The Survive! Never Say Die! Chat Thread

Silver, one advantage of choils (of any size, even tiny ones) is that the base of the blade can be sharpened more easily. Any knife with a plunge line that drops all the way to the edge (ie has a continuous even transition between the edge and the blank steel ricasso behind it) requires at least some additional care to get the edge sharp all the way back. If you use such a knife and resharpen it a lot eventually the cutting edge recedes from the ricasso and the base of the blade won't cut against a flat surface until you grind the ricasso down to match.
An extreme case of this are the Spyderco Mule Team blades that have a rather large finger guard machined into the steel. I've been known to grind the guard down on one if I'm going to be using it a lot.
A choil sometimes interferes with cutting cardboard or rope since the material can get caught in it.
If a ricasso really bothers you it can be sharpened, but obviously once a choil has been cut into a blade you can't go back.
The choils are my least favorite feature of Guy's knives, since every single one of them has some form of choil.
 
Thanks, Fancier. The idea behind sharpening choils was explained well. I should have been more specific in referring to FINGER choils or anything that removes any barrier from between your finger and the sharpened edge.

I've never met a finger choil I like, but in reference to working mostly with wood, I do like sharpening choils.
 
Silver I don't think you're missing anything, it's just preference. I would have loved to get my hands on that DC-6 if they'd made it. I'd much rather have a little bit of a ricasso than a big choil.

The way the HM variants are designed puts the edge as close as if you were using the choil on the old models without having to grab a hold of bare metal.

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Simple and excellent in my opinion. As far as stabby stuff like drilling it sits very comfortably.

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Thanks, Grog. I trust your judgment and experience. If these knives are in production, they can't possibly be that dangerous!
 
The only knives that I can recall selling were ones that made me feel as if my fingers were in danger due to the lack of any guard at all.
It really is a matter of personal choice, but for me if there isn't some amount of guard I prefer the blade to be a lot wider than my fingers so there is a lot of ramp up to the edge.
I do have a couple of Scandinavian style blades (pukko, leuko) and those styles don't include any guard but the handles also tend to be very wide and give a good grip.
 
I like that DC6. I don't believe I'd ever seen that model before, thanks SN :thumbup:

Grog, have you got any use/thoughts on that Trash 2?
 
Jeff White also does a good job (IMO) with the heel of the blade on his knives.
This is my phantom which a got a while ago. It's a pity the handle gets very uncomfortable for extended carving sessions, and the low scandivex grind isn't the best either!

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Hard Knocks said:
I like that DC6. I don't believe I'd ever seen that model before, thanks SN [emoji106]

Grog, have you got any use/thoughts on that Trash 2?
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Not yet but I'm hoping to get it and the Light Chopper out this weekend. I've got a similar sized chopper in 5160 from Ugly Dogs Blades I want to do some work with too.

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More random blathering about random knives. Mom and dad's propane heater went out so having some tinder and kindling has become a little more urgent. When I got home tonight it was 51 degrees, Gypsy was not amused.

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Fiddleback Bushcrafter. It was dull as crap when I bought it second hand and I wasn't going to mess with it but a couple swipes on the Work Sharp Field Sharpener and 5 minutes stropping brought the edge right back. Andy Roy knows how to design a handle, that's a fact. Comfortable handle, excellent slicey edge geometry. I LOVE burlap micarta scales, very near the feel of S!K's microtextured handles.

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Battle Horse Knives Smoky Mountain Razor- flat grind! I have 2 other SMR's in scandi grinds, the first one I got is getting downright nasty looking with stained handles and patina but I just love the handle feel. When I saw a flat ground variant for sale I jumped all over it and I'm glad I did. My only complaint about Battle Horse is the grind marks they leave. They look like they're finished at maybe 400 grit. Very stark grind lines. Bear Holdren apparently just left the company and he did their finishing work, I'm curious to see what changes if anything. Anywho, lovely knife. I feel like I'm saying nice things about too many knives.

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AA Forge, I believe it's a Sloydsman in 52100. It appears to be a dedicated woodworking knife in both name and design. I had a hard time getting thin fuzz curls but it generated some thicker curls quickfast. I should do a try stick with it, that pointy tip is begging to drill. I love the burlap micarta feel. I have a significant bitch though. The pins, 5 of them catch on a fingernail when I run it across the handle, they're very much proud of the handle. They didn't jab me in the hand or anything but AA Forge knives aren't cheap, I expect glaring issues like that to be cleared at their price point. I didn't notice a smidge of comfort loss because of them though, it's a wonderful knife.

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Grey Wolf Knives, I believe it's the Wolflore model and the creator is the brother of AA Forge's main man. I want to hang at that family dinner. Thick, comfortable handles and a supremely controllable blade. I don't know why but I was getting very thick chunky curls even with the high saber grind. The pins are flawlessly flush with the handle material.

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I'm a proud, card carrying Survive!Knives fan so I used this 3V 4.1 to clean up the edge, it cut away all the shavings so no pics of them possible. Sharp as hell, comfortable, can't wait for the new gen models. Nobody wants to hear the thoughts of a fan boy though. Which is fair. The knife kicked serious ass on its merits





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Fancier said:
Can I borrow that quote Silver? They sound like famous last words. :O
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Hahahaha!!!!! That does sound pretty awesome :D
Borrow away, my friend.

Also, good point about the puuko style knives. The original Mora with the wooden handle has not guard, right?
 
Mora makes a ton of traditional knives and wood carving tools that have that same basic wooden handle style.
I think that the only ones that comes with a guard are intended for children.
The Scandinavian knife culture does seem to subscribe to the theory that if you can't keep your fingers off the blade you shouldn't be using a knife.
That said their entire line of "modern" knives all have molded handles with at least some built in finger guard.
 
There was a 4.1 for sale on the FB page a while back that I picked up. There was some well advised caution from members here but I went ahead and bought it. From my best estimates and shiddy angle guide I'd estimate the edge at about 12 degrees. I hit it with the ceramic rods on my Work Sharp Field Sharpener then stropped for a bit and something fun happened. Treetopping arm hairs. Weird and a bit scary. Like I was going to lose a limb if my grip slipped.

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I have not been confident in this knife, the edge is just too damn thin. So, while I'm home, I decided to see what it'd do. I cut a branch off an Amur maple in the backyard and I cut and I cut.

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Now, wtf is going on? I've hammered the knife through knots, cut for hours, and it still cuts like a lightsaber.

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One tearing cut in the phone book paper, there is no change otherwise.

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Good to see that the edge re-profiling worked out well on the 4.1!
This seems be a good indication that small to medium S!Ks in 3V can support thin edges.

Gypsy looks very comfy there!
 
Karoi said:
Good to see that the edge re-profiling worked out well on the 4.1!
This seems be a good indication that small to medium S!Ks in 3V can support thin edges.

Gypsy looks very comfy there!
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I started this expecting to show the breaking point of 3V. Damn thing just kept cutting though. I still don't want to cut an engine block in half with it but 3V is tough as hell!

Gypsy is mostly just given her due. She's the most important being on the planet as far as I'm concerned. Stupid humans.


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