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SMC: Sooke Mountain Chopper
- Thread starter Lorien
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 8, 1998
- Messages
- 5,403
Very sweet knife.
Marion
Marion
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,401
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2001
- Messages
- 1,152
Roast beef. PB&J wouldn'a stood a chance!
Roast beef, eh? I was going to say that post was <ham and> cheesy.
Love that taper. Looks like those cherry trees won't stand a chance. :thumbup:
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,401
I always say it's a bad idea to be swinging a huge razor sharp knife around in the rain with a hangover. So I pretty much stayed on the couch. All day. I'm not much of a drinker, and I think I'm still feeling the after effects.
But, I want this thread to continue to be interesting so I think I'd do some measurements and take a couple more pictures today.
The blade is 8 11/16" from the front of the handle to the tip of the blade.
The handle is 5 5/16" long, and the ricasso is about 7/16" from the front of the handle to the plunge cut.
Stock thickness at the ricasso is 5/16" and tapers to 1/8" at the butt and 1/16" about 3/4" back from the tip.
The knife balances at the 'S' in Jason's MS mark;
The weight of this knife is;
which is great as my target weight for this knife was 500gm, and that was with a mortised handle. For that weight, I have the strength and durability of a full tang which is really cool. This is not a knife that I'll bring biking, though, as it's about twice the weight of what I want to add to my pack.
Now, for a couple of artsy type shots for your viewing pleasure. The handle is a work of ergonomic Art;
And just to round off this post, the handle slabs are made of a coarse woven canvas micarta, and are held on with 1/4" aluminum alloy pins. And I don't recall specifically, but the knife I think is made of W2;
C 0.85-1.50
Mn 0.10-0.40
Si 0.10-0.40
Cr 0.15
Ni 0.20
Mo 0.10
W 0.15
V 0.15-0.35
Cu 0.20
P 0.025
S 0.025
But, I want this thread to continue to be interesting so I think I'd do some measurements and take a couple more pictures today.
The blade is 8 11/16" from the front of the handle to the tip of the blade.
The handle is 5 5/16" long, and the ricasso is about 7/16" from the front of the handle to the plunge cut.
Stock thickness at the ricasso is 5/16" and tapers to 1/8" at the butt and 1/16" about 3/4" back from the tip.
The knife balances at the 'S' in Jason's MS mark;
The weight of this knife is;
which is great as my target weight for this knife was 500gm, and that was with a mortised handle. For that weight, I have the strength and durability of a full tang which is really cool. This is not a knife that I'll bring biking, though, as it's about twice the weight of what I want to add to my pack.
Now, for a couple of artsy type shots for your viewing pleasure. The handle is a work of ergonomic Art;
And just to round off this post, the handle slabs are made of a coarse woven canvas micarta, and are held on with 1/4" aluminum alloy pins. And I don't recall specifically, but the knife I think is made of W2;
C 0.85-1.50
Mn 0.10-0.40
Si 0.10-0.40
Cr 0.15
Ni 0.20
Mo 0.10
W 0.15
V 0.15-0.35
Cu 0.20
P 0.025
S 0.025
severedthumbs
Basic Member
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2004
- Messages
- 1,818
thats impressive lory
severedthumbs
Basic Member
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2004
- Messages
- 1,818
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,401
finally, a day off!
But I can't stop working. The chips were flying in Sooke today.
Well, I hate to say it, but this handle gets a little slippery when it's wet out. I'm going to start off by putting a little grip tape on it, but if that doesn't do it, then this one is going to get wrapped.
The cutting power of this knife is really impressive. It's heavy enough- and in the right spot- that it doesn't require too much energy to do the chopping, but is just the right length for control toward the tip. I sliced through the little branches using just the tip and the SMC is deadly accurate. Sharp as hell, and I think W2 is my new favourite forge steel.
It is going to be very hard to find a knife that outperforms this one. As an all around trail blade, the Sooke Mountain Chopper is the best performing knife I own. Hands down.
The next stop is the trail, but for now after chopping that hard cherry wood, I am convinced that this blade will continue to impress.
PS- the sheath pictured was made for another knife and is one of my first sheath making efforts. It's pretty ugly, but the sheath I'm making for the SMC is looking really good so far. I'll post some pictures of it when it is done.
But I can't stop working. The chips were flying in Sooke today.
Well, I hate to say it, but this handle gets a little slippery when it's wet out. I'm going to start off by putting a little grip tape on it, but if that doesn't do it, then this one is going to get wrapped.
The cutting power of this knife is really impressive. It's heavy enough- and in the right spot- that it doesn't require too much energy to do the chopping, but is just the right length for control toward the tip. I sliced through the little branches using just the tip and the SMC is deadly accurate. Sharp as hell, and I think W2 is my new favourite forge steel.
It is going to be very hard to find a knife that outperforms this one. As an all around trail blade, the Sooke Mountain Chopper is the best performing knife I own. Hands down.
The next stop is the trail, but for now after chopping that hard cherry wood, I am convinced that this blade will continue to impress.
PS- the sheath pictured was made for another knife and is one of my first sheath making efforts. It's pretty ugly, but the sheath I'm making for the SMC is looking really good so far. I'll post some pictures of it when it is done.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2001
- Messages
- 1,152
Thanks for the clip, Lorien, that's an awesome blade. It certainly seems worth putting a little extra $ into it to get a professional wrap done on the handle. Otherwise you have a great workhorse there... :thumbup: