The L-1: Red Blooded Fightin' Knife

[Steely_Gunz]

Have you ever taken a gamble on something you weren’t sure was for you or not? I’m not talking about doubting the quality of the item, just that maybe it didn’t tick off all the boxes right out of the gate. Still, curiosity gets the best of you.


I will admit this is how I approached the Liberty Series One knife offered up on the DotD on the 13th. Truth be told, while I have always appreciated all 3 of Howard’s Liberty designs, the L-2 that mimics the sleek murderous lines of a Bagwelll bowie was the one singing a siren song to me. However, I have never been able to luck into one…yet


However, the L-1 with its wide clipped blade was always a close second. My only reservations about the specimen offered on the DotD was that it was 14” overall instead of 18”-ish and the guard is very exaggerated. Still for $100, who can pass up a Kumar-made bowie knife? The man is a master of the fine yet durable edge. Besides, the 14” range of knives are a sweet spot to me. Still, I wasn’t sure about the guard.


Deep fried with a generous pinch of coarse sea salt….that’s how I’d like the crow I’m about to eat prepared

The L-1 is incredible. The oversized guard allows the full blade to be used as a tool and not just as a weapon. However, in martial use, I think it could be a game changer. In addition to locking/trapping/deflecting another weapon , it’s wide enough to catch a wrist or hand. A couple of fingers caught between the back of the blade and guard would be wrenched back anywhere from compliance all the way to “Well, who knew you could touch the back of your hand…with the fingers attached to it”.

The wide blade is both powerful and agile. It largely has to do with the fact that blade stock itself is thinner and the handle has been whittled down to a full through hidden tang peened at the buttcap. It’s like if an AK Bowie had a lovechild with a Spear Vala, but the runt of the litter turned out to be more competitively successful resulting in a knife that thrives on quick, powerful chops instead of overwhelming mass and force. The result is a knife that isn’t a one-trick-pony unitask fighter but also isn’t the first blade I’d grab to set out to settle on top of a mountain.

Among its peers.
Here’s where it gets weird: You can carry this blade IWB. Please, hold all “Is that a bowie in your pocket or are you just happy to see a sandbar” jokes until the ride comes to a complete stop. Basically, the sheath that came with the knife is very well made and serviceable, but it carries the knife way too low. I keep my weapons high and tight. I noticed that blade itself isn’t unmanageably long, and those oversized guards might just hang on the belt enough to distribute the weight. So being the impulsive fellow I am, I trimmed off the belt loop part, slit the leather, and installed a spare spring belt clip I had laying around. Carries beautifully at 4 o’clock and draws quickly from under a shirt or jacket. I am fully aware that it’s a tad weird to carry a 14” bowie IWB like it were a 1911, but I like it…so there

I think I forgot my knife at home...

Wait...nope

Final quick thoughts: Even though I haven’t cut anything with it yet, this knife is a winner. Kumar’s fit and finish are impeccable as always. The grinds are even, the edge is sharp without a burr, the blade hangs in the hand with malicious intent. It’s fantastic.

Man, I have a lot of junk in my pockets. I toned the blade shine down a bit with a bit of sandpaper and bluing compound. Love the old timey look.


I want to thank Yangdu for the lightening quick shipping, all of HI for what they do, a big shout out to Kumar for proving yet again why he is my go-to kami. Our good friend Howard Wallace deserves a big hand for designing such a fearsome blade…and a big thank you to all of you folks for sitting though my ramblings.

 

[Bawanna]

My what bulging bulges you have.
We must be twins separated at birth other than the arms. The L2 is my favorite as well but holding all three in person the L1 tugged at my heart strings nearly as hard.
Excellent write up.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Had to edit the title. My doggone auto correct thought I meant read and not red...but maybe I should have left it as a play on words

 

[Steely_Gunz]

My what bulging bulges you have.
We must be twins separated at birth other than the arms. The L2 is my favorite as well but holding all three in person the L1 tugged at my heart strings nearly as hard.
Excellent write up.

Thank ya, Joe

It really is a fantastic knife.

I took a stone to it and gave it a strop today. It'll pop hair with little effort.

It does pack nicely. My wife and I walked downtown the other night. We live in a very safe town, but when we walk the dark back ways, she always asks, "Are you packin'".
I said, "Sorta" and she, without my permission I might add, patted my back pocket where I generally keep my pocket .380.

I said, "Well, I brought this along..." and lifted my shirt tail. She just rolled her eyes that only her husband would leave a pistol at home and stuff a knife down his britches instead. I wanted to see how well it carried over a leisurely mile walk.

I didn't tell her I had the tiny .22 magnum in my watch pocket. Mostly because I had just bought it without telling her, and I didn't want to have that conversation.

 

[Lapedog]

Have you ever taken a gamble on something you weren’t sure was for you or not? I’m not talking about doubting the quality of the item, just that maybe it didn’t tick off all the boxes right out of the gate. Still, curiosity gets the best of you.


I will admit this is how I approached the Liberty Series One knife offered up on the DotD on the 13th. Truth be told, while I have always appreciated all 3 of Howard’s Liberty designs, the L-2 that mimics the sleek murderous lines of a Bagwelll bowie was the one singing a siren song to me. However, I have never been able to luck into one…yet


However, the L-1 with its wide clipped blade was always a close second. My only reservations about the specimen offered on the DotD was that it was 14” overall instead of 18”-ish and the guard is very exaggerated. Still for $100, who can pass up a Kumar-made bowie knife? The man is a master of the fine yet durable edge. Besides, the 14” range of knives are a sweet spot to me. Still, I wasn’t sure about the guard.


Deep fried with a generous pinch of coarse sea salt….that’s how I’d like the crow I’m about to eat prepared

The L-1 is incredible. The oversized guard allows the full blade to be used as a tool and not just as a weapon. However, in martial use, I think it could be a game changer. In addition to locking/trapping/deflecting another weapon , it’s wide enough to catch a wrist or hand. A couple of fingers caught between the back of the blade and guard would be wrenched back anywhere from compliance all the way to “Well, who knew you could touch the back of your hand…with the fingers attached to it”.

The wide blade is both powerful and agile. It largely has to do with the fact that blade stock itself is thinner and the handle has been whittled down to a full through hidden tang peened at the buttcap. It’s like if an AK Bowie had a lovechild with a Spear Vala, but the runt of the litter turned out to be more competitively successful resulting in a knife that thrives on quick, powerful chops instead of overwhelming mass and force. The result is a knife that isn’t a one-trick-pony unitask fighter but also isn’t the first blade I’d grab to set out to settle on top of a mountain.

Among its peers.
Here’s where it gets weird: You can carry this blade IWB. Please, hold all “Is that a bowie in your pocket or are you just happy to see a sandbar” jokes until the ride comes to a complete stop. Basically, the sheath that came with the knife is very well made and serviceable, but it carries the knife way too low. I keep my weapons high and tight. I noticed that blade itself isn’t unmanageably long, and those oversized guards might just hang on the belt enough to distribute the weight. So being the impulsive fellow I am, I trimmed off the belt loop part, slit the leather, and installed a spare spring belt clip I had laying around. Carries beautifully at 4 o’clock and draws quickly from under a shirt or jacket. I am fully aware that it’s a tad weird to carry a 14” bowie IWB like it were a 1911, but I like it…so there

I think I forgot my knife at home...

Wait...nope

Final quick thoughts: Even though I haven’t cut anything with it yet, this knife is a winner. Kumar’s fit and finish are impeccable as always. The grinds are even, the edge is sharp without a burr, the blade hangs in the hand with malicious intent. It’s fantastic.

Man, I have a lot of junk in my pockets. I toned the blade shine down a bit with a bit of sandpaper and bluing compound. Love the old timey look.


I want to thank Yangdu for the lightening quick shipping, all of HI for what they do, a big shout out to Kumar for proving yet again why he is my go-to kami. Our good friend Howard Wallace deserves a big hand for designing such a fearsome blade…and a big thank you to all of you folks for sitting though my ramblings.

I think carrying a huge bowie down your pants Bagwell style is pretty cool actually. Can we see some picturs of the modded sheath? Have you tried the little stud on the side of the sheath method for carrying these large bowies concealed?

Also not trying to be a nuissance, but what kind of edge do these come with? I assume the same kind of edge that comes on a kukri. So now for the real question, how do you keep these HI import knives sharp? I mean with the convex edge and all.

 

[stwm]

SingleGrind, you are my hero. That's awesome. I love the carry method. The L1 makes me smile, I was pretty happy for you when you picked it up. I like the NAA .22mag also! My LCP is on the way this week, excited to have a pocket .380.

I love my IBBBBBB, I haven't gotten my bowie yet. L1,L2, CR,AKB,Chit Bowie will be my picks (when the time comes)

 

[Bawanna]

Where's SingleGrind, ain't heard from him in a long time.

 

[cul4u01]

Where's SingleGrind, ain't heard from him in a long time.

He ain't doing much, built a garden at his house, seems to be doing well. His snakes are all healthy. He's making me a few kydex sheaths for the VUK, Tihar Knife, Jumle that I recently picked up, and he's looking for something to chop with the new Bonecutter I gifted to him for his troubles...

 

[Howard Wallace]

The sarki took the easy way. You brought the sheath back closer to the original design concept. See the intro thread for this series at https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-liberty-series.1085492/ . Most of the pictures don't work for me, but the top one does and shows the original sheath concept. The sheath you got has the drawbacks you discovered.

The knife looks true to the design concepts. The kamis got an illustrated paper with lots of pictures showing how design concepts worked. Kumar was true to the vision in this interpretation.

This knife was designed to backcut. I posted a thread showing that and some other basic techniques here a few years back. Worth viewing if you would like to explore the possibilities of the knife. It's at https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/dirk-basics.1049965/ . My slow video that is referenced in that thread was produced after hours of study of Keating's backcut video. Keating is fast. I spent significant study time going between successive frames in his video, trying to figure out what happened between the frames.

Don't worry about taking this knife to the top of the mountain. It'll do if you will.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Much appreciate you weighing in, Howard. The design is incredible. The more I wear it, the more I like it. Fantastic blade.

 

[Howard Wallace]

...
Also not trying to be a nuissance, but what kind of edge do these come with? I assume the same kind of edge that comes on a kukri. So now for the real question, how do you keep these HI import knives sharp? I mean with the convex edge and all.

Most HI knives come with convex edges. However, every HI knife is an interpretation by a Nepalese artist in steel of some basic design. If you're wondering about the edge on a particular knife (not model, but knife) the best course of action is to ask Yangdu about it. As to sharpening, I hit them with crok stix or a stone. Really doesn't take anything special. If you search you'll find lots of people posting about their favorite methods.

Much appreciate you weighing in, Howard. The design is incredible. The more I wear it, the more I like it. Fantastic blade.

Steely - Your posting of this thread is also much appreciated. Many people have expressed opinions similar to your initial impressions before you held it.

Purty is as purty does.

 

[stwm]

Most HI knives come with convex edges. However, every HI knife is an interpretation by a Nepalese artist in steel of some basic design. If you're wondering about the edge on a particular knife (not model, but knife) the best course of action is to ask Yangdu about it. As to sharpening, I hit them with crok stix or a stone. Really doesn't take anything special. If you search you'll find lots of people posting about their favorite methods.



Steely - Your posting of this thread is also much appreciated. Many people have expressed opinions similar to your initial impressions before you held it.

Purty is as purty does.

Really great to have you chip in! I have to say that I love your Liberty series! I'm making a bowie right now that looks a good bit like the L2. I hope it turns out half as great!

 

[Howard Wallace]

This just popped up in my YouTube feed. The legendary Bill Bagwell explaining the physics of the bowie (boo - ee down south). You can also see what the backcut looks like at speed, and why I had so much trouble figuring it out at first.

Legend says Bagwell broke an impudent fellow's wrist with a fast backcut from a wooden bowie, when the fellow tried to engage him with a real sharpened knife.

If you read Bagwell's book, you'll find he also has a great deal of respect for the khukuri, even though it is not the knife he specializes in.

 

[stwm]

This just popped up in my YouTube feed. The legendary Bill Bagwell explaining the physics of the bowie (boo - ee down south). You can also see what the backcut looks like at speed, and why I had so much trouble figuring it out at first.

Legend says Bagwell broke an impudent fellow's wrist with a fast backcut from a wooden bowie, when the fellow tried to engage him with a real sharpened knife.

If you read Bagwell's book, you'll find he also has a great deal of respect for the khukuri, even though it is not the knife he specializes in.

He was already my hero...now the wooden bowie story? Daaang! Superhero.