fishface5
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 9,605
So I've noticed a bunch of Thai makers posting knives on Ebay - apparently there is a thriving business over there in the handmade knife trade. The knives all seem to have natural handle material, sometimes in interesting combinations, mirror-polished 440C blades, and filework on the spine & backspacer.
I saw one that reminded me of a Charles Marlowe Bulldog design, which I have always liked, so I sprang for it. Impressions:
Man, it took 5 weeks to get here! And arrived in a package that was tied together with string - apparently tape is a customs no-no in Thailand.
Knife feels very sturdy, pleasantly heavy. The ergos on this one are great, you get it in hand and just want to start cutting stuff.
Knife has no pocket-clip, which is too bad for a knife this large and heavy (relatively speaking). But I can carry it in the back pocket where it won't get scuffed by keys, etc.
The handle scales -- ostrich bone and horn, I think the black stuff is -- fit together well, but not seamlessly - I will have to take it apart & sand them a bit, and report back on how effective that was.
The thumb-stud is a long post with a bone insert - not too excited about the insert, but I must say the long post makes the knife very easy to open.
The liner locks rock-solid, and is only 80% under the tang, so there's plenty of room for wearing in. The knife opens smoothly but the liner-lock does exert some friction on the blade just before it locks.
Oh - here's a problem - it's impossible to close this knife one-handed! Only because the opposite liner is not relieved at all, so the thumb just can't get into the gap to push the liner aside. OK, that's another task for the weekend, gotta take this apart and file back some of the liner w/a dremel tool.
The high satin blade finish is very well done (most of the knives posted seem to have mirror finish). I see the insides of the liners are polished too, and the maker etched his name in Thai on the inside of one of them.
The file-work is ok, not great. Frankly I would prefer some regular jimping on the spine for thumb traction, instead of the fancier filework.
Came sharp, shaves although not hair-popping. The grinds are very clean and pleasing, as is the edge.
Overall I would say this knife is well worth the $100 I paid for it - it will be a lot better once I address the unlocking issue and file the scales a tad (carefully - they have also been given a very high polish that I wouldn't want to mess up). It's really very pleasing to hold.
I'll be glad to answer any questions from others who have been eyeing these knives on the Bay. So far I'd say, as long as you are willing to do some finish work yourself, these seem like very worthwhile purchases.
I saw one that reminded me of a Charles Marlowe Bulldog design, which I have always liked, so I sprang for it. Impressions:
Man, it took 5 weeks to get here! And arrived in a package that was tied together with string - apparently tape is a customs no-no in Thailand.
Knife feels very sturdy, pleasantly heavy. The ergos on this one are great, you get it in hand and just want to start cutting stuff.
Knife has no pocket-clip, which is too bad for a knife this large and heavy (relatively speaking). But I can carry it in the back pocket where it won't get scuffed by keys, etc.
The handle scales -- ostrich bone and horn, I think the black stuff is -- fit together well, but not seamlessly - I will have to take it apart & sand them a bit, and report back on how effective that was.
The thumb-stud is a long post with a bone insert - not too excited about the insert, but I must say the long post makes the knife very easy to open.
The liner locks rock-solid, and is only 80% under the tang, so there's plenty of room for wearing in. The knife opens smoothly but the liner-lock does exert some friction on the blade just before it locks.
Oh - here's a problem - it's impossible to close this knife one-handed! Only because the opposite liner is not relieved at all, so the thumb just can't get into the gap to push the liner aside. OK, that's another task for the weekend, gotta take this apart and file back some of the liner w/a dremel tool.
The high satin blade finish is very well done (most of the knives posted seem to have mirror finish). I see the insides of the liners are polished too, and the maker etched his name in Thai on the inside of one of them.
The file-work is ok, not great. Frankly I would prefer some regular jimping on the spine for thumb traction, instead of the fancier filework.
Came sharp, shaves although not hair-popping. The grinds are very clean and pleasing, as is the edge.
Overall I would say this knife is well worth the $100 I paid for it - it will be a lot better once I address the unlocking issue and file the scales a tad (carefully - they have also been given a very high polish that I wouldn't want to mess up). It's really very pleasing to hold.
I'll be glad to answer any questions from others who have been eyeing these knives on the Bay. So far I'd say, as long as you are willing to do some finish work yourself, these seem like very worthwhile purchases.
