- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,666
Anyone who peruses the HI Archives wont find it too hard to believe that I may very well be THE biggest fan of the AK Bowie in our collective little group of lunatics. The AKB was my second HI knife some 11 years ago, and I have been smitten with the design ever since.
The raw beauty of the design sporting a no nonsense rugged western American blade shape married to the obvious practical yet sweeping eastern influences culminate into a monstrous knife that has no business being so balanced, so graceful, and yet so full of raw chopping power. Its easy and intuitive for a western hand to wield. It is easy to sharpen with only the slightest of recurve to the edge. It has few moving parts which no bolster to work loose, no guard to wiggle, no buttcap to come askew. Its the psychological Id of the knife world. A beast with practical beauty in its elegant yet capable design. I just really, really like the AK Bowie.
That said, its a heavy mug! Carting around a 1.5-2lb piece of 15 steel is tiresome unless you KNOW youre going to need such a lopper/chopper for brush work. As Ive said before, with a 45# 3 year old daughter who likes to be packed around a lot, I have to keep my hiking blades reasonable.
When the AK Bowie started to show up in shorter lengths (and lighter weights), I knew it was going to be a must have for me. I love the design too much to not add one to my collection. As luck would have it, a couple of weeks ago a 10.5 wood handle beauty popped up on the DotD, and I was able to snap it up
.
Here she is in all her glory next to new fan-favorite R-10.
How can I describe this blade? If the original is a fully grown wild boar, this one is an impressive feral hog. If the full sized AKB is a hulking Mastiff the mini is a lean Boxer. If the AKB is a full sized F250 HD diesel, the Mini AKB might be considered a ½ ton Ram 1500. Its a very, very capable blade that gives up some over-engineered mass in order to be pared down to a more user-friendly size that you might actually carry with you.
Here are a few specs:
OAL: 10.5
Blade length: 5.5
Spine thickness: a smidge between ¼ and 5/16
Balance point: Directly behind the cho.
Weight: At a guess, 13oz-ish
But how does it perform? Incredibly well.
For the last couple of weeks, I decided to carry it and nothing else as my work/EDC knife including my often used and abused multi-tool. I have opened packages, pried open toy battery compartments, prepped veggies, carved meat, and even dug a nasty splinter out of my thumb with it. The mini-AKB came with a nice semi-convex edge which with just a few passes on a stone and a couple minutes with a strop yielded my preferred hybrid flat/convex that is both durable an slices very well. I was incredibly pleased with how it functioned being both robust yet very easy on the hip.
Then the BIG challenge happened. Long story short, I had an unappreciative customer who wanted a pile of sod removed from his yard. It was dropped off in 6 long strips that were about 18-24 wide. I had to figure out how I was going to get 3500 pounds of dirt and grass into my truck by hand. All I had with me was a determined amount of anger and my Mini AKB.
Within an hour and a half, I had all of the sod cut, folded, and heaved into the bed of my truck. My back reminded me that I am not 20 years old and spend too much time behind a desk. My pick up groaned under the overloaded weight in the bed. My MAKB was filthy, coved in all manner of mud, grass, and various bits of bugs not smart or fast enough to get out of its cleaving path. However, it was completely unscathed. Short of some expected dulling, a few scuffs, and some muck stuck into crannies it didnt even know it had, it was 100%.
A few minutes on a stone, a couple dozen licks on the strop, and it was popping hair again.
Here's an updated pic of the MAKB after a good scrubbing:
Over the last couple of days, my wife, daughter, and I took a short vacation. The MAKB has been such a hit that I wore it on my hip the whole time. I didnt need it, but I always like to have a good strong piece of Nepali steel with me when I travel. The spiritual side of me thinks its never a bad thing to have a blessed blade on my person. The practical side of me likes to have something heavy and sharp in case of an automobile crash. The MAKB would be more than capable of smashing out a window and/or zipping through a seatbelt.
Comparing the MAKB with the R10 its a toss-up. I think the R-10 might edge the MAKB out as a more practical EDC knife with it slimmer profile, lighter weight, and more utility based blade shape. However, my love for the AKB has not waned over the last decade, and I just prefer the MAKB over the R-10. If the R-10 is a no-nonsense woodsmans blade, the MAKB is a practical cowboy knife. The R-10 is graceful in its simplicity. The MAKB has just enough of that John Wayne swagger to make it look at home paired with a nice single action revolver. Two different coveted knives that I always plan to have within reach.
As always, my heartfelt thanks to Yangdu and all of HI for providing such an incredible product. The MAKB is a winner, and dare I say it, an improvement over my favorite full sized HI design.
The raw beauty of the design sporting a no nonsense rugged western American blade shape married to the obvious practical yet sweeping eastern influences culminate into a monstrous knife that has no business being so balanced, so graceful, and yet so full of raw chopping power. Its easy and intuitive for a western hand to wield. It is easy to sharpen with only the slightest of recurve to the edge. It has few moving parts which no bolster to work loose, no guard to wiggle, no buttcap to come askew. Its the psychological Id of the knife world. A beast with practical beauty in its elegant yet capable design. I just really, really like the AK Bowie.
That said, its a heavy mug! Carting around a 1.5-2lb piece of 15 steel is tiresome unless you KNOW youre going to need such a lopper/chopper for brush work. As Ive said before, with a 45# 3 year old daughter who likes to be packed around a lot, I have to keep my hiking blades reasonable.
When the AK Bowie started to show up in shorter lengths (and lighter weights), I knew it was going to be a must have for me. I love the design too much to not add one to my collection. As luck would have it, a couple of weeks ago a 10.5 wood handle beauty popped up on the DotD, and I was able to snap it up
.Here she is in all her glory next to new fan-favorite R-10.
How can I describe this blade? If the original is a fully grown wild boar, this one is an impressive feral hog. If the full sized AKB is a hulking Mastiff the mini is a lean Boxer. If the AKB is a full sized F250 HD diesel, the Mini AKB might be considered a ½ ton Ram 1500. Its a very, very capable blade that gives up some over-engineered mass in order to be pared down to a more user-friendly size that you might actually carry with you.
Here are a few specs:
OAL: 10.5
Blade length: 5.5
Spine thickness: a smidge between ¼ and 5/16
Balance point: Directly behind the cho.
Weight: At a guess, 13oz-ish
But how does it perform? Incredibly well.
For the last couple of weeks, I decided to carry it and nothing else as my work/EDC knife including my often used and abused multi-tool. I have opened packages, pried open toy battery compartments, prepped veggies, carved meat, and even dug a nasty splinter out of my thumb with it. The mini-AKB came with a nice semi-convex edge which with just a few passes on a stone and a couple minutes with a strop yielded my preferred hybrid flat/convex that is both durable an slices very well. I was incredibly pleased with how it functioned being both robust yet very easy on the hip.
Then the BIG challenge happened. Long story short, I had an unappreciative customer who wanted a pile of sod removed from his yard. It was dropped off in 6 long strips that were about 18-24 wide. I had to figure out how I was going to get 3500 pounds of dirt and grass into my truck by hand. All I had with me was a determined amount of anger and my Mini AKB.
Within an hour and a half, I had all of the sod cut, folded, and heaved into the bed of my truck. My back reminded me that I am not 20 years old and spend too much time behind a desk. My pick up groaned under the overloaded weight in the bed. My MAKB was filthy, coved in all manner of mud, grass, and various bits of bugs not smart or fast enough to get out of its cleaving path. However, it was completely unscathed. Short of some expected dulling, a few scuffs, and some muck stuck into crannies it didnt even know it had, it was 100%.
A few minutes on a stone, a couple dozen licks on the strop, and it was popping hair again.
Here's an updated pic of the MAKB after a good scrubbing:
Over the last couple of days, my wife, daughter, and I took a short vacation. The MAKB has been such a hit that I wore it on my hip the whole time. I didnt need it, but I always like to have a good strong piece of Nepali steel with me when I travel. The spiritual side of me thinks its never a bad thing to have a blessed blade on my person. The practical side of me likes to have something heavy and sharp in case of an automobile crash. The MAKB would be more than capable of smashing out a window and/or zipping through a seatbelt.
Comparing the MAKB with the R10 its a toss-up. I think the R-10 might edge the MAKB out as a more practical EDC knife with it slimmer profile, lighter weight, and more utility based blade shape. However, my love for the AKB has not waned over the last decade, and I just prefer the MAKB over the R-10. If the R-10 is a no-nonsense woodsmans blade, the MAKB is a practical cowboy knife. The R-10 is graceful in its simplicity. The MAKB has just enough of that John Wayne swagger to make it look at home paired with a nice single action revolver. Two different coveted knives that I always plan to have within reach.
As always, my heartfelt thanks to Yangdu and all of HI for providing such an incredible product. The MAKB is a winner, and dare I say it, an improvement over my favorite full sized HI design.
It's also probably STILL more overbuilt than it needs to be. As much as I like and respect the Becker line, this "little" knife would work circles around there Campanion of similar size. The R-10 is a fantastic EDC. I really like the rock hard maple scales on mine. However, I just have so much history with the AKB. I've been enamored with it for over a decade.
