Two For the BLADE Show

Greg Covington

Greg Covington

Joined
Oct 28, 1999
Messages
1,563
I am hoping to talk Mike Sastre into sheathing these two and having them on his table at BLADE next weekend.

Both of these Combat Specials are 7.5 inches in L6. The top one is a "desert" variant in natural canvas micarta which had been dyed and with brass fittings.

Hopefully, they will make it to someone heading for deployment.

2cs.jpg
 
Those are both great looking knives. Normally I don't like knives where the guards are integral to the handle material but in this case it looks very good.

Just out of curiousity how well does the dye stay in the micarta over time? That is a great idea, really gives the handle a unique look.

Thanks,
Sean
 
Sean....I used Fiebings dark brown leather dye on the grip after it was sandblasted. I let it soak in and dry in the sun. Then I gave the knife...handle and all, a good soak in WD40....the dye bled a bit....but it stopped after a few wipedowns.

As far as the intergral guards.....they are merely done as an economical way to produce these combat knives...they reduce weight, time, etc....and this lets me pass along the savings to troopers.

In fact, just about every aspect of the Combat Special is tuned to ease of production. This way a soldier can get a handforged combat knife...with differential heat treatment, at a price that is acceptable and without a long wait.

Of course, extra attention is paid to geometry, heat treat, and comfort....but without all the spit and polish.
 
Thanks for the info Greg. Your knife looks like a real workhorse for sure.

I agree making a quality blade that military personel can afford is very important. They without a doubt rely on good quality knives every day.

Sean
 
I still love your combat specials, Greg.

These two look fantastic.
 
Both of these knives look great. I like the handle on knife one a little more than the one on knife two and I prefer the profile of the blade on knife two.
 
Anthony and Keith: These Combat Specials kinda "morph" around a bit...I think it makes them neat because each one is unique......it keeps things interesting. This is the first brown handled model and I think the first in canvas micarta too.

Wulf: I think that you have the first protoype if I remeber correctly...I am glad you still like them.

Talked to Mike Sastre yesterday and he is sheathing them up and taking them to Blade.

I am in the process of testing a Spec Ops brand sheath as an alternative to the Blackhawk sheaths...yet another further evolution.

You can't really see it in the pic...but the L6 steel shows a really cool grain structure thru the parkerized finish. Sometime I will try to get a good pic of that.
 
Nice ones Greg. Not much bigger than a KBar USMC, but I'd bet, a heck of a lot more useful. (The broad flat ground blade would do some pretty good work. Nice temper line too. These really look the part. I do somewhat similar techniques on my handles with the all-integral Micarta / G10 including the guards, and the dye-ing method. I can tell you guys - it works - the feedback from a couple of service-folk who have used such knives in the field is that they do the job right and are easier to care for than one would expect. The all-synthetic guards are also tougher than it might sound.

BTW, Greg, how thick are these blades ? Thanks. Jason.
 
Great, hardy looking specials Greg! The question begs to be asked though (and you can email me directly if you'd prefer) - what is the price range for a Combat Special similar in materials to these two?
EricO
SecAmndAdv@aol.com
 
Eric....the base price is $250 without a sheath.....some guys like to have sheaths made.

I am testing the Spec Ops brand because it fits the broader blade. If I use Blackhawk, the blade has to be narrower.

So with a Blackhawk...about $275

Then just a little up from there for other options in sheaths.
 
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