loving friends touch it without a warning to, "Be careful!" As far as I can tell and from what SK told me the basis for his Sam steel is L6. What sets his forging process apart is the time he spends at working it. The grain pattern is very much like Koto era steel from Japan which is in the ko-itame style; very fine, even grain pattern. I suspect that there are at least 10 or more folding steps involved. There won't be any more of this to be had. I got lucky. Check his web site.
Larry Stauch
 
redpygmy said:
I received the Gator Hunter model from SK just last month. As far as I can tell and from what SK told me the basis for his Sam steel is L6. What sets his forging process apart is the time he spends at working it. The grain pattern is very much like Koto era steel from Japan which is in the ko-itame style; very fine, even grain pattern. I suspect that there are at least 10 or more folding steps involved. Larry Stauch
Click to expand...

Larry,

Congratulations on your Gator Hunter. I hope that you will like it very much.

Thanks for the information on the L6. Part of what got many of us irritated was the use of the term Samurai Steel, with no further information after that.
Nobody, but nobody, knows what goes into Koto era steel. Ko(small)-itame(wood grain) refers to the hada only, the visible design of the grain of the sword steel. Most competent Japanese swordsmiths can produce 3-6 different styles of hada, some focusing on 1 or 2.

This all has no bearing on it being a good blade or not, and statements by people that are incorrect or misleading drive those that study Japanese swords and their qualities to distraction. This BTW is not exclusive to westerners, MANY japanese have no clue when it comes to Nihonto, which is a shame, because Japanese swords are one of the three holy treasures of Japan, the others being the comma, and the mirror.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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