Jaxx
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- Joined
- Jan 18, 2006
- Messages
- 19,734
It was a perfect day here in Penn's woods... Decent temps, low humidity, and not a thunderstorm around to wreck it!
I decided to take the TGCG and a JWBIB11 out for a little fun on the tree that fell during the wicked T-storm last week to get a feel for them both, but this is mainly about the Team Gemini, since the B11 has been reviewed by many HOGs already.
A quick "before" observation... I would not refer to the TG as a bushcraft knife, a chopper or even a "woods" knife. I would say that although it can do the work, it's more of a survival & fighter knife that can be used in any of those roles but like a "jack of all trades", while it may be very good at many tasks, it is a master of none. HOWEVER, in the role of "only one knife", it will definitely do the job of helping you help yourself to thrive & survive...and escape whatever you have to. And, of course it's not going to let you down, as it is one very tough knife!
Team Gemini specs:
OAL= 13-1/8"
Blade= 7-3/4"
Actual edge length= 7"
Thickness= 1/4" at the spine behind the guard (where it's flat)
Grind= V-edge
As for the "Johnny Walker Blue (blew) It B11... Ol' Johnny may have blown the edge as far as being perfectly straight...but he got the sharp part right on!!
Before I started...factory edges and brand new.
The TG and batonning: While it will chop, and the handle shape is comfortable, I chose to baton it through a thicker section of the branch. It took a little while as I got used to it, but the thick stock of the knife certainly can take the pounding and plenty more! I did finally use it to chop through the last little bit as other branches were getting in the way... I believe that, with me anyway, this is faster than trying to chop through thicker branches.
Again, the comfortable handle was a major plus here as the vibrations from the blows to the spine were not a problem to the hand.
To see how it compared to the B11 was more for fun. There is no fair comparison here as the B11 chopped through the branch with little effort and very quickly. I will say that this is the first Busse that I have that has an ASYM grind, and WOW... THAT is alright!!! :thumbup:
Next, I took the small section to split, using the TG and the branch serving as a baton. As far as wood goes, this is where the TG shines. It is long enough to split up to 6" thick branches with an inch of spine to spare. This section is more like 3.5-4 inches...
At this point, the afternoon was turning into evening, so I brought the chunk and the knife back to the house to try some more 'delicate' tasks...
continued in post #2...
I decided to take the TGCG and a JWBIB11 out for a little fun on the tree that fell during the wicked T-storm last week to get a feel for them both, but this is mainly about the Team Gemini, since the B11 has been reviewed by many HOGs already.
A quick "before" observation... I would not refer to the TG as a bushcraft knife, a chopper or even a "woods" knife. I would say that although it can do the work, it's more of a survival & fighter knife that can be used in any of those roles but like a "jack of all trades", while it may be very good at many tasks, it is a master of none. HOWEVER, in the role of "only one knife", it will definitely do the job of helping you help yourself to thrive & survive...and escape whatever you have to. And, of course it's not going to let you down, as it is one very tough knife!
Team Gemini specs:
OAL= 13-1/8"
Blade= 7-3/4"
Actual edge length= 7"
Thickness= 1/4" at the spine behind the guard (where it's flat)
Grind= V-edge
As for the "Johnny Walker Blue (blew) It B11... Ol' Johnny may have blown the edge as far as being perfectly straight...but he got the sharp part right on!!
Before I started...factory edges and brand new.
The TG and batonning: While it will chop, and the handle shape is comfortable, I chose to baton it through a thicker section of the branch. It took a little while as I got used to it, but the thick stock of the knife certainly can take the pounding and plenty more! I did finally use it to chop through the last little bit as other branches were getting in the way... I believe that, with me anyway, this is faster than trying to chop through thicker branches.
Again, the comfortable handle was a major plus here as the vibrations from the blows to the spine were not a problem to the hand.
To see how it compared to the B11 was more for fun. There is no fair comparison here as the B11 chopped through the branch with little effort and very quickly. I will say that this is the first Busse that I have that has an ASYM grind, and WOW... THAT is alright!!! :thumbup:
Next, I took the small section to split, using the TG and the branch serving as a baton. As far as wood goes, this is where the TG shines. It is long enough to split up to 6" thick branches with an inch of spine to spare. This section is more like 3.5-4 inches...
At this point, the afternoon was turning into evening, so I brought the chunk and the knife back to the house to try some more 'delicate' tasks...
continued in post #2...
Last edited:
They are fun to use, that's for sure. :thumbup:
