The Les George Knives Thread

Necroanax said:
Day 20: Small Knife Saturday

It's not going to knock anyone's socks off, but the ZT0900 is a well-made and dependable little work horse. It's the only production knife modeled after Les's custom Mini Harpy.

On a related note, I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about Les's knives, especially the naming conventions, which can be a little confusing for new collectors. The Mini Harpy is obviously the smaller version of the Harpy just as the ESR is the smaller version of the Rockeye, the ESV is the smaller version of the VECP, and so on. What throws me for a loop is that I honestly can't tell the Mini Harpy and the ESV/R apart. I'll put a picture of them side-by-side below so you can check them out for yourself. The ESV definitely looks like a compact version of the VECP, but the Mini Harpy doesn't look like a compact version of the Harpy, whose most distinct feature is the sweeping recurve blade, something the Mini Harpy doesn't have.

If anyone has both an ESV/R and a custom Mini Harpy ( vt_jimmay vt_jimmay ?) please do me a service and take a few comparison pics. I need some education!

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I’m minimal help here. I have an ESR similar to yours with contoured G10 handles around a framelock with thick, short hollowground blade. Many ESR I see have a contoured handle vs the more squared ESV. That said, I’ve seen pictures of ESR that look like ESV and it doesn’t help that my ESR was sold to me as an ESV. Needless to say I’m confused on this.

While I’ve had multiple ESV, I don’t have one for a direct comparison to my Mini Harpy. From memory, they seem very similar in form and function and I generally viewed the Mini Harpy as a custom version of the ESV. To be honest, that is why I sold my (3-4) ESV as it and the Mini Harpy are so similar. The Mini Harpy detent is “closer” to the framelock engage / release and I prefer that over the recent ESV flippers.
 
vt_jimmay said:
I’m minimal help here. I have an ESR similar to yours with contoured G10 handles around a framelock with thick, short hollowground blade. Many ESR I see have a contoured handle vs the more squared ESV. That said, I’ve seen pictures of ESR that look like ESV and it doesn’t help that my ESR was sold to me as an ESV. Needless to say I’m confused on this.

While I’ve had multiple ESV, I don’t have one for a direct comparison to my Mini Harpy. From memory, they seem very similar in form and function and I generally viewed the Mini Harpy as a custom version of the ESV. To be honest, that is why I sold my (3-4) ESV as it and the Mini Harpy are so similar. The Mini Harpy detent is “closer” to the framelock engage / release and I prefer that over the recent ESV flippers.
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Thank you for the information. I can shed some light on the ESR vs ESV confusion as Les simply calls the custom versions an ESR (since the R is for Rockeye) and his midtech versions ESV (since the V is for VECP). Thankfully there have only been a couple different baseline versions of the ESV (the thumb stud version ~8-10 years ago and the recent flipper versions) so they're easy to pick out.

How the Mini Harpy differs from either in terms of design still remains a mystery to me. There must be small differences, but without having each in hand I can't point them out. 🤷
 
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Day 21: Safe Queen Sunday

Les George custom Rockeye with Tephra milled titanium scales and a Chad Nichols Blackout Damascus blade. This and the FM-1 are by far the best pieces in my collection; not just in terms of how much I like them, but in terms of quality. They really need to be handled to be fully appreciated. My knife goal for 2024 was to get one new custom piece and I was incredibly lucky to have been offered this one in February. It is my first ever Rockeye so I was awe-struck by how much larger it was than the VECP (see picture below). It makes me wish I had a G10 version with a stonewashed blade so I could actually carry it. This one, however, will remain in Safe Queen status for as long as I own it.

(Made for 2014 Blade Show)
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Necroanax said:
Day 21: Safe Queen Sunday

Les George custom Rockeye with Tephra milled titanium scales and a Chad Nichols Blackout Damascus blade. This and the FM-1 are by far the best pieces in my collection; not just in terms of how much I like them, but in terms of quality. They really need to be handled to be fully appreciated. My knife goal for 2024 was to get one new custom piece and I was incredibly lucky to have been offered this one in February. It is my first ever Rockeye so I was awe-struck by how much larger it was than the VECP (see picture below). It makes me wish I had a G10 version with a stonewashed blade so I could actually carry it. This one, however, will remain in Safe Queen status for as long as I own it.

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I really hope you had those little rubber bumpers behind it. Up against raw brick and all! ;) GORGEOUS piece.
 
Necroanax said:
Day 21: Safe Queen Sunday

Les George custom Rockeye with Tephra milled titanium scales and a Chad Nichols Blackout Damascus blade. This and the FM-1 are by far the best pieces in my collection; not just in terms of how much I like them, but in terms of quality. They really need to be handled to be fully appreciated. My knife goal for 2024 was to get one new custom piece and I was incredibly lucky to have been offered this one in February. It is my first ever Rockeye so I was awe-struck by how much larger it was than the VECP (see picture below). It makes me wish I had a G10 version with a stonewashed blade so I could actually carry it. This one, however, will remain in Safe Queen status for as long as I own it.

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You know how I feel about this one 😂❤️

It is impossible to describe how amazing that Rockeye is, but I believe you said it best, “tuned like a Stradivarius” - really spectacular stuff.

Detent and closing action are on another level… not to mention that it completely melts in your hand. Easily the nicest flipper only I’ve ever handled 💯🔥
 
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