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- Mar 19, 2007
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This review was based upon a passaround - and thus I was not able to keep this knife.
However, in an effort for full disclosure - I have been making sheaths on a barter system with Walt. Walt, I have found, is a great man - who works VERY hard and makes a great steel.
Large Knife
Steel Type: 1075
Blade Length: 4.281
Blade Width at Choil: 1.177
Overall Length: 8.987
Blade Thickness at Choil: 0.125
Blade Thickness at Tip: 0.031
Tang: Exposed
Handle Length from Choil to Butt: 4.707
Handle Width at Palm Swell: 0.880
Handle Width at Front: 0.550
Handle Width at Butt: 0.900
Initial Impressions:
The large blade simply fell into my hand and I literally said ‘Wow’. It was extremely comfortable. I hefted the blade – moved it around and thought was impressed.
Comfort:
The handle was the right length for my hand, the palm swell, and heel swell were perfect, and the finish was very grippy while not being rough to the touch. The linen micarta was left matte (perhaps a little to rough when you get to the lanyard tubes) which makes for a VERY positive grip.
(Please excuse the stain on my fingers in this picture - I was making a sheath)
The front portion of the handle sweeps toward the blade – which I didn’t think I would like – but with the finger guard toward the blade – I decided I liked it very much. It is not too small when you get toward the handle as to be unsafe and when you switch positions on the handle and go from a traditional grip to a more whittling grip – it allows you to choke up on the blade easily and comfortably. In fact, this was one of the things I really liked about this blade. Wide enough to have good control – and get your hands WAY up the steel with little issue.
Steel:
The blade is ground very evenly – there is a little ricossa at the handle and then the blade starts. It sweeps nicely and evenly toward the tip in a cross between a Kephart and a Spearpoint style. It is a compromise shape to be sure – but I don’t think it compromised on performance – more on this below.
Both knives came ungodly sharp and easily wiped away hair and sizzled through magazine paper. Don’t let it near an Ikea catalog… whew – it HATED last years fashions! The large knife was a full convex grind (very very mild convex) with a more serious convex nearly double bevel at the blade edge. This was just fine – but I wanted a full convex for the real tests – so I took it over to the sharpening bench. About fifteen minutes later I had a very well blended edge that was mirror sharp and like a friggin razor. This steel was a pleasure to sharpen and you could work it very easily. I see why Walt picked it.
Fit and Finish:[/B]
There is nothing fancy about these knife… and that is exactly what I like about it. It is not rugged like the Koyote knife that I reviewed and it is not highly polished like a production knife – it is right in between. It fit my fashion very well. The handle blends perfectly into the steel, all of the grinding is top notch, the finish on the handle is grippy without being rough, and my favorite part was the steel on the blade. It is hand rubbed to be spiffy – but rough enough that when you sharpen it on some wet dry and leave a few scratches – they blend right in. I like Walt’s simple engraving on the handle too – has his name and the date – simple and it looks good. The only thing I would have changed on this knife was to put a little less grit on the grinder when touching up the lanyard tube - it is a little rough. That is it - the rest is great.
Using the Large Knife:
I made tent pegs, built a bow drill kit, batoned some kindling, made a bunch of curls for our family fire out back, and generally puttered around with the knife for a day. I kept my Aurora on hand as well to compare it to. I like to make a few cuts in a piece – switch knives and see if there is a difference. I did this all day with my Aurora and the larger knife.
Every thing I gave to this knife went extremely well. I made a pile of fuzz sticks – no issue. It bit well, not deep like my Kosters scandi – but almost as deep as my Aurora and made VERY thin curls on the sticks. I think the BRKT has something on the Large Knife in terms of how much material you can remove – I think this has something to do with the thickness of the blade – but the Large Knife can compete for sure.
Slicing was little issue. In fact, this knife sliced as well, if not better, than any knife I have used. It treated leather like butter, ran through paper, and push cut into soft wood very easily. It was frankly a joy to slice with. The tip drilled admirably compared to a spear point. You run out of ‘tip’ quickly but I had no problem making a top bearing and hearth with this tip.
The day I carried this knife I found myself really coming to treat it as an extension of me. I choked up easily – felt confident while batoning – and made any cut I wanted. There is something in my Aurora that I like a little more in terms of comfort – but that may simply be because I am used to it.
The handle gave me no trouble – the finger guard was positive without being intrusive – the butt swell is large enough to be comfortable without being bulky – for my hands it fit perfectly. I also liked how the handle blended into the finger guard – nice touch!
One of the final things I did with it that day was to start a fire. I took out a little fat wood and made a bunch of small curls. I flipped the blade and grabbed my firesteel – one sweep and the largest fattest spark every came off my steel. I literally said ‘Woah!’ outloud. The care that Walt takes in squaring up the spine of this blade is to be commended. It dropped molten lava on my pile of fatwood. I said to myself ‘alright you little bastard… try this’ and I grabbed my fatood again. I took the SPINE to it this time. No problem – little curls came off and I added these little fuzzies to the pile. A couple of scrapes later and I had a fire. Nice.
The steel was no worse for the wear and a few swipes on the strop and you can’t see where the steel was drug to make fire. At the end of the day I brought it to my strop. I grabbed some magazine paper to see what it needed. I was whittling oak with it and had not touched the blade up all day. It blazed through the paper with no heisitations. I could not see any marks, rolling over, or imperfections in the edge. I decided not to strop it. It simply didn’t need it. I was very impressed by the edge retention.
Final Impressions:
Frankly, I am going to be sad to see this one go. I really came to enjoy this knife in the small amount of time I had it. I am going to work on getting one for myself. I really can’t give a knife a higher review. However, until Walt get’s better – I will be making my own sheath. That is fine though – when his leather work get's better - you will be paying more in my opinion. The blade is MORE than worth the price of admission. Besides I certainly can’t make a blade like he can. Good show!
TF
However, in an effort for full disclosure - I have been making sheaths on a barter system with Walt. Walt, I have found, is a great man - who works VERY hard and makes a great steel.
Large Knife
Steel Type: 1075
Blade Length: 4.281
Blade Width at Choil: 1.177
Overall Length: 8.987
Blade Thickness at Choil: 0.125
Blade Thickness at Tip: 0.031
Tang: Exposed
Handle Length from Choil to Butt: 4.707
Handle Width at Palm Swell: 0.880
Handle Width at Front: 0.550
Handle Width at Butt: 0.900
Initial Impressions:
The large blade simply fell into my hand and I literally said ‘Wow’. It was extremely comfortable. I hefted the blade – moved it around and thought was impressed.
Comfort:
The handle was the right length for my hand, the palm swell, and heel swell were perfect, and the finish was very grippy while not being rough to the touch. The linen micarta was left matte (perhaps a little to rough when you get to the lanyard tubes) which makes for a VERY positive grip.
(Please excuse the stain on my fingers in this picture - I was making a sheath)
The front portion of the handle sweeps toward the blade – which I didn’t think I would like – but with the finger guard toward the blade – I decided I liked it very much. It is not too small when you get toward the handle as to be unsafe and when you switch positions on the handle and go from a traditional grip to a more whittling grip – it allows you to choke up on the blade easily and comfortably. In fact, this was one of the things I really liked about this blade. Wide enough to have good control – and get your hands WAY up the steel with little issue.
Steel:
The blade is ground very evenly – there is a little ricossa at the handle and then the blade starts. It sweeps nicely and evenly toward the tip in a cross between a Kephart and a Spearpoint style. It is a compromise shape to be sure – but I don’t think it compromised on performance – more on this below.
Both knives came ungodly sharp and easily wiped away hair and sizzled through magazine paper. Don’t let it near an Ikea catalog… whew – it HATED last years fashions! The large knife was a full convex grind (very very mild convex) with a more serious convex nearly double bevel at the blade edge. This was just fine – but I wanted a full convex for the real tests – so I took it over to the sharpening bench. About fifteen minutes later I had a very well blended edge that was mirror sharp and like a friggin razor. This steel was a pleasure to sharpen and you could work it very easily. I see why Walt picked it.
Fit and Finish:[/B]
There is nothing fancy about these knife… and that is exactly what I like about it. It is not rugged like the Koyote knife that I reviewed and it is not highly polished like a production knife – it is right in between. It fit my fashion very well. The handle blends perfectly into the steel, all of the grinding is top notch, the finish on the handle is grippy without being rough, and my favorite part was the steel on the blade. It is hand rubbed to be spiffy – but rough enough that when you sharpen it on some wet dry and leave a few scratches – they blend right in. I like Walt’s simple engraving on the handle too – has his name and the date – simple and it looks good. The only thing I would have changed on this knife was to put a little less grit on the grinder when touching up the lanyard tube - it is a little rough. That is it - the rest is great.
Using the Large Knife:
I made tent pegs, built a bow drill kit, batoned some kindling, made a bunch of curls for our family fire out back, and generally puttered around with the knife for a day. I kept my Aurora on hand as well to compare it to. I like to make a few cuts in a piece – switch knives and see if there is a difference. I did this all day with my Aurora and the larger knife.
Every thing I gave to this knife went extremely well. I made a pile of fuzz sticks – no issue. It bit well, not deep like my Kosters scandi – but almost as deep as my Aurora and made VERY thin curls on the sticks. I think the BRKT has something on the Large Knife in terms of how much material you can remove – I think this has something to do with the thickness of the blade – but the Large Knife can compete for sure.
Slicing was little issue. In fact, this knife sliced as well, if not better, than any knife I have used. It treated leather like butter, ran through paper, and push cut into soft wood very easily. It was frankly a joy to slice with. The tip drilled admirably compared to a spear point. You run out of ‘tip’ quickly but I had no problem making a top bearing and hearth with this tip.
The day I carried this knife I found myself really coming to treat it as an extension of me. I choked up easily – felt confident while batoning – and made any cut I wanted. There is something in my Aurora that I like a little more in terms of comfort – but that may simply be because I am used to it.
The handle gave me no trouble – the finger guard was positive without being intrusive – the butt swell is large enough to be comfortable without being bulky – for my hands it fit perfectly. I also liked how the handle blended into the finger guard – nice touch!
One of the final things I did with it that day was to start a fire. I took out a little fat wood and made a bunch of small curls. I flipped the blade and grabbed my firesteel – one sweep and the largest fattest spark every came off my steel. I literally said ‘Woah!’ outloud. The care that Walt takes in squaring up the spine of this blade is to be commended. It dropped molten lava on my pile of fatwood. I said to myself ‘alright you little bastard… try this’ and I grabbed my fatood again. I took the SPINE to it this time. No problem – little curls came off and I added these little fuzzies to the pile. A couple of scrapes later and I had a fire. Nice.
The steel was no worse for the wear and a few swipes on the strop and you can’t see where the steel was drug to make fire. At the end of the day I brought it to my strop. I grabbed some magazine paper to see what it needed. I was whittling oak with it and had not touched the blade up all day. It blazed through the paper with no heisitations. I could not see any marks, rolling over, or imperfections in the edge. I decided not to strop it. It simply didn’t need it. I was very impressed by the edge retention.
Final Impressions:
Frankly, I am going to be sad to see this one go. I really came to enjoy this knife in the small amount of time I had it. I am going to work on getting one for myself. I really can’t give a knife a higher review. However, until Walt get’s better – I will be making my own sheath. That is fine though – when his leather work get's better - you will be paying more in my opinion. The blade is MORE than worth the price of admission. Besides I certainly can’t make a blade like he can. Good show!
TF
