Spec Plus Bolo

[Rusty]

This regards the Spec Plus Bolo, sixth and last of the knives which I will be sending for testing by Cliff Stamp. It was ordered from Discount Knives at the same time as the kukri from Brigade, which arrived a day earlier, both shipped to me by priority mail.

The Bolo is 15" overall with a 10" blade. It appears to be of .187" stock, and flat ground making it feel lighter than expected for a blade this size. It has a spear shaped point with a deeply bellied and wide front portion compared to the rear section of the blade. An unsharpen false edge extends some 3+" back from the point. Sharpening it should be no problem. If desired, a reasonable amount of hand filing and sanding would create an adequate if lightweight smatchet substitute. Fit and finish including bevel and grind lines are symetrical and nicer than could reasonably be expected in this price range.


The fifth knife, Spec Plus Kukri (12" blade and 16&1/2" overall length) is available only from Brigade Quartermasters. See the Spec Plus Kukrie thread on my initial impressions of the quality of that knife. I will be shipping both to Cliff in this afternoon's mail.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

It should be interesting to see how this geometry compares to the bowie and khukuri.

On an interesting note there was a bolo in the initial testing. It was a 440 A stainless made in Taiwan, $20 piece. I had used one before and for its price its a decent knife for light work. Anyway to make a long story short it died accidently the first day when I used it as a hammer to drive some other knives through pieces of 6x6". The handle slabs broke off in pieces.

The handle was so poorly done it was laughable. It had a short tang (2.5") which had a piece of steel rod welded to it. The rod was then threaded at the end and the buttcap screwed on to it. On a positive note the handle pieces were nice and dry so they burnt well and gave off a pleasant smell.

-Cliff