Matthew Gregory
Chief Executive in charge of Entertainment
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2005
- Messages
- 6,424
17 degrees today, just got sheared by the local barber, and the dogs kept reminding me that even though it was my day off, that only meant it was their turn to work me. Remembering that I had gotten a Michael Spangler chopper of Crucible CPMS30V and green canvas micarta, I decided to put it through it's paces. Off to the forestry we headed to run, track deer trails and get into shenanigans!
Trying to travel light and keep the pace up, I left the big camera home and used the camera in the phone. Not the best quality pics, but you'll get the idea - plus, it meant I could move faster, which means considerably more tired pups.
Here's the blade:
14.5" overall, with a 9" blade. I love the rough mill scale he kept on the flats - adds contrast to the machine satin finish of the grind.
It took next to no time at all to work my way through this 4" log that was across our path. No hot spots from the handle, and plenty of grip, with the pinky finger hook working perfectly to both retain the blade in my gloved hand and keep the knife indexed for chopping:
After doing some chopping, I looked for something that would really test the blade for hang-up. Hollow grinds are usually a no-no for me with choppers, but the wheel Mike used is obviously pretty big, as the blade almost looks flat - until the telltale shoulder at the top of the grind. Regardless, it went through this 1" thick vine in one sweep, offering no resistance or deflection:
The dogs love "going to ground" when they catch the scent of the numerous denizens of the forestry, and the many active coyote dens are no exception:
On our way out, I gave the blade the nastiest test of them all for thinly ground choppers - the torsional twister! First I found some end-grain to bury the blade in:
... then with a twist and a bit of leverage, I pushed until the wood gave. The first seemed too close to the edge of the wood, so I did it again closer to the center. The thick spine had lots of strength, and the thin edge shrugged it off.
Good times... and time enough for me to do some stuff for myself, hopefully!
Trying to travel light and keep the pace up, I left the big camera home and used the camera in the phone. Not the best quality pics, but you'll get the idea - plus, it meant I could move faster, which means considerably more tired pups.
Here's the blade:
14.5" overall, with a 9" blade. I love the rough mill scale he kept on the flats - adds contrast to the machine satin finish of the grind.
It took next to no time at all to work my way through this 4" log that was across our path. No hot spots from the handle, and plenty of grip, with the pinky finger hook working perfectly to both retain the blade in my gloved hand and keep the knife indexed for chopping:
After doing some chopping, I looked for something that would really test the blade for hang-up. Hollow grinds are usually a no-no for me with choppers, but the wheel Mike used is obviously pretty big, as the blade almost looks flat - until the telltale shoulder at the top of the grind. Regardless, it went through this 1" thick vine in one sweep, offering no resistance or deflection:
The dogs love "going to ground" when they catch the scent of the numerous denizens of the forestry, and the many active coyote dens are no exception:
On our way out, I gave the blade the nastiest test of them all for thinly ground choppers - the torsional twister! First I found some end-grain to bury the blade in:
... then with a twist and a bit of leverage, I pushed until the wood gave. The first seemed too close to the edge of the wood, so I did it again closer to the center. The thick spine had lots of strength, and the thin edge shrugged it off.
Good times... and time enough for me to do some stuff for myself, hopefully!
