The REK daily discussion thread :)

Richard338 said:
Can you please say something about the clips that you recommend to wear the sheath?
For example, which clip are you using in the picture above? Are there other options I should know about? E.g. where to clip? Which clip?
They sell a bunch of different ones...
Click to expand...
Congrats on scoring one of these beauties Richard! That 0.5” hole spacing that Josh thoughtfully incorporated into the kydex allows us the ability to use a multitude of great mounting solutions. I’ll give some examples (and links) but the true beauty of this sheath is that you can easily switch between different clips/loops, and change the mounting location, until you land on the exact setup that suits your individual needs and carry method perfectly.

As Josh mentioned, I personally will be running a Discreet Carry Concepts mod4 universal height clip (1.5” belt size), as I’ve found them to be fast, easy, and comfortable to operate, while adding minimum bulk to the rig and keeping it securely retained to a waistband, belt, or pocket. It provides a lot of latitude as far as positioning and configuration, and the clips themselves are built to be tough and resilient. More info can be found here
https://discreetcarryconcepts.com/HLR-Discreet-Gear-Clips™-c26960683

Some people like the Ulti Clip for its method of attachment and size, but I think they could’ve done a better job smoothing out the sides & edges of the clip itself. Still, a viable option for some.
https://www.ulticlip.com/which-ulticlip/

Another option, if you’d like a cool looking Ti clip for IWB use, is the Mummert clip. They look great, and are durable, but maybe not the most versatile option, as the clip’s offset from the mounting interface and the overall width of the piece can limit how it’s carried. If you want to check them out, start here
https://www.mummertknives.com/products/slotted-titanium-clip

Bravo Concealment, Raven Concealment, and G-code, among others, offer some fairly well received polymer type IWB clips (and a little steel too) for belt carry, but they aren’t as versatile, low profile, or secure as the metal units mentioned above, in my own unprofessional opinion.

There are a whole bunch of alternative options (some, at much lower prices) available to browse at HolsterSmith (*not an ad or endorsement. I very rarely buy from them).
https://www.holstersmith.com/vcom/mountings-c-547.html

There are even ‘pull to dot’ type soft loop pieces available for those who prefer to carry in that fashion.

If you have any Tracker Dan clips laying around, those would also work quite well with this kit too IMO, but they don’t seem to be available anywhere at the moment.

As for clip placement, play with it until it rides as comfortably and close to the body as possible. I tend to like my clip mounted to where the very top of the clip is as close as possible to the top of the kydex, without going over. Seems to keep it as discreet and low drag as can be while still allowing an easy intuitive draw and sheathing. The latitude provided by these clip options combined with Josh’s spacing will allow you to switch between OWB & IWB (belt or not), strong side/weak side, forward/reverse, and even pocket carry..whatever keeps that awesome little blade at the ready for you :)

As a side note, rubber o rings are often used between the clip and the kydex itself to absorb a little torsion and help secure it tightly, but that is solely at the discretion of the individual user, YMMV.

Hope that helps some. If you have any clip/mounting related inquiries or thoughts you’d like to float out there, fire away, or PM me anytime, and I’d be happy to give my (pretty much worthless) $0.02 any time.

Very exciting to see this outstanding design come to fruition!! Can’t wait to see these in the wild and check out all the practical and individualized carry solutions everybody adopts.
 
Yes, Larrin's data seem pretty close. On edge holding alone, Vanax is better than lots of good steels, including 4V, 3V, S35VN, D2, CPM 154 and VG 10. It's a little less wear resistant than S30V and CPM M4 and a touch less than Elmax.

On toughness, it's clearly the best of the powder stainless steels. It's noticeably tougher than S30V.

You had Peter's do the heat treat on my Vanax-bladed Rukus, so that's pretty good and will boost Vanax's performance over Larrin's data by some amount, at least compared to those other steels run through a production heat treat.

But beyond that, Vanax performs better when you combine toughness and edge wear and full stainless. The gestalt works in Vanax's favor. So, as an expert heat treater and knife maker like Fredrik Haakonsen says, when you can add toughness to good edge wear, you get a blade with increased edge stability and increased wear resistance. Vanax's balance gives you a significant performance boost over other steels that might test better on a single attribute.

In addition, I've found in the rainforest that corrosion on the apex will degrade an edge over time, kind of like a battery self discharging by a tiny amount every day. Vanax doesn't corrode. It holds that edge, even if you don't get the edge entirely free of the corrosive debris that you were cutting a few days ago.

It is also fine grained and easy to resharpen to a keen edge. It sharpens way better than S30V. The edge is more aggressive, too, but I don't know why, maybe because it's easier to get super keen.

Compared to S30V, the added toughness and corrosion resistance of Vanax makes the edge last longer, even though on just edge wear itself, S30V tests better on abrasive cards. Those cards don't put much pressure on the apex, so toughness has no added value in CATRA tests. But toughness plays a significant role in edge wear in everyday use.

My Vanax-bladed Rukus will out cut, out last, resist edge damage, resist corrosion and resharpen quite a bit better than my stock S30V-bladed Rukus.

It's the best balanced steel I've used. On any one attribute, considered in isolation, such as CATRA or Charpy tests, many steels can top Vanax on that single attribute. But with those attributes considered together for EDC use, Vanax is awesome knife steel.


razor-edge-knives said:
Does your use/testing of Vanax replicate what Larrin has found in his testing?

i-mpSD5CQ.jpg
i-m5TGNgk.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Twindog said:
Yes, Larrin's data seem pretty close. On edge holding alone, Vanax is better than lots of good steels, including 4V, 3V, S35VN, D2, CPM 154 and VG 10. It's a little less wear resistant than S30V and CPM M4 and a touch less than Elmax.

On toughness, it's clearly the best of the powder stainless steels. It's noticeably tougher than S30V.

You had Peter's do the heat treat on my Vanax-bladed Rukus, so that's pretty good and will boost Vanax's performance over Larrin's data by some amount, at least compared to those other steels run through a production heat treat.

But beyond that, Vanax performs better when you combine toughness and edge wear and full stainless. The gestalt works in Vanax's favor. So, as an expert heat treater and knife maker like Fredrik Haakonsen says, when you can add toughness to good edge wear, you get a blade with increased edge stability and increased wear resistance. Vanax's balance gives you a significant performance boost over other steels that might test better on a single attribute.

In addition, I've found in the rainforest that corrosion on the apex will degrade an edge over time, kind of like a battery self discharging by a tiny amount every day. Vanax doesn't corrode. It holds that edge, even if you don't get the edge entirely free of the corrosive debris that you were cutting a few days ago.

It is also fine grained and easy to resharpen to a keen edge. It sharpens way better than S30V. The edge is more aggressive, too, but I don't know why, maybe because it's easier to get super keen.

Compared to S30V, the added toughness and corrosion resistance of Vanax makes the edge last longer, even though on just edge wear itself, S30V tests better on abrasive cards. Those cards don't put much pressure on the apex, so toughness has no added value in CATRA tests. But toughness plays a significant role in edge wear in everyday use.

My Vanax-bladed Rukus will out cut, out last, resist edge damage, resist corrosion and resharpen quite a bit better than my stock S30V-bladed Rukus.

It's the best balanced steel I've used. On any one attribute, considered in isolation, such as CATRA or Charpy tests, many steels can top Vanax on that single attribute. But with those attributes considered together for EDC use, Vanax is awesome knife steel.
Click to expand...


Wow thanks for the feedback and write up!! Yeah I was reading through the datasheet the other day on it and apparently you can have negative effects if you don't apply a nitrogen partial pressure in a vacuum to counteract the loss of nitrogen during the ht process. I checked with Brad (@ Peters) on this and they do apply the nitrogen partial pressure in a vacuum so that's pretty sweet. Because of this I'm sure Peters can ht it better than most makers can heat treat at home.
 
Richard338 said:
Super helpful Fullflat Fullflat , thanks for taking the time. I don't often EDC a fixed blade but I think this could be the one.
Click to expand...
I've been carrying mine since it was made and don't even notice it's there except for if it catches on something. But it hugs my body super close and it's nice! Yours should arrive Monday I believe. Went out yesterday USPS first class.
 
Twindog said:
Yes, Larrin's data seem pretty close. On edge holding alone, Vanax is better than lots of good steels, including 4V, 3V, S35VN, D2, CPM 154 and VG 10. It's a little less wear resistant than S30V and CPM M4 and a touch less than Elmax.

On toughness, it's clearly the best of the powder stainless steels. It's noticeably tougher than S30V.

You had Peter's do the heat treat on my Vanax-bladed Rukus, so that's pretty good and will boost Vanax's performance over Larrin's data by some amount, at least compared to those other steels run through a production heat treat.

But beyond that, Vanax performs better when you combine toughness and edge wear and full stainless. The gestalt works in Vanax's favor. So, as an expert heat treater and knife maker like Fredrik Haakonsen says, when you can add toughness to good edge wear, you get a blade with increased edge stability and increased wear resistance. Vanax's balance gives you a significant performance boost over other steels that might test better on a single attribute.

In addition, I've found in the rainforest that corrosion on the apex will degrade an edge over time, kind of like a battery self discharging by a tiny amount every day. Vanax doesn't corrode. It holds that edge, even if you don't get the edge entirely free of the corrosive debris that you were cutting a few days ago.

It is also fine grained and easy to resharpen to a keen edge. It sharpens way better than S30V. The edge is more aggressive, too, but I don't know why, maybe because it's easier to get super keen.

Compared to S30V, the added toughness and corrosion resistance of Vanax makes the edge last longer, even though on just edge wear itself, S30V tests better on abrasive cards. Those cards don't put much pressure on the apex, so toughness has no added value in CATRA tests. But toughness plays a significant role in edge wear in everyday use.

My Vanax-bladed Rukus will out cut, out last, resist edge damage, resist corrosion and resharpen quite a bit better than my stock S30V-bladed Rukus.

It's the best balanced steel I've used. On any one attribute, considered in isolation, such as CATRA or Charpy tests, many steels can top Vanax on that single attribute. But with those attributes considered together for EDC use, Vanax is awesome knife steel.
Click to expand...

Have ye ever run any INFI?

I ask because you seem to describe Vanax's properties to how I've found INFI to perform...

i.e., very well balanced <not a single superstar stat that stands out> properties.
 
PeteyTwoPointOne said:
Have ye ever run any INFI?

I ask because you seem to describe Vanax's properties to how I've found INFI to perform.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's a smart observation, vis-a-vis balance. I have some Infi blades that I use. It's good stuff. Infi is basically A8(mod), with some tweaks by Busse. A8(mod) is a steel that Haakonsen likes to use because its toughness adds a lot to edge stability and overall balance.

In my tests on cutting bailing wire, Infi, A8(mod), Vanadis 4E and 3V (with delta heat treat) perform pretty close in terms of resisting damage. CPM M4 -- another well balanced steel -- does pretty well, too. But that test mostly measures toughness. Infi doesn't do that well on pure wear resistance, but on balance for hard-use knives, it's good stuff.

The reason that CPM M4 does so well in the bladesports cutting tests is its balance between wear resistance and toughness. I doubt that Infi would do as well because it is too lacking in edge wear.

I wouldn't use Vanax on a hard-use knife. But for an EDC, it's perfect.
 
Richard338 said:
Super helpful Fullflat Fullflat , thanks for taking the time. I don't often EDC a fixed blade but I think this could be the one.
Click to expand...
Anytime brother :) Very cool! I’m hyped to hear your thoughts once you’ve had a chance to tote it around some. I still carry folders often, but have found a small fixed edc to provide me the most in terms of worry free utility, performance, and ergonomic comfort under use. Have a great afternoon!
 
Fullflat said:
Anytime brother :) Very cool! I’m hyped to hear your thoughts once you’ve had a chance to tote it around some. I still carry folders often, but have found a small fixed edc to provide me the most in terms of worry free utility, performance, and ergonomic comfort under use. Have a great afternoon!
Click to expand...
Thanks again, I've got a DCC mod4 on its way, so hopefully I'll get it set up nicely.
 
Richard338 said:
Can you please tell me which hardware you got? I think the clip doesn't include any.
Click to expand...
Most of my hardware has been kicking around here for awhile, so I’m not sure which manufacturer these particular fasteners came from, but they’re just standard ‘Chicago screw’ GS6 spec type stuff. I believe mine in the pic are 3/8”. Here are a few places you could find them
https://harrysholsters.com/clip-overhook-mounting-hardware/

The online juggernaut has kits ready for quick delivery
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07C228R48/ref=sspa_mw_detail_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HolsterSmith also has all the hardware, but it’s probably not bundled all together conveniently.
https://www.holstersmith.com/vcom/hardware-c-553.html

Let me know if you have wind up having trouble sourcing the hardware, and I’ll see if I can shake some loose from my bench. Happy hunting, and have a great day!
 
Thanks for helping out Seth!

On another note... I got to test out the edge a bit on my Ember today and I'm very pleased considering the geometry. It's done fantastic opening packages and food prep, but today I carved up a bit of cured osage orange (extremely hard wood) tweaking the apex in curved cuts putting a LOT of lateral load on the apex. It looks like the damage stayed in the 15 dps microbevel area so I'm very happy with that. I could probably stabilize it a bit more by going w/ 17 dps but I don't want to sacrifice the cutting ability and edge retention I get from pushing a 15 dps edge since I don't normally carve wood.

normal edge w/ microbevel:

i-HkWGfbk.jpg


after some wood work

i-sqsqRVk.jpg

i-sr2fvVh.jpg


by contrast... here's a full convex knife I just reground, same geometry (actually the Ember is slightly thinner bte and much lower edge geometry). This was a home made knife I believe and I gave it a full height convex grind, 1095 steel w/ the edge terminating around 19 dps. After lighter testing than what I put the Ember through it cracked 3/16" up into the grind!!

i-GptqV76.jpg
i-vMhJC9W.jpg
i-CrLgvpp.jpg
 
@JTknives did a great job heat treating this M390 :)

update: to the above post, if I look closely by the naked eye I can see some rolling down into the main edge bevel (not just the microbevel) which is a good sign vs chipping out that entire section. nice thing is it won't be hard to sharpen this out being so thin. mirrored edge here we come! :D
 
I love the look of the small EDC and will be very interested in how folks like them after carrying them for awhile. I have just ordered a couple smaller fixed blades to replace some aged worn blades before fall gets here. I hope to hear how the M390 performs for everyone on this blade.

Congrats on another winning design Josh!

and I read your thread about that homemade blade ... I'm no expert but that almost looks like a flaw that was in the steel ... curious to know what you find out.
 
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razor-edge-knives said:
Thanks for helping out Seth!

On another note... I got to test out the edge a bit on my Ember today and I'm very pleased considering the geometry. It's done fantastic opening packages and food prep, but today I carved up a bit of cured osage orange (extremely hard wood) tweaking the apex in curved cuts putting a LOT of lateral load on the apex. It looks like the damage stayed in the 15 dps microbevel area so I'm very happy with that. I could probably stabilize it a bit more by going w/ 17 dps but I don't want to sacrifice the cutting ability and edge retention I get from pushing a 15 dps edge since I don't normally carve wood.

normal edge w/ microbevel:

i-HkWGfbk.jpg


after some wood work

i-sqsqRVk.jpg

i-sr2fvVh.jpg


by contrast... here's a full convex knife I just reground, same geometry (actually the Ember is slightly thinner bte and much lower edge geometry). This was a home made knife I believe and I gave it a full height convex grind, 1095 steel w/ the edge terminating around 19 dps. After lighter testing than what I put the Ember through it cracked 3/16" up into the grind!!

i-GptqV76.jpg
i-vMhJC9W.jpg
i-CrLgvpp.jpg
Click to expand...

In reading this could a 17dps edge be an option ?? Just wanna have my order ready :-)
 
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