The same old ting -- only different

primos · Jan 3, 2003

That little number I've done so many of in the last year started out being called Tactical #1, then later the Primos Dress Tactical. It finally got renamed (for the last time) by Les Robertson as the El Camino.

I've got some orders for a larger version of the El Camino in both Carbon and Damascus. I don't know if it will become part of the standard offerings or not, but for now I'm calling it the El Camino Grande. Here's a shot of the first one.

This one has a little different finish from what I did to most of these. It's a cross between my bold temper line finish and a hand-rubbed finish. I was just calling it a satin etched finish, but Les used a term I like better. He calls it a stonewashed finish.

In the shot above you can't tell much difference in the size since there's nothing to compare it to, so here's a shot of the El Camino Grande before heat-treat, sandwiched between the new Montero hunter and a standard sized El Camino.

ExamonLyf · Jan 3, 2003

Very nice Terry.., they look great! What is the blade length on the swedged model if you have time?

"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"

primos · Jan 3, 2003

Thank you very much Pete.

Actually, all the El Camino's have the chisel-ground clip, either sharpened or unsharpened. The unfinished one in the second photo just hasn't had the clip ground in yet. I do that after the heat-treating.

The blade length on the standard sized El Camino is approximately 4". The blade length on the El Camino Grande is approximately 6".

Odd as it might sound, the lengths on the clips vary. Since I want the clip to be only in the hardened part of the steel, the clip length is dictated my the termination point of the temper line (or more accurately, the hardening line). However, the clips on the El Camino is generally about 1 1/2". On the El Camino Grande above, the clip is 2 1/2".

Keith Montgomery · Jan 3, 2003

The proportions of the larger knife are very symetrical. The handle to blade ratio looks great. I really like the finish although it doesn't look like any other stonewash finish that I have seen. The Blackwood looks really good on this knife. You should think veery seriously of making this a standard model. I think it would be a great success.

flava · Jan 3, 2003

I like it a lot, it is a hell of a fighter. The finish is cool too, it's "ghosty"

Wulf · Jan 3, 2003

Looks great, Terry.

I think this would make for a very comfortable, very usable knife. Just enough size to make it heavy duty, but without compromising comfort and ease of use. A happy medium indeed, and I like the finish too. Only thing I don't like is the name - reminds of all those bad drivers on the 405 in SoCal

RogerP · Jan 3, 2003

Love it, love it, love it!! And I really like the "stonewash" finish as well. I agree with Keith - you should definitely make the larger version a standard model - it's a great mid-sized fighter. I think the little one will always be my favorite, though.

All the best,

Roger

Mongo · Jan 3, 2003

Terry, you da man! This one is a beauty also. Definately has the "Primos look". Keep up the good work!
Mongo

primos · Jan 3, 2003

Many thanks. I told Les I expected to get ribbed a bit about the name.

Especially since I had just named a hunter the "Montero", which is also the name of an auotmobile. But in the case of Montero, it really fits the knife better than the automobile. It more-or-less translates to hunter or huntsman.

I'm going to take a chance and make a fool of myself here, but if you don't ask questions, you never learn, right? Keith mentioned that the finish didn't look like any stonewashed finish he'd seen. I didn't realize that it was an actual term. I figured Les just came up with that too. What is a stonewashed finish? Can someone point me to a photo?

Danbo · Jan 3, 2003

When I think of a stonewashed finish, I think of the Chris Reeve Sebenza. The blades on those folders have a stonewashed finish; I believe they are tumbled in some kind of abrasive.

joeshredd · Jan 3, 2003

Terry,
Like the new version! Just think... a matched piece to go with the one I have... And if it's as easy to carry as the one I have, it would suffice for just about anything that came up!

Keep up the good work!

Murray White · Jan 4, 2003

Terry--great looking knife. I really love some of your other woods. Like the way you do the hardening line and the clip.

If I recall correctly, the stonewash term was included in the description of this knife--Microtech Greg Lightfoot LCC

hope you can see some of the stonewash effect in these images

and

primos · Jan 5, 2003

Thanks for the pics Murray. It looks to be a non-reflective surface, possibly akin to something like a bead blast? If it's done like Danbo say's, with a tumbler and abrasives, I can sort of imagine what the texture is like.

######

[ He comes back and says ... ]

I was checking out a Chris Reeves FAQ and found the following:

How are the folding knife blades finished?
The blades on the regular models of the large and small Sebenzas and the Umfaan are finished with what has become known as our stonewash finish. We accomplish this finish by tumbling the blades in an aggressive ceramic media. These ceramic stones polish the blade in every direction possible giving the surface a non-reflective or glazed appearance.

NickWheeler · Jan 7, 2003

Wow, awesome work as always Terry!

I really like it, it's really got a great line and it's all you.

Thanks for sharing!
Nick