THE Hollow Handle Knife Thread

[thedemonbeast]

Hello,

This is my first post in the forum discussion areas, must say that the superb and beautiful HH knives posted here are truly a showcase in craftmanship and style.

I to have been fascinate with the HH/survival knife since watching First Blood when I was a young boy...always dreamed of having a specimen of that same knife. ..then the Rambo 2 bowie type one. The fascination have continue until today, hope to some day find and be able to buy a Ray Matton First Blood tribute knife as well as one of the "Commando" movie Life Support System knife by Crain...hope some day will finally find them both and add them to the small collection. I am waiting right now for my Sly-II knife by Mr.Clifford and ordering a Newt Martin MCE-II, both superb and beautiful designed knifes, each one similar BUT different, that's why I like them soooo much!!!

Ohh buddy, you are really going to Love your ACK Sly II knife from Andy. I have the #1 which is also the Prototype ACK Sly II. I tell you it is one fantastic high quality knife. It is a tad bit different from the ones that followed and I like that about it.

I also have the handmade MCE II as well and I mean to tell you, Newt Martin is one helluva guy and knife maker. He sure did me right. Andy Clifford is one of my greatest friends and I got 5 knives made by him. Cannot wait for #6.

Now hang onto your hat buddy, because I also just got a Ray Matton handmade First Blood knife and OMG what a dream come true!! And get this, I have a FB knife that was made by the knife maker who taught Ray knife making and who mentored him. His name is Mr. Bill Schiller. And that is just about the Best pair of handmade First Blood knives I've ever seen. It feels great to own 2 of the same style knife, each by teacher and his surpassing student!!

When it comes to knives, I am truly blessed!!

 

[cricketdave]

Hello,

This is my first post in the forum discussion areas, must say that the superb and beautiful HH knives posted here are truly a showcase in craftmanship and style.

I to have been fascinate with the HH/survival knife since watching First Blood when I was a young boy...always dreamed of having a specimen of that same knife. ..then the Rambo 2 bowie type one. The fascination have continue until today, hope to some day find and be able to buy a Ray Matton First Blood tribute knife as well as one of the "Commando" movie Life Support System knife by Crain...hope some day will finally find them both and add them to the small collection. I am waiting right now for my Sly-II knife by Mr.Clifford and ordering a Newt Martin MCE-II, both superb and beautiful designed knifes, each one similar BUT different, that's why I like them soooo much!!!

Newt makes a great knife, I really like the ones I've gotten from him. Tough and very well performing. The Crain knife I've always wanted is the one from Predator, too bad no body who actually delivers makes a tribute of it. I'd buy one fast and too bad Mr. Crain has had so many problems with health and delivering his work.

The FB knives from Mr. Matton look superb too and I've never heard anything but good about his work.

 

[SilverPointShield]

Ohh buddy, you are really going to Love your ACK Sly II knife from Andy. I have the #1 which is also the Prototype ACK Sly II. I tell you it is one fantastic high quality knife. It is a tad bit different from the ones that followed and I like that about it.

I also have the handmade MCE II as well and I mean to tell you, Newt Martin is one helluva guy and knife maker. He sure did me right. Andy Clifford is one of my greatest friends and I got 5 knives made by him. Cannot wait for #6.

Now hang onto your hat buddy, because I also just got a Ray Matton handmade First Blood knife and OMG what a dream come true!! And get this, I have a FB knife that was made by the knife maker who taught Ray knife making and who mentored him. His name is Mr. Bill Schiller. And that is just about the Best pair of handmade First Blood knives I've ever seen. It feels great to own 2 of the same style knife, each by teacher and his surpassing student!!

When it comes to knives, I am truly blessed!!

I have seen your knives photos, superb selection and the special ones are priceless not only because of the great quality of the edge weapon itself, but the reasons for its creation. I hope to be able to find on of Mr. Matton FB tribute knives some day,to my eye and taste is my favorite of the direct tribute Jimmy Lile movie knife. Another of my favorites HH design is the Hibben Rescue knife from Rambo III, that is truly a great looking knife...I to would have liked that Stallone continue to use that one in the full movie.

 

[SilverPointShield]

Newt makes a great knife, I really like the ones I've gotten from him. Tough and very well performing. The Crain knife I've always wanted is the one from Predator, too bad no body who actually delivers makes a tribute of it. I'd buy one fast and too bad Mr. Crain has had so many problems with health and delivering his work.

The FB knives from Mr. Matton look superb too and I've never heard anything but good about his work.

Must say that the photos that you posted of your MCEII and showing It in its intended use put my final point to order one, i know the super reputation and quality of Mr.Newt Martin superb knives selection... Specialy the HH, when I saw the MCEII i knew I wanted one, truly a superb looking blade design. Then saw your field use of one of these. I just smiled of joy that my order for one of these was indeed a great desision and one I Will enjoy for years to come!!! And must say the same about Mr. Clifford SlyII, I am really looking forward to have in my hands mine,really excited.

 

[thedemonbeast]

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Here is a pic of my awesome handmade Ray Matton First Blood knife. Ray did make a sheath also for it. But I thought that for such a beautiful knife, I wanted a special protective sheath made for it. So I swapped the sheath that my sheath maker guy and good friend Bob Schrap, made originally for my Schiller FBI knife, and now using it for my Matton Edge FBI knife. Ray's incredibly high quality sheath now houses my Bill Schiller FB knife!!

And so, here is that pic!

 

[thedemonbeast]

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Here is my newest handmade knife made by Tim Spry of Spry Knives. As you can see it is Not a hollow handle knife. But it is massive and monstrous. About 18 total inches of D2 steel 1/4 inch thick with a 12 inches plus cutting edge and about 3inches wide. Razor sharp, this awesome knife that Tim named The Bushmaster Bushcraft Knife, naned after one of the biggest, baddest, abd most feared poisonous snakes that ever crawled the earth. Anyway, here is the pic. My apologies about it not being hollow handled.

 

[BonhamBlades]

glad to see that this thread is still going.

 

[ron finkbeiner jr]

I had this sheath system made by Grizzly Outdoors, intended to provide one package with all... Altoids tin, hollow handled knife, Leatherman, and fire steel. A little heavy, but I like the single package approach.

Uh, I need a towel......
😁

 

[SilverPointShield]

[/URL][/IMG]

Here is a pic of my awesome handmade Ray Matton First Blood knife. Ray did make a sheath also for it. But I thought that for such a beautiful knife, I wanted a special protective sheath made for it. So I swapped the sheath that my sheath maker guy and good friend Bob Schrap, made originally for my Schiller FBI knife, and now using it for my Matton Edge FBI knife. Ray's incredibly high quality sheath now houses my Bill Schiller FB knife!!

And so, here is that pic!

SUPERB,simply superb! I contacted some time ago Mr. Matton to place an order for one of his FB knives, unfortunately he informed me that at the moment he is doing some workshop repairs and that It will be some time before he can do the knife for me since he dont know how long It will take to finish the repairs. He was very kind to inform me about this instead of accepting my order and then keep me waiting for months in expectation for delivery, i really appreciate that, looking forward to be able to place my order with him or find one of his FB HH in the secondary market.

Your other knife looks great and quite intimidating, I see that every part of the blade have been given a particular task/use but at the same time keeping it simple,strong and useful.

 

[cricketdave]

I like that sheath setup Guns, looks very well designed and built. Silver I have a lot of fun using the Martins, they are very good field knives and work really well. I used my Surv9 processing a hog a couple weeks ago, trimmed him up quick and easy and sure holds a great edge. The Mce2 7 inch has been riding on my weapon belt for several months and has done everything I wanted it to do easily. I'm going to be ordering the Caiman for my daughter this year it will be a great field and Shtf knife for her.

 

[cricketdave]

Took a couple new pics, it was pretty outside. Thought I'd show what is in the handle of my Martins, fishhooks wrapped in line and the rubber thing holds a float, couple of sinkers, the little vial's are chem lights and work as floats as well, fire steel and kevlar line.

 

[SilverPointShield]

Those are great pictures of the Martin knife, I can't wait to receive mine!!! I choose the rounde guard and black cord on mine, but the blade will be dual tone like yours. After I get the MCE II ....the SURV9 is next in line for me.

 

[cricketdave]

I really like the Surv9 with the round guard, I've changed the wraps several times on all of mine. Just keep trying different colors. Changed the wrap on the Surv the other day because it was pretty nasty with blood from cleaning a hog.

 

[Gaston444]

Well you meant it when you said you do use them Dave!

One of the things I thought, when I saw your re-wrapping, is that sand or light-colored wrapping chord does look very good, but it certainly would seem to be higher maintenance than black cord...

For anybody wanting a SURV9, I have just one warning: Photos simply don't convey just how broad the blade is: The large handle size and the blade length make it all look very well-proportioned, but you need to be ready for something that truly makes an overwhelming impression: Think the impression the Desert Eagle first made on you, and you will have a rough idea... Other knives of similar length can easily feel a lot smaller... On the other hand, it didn't feel particularly heavy, and I would say for the size it even felt light: I attribute this to the gigantic hollow grind, which probably killed off many ounces... The handle does not have the excessive weight of the Buckmaster's handle as well.

I went recently for the 4-5X cheaper Boker plus Martin/Apparo, and I found it more reasonably-sized, despite the big guard (and identical to the custom knife in handle/guard/cord wrapping quality). My only problem is it is so dull it is just not funny. Having previously spent years trying to thin down knives by hand, I sent it right away to a professional sharpener, with the instruction to basically make a whole new sharp knife out of this essentially blank stock... I'm not exaggerating... I'll post on how it went when I get it back (he charged me $80, and I don't blame him in the slightest given the specs I asked for): It looks like it will be the sharpest knife I have ever owned...

I've since looked very closely at large pictures of someone selling their 1980s Timberline 7.5" SA (for me an iconic hollow handle I have always dreamed of, ever since I saw one in a gunshop in Paris: I think it may have the best saw of any non-Lile hollow handle knives, and this without the non-functional clip serrations): The SA looks, from the geometry of the point, like the edge grind is actually in the neighborhood of my Boker Apparo(!!!)... An email exchange confirmed 25° per side (50° inclusive) for some of those currently made in that style: The old 1980s vintage SA looked even worse, since my Apparo was more like 30-40°+... (I've seen an early Buck Nighthawk at a true 45° per side...) It boggles my mind but there you go... It seems to me the emphasis on toughness is way overboard, since a fragile edge is easy to "toughen up", but increasing the sharpness of a dull grind (without ruining the looks of the knife) is a terrible ordeal...

Gaston

 

[cricketdave]

Yeah I had to grind down quite a bit on the Boker Apparo to get a useable edge. I used the worksharp to take it down enough and then just sharpened like normal, made a huge difference. Looking forward to seeing how you like it when you get it back.

I love the blade width of the Surv9 I've had several knives that were blade wide like that and got used to that quickly. Makes a heck of an incision on a hog when your cleaning them too.

 

[thedemonbeast]

Blade Forums is acting screwed. Twice now I have written out posts and replies. Then when done and I try posting, it says I cannot post my comments unless I I reload the page. Then my replies will post. So I reload the page and see Nothing posted that I have written. And it is pissing me off. So from now on until I get a message that this bug is now fixed, I will Not be posting anything. I dont have time to sit here and keep rewriting my posts just because a page but is not fixed!!

 

[Sam Wilson]

It seems to me the emphasis on toughness is way overboard, since a fragile edge is easy to "toughen up", but increasing the sharpness of a dull grind (without ruining the looks of the knife) is a terrible ordeal...

Gaston

You have hit the nail on the head! "Survival knives" in particular have been particularly bad about this. I understand the idea of wanting the knife to be "tough," and take abuse such as you might encounter in a survival type situation. But when you get to the point that it starts to seriously compromise cutting ability, I think we're missing the point. Let's face it, even though these are "survival knives," they're more frequently used as camp knives, for hiking/backpacking, and other general use. They don't need the edge profile of a hammer to do that.

The knife pictured below sliced those vegetables like that, and can still be batonned and used very hard with no damage, as long as the user is responsible. I think that is what should be receiving more focus- the user showing discretion and logic in the USE of the knife, as opposed to making a knife as "indestructible" as possible.

Sam :thumbup:

 

[cricketdave]

I was out doing a little tracking today, found where hogs have been coming through my creek and quite a bit of scat. Set up a good spot to bushwhack them this evening. The Surv9 riding on my belt and will hopefully get some more action tonite.

Its a big knife but it sure carries good.

 

[bowie69]

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow hollow handled knife enthusiasts! I wish you and yours a terrific holiday season this year.

 

[Mistwalker]

I was out doing a little tracking today, found where hogs have been coming through my creek and quite a bit of scat. Set up a good spot to bushwhack them this evening. The Surv9 riding on my belt and will hopefully get some more action tonite.

Its a big knife but it sure carries good.

Newt's hollow handled knives are remarkable. Their performance and durability is amazing. He makes a smaller hollow handled knife called the Caiman that I did a review of here on Blade Forums a couple of years ago.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ler-Hollow-Handled-Survival-Beast-(Photo-Hvy)

That said, after getting the chance to check out a couple of the more modern hollow handled knives, I am taking a trip back in time revisiting one I had for a short time back in the 80s. It was in my opinion a much under rated knife, thanks mostly to the Exlorer Knife Co. out of Asia, that was known for producing a lot of fragile junk. The Explorer Survival Knife (later called The Explora to separate it from the other company), made by Marto in Toledo Spain was better made than any of the hollow handles I have seen come out of Asia, and many from elsewhere. This one is right at 40 years old, and hasn't exactly been sitting around in a safe.

.