The CPK LC getting it done (Picture heavy)

TRfromMT

TRfromMT

Joined
Jan 4, 2016
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So, I am a relative novice with large knives. I recently picked up my second LC. I sold the first one, really not thinking I'd ever be a big knife user, and regretted it! There is just something so primal about a large knife, and the LC is the Cadillac!

I decided to put it to use on tree that is choking out the Maple in my yard. I don't have any comparative experience with any other large knife, or an ax even, for this kind of work. I would have ordinarily taken a hand saw and pruning shears to remove the Russian Olive. Instead, it's time to put the LC to work!

This is a user review from a guy who really doesn't do this kind of hard use stuff with knives...

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I had the idea that a good wrist lanyard would be a smart idea. I was right (more on that later...), and I made up this out of 550 cord. The sheath still works just fine with the lanyard in the forward hole. There is just enough give in the kydex, no problem there.

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I took a few tentative swings and realized this knife bites - deep! It flicks through small, green limbs. Limbs up to the size of my thumb were cut with one stroke. Anything up to 2" was 3 - 4 well placed strokes....

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The wrist lanyard proved to be exceedingly useful. My forearm was blown and fatigue was really evident. I found my grip slipping to the back end of the handle with a few swings. It's Russian Olive, which has thorns (big ones!) in the outer 3-4 feet of each branch. I was wearing gloves because of the thorns, and that probably contributed to the fatigue. I am certain the lanyard saved me from losing the knife into some dangerous/unknown trajectory on about 4 instances. It is essential if you are going to do this, in my novice opinion. I won't swing this knife without it.
 
So the knife made short work of the Russian Olive. And it was a lot of fun! There were two main trunk branches, both 3-4" in diameter. The tree was about 10 ft high, but with the reach of the knife, it was easy to bring down the top branches and work my way down.20170708_085642.jpg 20170708_085505.jpg 20170708_085524.jpg
 
At this point, the R.O. was down and tied in bundles for trash day. What's next.... a few long-dead Lilac bushes. Here I noticed two things. One, my grip was mostly gone. Two, hard dead wood cuts way differently than green, live wood.

If you are still reading at this point, you may have noticed what I was aware of, but apparently not being careful of... the rocks.

I had a glancing blow off of a hard Lilac shoot, about 1" in diameter. The knife didn't bite in, but rather glanced off (I was taking a way-too-shallow cut, lengthwise) and the blade smacked a rock, hard, and badly chipped the edge.

At this point my stomach sank... an hour earlier this was a brand new, untarnished, CPK LC. I now have a user grade LC. And I am coming to terms with that. It sucks a lot to do that to such a fine edge.

I am trying to remember it sucks more to never use a knife like this if you have the chance. This is all my error, and in NO WAY a reflection on the quality of the knife. This is a phenomenal knife in every way. Even a novice can see that.

Rivet is shown for size reference. Chip is approx. 3/8" long.
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What did I learn (just my personal reflections):
-This knife lives up to the hype, and it's an amazing blade
-I am a total rookie and this is more knife than I have the skill (yet) to use well. I want to get better.
-Fatigue is a real challenge, and it develops quickly.
-It is harder to get clean cuts than it looks. Some of my pictures of the stumps show lots and lots of errant hits.
-A good knife can do a great job on this kind of task.
-Don't be afraid to use your $#!t.
-Don't abuse your knife, but if it takes a beating in honest work, get over it.

What am I going to learn:
-How to repair and sharpen a big knife :)

Hope you enjoyed the review.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of swingin the bigs, T. I'm assuming all your friends are out to lunch at the moment. As far as the chip goes, at least now it's more like the Cadillac you mentioned earlier - huge drop in value the moment it leaves the dealer's lot. :D

Shoes, cars, clothes and knives are things I acquire and baby for a little bit, trying to keep them pristine as possible, but the truth is it's just frustrating and there is far more enjoyment in using these items in a more carefree (not destructive) manner.

Work your way up to taking 2" of live angiosperm in one swing and post some update pics. :)
 
That's a mere flesh wound...too much is made about chipped edges. Use it, keep it maintained and that chip will work itself out with some sharpenings. The LC will still chop and it'll still slice....I don't know any blade steel that will take direct blows onto something harder than itself without some kind of deformation or damage.

Plus there's huge debate about which is worse: chipping an edge or rolling an edge. That knife is a keeper!
 
TRfromMT said:
The wrist lanyard proved to be exceedingly useful. My forearm was blown and fatigue was really evident. I found my grip slipping to the back end of the handle with a few swings. It's Russian Olive, which has thorns (big ones!) in the outer 3-4 feet of each branch. I was wearing gloves because of the thorns, and that probably contributed to the fatigue. I am certain the lanyard saved me from losing the knife into some dangerous/unknown trajectory on about 4 instances. It is essential if you are going to do this, in my novice opinion. I won't swing this knife without it.
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Without being rude can I please just say that the idea of tying an extremely sharp and large knife to your wrist and then swinging it around is extremely STUPID....As stated by yourself you don't "hard" use your knives like this, which if fine, just please don't promote stupid ideas....I have seen some big knives go flying out of peoples hands and swing right back towards them and leave a nice gash. I've also done it myself because I too was a novice and thought "lanyards are a great idea!"....next minute the knife slipped from my hand, bounced/rotated off the lanyard and came back to me and left a nice hole in the jacket I was wearing, in my forearm area... imagine if I wasn't wearing a jacket....

..lanyards are a good idea on paper and when you have experience....EDIT TO ADD: And I still don't and won't use them. I'd rather throw/drop/lose/damage the tool in an accident situation than injure myself or someone else like an idiot, especially if i'm out camping and it becomes a serious issue or just plain ruins my trip...

Again, not trying to be rude I just want to save yourself or someone else from potentially lopping off a finger or slitting their wrist/forearm open..
 
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^^^I thought about that, and I do, absolutely, respect the comment. Something to think about...

That's why I tied it to the front, and not the back. I also cinched it down in a way that kept the knife from sliding further forward (my hand from sliding off the back) in a hard swing. I felt it secured the knife to me. It was safer than losing the knife. I'd love to hear someone else's opinion and experience.
 
Bacon's right...

And there are ways to wrap a lanyard around the outside of your fist to help mitigate the possibility of the knife swinging back into you, but even then, they're not 100% foolproof.

I'm adding this because a few summers back I had a mini widowmaker come down on top of my noggin from a snag next to a sapling I had just chopped thru with my lanyarded sykco 1311.

It damn near knocked me silly, and I staggered and tripped on a stob, started falling, instinctively put my hands out to break my fall and caught myself just before I did a face plant on the forest floor. My vision focused on my 1311 sitting spine down, edge up, between my hands, about a foot from my face staring at me like a snarling rottweiler ready to pounce.

I could have very easily had my hand randomly land on that edge, or my face/head. I told myself-- never again. From experience, I'd rather have the blade go flying clear than become something I could impale myself upon.

More than anything else, it seems to me lanyards best use is to keep the other folks working/standing around you safe. So rather than employing lanyards anymore, I just prefer making sure everyone is clear of my area. When I get fatigued <often, I'm an old guy> I stop or slow down the cadence.
 
All that Is needed is some Sharpening and a touch up! That nick is not the end of the world! Good to see you using it! The Only advice I would give you, in the future try and elevate (Slightly) whatever you are chopping to avoid direct Contact with the Ground. Any Steel will chip if it comes in direct contact with Rock. Elevating the object will greatly reduce this risk! Congrats on the LC:cool::thumbsup:
 
Oh, and BTW, thanks for sharing. It takes a little bit of guts to admit you boogered up a premium blade.

But there's three kinds of folks who own high quality blades:
1. The kind who's edges an faces are pristine because they never use their blades. :oops:
2. The kind who've wrecked an edge. :eek:
3. The kind who say they never wrecked an edge, but they're really lying. ;)
 
TommyGun56 said:
All that Is needed is some Sharpening and a touch up! That nick is not the end of the world! Good to see you using it! The Only advice I would give you, in the future try and elevate (Slightly) whatever you are chopping to avoid direct Contact with the Ground. Any Steel will chip if it comes in direct contact with Rock. Elevating the object will greatly reduce this risk! Congrats on the LC:cool::thumbsup:
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EXCELLENT advice...I'll just add...if it were my blade-- and I've been there a few times ;)-- don't rush to the sharpening bench and start hogging off great D3V just to pretty up my bevel and apex again. Beat that sumbitch like a rented mule <in stuff a Rc point or two softer than delta 3v, lol> and really see what kind of performance you can get out of her and touch up as needed...that ding will be in your rearview before you know it!
 
PeteyTwoPointOne said:
EXCELLENT advice...I'll just add...if it were my blade-- and I've been there a few times ;)-- don't rush to the sharpening bench and start hogging off great D3V just to pretty up my bevel and apex again. Beat that sumbitch like a rented mule <in stuff a little softer than steel, lol> and really see what kind of performance you can get out of her and touch up as needed...that ding will be in your rearview before you know it!
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I told him the same thing. It'll be a lot of material to take off in one sitting. If I damage an edge like that it sometimes takes months and months, depending on how much you need to sharpen, before it's back to normal.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I appreciate it. I will think about the lanyard, for sure.

I am going to work on touching up that edge, not removing the chip. It will be a nice reminder that "stuff happens" and maybe I'll become more of a user than a hoarder.

Part of posting this review was to simply show others what this knife can easily do from a regular guy's perspective. I'm happy if others really learn from my rookie mistakes.
 
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