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- May 21, 2011
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- 3,132
Since I got the 9 a couple of days ago, I've been aching to try it out. A while ago I won the Ka-Bar Swabbie in a contest and I took it along for the ride. I decided on giving both similar experiences and see how it turned out for me, the user. Mind you, I probably don't have the best technique, the best skillset or anything. I was just having some fun and the conclusion I draw here are personal. Nonetheless, I'd like to share them.
Here's both guys in their factory sheaths. It's striking how much larger the sheath of the Swabbie really is. I wouldn't like to carry that thing around for a long time. Not in a backpack (takes up a lot of space) or not on my belt (doesn't seem comfortable to have something like that on your leg for a long duration).
Next to each other it's clear that the Swabbie is a fair bit larger than the 9 too. Furthermore, the Swabbie is completely curved, no straight spots on the edge. The 9 is flat/saber ground whereas the Swabbie is FFG.
The difference in thickness is clear too. 9 on the left, Swabbie on the right.
When it comes to grip while using it, the 9 will be primarily gripped in one way: just grabbing the handle. Feels really good. The Swabbie allows for a variety of grips because the handle is so long. One finger over the guard, two fingers under, one under, full grip at the back of the handle, and so on and so on. More on the grips later on.
First up was some chopping. You can see the little treestump I was gonna chop. Don't know what it was. The diameter of the wood can be seen in comparison to the 9. I chopped both the 9 and Swabbie 20 times into the wood with almost no force. Wanted to let the blades do the talking. I can't seem to get any clear results out of it. Looks similar to me. After doing this test, I went ahead and finished the job.
Next up, batoning. Took two knotty pieces of a tree I can't find a translation of. We call it "Canadian poplar", litteraly translated.
These knots were quite easy. Both blades handles this very easily. I did feel more comfortable striking the 9 with my baton since the surface I could strike was flatter, whereas on the Swabbie that's exactly the area where the spine sweeps up into some kind of point before dropping down to the actual tip of the blade.
Wanted to try some finer tasks as well, so I tried making some Figure-4 traps. Started out with a long, straight piece of Common Hazel. Chopped it into bits and went ahead. I was able to get it done with both knives, although I would definitely prefer a smaller knife like a BK16 for this kind of job. The 9 was easier to work with than the Swabbie though. The guard of the Swabbie really got in the way while doing this task. I felt like I couldn't really control it.
I tried to make some fuzzies too, but my hands were aching a bit so I quit that rather quickly. It could be done, but again I'd recommend a shorter knife. Again, I had most difficulties with the Swabbie. Lack of control because of the guard, the rounded edge wasn't ideal either.
So, my dad came over and wanted to see what all the noise was about. He saw I was having a good time and said I could demolish the Hazel bush a bit further. It has to be removed in the future anyway. Work that's done now, we don't have to do anymore in the future. As you can see below, the 9 wasn't tired and handled the sapplings, smaller and medium sized branches really well.
Both knives after all of this...
First battle scars on my 9
That's the end of this photoseries. I hope you guys enjoyed it somewhat. In the end, I really came to prefer the 9 for a variety of reasons. Contrary to what I first thought, the Swabbie's handles are not that comfortable after all. I can't say anything wrong about the texture or the quality of the scales, but it's just the overall shape. Especially the guard and the extended butt start hurting your hand after a while. Don't like that a lot. The 9 is so comfortable you can keep going for quite a while without having painful hands. The Swabbie is just (again, for me) a tad too large and wide. It's cumbersome to use for a longer duration. The shape doesn't really accomodate batoning or woodwork. Do keep in mind however, that the Swabbie was totally not designed for splitting wood and chopping branches off of trees and bushes, unlike the 9. As far as a zombie killer, it would probably do great
. The FFG of the Swabbie makes it a really good slicer, maybe a better slicer than the 9? I haven't tested that so I can't say. For a knife that's not designed to do the tasks I made it do, the Swabbie did perform above expectations. Very cool blade:thumbup:. During the tasks these knives went through, the 9 excelled though. I'm glad I put it through it's first paces and that it performed so well. I'm looking forward to using it more in the future.
Here's both guys in their factory sheaths. It's striking how much larger the sheath of the Swabbie really is. I wouldn't like to carry that thing around for a long time. Not in a backpack (takes up a lot of space) or not on my belt (doesn't seem comfortable to have something like that on your leg for a long duration).
Next to each other it's clear that the Swabbie is a fair bit larger than the 9 too. Furthermore, the Swabbie is completely curved, no straight spots on the edge. The 9 is flat/saber ground whereas the Swabbie is FFG.
The difference in thickness is clear too. 9 on the left, Swabbie on the right.
When it comes to grip while using it, the 9 will be primarily gripped in one way: just grabbing the handle. Feels really good. The Swabbie allows for a variety of grips because the handle is so long. One finger over the guard, two fingers under, one under, full grip at the back of the handle, and so on and so on. More on the grips later on.
First up was some chopping. You can see the little treestump I was gonna chop. Don't know what it was. The diameter of the wood can be seen in comparison to the 9. I chopped both the 9 and Swabbie 20 times into the wood with almost no force. Wanted to let the blades do the talking. I can't seem to get any clear results out of it. Looks similar to me. After doing this test, I went ahead and finished the job.
Next up, batoning. Took two knotty pieces of a tree I can't find a translation of. We call it "Canadian poplar", litteraly translated.
These knots were quite easy. Both blades handles this very easily. I did feel more comfortable striking the 9 with my baton since the surface I could strike was flatter, whereas on the Swabbie that's exactly the area where the spine sweeps up into some kind of point before dropping down to the actual tip of the blade.
Wanted to try some finer tasks as well, so I tried making some Figure-4 traps. Started out with a long, straight piece of Common Hazel. Chopped it into bits and went ahead. I was able to get it done with both knives, although I would definitely prefer a smaller knife like a BK16 for this kind of job. The 9 was easier to work with than the Swabbie though. The guard of the Swabbie really got in the way while doing this task. I felt like I couldn't really control it.
I tried to make some fuzzies too, but my hands were aching a bit so I quit that rather quickly. It could be done, but again I'd recommend a shorter knife. Again, I had most difficulties with the Swabbie. Lack of control because of the guard, the rounded edge wasn't ideal either.
So, my dad came over and wanted to see what all the noise was about. He saw I was having a good time and said I could demolish the Hazel bush a bit further. It has to be removed in the future anyway. Work that's done now, we don't have to do anymore in the future. As you can see below, the 9 wasn't tired and handled the sapplings, smaller and medium sized branches really well.
Both knives after all of this...
First battle scars on my 9
That's the end of this photoseries. I hope you guys enjoyed it somewhat. In the end, I really came to prefer the 9 for a variety of reasons. Contrary to what I first thought, the Swabbie's handles are not that comfortable after all. I can't say anything wrong about the texture or the quality of the scales, but it's just the overall shape. Especially the guard and the extended butt start hurting your hand after a while. Don't like that a lot. The 9 is so comfortable you can keep going for quite a while without having painful hands. The Swabbie is just (again, for me) a tad too large and wide. It's cumbersome to use for a longer duration. The shape doesn't really accomodate batoning or woodwork. Do keep in mind however, that the Swabbie was totally not designed for splitting wood and chopping branches off of trees and bushes, unlike the 9. As far as a zombie killer, it would probably do great
. The FFG of the Swabbie makes it a really good slicer, maybe a better slicer than the 9? I haven't tested that so I can't say. For a knife that's not designed to do the tasks I made it do, the Swabbie did perform above expectations. Very cool blade:thumbup:. During the tasks these knives went through, the 9 excelled though. I'm glad I put it through it's first paces and that it performed so well. I'm looking forward to using it more in the future.
The zombie knives don't really have any draw for me, but that zomstro that Murph/Todd customized is just beautiful..
