Today I got a chance to test out my new Spyderco Forester. Surprised I haven't seen much of anything posted about it. Very fun knife. Despite it's size it's still a little on the light side for a dedicated chopper. It worked well with lighter, quicker chops than with more powerful strokes. I found the edge slightly thick, making it not bite into the wood as well as it could, but on the positive side there wasn't any edge damage after a day of chopping the toughest seasoned wood I could find. Also did some batoning and prying. It's really fun going at it with this knife. The handle is very comfortable and a literal pleasure to use compared to other choppers I've used. Enough words, here are some photos:
Overall I'm very pleased with the knife. Only negative things I have to say is I didn't find the default sheath setup 100% comfortable on my right hip because the handle kind of digs into my side, but I could deal with it. I'll play around with different carry positions tonight. Also after about 20 to 30 minutes of chopping the handle started to rattle some. No big deal as it tightened right up when I got home, but it made me realize that some philips screws would work better for me should that happen again in the field. My swiss army knife (Victorinox Locksmith) has flat head and philips but no torx built in. I'll probably use some loc tite on them. Great knife overall, it feels very capable in the hand. Not so much a dedicated hardwood chopper, but a great all around woods tool that can do a little bit of everything. Even has a comfortable grip in the choil for more precise tasks.
Overall I'm very pleased with the knife. Only negative things I have to say is I didn't find the default sheath setup 100% comfortable on my right hip because the handle kind of digs into my side, but I could deal with it. I'll play around with different carry positions tonight. Also after about 20 to 30 minutes of chopping the handle started to rattle some. No big deal as it tightened right up when I got home, but it made me realize that some philips screws would work better for me should that happen again in the field. My swiss army knife (Victorinox Locksmith) has flat head and philips but no torx built in. I'll probably use some loc tite on them. Great knife overall, it feels very capable in the hand. Not so much a dedicated hardwood chopper, but a great all around woods tool that can do a little bit of everything. Even has a comfortable grip in the choil for more precise tasks.
