First of all, I would like to thank Sal Glesser, Joyce Laituri and Dave H. for the pass around.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- TEMPERANCE -
DETAILS This is a fixed blade knife designed by Sal Glesser more details are on the Spyderco site -
http://www.spyderco.com/dealer_prod...1010&mscssid=U0CX0K7V8K3V8LL72JMEE8VP41594H60
The pass around Temperance has a uncoated plain edged blade.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS The handles felt secure although a bit awkward at first. Within a few minutes, I really liked the way the Temperance handled. The balance is a little handle heavy (the balance point lies under my index finger in a normal grip or about 1 behind the blade).
I could find no flaws with the Temperances fit and finish; although there are some scratches on the blade, probably from the sheath and use in the pass arounds.
BLADE The polished VG-10 drop point blade is full flat ground and the spine tapers distally from about 0.155 forward of the ricasso to 0.025 at the tip. The blade is ground thin, measuring approximately 0.018 behind the edge bevel.
Edit The blade has a thumb ramp with friction grooves. The thumb ramp contributes to a secure grip. I think that a lower thumb ramp angle would have been a bit more comfortable.
STEEL VG-10 has become one of my favorite stainless steels, I have found it to hold a good edge, resist rusting very well, while being easy to sharpen to a very keen edge.
HANDLE The Temperances textured FRN handle seems to be designed to lock your hand very consistently into the same grip position, each time that it is drawn from its sheath - I assume that this important for martial blade use, but it feels a little strange at first. I dont think that the Temperance is well suited to endless variations in hand positions, but the basic saber grip is comfortable as is the basic hammer and reverse grips. In all grips the handle locks your hand in securely preventing it from moving either forward or backward. The Temperances handle texturing is reminiscent of the type used for cars gear shifters, and affords good traction even when wet. The handle also has finger dimples. I could do without the dimples since only one of my fingers would consistently line up with one, but they dont really detract from the design.
The Temperance also has a lanyard hole which in my opinion is a small but important feature on an out doors knife since it allows hanging the knife from a nail or a branch when filed dressing or camp cooking. This avoids the having to constantly clean and re-sheath the knife or worse, putting it down somewhere where it could be lost or cause an injury.
SHEATH The Temperances Kydex sheath holds the blade securely in all positions as it should, without being too tight. The sheaths wide mouth where the sheath locks onto the handle, makes sheathing the Temperance easy, although it dose take a firm shove to lock it in. The Temperance dose not shake out of the sheath, but it dose have a slight bit of rattle (the rattle was only noticeable when shaking, not in normal carrying).
A Blade Tech Tek-Lok attachment, which allows numerous carry options, is supplied with the Temperance sheath.
I carried the Temperance with the sheath in the horizontal cross draw position and found it comfortable with good access, but the overall length of the knife in the sheath makes it a little difficult to conceal under summer clothing. I switched the set up for vertical strong side carry and found it was also comfortable and accessible with better concealment under a loose fitting t shirt.
CUTTING TESTS I used the Temperance in the kitchen to cut up some chicken, slice apples, oranges, onions, and tomatoes. The Temperance performed near ideally for these tasks, cutting like a short chefs knife. I also used the Temperance for shredding cardboard boxes and it zipped through them with ease. Next up was some push cuts on leather, which the Temperance also handled well, although it could have used a little more belly. I went on to sharpen some pencils, and while the Temperance was needlessly large and a bit clumsy for this, but it got the job done with out a hitch.
Moving on to some more strenuous whittling, I used the Temperance to make some fuzz sticks and point a few stakes on assorted seasoned hard and soft wood. The Temperance handled this quite well, although it tended to bite a little too deeply into the wood, and when I muscled it to finish the cut the little beak on the rear of the handle would put a lot of pressure on my pinky this was the only time that Temperances handle was less than comfortable.
To see if the Temperance was up to baton cutting, I batoned it through a 1 square piece of cedar trim using a piece of maple branch as the baton. This was achieved with ease and I am confident that the Temperance would be capable of being batoned through harder, thicker wood if need be.
Finally, I used the Temperance for whittling the walnut handle of an Opinel that I am modifying. The Temperances flat grind and thin edge make this a breeze, even though it was overkill for this job.
CUT TO THE CHASE I see the Temperance as sort of a general purpose fixed blade knife suitable for hunting, camping and most other outdoor activities, as well as a fixed blade EDC, and perhaps most of all, self defense. The Temperance is also a decent kitchen knife! I very like the Temperances blade geometry (thinly ground drop point), blade steel (VG-10), ergonomic handle, and very usable multi-position Kydex sheath. I plan add a Temperance to my ever growing accumulation of sharp pointy things in the near future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- IMPALA -
DETAILS The Impala is a folding hunting knife designed by South African knifemaker Ed Scott further details are on the Spyderco site -
http://www.spyderco.com/dealer_prod...1020&mscssid=U0CX0K7V8K3V8LL72JMEE8VP41594H60
The pass around Impala is the version with the gut hook and is plain edged.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Impala handled well from the start. The blade opened smoothly and easily. Fit and finish are quite good overall; there is some variation to be found where the scales are chamfered (appears to have been done by hand) and the lanyard hole liner could have been fitted a little better.
BLADE The polished VG-10 blade is hollow saber ground and about 0.120 at the spine and roughly 0.024 behind the edge bevel. There is no distal taper. There are friction grooves along the spine on both sides of the Spyder-hole and in front of the gut hook, for greater grip control when choking up on the blade. There is also a good amount of belly for skinning.
STEEL The Impala has the same VG-10 steel as the Temperance, and the same comments apply here.
HANDLE - The G-10 scales are textured and give a secure grip even when wet. The handle is comfortable to hold and is designed to facilitate choking up on the blade. There are no back spacers, which allows easier cleaning an important consideration on a hunting knife. I think that the scales would have been even more comfortable if they where more heavily chamfered and that the pommel end be less pointed. As with the Temperance, the Impalas lanyard hole is a welcome feature.
LOCK While the single locking liner looks a little thin for a knife of this size, it dose consistently engage the tang about 40% of the way across without jamming; regardless of whether the blade is opened slow and easy or fast and hard. Being a pass around knife, I did not want to risk damaging the Impala with full fledged spine whacks but I did slap the spine across my palm several times with no signs of the lock letting go.
I tried some white knuckled grips with my right hand, and the lock held firm. When I switched to my left hand, it was not too difficult to get the lock to disengage with a white knuckled grip. The liner sticks out just enough beyond the scales that my index finger can catch it and starts to disengage it from the blade tang when I squeezed tight; simultaneous pressure on the blades thumb ramp would fold the blade.
As an aside, the liner partially obscures the Spyder-hole from the left side, making it harder to get a good purchase with the left thumb.
POCKET CLIP The Impala has a non-reversible polished stainless steel clip. Although the clips are great for EDC, in the field they tend to snag on brush and scratch gun stocks. In any case, I would have preferred a black clip since it is less conspicuous of every day carry and less likely to spook game in the field. An optional belt pouch would also be nice.
GUT HOOK I have never used a gut hook for field dressing, and I would not have the opportunity to put the Impalas hook to the test since deer hunting season is closed. I did try it on some chicken skin and it seemed to work O.K., but I am not sold on the feature compared to the traditional drop point. For what its worth, the Impalas gut hook did work well for cutting light cord.
CUTTING TESTS I did all of the cutting tests I did with the Temperance with the Impala, except for the baton cutting. I thought that the saber ground Impala would have a hard time keeping up with the full flat ground Temperance, and this was the case to a small extent, but the Impala did better than I would have guessed. On shallow cuts there was little noticeable difference between the two knives. The Impala did surprisingly well when I used it for pointing the stakes and making fuzz sticks without any discomfort; paradoxically its blade shape was not very well suited for whittling the Opinel handle. The Impala also did very well when slicing apples and tomatoes, although its blade was a little short for large onions and tomatoes. The Impalas shorter blade was an advantage for sharpening pencils and its more pronounced belly made it great for slicing leather. The Impala dose reasonably well on cardboard, although the blade dose tend to bind if your cutting angle is off.
CUT TO THE CHASE Before I used the Impala, I didnt much care for liner locks, saber grinds or gut hooks and using the Impala has not really changed that. While the Impala is not well suited for lefties in my opinion, I do like the Impalas ergonomics, VG-10 steel and smooth one hand opening. If I were to get an Impala, I would get the version with out the gut hook; most likely I would pass on the Impala altogether.
Thanks again to Sal Glesser, Joyce Laituri and Dave H. for the opportunity to participate in the pass around.
- Frank
Edited to add comments on the Temperances thumb ramp.
Edited for links to other Spyderco pass around reviews -
A.T.R. C70
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270638
Native Lightweight C41BK
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=268455
Lil Temperance C69
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270637
Chinook II C63GPS
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293968
Jester & Ladybug with Photons
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2499036#post2499036
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- TEMPERANCE -
DETAILS This is a fixed blade knife designed by Sal Glesser more details are on the Spyderco site -
http://www.spyderco.com/dealer_prod...1010&mscssid=U0CX0K7V8K3V8LL72JMEE8VP41594H60
The pass around Temperance has a uncoated plain edged blade.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS The handles felt secure although a bit awkward at first. Within a few minutes, I really liked the way the Temperance handled. The balance is a little handle heavy (the balance point lies under my index finger in a normal grip or about 1 behind the blade).
I could find no flaws with the Temperances fit and finish; although there are some scratches on the blade, probably from the sheath and use in the pass arounds.
BLADE The polished VG-10 drop point blade is full flat ground and the spine tapers distally from about 0.155 forward of the ricasso to 0.025 at the tip. The blade is ground thin, measuring approximately 0.018 behind the edge bevel.
Edit The blade has a thumb ramp with friction grooves. The thumb ramp contributes to a secure grip. I think that a lower thumb ramp angle would have been a bit more comfortable.
STEEL VG-10 has become one of my favorite stainless steels, I have found it to hold a good edge, resist rusting very well, while being easy to sharpen to a very keen edge.
HANDLE The Temperances textured FRN handle seems to be designed to lock your hand very consistently into the same grip position, each time that it is drawn from its sheath - I assume that this important for martial blade use, but it feels a little strange at first. I dont think that the Temperance is well suited to endless variations in hand positions, but the basic saber grip is comfortable as is the basic hammer and reverse grips. In all grips the handle locks your hand in securely preventing it from moving either forward or backward. The Temperances handle texturing is reminiscent of the type used for cars gear shifters, and affords good traction even when wet. The handle also has finger dimples. I could do without the dimples since only one of my fingers would consistently line up with one, but they dont really detract from the design.
The Temperance also has a lanyard hole which in my opinion is a small but important feature on an out doors knife since it allows hanging the knife from a nail or a branch when filed dressing or camp cooking. This avoids the having to constantly clean and re-sheath the knife or worse, putting it down somewhere where it could be lost or cause an injury.
SHEATH The Temperances Kydex sheath holds the blade securely in all positions as it should, without being too tight. The sheaths wide mouth where the sheath locks onto the handle, makes sheathing the Temperance easy, although it dose take a firm shove to lock it in. The Temperance dose not shake out of the sheath, but it dose have a slight bit of rattle (the rattle was only noticeable when shaking, not in normal carrying).
A Blade Tech Tek-Lok attachment, which allows numerous carry options, is supplied with the Temperance sheath.
I carried the Temperance with the sheath in the horizontal cross draw position and found it comfortable with good access, but the overall length of the knife in the sheath makes it a little difficult to conceal under summer clothing. I switched the set up for vertical strong side carry and found it was also comfortable and accessible with better concealment under a loose fitting t shirt.
CUTTING TESTS I used the Temperance in the kitchen to cut up some chicken, slice apples, oranges, onions, and tomatoes. The Temperance performed near ideally for these tasks, cutting like a short chefs knife. I also used the Temperance for shredding cardboard boxes and it zipped through them with ease. Next up was some push cuts on leather, which the Temperance also handled well, although it could have used a little more belly. I went on to sharpen some pencils, and while the Temperance was needlessly large and a bit clumsy for this, but it got the job done with out a hitch.
Moving on to some more strenuous whittling, I used the Temperance to make some fuzz sticks and point a few stakes on assorted seasoned hard and soft wood. The Temperance handled this quite well, although it tended to bite a little too deeply into the wood, and when I muscled it to finish the cut the little beak on the rear of the handle would put a lot of pressure on my pinky this was the only time that Temperances handle was less than comfortable.
To see if the Temperance was up to baton cutting, I batoned it through a 1 square piece of cedar trim using a piece of maple branch as the baton. This was achieved with ease and I am confident that the Temperance would be capable of being batoned through harder, thicker wood if need be.
Finally, I used the Temperance for whittling the walnut handle of an Opinel that I am modifying. The Temperances flat grind and thin edge make this a breeze, even though it was overkill for this job.
CUT TO THE CHASE I see the Temperance as sort of a general purpose fixed blade knife suitable for hunting, camping and most other outdoor activities, as well as a fixed blade EDC, and perhaps most of all, self defense. The Temperance is also a decent kitchen knife! I very like the Temperances blade geometry (thinly ground drop point), blade steel (VG-10), ergonomic handle, and very usable multi-position Kydex sheath. I plan add a Temperance to my ever growing accumulation of sharp pointy things in the near future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- IMPALA -
DETAILS The Impala is a folding hunting knife designed by South African knifemaker Ed Scott further details are on the Spyderco site -
http://www.spyderco.com/dealer_prod...1020&mscssid=U0CX0K7V8K3V8LL72JMEE8VP41594H60
The pass around Impala is the version with the gut hook and is plain edged.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Impala handled well from the start. The blade opened smoothly and easily. Fit and finish are quite good overall; there is some variation to be found where the scales are chamfered (appears to have been done by hand) and the lanyard hole liner could have been fitted a little better.
BLADE The polished VG-10 blade is hollow saber ground and about 0.120 at the spine and roughly 0.024 behind the edge bevel. There is no distal taper. There are friction grooves along the spine on both sides of the Spyder-hole and in front of the gut hook, for greater grip control when choking up on the blade. There is also a good amount of belly for skinning.
STEEL The Impala has the same VG-10 steel as the Temperance, and the same comments apply here.
HANDLE - The G-10 scales are textured and give a secure grip even when wet. The handle is comfortable to hold and is designed to facilitate choking up on the blade. There are no back spacers, which allows easier cleaning an important consideration on a hunting knife. I think that the scales would have been even more comfortable if they where more heavily chamfered and that the pommel end be less pointed. As with the Temperance, the Impalas lanyard hole is a welcome feature.
LOCK While the single locking liner looks a little thin for a knife of this size, it dose consistently engage the tang about 40% of the way across without jamming; regardless of whether the blade is opened slow and easy or fast and hard. Being a pass around knife, I did not want to risk damaging the Impala with full fledged spine whacks but I did slap the spine across my palm several times with no signs of the lock letting go.
I tried some white knuckled grips with my right hand, and the lock held firm. When I switched to my left hand, it was not too difficult to get the lock to disengage with a white knuckled grip. The liner sticks out just enough beyond the scales that my index finger can catch it and starts to disengage it from the blade tang when I squeezed tight; simultaneous pressure on the blades thumb ramp would fold the blade.
As an aside, the liner partially obscures the Spyder-hole from the left side, making it harder to get a good purchase with the left thumb.
POCKET CLIP The Impala has a non-reversible polished stainless steel clip. Although the clips are great for EDC, in the field they tend to snag on brush and scratch gun stocks. In any case, I would have preferred a black clip since it is less conspicuous of every day carry and less likely to spook game in the field. An optional belt pouch would also be nice.
GUT HOOK I have never used a gut hook for field dressing, and I would not have the opportunity to put the Impalas hook to the test since deer hunting season is closed. I did try it on some chicken skin and it seemed to work O.K., but I am not sold on the feature compared to the traditional drop point. For what its worth, the Impalas gut hook did work well for cutting light cord.
CUTTING TESTS I did all of the cutting tests I did with the Temperance with the Impala, except for the baton cutting. I thought that the saber ground Impala would have a hard time keeping up with the full flat ground Temperance, and this was the case to a small extent, but the Impala did better than I would have guessed. On shallow cuts there was little noticeable difference between the two knives. The Impala did surprisingly well when I used it for pointing the stakes and making fuzz sticks without any discomfort; paradoxically its blade shape was not very well suited for whittling the Opinel handle. The Impala also did very well when slicing apples and tomatoes, although its blade was a little short for large onions and tomatoes. The Impalas shorter blade was an advantage for sharpening pencils and its more pronounced belly made it great for slicing leather. The Impala dose reasonably well on cardboard, although the blade dose tend to bind if your cutting angle is off.
CUT TO THE CHASE Before I used the Impala, I didnt much care for liner locks, saber grinds or gut hooks and using the Impala has not really changed that. While the Impala is not well suited for lefties in my opinion, I do like the Impalas ergonomics, VG-10 steel and smooth one hand opening. If I were to get an Impala, I would get the version with out the gut hook; most likely I would pass on the Impala altogether.
Thanks again to Sal Glesser, Joyce Laituri and Dave H. for the opportunity to participate in the pass around.
- Frank
Edited to add comments on the Temperances thumb ramp.
Edited for links to other Spyderco pass around reviews -
A.T.R. C70
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270638
Native Lightweight C41BK
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=268455
Lil Temperance C69
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270637
Chinook II C63GPS
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293968
Jester & Ladybug with Photons
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2499036#post2499036
.