Greetings All!
Many moons ago, I contacted Trace Rinaldi-
http://www.pe.net/~thrblade - after reading a review of one of his knives right here on BladeForums, to see if he could make me a custom fighter. I wanted something like his Warhawk, in A-2, with the two finger groove handle, but with a bird's beak pommel, a flat ground, clip-point blade whose profile was optimized for slashing and thrusting. I wanted the knife to flow well between grips. I wanted it to be slim for easy concealability, and to have a subdued blade finish. And finally, I wanted it to have beautiful scales and mosaic pins- because man does not live by combat capability alone
. After some discussion, Trace was inspired to create this:
If you'd like to see more detail, please go here:
http://www.pe.net/~thrblade/tempest.jpg
Purty ain't she?!
I was immediately reminded of a small Filipino Bolo. The fit and finish are just perfect. The burgundy micarta scales have a subdued warmth like fine antique furniture, the mosaic pins standing out in perfect relief. Who says that a fighting blade has to be ugly? This blade is a Work of Art. In fact, Trace, himself, liked it so much that he named it the Tempest- because it is fast and furious like a storm- added it to his line of custom knives, and it is being featured in an upcoming article about his work in Tactical Knives. Pretty cool, huh?!
The Stats:
Steel- 3/16" A-2 stock, heat treated and cryogenically stress-relieved by the incomparable Paul Bos to an Rc of 59-61.
OAL- 12".
Blade Length- 6 1/2", flat ground, clip-point(no false edge), slightly recurved profile, 1 1/2" wide at the choil. Edge is of the secondary bevel type @ 20 deg. The edge arrived wicked sharp.
Weight- 11 oz.
Balance Point- Right at the forefinger groove.
Handle- Full tang, double finger groove, with bird's beak pommel, and burgundy linen micarta scales with fancy mosaic pins.
Sheath- Concealex with Blade Tech "TEK-LOK" multicarry position clip.
Feel and Maneuverability:
The Tempest feels very comfortable and secure in the hand through all maneuvers and cutting tests. It flows easily from forward to reverse grip and from edge in to edge out reverse grip in realtime- i.e., during full speed hanging target and training dummy work.
With its rearward weight distribution, the knife prefers reverse grip to forward grip- it's speed and maneuverability really shine in reverse grip. Its balance point is too far back to allow it to backcut flow well- I can execute single witiks or backcuts with it easily, but when I try to flow through a series, it loses momentum.
After long periods of training against hard targets, the finger side of the handle irritates the fingers slightly. The edges of the micarta scales need to be rounded over a little more, as they are along the spine of the handle, which feels perfect.
Trace had informed me that one can grasp the knife further back on the handle with one's forefinger in the second finger groove to give oneself more reach. This is absolutely true, and it comes in extremely handy when I carry the Tempest in my JSP Associate Shoulder Harness- the concealex sheath provided adapted very easily to the Associate, BTW. The second finger groove just peeks out of the end of the sheath, allowing me to grasp the Tempest securely and immediately draw and slash at the target. The knife, with its slim profile, conceals extremely well.
Impact Resistance:
First, the Tempest withstood several very hard slaps- flat and spine of the blade- against the edge of an oak desk with no stress whatsoever.
Next, I executed full speed, full power witiks, backcuts, slap parries and checks with the edge, flat, and spine of the blade against my De Cuerda. The Tempest performed beautifully. The blade and handle never showed any signs of stress, and the blade sustained no chips, rolled edges, nothing. Paul Bos does it again
. And, as far as cutting goes, the Tempest cut the rattan in forward grip- which is very good(many knives just ding it)- but in reverse grip with the edge in, I can actually hook the rattan and rip across it, cutting shavings from it! That's truly awesome. I've never owned a blade before that could do that. Just imagine what it would do to someone's arm.
Accuracy: I can hit Sharpie dots and lines on a spinning sheet of cardboard in realtime with thrusts and slashes within 1/4" at will. The Tempest is extremely accurate.
Further Cutting Tests:
Single hanging sheets of paper- perfectly clean straight cuts transecting the paper at any angle. Beautiful
.
Cardboard- The Tempest slashes extremely well into the edge of 1/4" thick cardboard. I can slash perfectly straight the entire length of the edge at will at any angle.
Thrusting is not so good. The blade, due to its rounded tip and subdued polish, gets stuck about 1/3rd- 1/2 of the way up its length. I have to force it to go further.
Training Dummy- My training dummy has a wooden body and arms that are wrapped in 4" thick "10 year" mattress foam, which is in turn wrapped in many layers of duct tape. Many lesser knives will not cut through its tough skin at all in high speed maneuvers. The Tempest witiked and slashed extremely well into the dummy, with clean, surgical cuts often down to the wood core of its arms. Again, the Tempest shined in reverse grip against the dummy. Also, once again however, due to its lack of an extreme point, it did not thrust as well into the dummy in forward grip as I would like. Thrusting in reverse grip- due to the biomechanics involved- was better.
Empty Can Cutting- I can slash completely through an empty soda can sitting on a table about 50% of the time. This is beyond good for a knife with only a 6" blade. Trace, you really hit the mark with the Tempest's recurved blade profile for slashing.
Leg of Lamb Cutting- Because it had been some time since I had cut a leg of lamb with a blade of this size, and because I have never posted the results of leg of lamb cutting with a 6 1/2" fighter for you, I decided to compare the Tempest's flesh and bone cutting ability with that of two easily obtainable production fighters- the Cold Steel Tanto with a 6" blade, and the CS Bush Ranger with a 7 1/2" blade, both of 3/16" stock like the Tempest.
I chose a very large leg of lamb for this test. It was 22" long by a nearly uniform 7" wide along its entire length, by 4 1/2" wide. The Butcher left the thigh attached to the Ribs and the longitudinally cut sternum. The femur bone started out just under the skin at one end of the thigh and moved further in toward its center as it traversed down the thigh. It was 2" in dia. at its thick end and just less than 1/2" in dia. at its thin end. It was quite the leg of lamb, let me tell you!
First, as usual, I took an exploratory #3 horizontal forehand slash through the lower end of the thigh with the Tempest. It cleanly transected a 6" by 4" piece of muscle and cut through the 1/2" of bone like a charm
. The Bush Ranger also successfully made this cut, but not as cleanly. It turned down into the meat to follow the line of least resistence and it shattered the bone rather than slicing through it like the Tempest. The Tanto did not cut all the way through the thigh- it made it 5" in.
Next, I took a #1 angle forehand diagonal slash into the thickest part of the thigh with the Tempest, coming in from the fleshy side. The Tempest cut easily through 7" of fascia and muscle down to the bone, which it cut into approximately 1/4" or so. The Bush Ranger cut all the way down to the bone as well, but with more resistence, again turning into the cut. It glanced off the bone, not cutting it. The Tanto once again cut 5" into the thigh. These results were reproducible with all three knives.
Next, I took another #1 angle slash with the Tempest into the thickest part of the thigh, but this time coming in from the bony side. The Tempest reproducibly cut almost half way into the femur- 3/4" or so. Clean cuts. The Bush Ranger and the Tanto consistently cut about 1/4" or so into the bone, shattering the osteum around the cut.
Next, I took another #1 angle slash with the Tempest through the sternum and ribs above the thigh. It consistently cut through the 1/2 sternum, a rib or two, and a good 2" into the muscle on the other side. The Bush Ranger cut all the way through the 1/2 sternum but no farther. The Tanto made it 3/4 of the way through the sternum. These results were again reproducible.
Finally, the Tempest thrust consistently about half way up its blade into the thigh. The Bush Ranger did likewise. The Tanto did better, thrusting all the way to its hilt.
Overall Impression:
I really like the Tempest- and grow even more fond of it with every training session. It is a terrific FMA style fighter. Anyone with F/IMA training will immediately feel at home with this knife. It works fantastically well in reverse grip by itself, and with a longer blade in the other hand in forward grip- it is an awesome doble knife blade. It slashes like a demon. It is easily concealable. And it is beautiful to look at.
My recommendations to Trace for future Tempests were to:
1. weight the knife so that it balances further forward, over the guard. This would make it move even better and backcut flow better in forward grip.
2. Give the blade a somewhat pointier tip, thus allowing it to thrust as well as it slashes.
3. Round over the lower edge of the handle's scales like he did the dorsal edge, making it even more comfortable during prolonged training.
Trace tells me that these slight modifications are no problem and will be incorporated into future Tempests.
Anyhow, that's it. One hell of a nice little fighter Trace. Bravo!
Mario
------------------
Gaucho
Tuvo muy mala suerte...se callo en mi cuchillo.
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 03-23-2000).]
Many moons ago, I contacted Trace Rinaldi-
http://www.pe.net/~thrblade - after reading a review of one of his knives right here on BladeForums, to see if he could make me a custom fighter. I wanted something like his Warhawk, in A-2, with the two finger groove handle, but with a bird's beak pommel, a flat ground, clip-point blade whose profile was optimized for slashing and thrusting. I wanted the knife to flow well between grips. I wanted it to be slim for easy concealability, and to have a subdued blade finish. And finally, I wanted it to have beautiful scales and mosaic pins- because man does not live by combat capability alone
If you'd like to see more detail, please go here:
http://www.pe.net/~thrblade/tempest.jpg
Purty ain't she?!
The Stats:
Steel- 3/16" A-2 stock, heat treated and cryogenically stress-relieved by the incomparable Paul Bos to an Rc of 59-61.
OAL- 12".
Blade Length- 6 1/2", flat ground, clip-point(no false edge), slightly recurved profile, 1 1/2" wide at the choil. Edge is of the secondary bevel type @ 20 deg. The edge arrived wicked sharp.
Weight- 11 oz.
Balance Point- Right at the forefinger groove.
Handle- Full tang, double finger groove, with bird's beak pommel, and burgundy linen micarta scales with fancy mosaic pins.
Sheath- Concealex with Blade Tech "TEK-LOK" multicarry position clip.
Feel and Maneuverability:
The Tempest feels very comfortable and secure in the hand through all maneuvers and cutting tests. It flows easily from forward to reverse grip and from edge in to edge out reverse grip in realtime- i.e., during full speed hanging target and training dummy work.
With its rearward weight distribution, the knife prefers reverse grip to forward grip- it's speed and maneuverability really shine in reverse grip. Its balance point is too far back to allow it to backcut flow well- I can execute single witiks or backcuts with it easily, but when I try to flow through a series, it loses momentum.
After long periods of training against hard targets, the finger side of the handle irritates the fingers slightly. The edges of the micarta scales need to be rounded over a little more, as they are along the spine of the handle, which feels perfect.
Trace had informed me that one can grasp the knife further back on the handle with one's forefinger in the second finger groove to give oneself more reach. This is absolutely true, and it comes in extremely handy when I carry the Tempest in my JSP Associate Shoulder Harness- the concealex sheath provided adapted very easily to the Associate, BTW. The second finger groove just peeks out of the end of the sheath, allowing me to grasp the Tempest securely and immediately draw and slash at the target. The knife, with its slim profile, conceals extremely well.
Impact Resistance:
First, the Tempest withstood several very hard slaps- flat and spine of the blade- against the edge of an oak desk with no stress whatsoever.
Next, I executed full speed, full power witiks, backcuts, slap parries and checks with the edge, flat, and spine of the blade against my De Cuerda. The Tempest performed beautifully. The blade and handle never showed any signs of stress, and the blade sustained no chips, rolled edges, nothing. Paul Bos does it again
Accuracy: I can hit Sharpie dots and lines on a spinning sheet of cardboard in realtime with thrusts and slashes within 1/4" at will. The Tempest is extremely accurate.
Further Cutting Tests:
Single hanging sheets of paper- perfectly clean straight cuts transecting the paper at any angle. Beautiful
Cardboard- The Tempest slashes extremely well into the edge of 1/4" thick cardboard. I can slash perfectly straight the entire length of the edge at will at any angle.
Thrusting is not so good. The blade, due to its rounded tip and subdued polish, gets stuck about 1/3rd- 1/2 of the way up its length. I have to force it to go further.
Training Dummy- My training dummy has a wooden body and arms that are wrapped in 4" thick "10 year" mattress foam, which is in turn wrapped in many layers of duct tape. Many lesser knives will not cut through its tough skin at all in high speed maneuvers. The Tempest witiked and slashed extremely well into the dummy, with clean, surgical cuts often down to the wood core of its arms. Again, the Tempest shined in reverse grip against the dummy. Also, once again however, due to its lack of an extreme point, it did not thrust as well into the dummy in forward grip as I would like. Thrusting in reverse grip- due to the biomechanics involved- was better.
Empty Can Cutting- I can slash completely through an empty soda can sitting on a table about 50% of the time. This is beyond good for a knife with only a 6" blade. Trace, you really hit the mark with the Tempest's recurved blade profile for slashing.
Leg of Lamb Cutting- Because it had been some time since I had cut a leg of lamb with a blade of this size, and because I have never posted the results of leg of lamb cutting with a 6 1/2" fighter for you, I decided to compare the Tempest's flesh and bone cutting ability with that of two easily obtainable production fighters- the Cold Steel Tanto with a 6" blade, and the CS Bush Ranger with a 7 1/2" blade, both of 3/16" stock like the Tempest.
I chose a very large leg of lamb for this test. It was 22" long by a nearly uniform 7" wide along its entire length, by 4 1/2" wide. The Butcher left the thigh attached to the Ribs and the longitudinally cut sternum. The femur bone started out just under the skin at one end of the thigh and moved further in toward its center as it traversed down the thigh. It was 2" in dia. at its thick end and just less than 1/2" in dia. at its thin end. It was quite the leg of lamb, let me tell you!
First, as usual, I took an exploratory #3 horizontal forehand slash through the lower end of the thigh with the Tempest. It cleanly transected a 6" by 4" piece of muscle and cut through the 1/2" of bone like a charm
Next, I took a #1 angle forehand diagonal slash into the thickest part of the thigh with the Tempest, coming in from the fleshy side. The Tempest cut easily through 7" of fascia and muscle down to the bone, which it cut into approximately 1/4" or so. The Bush Ranger cut all the way down to the bone as well, but with more resistence, again turning into the cut. It glanced off the bone, not cutting it. The Tanto once again cut 5" into the thigh. These results were reproducible with all three knives.
Next, I took another #1 angle slash with the Tempest into the thickest part of the thigh, but this time coming in from the bony side. The Tempest reproducibly cut almost half way into the femur- 3/4" or so. Clean cuts. The Bush Ranger and the Tanto consistently cut about 1/4" or so into the bone, shattering the osteum around the cut.
Next, I took another #1 angle slash with the Tempest through the sternum and ribs above the thigh. It consistently cut through the 1/2 sternum, a rib or two, and a good 2" into the muscle on the other side. The Bush Ranger cut all the way through the 1/2 sternum but no farther. The Tanto made it 3/4 of the way through the sternum. These results were again reproducible.
Finally, the Tempest thrust consistently about half way up its blade into the thigh. The Bush Ranger did likewise. The Tanto did better, thrusting all the way to its hilt.
Overall Impression:
I really like the Tempest- and grow even more fond of it with every training session. It is a terrific FMA style fighter. Anyone with F/IMA training will immediately feel at home with this knife. It works fantastically well in reverse grip by itself, and with a longer blade in the other hand in forward grip- it is an awesome doble knife blade. It slashes like a demon. It is easily concealable. And it is beautiful to look at.
My recommendations to Trace for future Tempests were to:
1. weight the knife so that it balances further forward, over the guard. This would make it move even better and backcut flow better in forward grip.
2. Give the blade a somewhat pointier tip, thus allowing it to thrust as well as it slashes.
3. Round over the lower edge of the handle's scales like he did the dorsal edge, making it even more comfortable during prolonged training.
Trace tells me that these slight modifications are no problem and will be incorporated into future Tempests.
Anyhow, that's it. One hell of a nice little fighter Trace. Bravo!
Mario
------------------
Gaucho
Tuvo muy mala suerte...se callo en mi cuchillo.
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 03-23-2000).]
Just to clarify the "Tek Lok" is made by the great folks at Blade Tech not Edgetech. Also I happen to know Paul Bos reads these forums although he NEVER posts, I am sure he will be glad to see you appreciate his skill as a Heat Treater of the highest magnitude. He is a man that REALLY knows his business and is a hell of a good guy to boot.