Now that Blade has run the article I can run my mouth. I didn't do the testing but I got to watch every bit of it. Anyone with the new copy of Blade has notice that Rob Simonich is on the cover. Rob has a crew that can turn out a knife and the production blades should do well! But am I the only one that noticed he'll never earn a living shoeing horses? Rob had already gone through the bar once with the knife and was going to do it again. You can see that it is already half way in the shot taken. It wasn't until I got the film back and lined up all of the shots before I noticed, Rob hit the side of the blade and missed the top! No wonder he broke it.
For what it is worth let me say this, I had the pleasure of being there that day and I'm still talking about it. The first time I saw the knife I passed it off as another "Tactical" blade. Now that I have reach that age where the younger men go out to fight my battles, I thought it would be useful for them but that I really wouldn't need one. Well those two days weren't spent completely tearing up knives. Earlier, Wallace, Rob and I had taken a couple of four wheelers and wandered around the farm. I had noticed that Rob had one of the knives strapped to his belt and he didn't think twice about pulling it out for everything from tearing up anthills to see what a fire" ant looked like to prying up rocks. I didn't say anything at the time but I thought to myself that I wouldn't use one of my fine "customs" for that. Riding around is when I first started to really think about how useful a knife like that could be. You don't have to abuse it, but you don't mind USING it!
Once we got back to the group, I got to stand on the sidelines and watch everyone perform! I had seen the articles showing the cutting abilities of this knife or that one. But this time I was there and I knew I would see "the tricks of the trade"! I watch as Rob went from one size rope to another until that got boring. Then came the cans! Know we all know cutting a can is no big deal. But slicing through it in one swing without moving the bottom half is saying something. (plus it is a joke to watch everyone get wet) I don't know why Rob decided to attack that stump but that is when everyone started to watch. Rob did exactly what we all know you should not do! He started using his knife as a pry bar. The stump lost.
Then came the fencing. Once the chain links became boring, Rob went after the tensioning bars. It wasn't until he had gone through it once and was going after it again, that the blade broke. Thank God, he was looking at my Ram Charger in the driveway with this silly smile on his face.
Now I know that in the knife community the endorsement of a photographer doesn't count for much. But before the end of the day I had worked out a deal with Rob for one of the few blades he had left. It may be one of the first production models and not his "custom" line but I damn proud of it.
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For what it is worth let me say this, I had the pleasure of being there that day and I'm still talking about it. The first time I saw the knife I passed it off as another "Tactical" blade. Now that I have reach that age where the younger men go out to fight my battles, I thought it would be useful for them but that I really wouldn't need one. Well those two days weren't spent completely tearing up knives. Earlier, Wallace, Rob and I had taken a couple of four wheelers and wandered around the farm. I had noticed that Rob had one of the knives strapped to his belt and he didn't think twice about pulling it out for everything from tearing up anthills to see what a fire" ant looked like to prying up rocks. I didn't say anything at the time but I thought to myself that I wouldn't use one of my fine "customs" for that. Riding around is when I first started to really think about how useful a knife like that could be. You don't have to abuse it, but you don't mind USING it!
Once we got back to the group, I got to stand on the sidelines and watch everyone perform! I had seen the articles showing the cutting abilities of this knife or that one. But this time I was there and I knew I would see "the tricks of the trade"! I watch as Rob went from one size rope to another until that got boring. Then came the cans! Know we all know cutting a can is no big deal. But slicing through it in one swing without moving the bottom half is saying something. (plus it is a joke to watch everyone get wet) I don't know why Rob decided to attack that stump but that is when everyone started to watch. Rob did exactly what we all know you should not do! He started using his knife as a pry bar. The stump lost.
Then came the fencing. Once the chain links became boring, Rob went after the tensioning bars. It wasn't until he had gone through it once and was going after it again, that the blade broke. Thank God, he was looking at my Ram Charger in the driveway with this silly smile on his face.
Now I know that in the knife community the endorsement of a photographer doesn't count for much. But before the end of the day I had worked out a deal with Rob for one of the few blades he had left. It may be one of the first production models and not his "custom" line but I damn proud of it.
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