Review *Updated July 29* Bill Siegle “Chopper/Fighter” (warning: pic heavy)

[scdub]

Hi All,

I almost titled this thread “Prevailing Sense of Calm”. That’s how I’ve felt since I got my hands on this knife.

It’s not that I’ve stopped looking at knives, or that I’ll stop buying knives, but for the first time in memory I haven’t felt COMPELLED to find a new knife. Strange feeling tbh.

This is my largest/heaviest knife. 18oz with a 9.5” blade. I doubt I’ll ever buy something bigger with the possible exception of a machete/sword, etc.



It has a beautifully curved hardening line which I’ve tried to capture in the photo below.

Here’s the tip. The swedge is slightly sharp for the last inch or so before the tip.

Steel is 5160, hardened to ~57-59 RC.

More pics/notes to come…

 

[scdub]

It came with a Bolatron sheath. The retention was a little less than is my preference - especially for scout carry. The bright side of the fit is that it doesn’t cause serious scratches (at least so far) on the blade, and allows for a very quick draw.
I decided to remedy this with a quick release pin, some shock cord, a little piece of reflective/glow paracord, and some careful drilling on the sheath:

 

[scdub]

I’ve taken it out a couple times now.

It performs very well.

The handle is the most comfortable I’ve ever felt on any tool, ever. The swell at the back of the handle is perfect. After chopping through this down tree (down/dead for 2 years - slightly rotten just under the bark, quite hard under that) my hand was tired but not fatigued. No hot spots, no blisters after about 30 minutes of chopping. About the same amount of chopping recently with a tomahawk did give me a small blister.


After about an hour of chopping various vegetation, the edge had dulled some as expected, but it would still scrape arm hairs (you can see them if you look closely) on the most-used portion of the edge (recurve section).

 

[TheArab]

She's so sexy..

 

[scdub]

Here’s a quick video to give a sense of size and maybe a better look at the hardening line:

And just a little casual comparative chopping:

Amazing knife and an awesome value.

Thanks again Bill Siegle !

 

[fishface5]

Nice score! Great lines on that knife, and Siegle knives perform!

 

[David Mary]

Wow, that's a really nice knife!

 

[luethge]

That is awesome! Nice sheath mod ! Beautiful knife !! Mr Siegle makes some of the best knives out there.

 

[scdub]

Crag the Brewer was wondering about the size of the handle in a different thread so I checked it out. This particular example has a large handle.

Tricky thing to measure but based on how much I can grip each one, it’s close in circumference to my other largest and favorite handles - the full size Scrap Yard/Swamp Rat Res-c, and the Swamp Rat SawManDu/Eraticator, etc. handle.

 

[luethge]

Nice regrind on that Alpha Dog David Mary !

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Now That's how you do a review!!!
Great pics, those guys should be paying ya for making those knives look so good.....haha.

I love your rig for keeping that knife in, I use ball detent pins Alot at work for things I make......very creative. Good job.


That knife looks like it fits you pretty good, I wish mine was like that.

Both the front, and back of the knife hurt my hands, and I had to let it go.
Mine had the palm swell putting my hand in all the wrong places. I learned an expensive lesson that I like boring handles.
I wear a size large glove









Again, Great showing, hopefully you keep us updated...thanks again!!!

 

[coolbreezy37]

Crag the Brewer was wondering about the size of the handle in a different thread so I checked it out. This particular example has a large handle.

Tricky thing to measure but based on how much I can grip each one, it’s close in circumference to my other largest and favorite handles - the full size Scrap Yard/Swamp Rat Res-c, and the Swamp Rat SawManDu/Eraticator, etc. handle.
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Big fan of the Res-C handle.

 

[d762nato]

Great idea putting that pin through the sheath like that. Thanks for the idea and congrats on the nice Siegle chopper.

 

[scdub]

Great idea putting that pin through the sheath like that. Thanks for the idea and congrats on the nice Siegle chopper.

You bet - I added the picture of the part/packaging so other folks could try it too. I forgot to mention this but I also replaced the split-ring it came with with a smaller one.

Using the shock cord keeps everything from rattling and the pin from accidentally being pulled.

Feel free to try it out and post pics if you do!

 

[scdub]

Now That's how you do a review!!!
Great pics, those guys should be paying ya for making those knives look so good.....haha.

I love your rig for keeping that knife in, I use ball detent pins Alot at work for things I make......very creative. Good job.


That knife looks like it fits you pretty good, I wish mine was like that.

Both the front, and back of the knife hurt my hands, and I had to let it go.
Mine had the palm swell putting my hand in all the wrong places. I learned an expensive lesson that I like boring handles.
I wear a size large glove









Again, Great showing, hopefully you keep us updated...thanks again!!!

Thx - I’ll post again once I have more milage with this knife.

I forgot that I actually own a knife with an even bigger and simpler handle that I thought might appeal to you - the Condor Varan. I didn’t really connect with the handle myself - it’s essentially a large oval broomstick of hard molded plastic.



I keep it in my work truck as a beater. I’ve dinged and resharpened the edge several times using the knife for non-knife tasks. It’s tough.

I cut out a finger choil because I like a more substantial guard (like on the Siegle for instance ). Otherwise the handle is stock. It’s a good deal bigger in circumference than the last three I showed.

This knife and the Rodan (smaller) and Kamunga (larger) share the same handle. I think they’re all discontinued but you might look for them on the secondary…

 

[scdub]

Happy Earth Day!

I celebrated with some trail clearing. Removed a good sized down tree (took about 13 minutes) and some thistles and nettles. This knife is crazy good at cutting green vegetation - barely needs any speed since the edge is so thin and it’s got so much inertia.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I got a FBMLE with a hand shaped handle from Bill Siegle. (He shaped the scales and added a swedge and gave it a wicked edge). Ruined me for factory machined scales from Busse!!

He knows what feels good in the hand!

 

[not2sharp]

…….
He knows what feels good in the hand!

He does. Bill likes to make functional working tools that are comfortable to hold, cut well and carry safely.

n2s

 

[Hurrul]

Happy Earth Day!

I celebrated with some trail clearing. Removed a good sized down tree (took about 13 minutes) and some thistles and nettles. This knife is crazy good at cutting green vegetation - barely needs any speed since the edge is so thin and it’s got so much inertia.
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Looks a beautiful Spring day to make some wood chips in forest. Thanks for sharing.

 

[scdub]

More romping, ahem, I mean work…