GigOne
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 1999
- Messages
- 15,783
Prior to this purchase I never had the pleasure of working with Jim Smyth. I've seen his work. . .via this forum. . .but had never physically fondled his blades.
My first encounter with his work was when someone posted pic's of his 3 fixed blades. Different look about them peaked my interest.
Some time later. . .I saw a few sample shots of a few of his folders. One. . .immediately grabbed my attention ! Unfortunately, I soon discovered that Jim didn't make knives for sale.
Well. . .there is a old saying, "good things come to those who wait !" And I waited. . .and recently. . .Jim tossed some of his wares in the Dealer For Sale Forum. As soon as he did. . .man. . .I was all over it.
Well. . .the flipper arrived today.
Here are some stat's to go with the knife:
OAL 1/16" shy of 8"
Blade length 3 1/2"
Blade material 440C
Bolster material Titanium
Scale material Buffalo horn
Liner material Titanium
Blade width 1/8"
The first thing you notice with this knife is the horn scales. They're terrific looking ! The "presentation scale" is a deep black with beautiful white, dark brown and gray marbling through it. The opposite scales is deep black but has a dark grayish brown hue to it. Kinda hard to describe. . .but they make my heart flutter !
And the scales are high polished.
The titanium bolsters and liners are ceramic bead blasted and have a wonderful finish/tone to them. Reminds me of custom "powder coat" paint jobs that I've seen on motorcycles. The bolsters are dowv-tailed to the scales or is that visa-versa.
I go head-over-heels over dove-tailing ! The bolsters and scales rest perfectly on the liners. There is a black (is suspect polished G-10) three-quarter length backspacer (my measurements may be off) which provides overall strength and rigidity.
As you pick the knife up, you immediately notice how thin and light it is. Its only 7/16 thick and light enough not to be noticed when its resting in your pocket.
The knife sports a floating stop pin. It's mounted on the blade, rather than the handle of the knife. When opened. . .it fits into a pair of notches in the top of the handle for a positive stop and notches in the bottom of the handle when closed. The lock-up is extremely quiet. . .but rock solid ! There is no up-and-down or side-to-side play. If you haven't checked you the floating stop pin design. . .put it at the top of your list ! It's definitely sweet !
The blade is perfectly centered between the liners when closed. The tolerances between the blade and liners are minute and I'm absolutely amazed on how he got it so perfect !
I truly enjoy receiving a knife that's sharp ! And this one is razor sharp ! With a 1/8 blade, its certainly not a knife you want to pry with. But then again. . .I've never used a knife to pry with !
Want a pry bar. . .go buy one !
I'm not sure what Jim calls this particular blade design but I like to think of it in the lines of a fighter style. The blade has a nice belly. The edge bevels are consistent, both along the edge and from one side to the other. While I haven't tested the blades cutting capability. . .I can assure you that the double hallow grind is up for just about any task. The knife also has a false upper edge. The grinds are very well done on both sides. The makers name (and blade material) etching is perfectly located and is clean and crisp.
When holding the knife, the dual cut-outs on the lower portion of the bolsters provides a natural place for your forefinger to rest. Combined with the grooves on the spine of the bolsters makes for a very secure grip. The lower cutouts also works as a built-in finger guard to keep your hand from sliding forward onto the cutting edge.
The overall fit and finish is fabulous. The knife feels very solid and precise. . .despite the low weight and thinness. Personally, John did an exceptional job of bringing this knife to life.
In addition, John was a pleasure to work with. Kept me informed through the entire transaction. And he made sure I was completely satisfied with the whole experience. The knife came securely packaged. It arrived in a fur lined storage pouch that had his business card and a letter with it. Very nice touch ! My experience with John couldn't have been smoother.
Oh. . .the cost ? "You couldn't beat it with the entire redwood forest !"
My first encounter with his work was when someone posted pic's of his 3 fixed blades. Different look about them peaked my interest.
Some time later. . .I saw a few sample shots of a few of his folders. One. . .immediately grabbed my attention ! Unfortunately, I soon discovered that Jim didn't make knives for sale.
Well. . .there is a old saying, "good things come to those who wait !" And I waited. . .and recently. . .Jim tossed some of his wares in the Dealer For Sale Forum. As soon as he did. . .man. . .I was all over it.
Well. . .the flipper arrived today.
Here are some stat's to go with the knife:
OAL 1/16" shy of 8"
Blade length 3 1/2"
Blade material 440C
Bolster material Titanium
Scale material Buffalo horn
Liner material Titanium
Blade width 1/8"
The first thing you notice with this knife is the horn scales. They're terrific looking ! The "presentation scale" is a deep black with beautiful white, dark brown and gray marbling through it. The opposite scales is deep black but has a dark grayish brown hue to it. Kinda hard to describe. . .but they make my heart flutter !
And the scales are high polished. The titanium bolsters and liners are ceramic bead blasted and have a wonderful finish/tone to them. Reminds me of custom "powder coat" paint jobs that I've seen on motorcycles. The bolsters are dowv-tailed to the scales or is that visa-versa.
I go head-over-heels over dove-tailing ! The bolsters and scales rest perfectly on the liners. There is a black (is suspect polished G-10) three-quarter length backspacer (my measurements may be off) which provides overall strength and rigidity.As you pick the knife up, you immediately notice how thin and light it is. Its only 7/16 thick and light enough not to be noticed when its resting in your pocket.
The knife sports a floating stop pin. It's mounted on the blade, rather than the handle of the knife. When opened. . .it fits into a pair of notches in the top of the handle for a positive stop and notches in the bottom of the handle when closed. The lock-up is extremely quiet. . .but rock solid ! There is no up-and-down or side-to-side play. If you haven't checked you the floating stop pin design. . .put it at the top of your list ! It's definitely sweet !
The blade is perfectly centered between the liners when closed. The tolerances between the blade and liners are minute and I'm absolutely amazed on how he got it so perfect !
I truly enjoy receiving a knife that's sharp ! And this one is razor sharp ! With a 1/8 blade, its certainly not a knife you want to pry with. But then again. . .I've never used a knife to pry with !
Want a pry bar. . .go buy one !
I'm not sure what Jim calls this particular blade design but I like to think of it in the lines of a fighter style. The blade has a nice belly. The edge bevels are consistent, both along the edge and from one side to the other. While I haven't tested the blades cutting capability. . .I can assure you that the double hallow grind is up for just about any task. The knife also has a false upper edge. The grinds are very well done on both sides. The makers name (and blade material) etching is perfectly located and is clean and crisp.
When holding the knife, the dual cut-outs on the lower portion of the bolsters provides a natural place for your forefinger to rest. Combined with the grooves on the spine of the bolsters makes for a very secure grip. The lower cutouts also works as a built-in finger guard to keep your hand from sliding forward onto the cutting edge.
The overall fit and finish is fabulous. The knife feels very solid and precise. . .despite the low weight and thinness. Personally, John did an exceptional job of bringing this knife to life.
In addition, John was a pleasure to work with. Kept me informed through the entire transaction. And he made sure I was completely satisfied with the whole experience. The knife came securely packaged. It arrived in a fur lined storage pouch that had his business card and a letter with it. Very nice touch ! My experience with John couldn't have been smoother.
Oh. . .the cost ? "You couldn't beat it with the entire redwood forest !"
