Hi Guys, it's my first post here, but I've had a lot of knives through the years. My old Kershaw bowie style knife has given me decades of use, mostly cleaning fish, but also skinning a few squirrels back when I was a kid. I've used some Ontario folders and even used to carry an Opinel I really liked. Since moving to the countryside in Taiwan, I have been a lot more demanding (read: abusive) of my tools. I ride through the mountains a lot on bikes and motorcycles, and I camp and sometimes explore caves or tunnels I find. Having a blade handy is a must, it just gets used for a lot of things. Recently I had a Gryphon Knives M10 Utility Boot knife that I really ADORED and carried every where and used all the time.
But it broke. I guess it's the climate in Taiwan causing some micro rust on it, but I was trying to open a soft coconut and I took a chunk out of it that was something like 3/8" long. The knife, not the coconut. I read that they now don't have quite as concave of a blade on them, so I may replace it. I still have a very nice piece of custom Kydex for it, but nothing to ride inside of it.
However, while considering buying a hatchet recently at a country store, I just found what I think is one of the most useful knives I've ever owned. And it's one I know I can abuse and it won't ever break. Having hung out in some really remote locations and watched the aboriginal hunting groups walk by in their ubiquitous rainboots (they say that snakes cannot bite through them.), pack frames with game sacks strapped on, and with their home-made rifles, I know they have some good equipment. Good in terms of useful and reliable. Good in terms of, "We're going to go kill pigs in the middle of a three-day hike through the jungle. Our stuff has to function." So being out shopping for chopping tools, I came across the type of knife they carry into the jungle, and I bought one. I've never been so happy with a knife for ten bucks in all my life!
It appears to be a convex grind on a piece of bar stock with a handle folded over and welded. When you buy them, you choose the weight. Mine is 400 Grams, which was on the light side. They had several for sale over 600 grams and a bit longer than mine. So far I have taken mine out on a ride to some high mountains, through some old trails. I stopped and cut up a down tree. I found it sliced well and chopped well. Also, the shape and design is facile for using both hands on it and using it like a draw knife to pull towards me and slice off thin layers. For moderate to heavy jobs, this is your guy. I know I'm never going to break my knife cutting open a coconut for my girlfriend again.
I'll bring a couple back to the states as gifts. My retired uncle works outside as a kind of gentleman farmer all the time and could use a pry-bar/knife/hatchet. Likewise one of my friends is a contractor who was just complaining about having broken his SOG bowie knife. Lets see him break this one.
And if he does, what the heck. It's ten bucks and I'll mail him another one.
--Phdinfunk
But it broke. I guess it's the climate in Taiwan causing some micro rust on it, but I was trying to open a soft coconut and I took a chunk out of it that was something like 3/8" long. The knife, not the coconut. I read that they now don't have quite as concave of a blade on them, so I may replace it. I still have a very nice piece of custom Kydex for it, but nothing to ride inside of it.
However, while considering buying a hatchet recently at a country store, I just found what I think is one of the most useful knives I've ever owned. And it's one I know I can abuse and it won't ever break. Having hung out in some really remote locations and watched the aboriginal hunting groups walk by in their ubiquitous rainboots (they say that snakes cannot bite through them.), pack frames with game sacks strapped on, and with their home-made rifles, I know they have some good equipment. Good in terms of useful and reliable. Good in terms of, "We're going to go kill pigs in the middle of a three-day hike through the jungle. Our stuff has to function." So being out shopping for chopping tools, I came across the type of knife they carry into the jungle, and I bought one. I've never been so happy with a knife for ten bucks in all my life!
It appears to be a convex grind on a piece of bar stock with a handle folded over and welded. When you buy them, you choose the weight. Mine is 400 Grams, which was on the light side. They had several for sale over 600 grams and a bit longer than mine. So far I have taken mine out on a ride to some high mountains, through some old trails. I stopped and cut up a down tree. I found it sliced well and chopped well. Also, the shape and design is facile for using both hands on it and using it like a draw knife to pull towards me and slice off thin layers. For moderate to heavy jobs, this is your guy. I know I'm never going to break my knife cutting open a coconut for my girlfriend again.
I'll bring a couple back to the states as gifts. My retired uncle works outside as a kind of gentleman farmer all the time and could use a pry-bar/knife/hatchet. Likewise one of my friends is a contractor who was just complaining about having broken his SOG bowie knife. Lets see him break this one.
And if he does, what the heck. It's ten bucks and I'll mail him another one.
--Phdinfunk
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