THE Hollow Handle Knife Thread

No idea why they aren't showing up for you, I've had browser issues on occasion where the same thing happened to me. Also have had problems with my internet service being so slow it wouldn't download pics and I got the broken link symbol.

I've checked the settings from where I post the pics too, although I've had to change some of my content permissions because of threats from ISIL to military families the pics I've posted should show.

My first response to being informed of the threats and having to scrub some social info was to invite all ISIL to come on over and I promised to bury them covered in bacon grease my wife convinced me to take more precautions.

Yet one more reason to practice my old skills with the boomsticks.
 
That Kizlyar HH looks great: I would never buy from them because of what goes on in Ukraine right now: Nothing personal, but with widespread domestic support for an invasion...: NO.

I found this amazing post on this Blades forums thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1127306-First-Blood-The-Knife/page2


PeterPHWS said:
I have owned a Lile First Blood and a Lile Rambo - originals done by Jimmy Lile back around 1988-89. The originals were done in left handed sheaths ( Stallone is left handed ) and that started me with using a diagonal small of the back carry because as a lefty this lines up the handle nicely for a right handed rear draw. I prefer this carry to this day ... but these knives are sadly long gone.

Back in 1988 I bought the first blood for £680.00 and when our one and only original custom knife seller in the UK brought back a Rambo model for £800.00 I snapped it up in a part exchange. These were my first "consumer credit" loans. To give you an example of how expensive this was - my car at the time cost £250.00. This car was an old Datsun/Nissan and when it gave up the ghost and I needed to buy another car the Rambo knife had gone up to £1500 in mint condition. This was just paid for by then and finances and the need for transport eclipsed my ability to hang on to the knife and I sold it to buy a replacement.

Both knives were superb in workmanship and incredibly "light" from memory. I was in the forces at the time and using a khukri on my belt webbing and I distinctly remember that the knives were way lighter than the khukri blade. Those knives were pure frustration for me as the custom knife dealer who sold them to me told me whatever I did I SHOULD'NT USE THEM. He said they were guilt edged investments and so it proved - but not using them left a bad memory - and since then I have had a number of custom knives at high prices and have used them all.

You don't appreciate a knife until you use it and I would have loved to see how those knives held up to proper use.

Soon after selling the Rambo knife I bought an original Robert Parrish. This was still in 1989-90 and digital cameras were not around and I had never considered buying a computer. Pic's don't exist of these knives but I can tell you I did use the Parrish.

It was good and I remember comparing it to the Buckmaster when it first came out and it was way ahead in performance and edge retention. We actually got some Buckmasters to try out along with the Gerber BMF. The Gerber didn't have a hollow handle but was a lot more effective knife. Much more comfortable to use.

Around this time I got to hear of Chris Reeves who was still in South Africa and got one of his early one piece hollow handle Jereboam knives. I still have this one. The stippling on the round grip is too severe and needs to be dulled but it is a bit of a collectors item now and it remains in pretty good nick after only small use which established this problem.

The Parrish had a less aggressive checkering on the handle and was much more useable.

The fishing line grip on the Lile knives was far more comfortable than any of the above and I wish I had beat the snot out of the Rambo version as this would no doubt have meant I would have kept the knife. They now go for £6000 in pristine nick - so a well used one would still have me well ahead of my purchase price. If you could only turn back the sands of time!:grumpy:

The Parrish ended up being traded to get me and some others out of a sticky situation - it is amazing how far the Rambo movies have travelled around the world.
Click to expand...

His comment that the First Blood were incredibly light does jive with my impression of how the knife is designed, especially when considering that the heavier designed Neeley SA9 still barely balances on the guard...: The First Blood's deeply squared-off clip grind bevel, which instantly thins the flat ground blade from 1/4" to 1/8" from the clip forward, the fact that the knife is a full overall flat ground -a huge weight-killer, and a problem in keeping sheath scratches confined to a narrow area imho-, the sawback with deep saw notches, the teeths themselves split - removing further blade weight-.

The only item adding significant weight would be the big guard (a huge weight effect, as I found out when trimming the guard of my Model 18...), but opting for screwdrivers tips still would remove a bit of weight compared to a lugged guard I think.

So overall when buying a First Blood, or close equivalent, one should expect a very, very light knife for the size... Not good for chopping, but with the apparent (and sensible, it seems to me) acceptance of batonning, I've moved away from considering chopping the be all and end all of big knives... Still, handle heavy is always bad for utility... This is fascinating to me, as I could not find an accurate balance to weight my CR Jereboam Mk II, and I have trouble believing the claimed 16.6 ounces, as it feels like an anvil right on par with my 21 ounces TOPS Hellion...: It might be just the way the Reeves design "feels"... Randall's Model 18 is said to be around 12-14 ounces, and feels nowhere in the same ballpark as the Reeves, even when it had its full guard...

These kinds of stats are interesting to have an idea of how the knife will feel or perform...: My Randall Model 14 and 18 surprised me by how blade-light they where, and they are really 3/16", not at all the claimed 1/4"... Only the Model 14 is a bit over 3/16" near the guard... When I saw for the first time (on the Arizona Custom knives spec data, of all places) that the Al Mar SF-10 was made of 3/16" stock, I lost all interest in that knife, a $700 monster I had considered buying for months...

I'd be curious to know the weight stats on the Parrish, the First Blood and the Mission.

Interesting post to hear of a Lile carried by an actual soldier (even if not used)...

Gaston
 
cricketdave said:
No idea why they aren't showing up for you, I've had browser issues on occasion where the same thing happened to me. Also have had problems with my internet service being so slow it wouldn't download pics and I got the broken link symbol.

I've checked the settings from where I post the pics too, although I've had to change some of my content permissions because of threats from ISIL to military families the pics I've posted should show.

My first response to being informed of the threats and having to scrub some social info was to invite all ISIL to come on over and I promised to bury them covered in bacon grease my wife convinced me to take more precautions.

Yet one more reason to practice my old skills with the boomsticks.
Click to expand...
Dave,

This recent one I can see:
1545568_10203360837168112_2144027676_n.jpg


Older ones, like these two, I cannot:
1798673_10204858041277279_4836668227449515460_n.jpg

1798673_10204858041277279_4836668227449515460_n.jpg

These just say "image not found" when I open their URLs in new windows. If you look at the URLs, the one that works ends with "_n.jpg?oh=4319fd9bb3cf29188b8f48938e9e637d&oe=5591A06E", while the other two just end in "_n.jpg".

You might want to try looking at them with a browser not logged into your facebook account to see if it is a permissions problem. Lots of good stuff is missing from your posts.
 
Here is a detailed description of the First Blood knife by Jimmy Lile. Chopping is never mentioned. Link
 
Well I went back through my photo album and updated the privacy setting on most, other than that I have no idea what else to do, other than upload them all to photo bucket.
 
Ok did a bunch of editing and uploaded a bunch to photo bucket so lets see if these work now.

fire starting practice
IMG_0936_zps1sn2fcyj.jpg


sawing a tree
IMG_1519_zpsefuqmq86.jpg


IMG_1518_zpspygkarz1.jpg


IMG_1520_zpsbs0pasps.jpg


spine comparison shot
IMG_1377_zpssmwqv9tu.jpg



did those all work for everybody?
 
A few beauty shots

IMG_1265_zpsrt3jhynd.jpg


IMG_1413_zpsogqsvblj.jpg


IMG_1677_zpsyyteczes.jpg


Range gear goodies
IMG_1744_zpsh0jbnqpi.jpg



Hopefully those worked, now I'm heading out to the VFW for booze and buddies, I'll check later and see if you guys could see the pics. Have fun.
 
Last edited:
Well not a lot I can do for the old pics, I've made sure they all have public settings so don't know what else I can do. I did upload about 40 or so to photo bucket so I can post ones that don't show up again.
 
cricketdave said:
Ok did a bunch of editing and uploaded a bunch to photo bucket so lets see if these work now.

fire starting practice
IMG_0936_zps1sn2fcyj.jpg


did those all work for everybody?
Click to expand...

Yes. The Surv9 now strongly reminds me of the proportions of a Randall Model 12 with a 14 grind... Any data on the weight of a Lile FB or Parrish Suvivor?

Gaston
 
Thanks very much TAH!

16 ounces is not that light or surprising for the FB, but 20 ounces for the Parrish is extraordinary for an 8" knife! Amazing... The extra weight must be within the handle's joint (I'd assumed this figure included the sheath, but I realize now it doesn't)...

I have to weight my Jereboam. The blade is actually slightly over 1/4" thick at .255, and it just feels very heavy: It could be a matter of "density", in that the whole guard area is very compact in volume, and yet the entire thing weights the same or more... But 16.6 ounces seems almost impossible...

[Edit] The Jereboam is definitely significantly heavier than the Boker Apparo at 16.2 ounces (though mine might be ground down to 15.5-15.8), but lighter than the Hellion at 21 ounces: My guess for the Jereboam would be around 18-19 ounces, not the 16.6 claimed.

Gaston
 
Last edited:
Sam Wilson said:
The Compass. I really enjoy this part, because this is a departure from the usual navigation aid that accompanies a HH knife, which is often a small button compass in the buttcap...I much prefer a larger compass, and carrying it outside of the buttcap. This prevents the compass from being damaged if you pound with the buttcap of the knife, and also avoids having to remove the buttcap every time you want to take a bearing...
Click to expand...

Sam,

This is my solution to not permanently installing a compass in the buttcap, but still utilizing the space in the buttcap. The pouch also prevents unnecessary scratches on the lens from other loose items in the handle. Like you said, this allows the compass to be easily removed for pounding or taking continuous bearings.


IMG_7215_zpshe0ubikh.jpg



95ec9159-e027-4ed5-8c10-65623310fb52_zpsymjceza2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hey Dave, so I've still been waiting for usaknifemaker to get their hollow handles in so I can finish up my jack crain life support 1 replica, I bought some apparo's that I'm still waiting to get in, and I figured ok the gil hibben survival tanto has the same handle I need and I can get it in two days so I ordered one..... let me just say WOW, I was expecting way way way more for a knife that his name is even on at all. ...I mean ok we know he didn't make it but it was made in China, I knew that buying it and like I said I only want the handle because its the same price fir this whole knife as me buying just the handle (which I still have another 7 weeks before I can get them) but I'm so disappointed, the sheath complete junk, it wasn't worth killing the cow, the handle was actually loose, I unscrew it with no effort, the compass was sitting down inside the handle, the blade! lol...hahaha.... do I really even need to finish? ?? Hahaha, my chevy trucks fenders are about the same thickness steel. .... I'm gonna throw the blade in the trash right now, and if I knew how to put pics or videos up on here I'd live to video me in my shop with my torches cutting the brand new blade in half! Lol oh well figured I'd let all you guys out there know how incredibly awesome this thing is! And to think I woke up early waiting for my package! ! Lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top