Talonite Cetan

[Brian Lavin]

Today I got my Talonite Cetan from Rob Simonich. Almost too cool for words ! I have not had time to do anything substantive yet as these people at work insist on me showing up every day, humpf. Anyway, this knife is a beauty, standard Cetan size but done in talonite with cocobolo handle. For such a small knife it is amazing how well it fills the hand, it is very light and nimble and feels natural in different grip positions.
Did I mention it is pretty ? The wood slabs flow smoothly into the line of the tang so that there is no obvious "handle/blade/handle" interface. There are grooves in the top of the blade for thumb purchase and a slight choil below, which aid in control whether using blade up or down. I'm glad I followed Bald1 (Bob Allman) and Doc Welch down the Talonite road. I will be sure to post more in the future about this knife when I've put some "miles" on it, yep, I'm a'gonna use this baby. Oh, by the way, Rob is a great person to deal with, he put up with all my sometimes volumnious email questions and the like without sending a hit team down for me ! He always seemed concerned about how I felt about the whole transaction, wait etc. I have one more (non talonite) knife coming from him; I know now I was correct in making that decision. THANKS Rob.
(and to Bob, who convinced me with his enthusiasm)

 

[tknife]

Congrats on your Cetan! One warning though: once you order a knife from Rob, you'll be hooked! Prepare to just sign your paychecks over to him

 

[bald1]

Brian,

Am am certainly glad to welcome you to the quickly expanding circle of Talonite blade owners! The Cetan is pocketable in a slip sheath with its 7" OAL. A fixed folder if you will. I seem to be able to get away with a bit bigger knife carried in a slip and that gave rise to the dimensions of the Wambli.

I can unequivocally state that the blade is going to astound you. It'll take a beating too. When you think it feels dull, don't sharpen it! ...keep using it as it'll still cut like crazy. The feel of a sharp conventional steel can not be used as a true reference. I look forward to seeing your comments in a week or two

!!

The original "proof of concept" Talonite knife was my Wambli and at the time, not knowing if the blade material would work out, Rob and I agreed to forego exotic touches including an esoteric handle material. I had returned it to him with instructions to make up 2 new interchangeable handle sets but after some discussion we've agreed to leave S/N #1 in its original condition. I'll continue to work the heck out of it.

Instead we're going to have a "presentation grade" Wambli made up. Looking at a stablized spalted, burl or birds eye wood with fancy file worked pins, a thumb ramp, the leading point of the handle skewed like the Wambli in his new color flyer, and a tad longer (7/8") and wider (1/4") blade out of 1/8" stock instead of the 3/16" we used on the original. I'm also getting a Carnivour in Talonite with either stag or ironwood handles.

I just noticed in the dealer area where a gent makes real nice wood and leather sheaths... might be real interesting to have the handle and wood sheath of that presentation grade "Great Wambli" match. Mmmmm.... gotta talk to Rob when he gets back from Atlanta. Rob makes neat wood cases, so maybe.....



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-=[Bob]=-

I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!

[This message has been edited by bald1 (edited 11 June 1999).]

[This message has been edited by bald1 (edited 11 June 1999).]

 

[Rob Simonich]

Thanks for the kind words Brian, and enjoy the knife! Hope to hear more of your thoughts soon.

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www.simonichknives.com

 

[Brian Lavin]

Well, I have been carrying this knife with me every chance I get, even using it as a "pocketknife", slipsheath style. I took it fishing on Saturday, but was skunked and so only cut line and some small branches to make rod holders. But I also used it to cut some beef and chicken in the kitchen; worked like a charm. My wife was impressed at the small size & lightness of the knife, but it cuts like it has a longer blade. I am looking forward to trying it for cleaning some bass, if they co-operate, that is.

I had to show it off to people at work who are NOT knife people and they all remarked positively. And they were not just being polite, you could see their eyes light up when they handled it. Oh, I also got about 4 feet of very tough poly-something 1/2" rope and sliced it to little bits, edge still sharp.I should note here that it was not an easy task to cut this material, I was just trying to see how the edge would hold up afterward. I did also cut the same rope with my Military, which went thru much easier than the Talonite. However, the Cetan seemed to retain it's edge better. I have not yet had to touch it up Bob ! We'll see what else I can throw at it this weekend. Bye for now.

[This message has been edited by Brian Lavin (edited 17 June 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Brian Lavin (edited 17 June 1999).]

 

[bald1]

Brian,

Not surprised at all about the rope. It has been commented on before that the Talonite is super slick with an edge that doesn't grab or bite into stuff like rope. It'll still cut fine.. just requires a tad more effort. But on other types of things it cuts better than the rope cutter blades. That and the edge outlasts everything else I've tried... by a wide margin to boot.

-=[Bob]=-