Last week I took delivery of a Hollow Ground Tactical (HGT) and Litewave neck knife from Neil Blackwood, AKA Dr. Lathe. First, Neil was a pleasure to conduct business with and will definitely be added to my list of good guys in the knife business.
General:
The HGT that I ordered can be seen on Neil's site www.geocities.com/eureka/meeting/5520/index.htm It has light brown micarta handles and a brown kydex sheath that can be worn cross draw vertical or horizontal. Steel is cryo treated D2. The blade is 3 1/2" long but has more cutting edge due to being recurved.
The Litewve is a slightly dressed up version with red spacers under black g10 that has been polished. there are 3 holes in the handle and the holes in the blade. The knife is treated with an acid etched finish. It has a black kydex neck sheath. The blade is also a cryo treated D2 with a hawkbill type cutting edge but with a tanto point. A version of this knife can also be seen on Neil's site.
Both knives are finished very well and came hair popping sharp. Neil's finish on both the micarta and G10 is very nice, showing the grain for a more dressy look. I could not find any visible flaws in the bead blasting on the HGT or the acid etching on the litewave. The kydex sheaths are very well executed. I prefer the sandwich type of kydex where the knife is placed between 2 pieces over the fold over method. Both of these sheaths use my preferred method. Neil makes his sheaths flat on one side and molded on the other. This makes for a more comfortable sheath as the part against the body is completely flat. This really comes into evidence on the neck knife.
Cutting:
Due to the recurve edge on the HGT and the hawkbill type curve on the litewave, both of these knives cut very aggressively. The handles of both are contoured and have both a thumb rest and a index finger cutout. I actually found the litewave to be more comfortable in my hands due to the more forward thumb ramp. The HGT is just a little cramped for me in the saber hold but fits perfect in a regular hammer grip. Both knives feel good in the reverse grip and change grips easily. Dfensive cutting drills felt natural with both knives. During cutting tests I had no problems with paracord, 1" nylon webbing, military type rappelling line, cardboard boxes and even small plastic banding on baby food cases. (I have a 2 month old.) After doing a good bit of cutting just to test the knives before I reviewed them, they were still sharp enough to cut but not quite the razor sharp that they came. My final test of any knife is to see how easy it is to sharpen. Due to the curvy blades, I used a sharpmaker instead of a flat stone to touch these knives up. The angle of the edge bevel seems to have been made for (or maybe with) a sharpmaker and I had both knives razor sharp again in just a few strokes. This is a definite plus for me.
Carrying:
Since receiving them, the litewave has been a constant companion, hanging around my neck. This knife is one of the few that you don't notice when wearing, but it feels substantial in your hand. I have carried the HGT several different ways, finally settling on a mode of my own. I removed the belt loop and made 2 loops of paracord through the holes in the sheath. These work like belt loops letting me carry the knife securely with the blade forward or back. I also run an elastic and velcro strap through the loop to put the knife on my ankle when in uniform.
In closing, I really like both of these knives and you won't see them on the for sale forum. I can recomend Neil Blackwood without any reservations. Check him out, you won't be sorry.
General:
The HGT that I ordered can be seen on Neil's site www.geocities.com/eureka/meeting/5520/index.htm It has light brown micarta handles and a brown kydex sheath that can be worn cross draw vertical or horizontal. Steel is cryo treated D2. The blade is 3 1/2" long but has more cutting edge due to being recurved.
The Litewve is a slightly dressed up version with red spacers under black g10 that has been polished. there are 3 holes in the handle and the holes in the blade. The knife is treated with an acid etched finish. It has a black kydex neck sheath. The blade is also a cryo treated D2 with a hawkbill type cutting edge but with a tanto point. A version of this knife can also be seen on Neil's site.
Both knives are finished very well and came hair popping sharp. Neil's finish on both the micarta and G10 is very nice, showing the grain for a more dressy look. I could not find any visible flaws in the bead blasting on the HGT or the acid etching on the litewave. The kydex sheaths are very well executed. I prefer the sandwich type of kydex where the knife is placed between 2 pieces over the fold over method. Both of these sheaths use my preferred method. Neil makes his sheaths flat on one side and molded on the other. This makes for a more comfortable sheath as the part against the body is completely flat. This really comes into evidence on the neck knife.
Cutting:
Due to the recurve edge on the HGT and the hawkbill type curve on the litewave, both of these knives cut very aggressively. The handles of both are contoured and have both a thumb rest and a index finger cutout. I actually found the litewave to be more comfortable in my hands due to the more forward thumb ramp. The HGT is just a little cramped for me in the saber hold but fits perfect in a regular hammer grip. Both knives feel good in the reverse grip and change grips easily. Dfensive cutting drills felt natural with both knives. During cutting tests I had no problems with paracord, 1" nylon webbing, military type rappelling line, cardboard boxes and even small plastic banding on baby food cases. (I have a 2 month old.) After doing a good bit of cutting just to test the knives before I reviewed them, they were still sharp enough to cut but not quite the razor sharp that they came. My final test of any knife is to see how easy it is to sharpen. Due to the curvy blades, I used a sharpmaker instead of a flat stone to touch these knives up. The angle of the edge bevel seems to have been made for (or maybe with) a sharpmaker and I had both knives razor sharp again in just a few strokes. This is a definite plus for me.
Carrying:
Since receiving them, the litewave has been a constant companion, hanging around my neck. This knife is one of the few that you don't notice when wearing, but it feels substantial in your hand. I have carried the HGT several different ways, finally settling on a mode of my own. I removed the belt loop and made 2 loops of paracord through the holes in the sheath. These work like belt loops letting me carry the knife securely with the blade forward or back. I also run an elastic and velcro strap through the loop to put the knife on my ankle when in uniform.
In closing, I really like both of these knives and you won't see them on the for sale forum. I can recomend Neil Blackwood without any reservations. Check him out, you won't be sorry.
