- Joined
- Apr 5, 2001
- Messages
- 583
I've read that the proper name of a Bill Siegle Commander/Rhino conversion is the Pirela Commander, so I'll follow that convention in this post.
When I first oredered the Pirela it was to satisfy the collector's need for a custom, on an EDC budget. But I could'nt resist using it on a few drills on the cutting dummy. My... but this blade isn't just a racy looking commander.
Frist, the blade weight gives it a totally different feel on contact cutting. Slashs are not as deep as the standard, but the Pirela glides thru and recovers for follow-on cuts. Not to mention the wicked back cut/rip stroke(unsharpened false edge on my model). The point is at such an angle to catch/snag and rip into the padding, with the right amount of wrist snap. Penetration was just a bit deeper that the standard, but overall on par. Safety note: gloves and other safety gear were worn during these live cutting tests.
Another difference was in grip changes, the light blade balance seem to improve handling for these drills. In comparsion to the the standard, but that's my personal preception.
What I liked best, was the Pirela in closed Yarawa mode. Closed Butt strikes were much more secure due to the natural finger recess created by the blade profile. This allowed my fingers to encircle more of the scales, without the edge 'bite' of the standard's spine. it was more comfortable on the finger joints when used in fist load and butt/point strikes.
My Pirela is sans wave, so there's a bit of a trade-off in deployment options. But it's the safer configuration.
For the Pirela owners: What Pros and Cons do you find with this blade style?
-Seth
When I first oredered the Pirela it was to satisfy the collector's need for a custom, on an EDC budget. But I could'nt resist using it on a few drills on the cutting dummy. My... but this blade isn't just a racy looking commander.
Frist, the blade weight gives it a totally different feel on contact cutting. Slashs are not as deep as the standard, but the Pirela glides thru and recovers for follow-on cuts. Not to mention the wicked back cut/rip stroke(unsharpened false edge on my model). The point is at such an angle to catch/snag and rip into the padding, with the right amount of wrist snap. Penetration was just a bit deeper that the standard, but overall on par. Safety note: gloves and other safety gear were worn during these live cutting tests.
Another difference was in grip changes, the light blade balance seem to improve handling for these drills. In comparsion to the the standard, but that's my personal preception.
What I liked best, was the Pirela in closed Yarawa mode. Closed Butt strikes were much more secure due to the natural finger recess created by the blade profile. This allowed my fingers to encircle more of the scales, without the edge 'bite' of the standard's spine. it was more comfortable on the finger joints when used in fist load and butt/point strikes.
My Pirela is sans wave, so there's a bit of a trade-off in deployment options. But it's the safer configuration.
For the Pirela owners: What Pros and Cons do you find with this blade style?
-Seth
