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- Sep 2, 2008
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I won’t go quite so far as to call this a review, but I aim to provide a few thoughts and pics on the wharncliffe carbide-embedded Ti Necker I just received from Ban Tang.
My activities/interests lean towards the outdoors, so I thought I’d put the necker to use in a couple of bushcrafty type tasks. Nothing crazy, again, this isn’t a full review since I’d prefer to do that sort of thing after a good period of use. But I had some free time at home today and figured I'd play around a little
.
Ban’s pics, just to start us off:
Functionality aside, I think the knife simply looks good Nothing wrong with fit and finish at all.
Specs
0.095” thick 6al-4V Titanium
5 ½” OAL
2 ½” Blade
Chisel ground with zero convex edge
Cord-wrapped skeletonized handle, I think the cord wrap is coated with some sort of resin to keep it nice and tight.
Wrapped knife weighs .9oz (maybe .75 to .8oz without wrap). Wrapped knife and kydex sheath weighs 1.4 oz.
See here for Ban's original thread.
EDC use
I don’t have any pics of this, but the necker performs well for typical edc tasks. I had no problem opening and breaking down boxes, cutting packaging, cutting cord, slicing snacks and food, slicing paper, etc. The carbide edge is toothy, so I wouldn’t look to it for fine cutting tasks, but for a majority of typical cutting tasks, the edge is sharp enough to get ‘er done.
This is the first chisel ground blade I’ve ever used. I did notice the tendency to pull in lengthy or deep cuts, but if you’re simply looking to separate material, I don’t think it matters that much. I could see how the tendency to pull in one direction would be an annoyance, but for my purposes, it wasn't a huge problem. I believe the chisel grind works in this specific application because the fine bevel it provides maximizes the cutting performance of the carbide-embedded edge.
The necker excels in an EDC role because it’s light as hell! I had it in my pocket for the past few days and didn’t notice it until I stuck my hand in my pocket to get it out. Can you imagine how light it is around my neck, when worn as a true necker? Combine the negligible weight with the rust-proof nature of this blade, and you have one awesome necker. I grew up in Hawai’i, and I would love to hike the mountains or hit the beach back home with this around my neck.
Ban’s kydex sheath is simple and minimal. The retention is spot on: not too tight, not too loose. And it has rivets set up for cord carry. I haven’t checked yet on whether it’s also set up for a small teklok. But using a relatively heavy teklok would defeat the purpose of this lightweight necker anyway….
Bushcraftyish tasks
I had wondered how the carbide edge Ti would do with wood, so I did a little wood working with the necker.
The handle length and simple shape fits my medium sized hands well. The cord-wrap really helped out here, since I’m not a huge fan of straight-up skeletons. The wrap added a nice bit of girth and gripping texture to the handle. The necker felt comfortable and effective in all the grips I normally use when working with wood outside (hammer, chest-lever, scraping, reverse pincer for end trimming, scalpel). The blade length provided enough room for my left thumb on the spine when carving, and the carbidized spine did add a little bit of traction as Ban had intended.
I’m not the best feather-stick maker, but it seems this chisel-ground, carbide edged, Ti necker placed no limitation on me. One should have no problem making tinder with this type of knife.
You should also have no problem making kindling by splitting small stuff. I think this necker can handle larger stuff too, but I rarely split stuff that large with a knife when outside. I’d say I could take on 1.75 -2” diameter seasoned wood with this necker, possibly more if I took off small splits from a larger chunk or made and used wedges.
I was too lazy to take in-progress pics, but I did whip out this Fig4 with no problem. I actually enjoyed using the chisel grind, because it allowed me to use a chiseling/scooping cut to get tight and nicely squared notches. The handle was comfortable throughout this task, and the knife was obviously light and nimble. I also enjoyed its versatility in a number of grips. The wharncliffe is great for carving and detail work as well; you can really use that tip to good advantage.
I prefer fatter handles for extended use, but the cord-wrap seems to work pretty well so far. I experienced no hand fatigue, and even with the relatively rough texture of the coated cord-wrap, the feather-stick making and trap carving didn’t cause any significant hot-spots. I think perhaps if you made 20 of these traps, the wrap might begin to eat at your hand, but you could always wrap it the handle with a bandana for increased protection and comfort. Or you could wrap it yourself with something softer on the hands.
I was curious about how well this necker would do with a firesteel. While it doesn't throw nice showers of burning globs like my Fallkniven F1 did, or even the striker that comes with the LMF firesteels, it did a respectable job sparking a steel with the diamond-dusted spine. I suspect it might do an even better job if the spine was left crisp and un-dusted, but the carbide-embedded spine still did the job well enough. I didn't try sparking with the edge. I don't know if I could get wood shavings going using this as a sparker (no luck so far), but I have sparked char cloth and fluffed jute twine with this necker. In the video below, I used a PJCB because I was lazy.
[youtube]KTTn-teH8BM[/youtube]
Food prep
I haven’t been doing much cooking this weekend, but I did use the necker to slice up a little Portuguese sausage…Mmmmmm. I hadn’t stropped the knife yet, but it still cut well. I could even use the pinch grip, although it did take up a bit of real estate on this necker. I’ll try to snap pics the next time I cut up veggies or section a chicken. I’m very stoked that I can use this knife in the kitchen with impunity. Makes me think about getting some carbidized Ti knives exclusively for kitchen duty
And, since we’re in the kitchen, the cord wrapping on this necker provided an excellent grip when working around water. Obviously the necker would function well in other wet or slippery conditions out of the kitchen. No problem with retention there.
How'd the edge hold up?
I checked the edge after the day’s use and saw only a few minor rolls. A couple seconds of steeling put it right. It still felt working sharp after that, but I forgot to do a shave test before stropping. After hitting it with a few passes on my strop on the chisel-ground side, I checked if it shaved. The hair doesn't pop off, but it seems good to go to me:
Conclusions
All in all, this is a fantastic necker. I had my reservations about the performance of the carbide edge, but I’ve demonstrated empirically - at least, to my own satisfaction - that this necker would do well in a majority of my outdoor activities. I’m confident in its performance ranging from food prep to woodcraft. Combine this functional utility edge with its feather-weight and rust-proof nature, and you’ve got a great option for those who want a light weight, low maintenance blade (UL crowd, perhaps?). I think Ban’s got a real winner with these :thumbup:.
I plan to update this thread after using this necker over a longer period of time. Until then, thanks for reading.
My activities/interests lean towards the outdoors, so I thought I’d put the necker to use in a couple of bushcrafty type tasks. Nothing crazy, again, this isn’t a full review since I’d prefer to do that sort of thing after a good period of use. But I had some free time at home today and figured I'd play around a little
.Ban’s pics, just to start us off:
Functionality aside, I think the knife simply looks good
Nothing wrong with fit and finish at all.Specs
0.095” thick 6al-4V Titanium
5 ½” OAL
2 ½” Blade
Chisel ground with zero convex edge
Cord-wrapped skeletonized handle, I think the cord wrap is coated with some sort of resin to keep it nice and tight.
Wrapped knife weighs .9oz (maybe .75 to .8oz without wrap). Wrapped knife and kydex sheath weighs 1.4 oz.
See here for Ban's original thread.
EDC use
I don’t have any pics of this, but the necker performs well for typical edc tasks. I had no problem opening and breaking down boxes, cutting packaging, cutting cord, slicing snacks and food, slicing paper, etc. The carbide edge is toothy, so I wouldn’t look to it for fine cutting tasks, but for a majority of typical cutting tasks, the edge is sharp enough to get ‘er done.
This is the first chisel ground blade I’ve ever used. I did notice the tendency to pull in lengthy or deep cuts, but if you’re simply looking to separate material, I don’t think it matters that much. I could see how the tendency to pull in one direction would be an annoyance, but for my purposes, it wasn't a huge problem. I believe the chisel grind works in this specific application because the fine bevel it provides maximizes the cutting performance of the carbide-embedded edge.
The necker excels in an EDC role because it’s light as hell! I had it in my pocket for the past few days and didn’t notice it until I stuck my hand in my pocket to get it out. Can you imagine how light it is around my neck, when worn as a true necker? Combine the negligible weight with the rust-proof nature of this blade, and you have one awesome necker. I grew up in Hawai’i, and I would love to hike the mountains or hit the beach back home with this around my neck.
Ban’s kydex sheath is simple and minimal. The retention is spot on: not too tight, not too loose. And it has rivets set up for cord carry. I haven’t checked yet on whether it’s also set up for a small teklok. But using a relatively heavy teklok would defeat the purpose of this lightweight necker anyway….
Bushcraftyish tasks
I had wondered how the carbide edge Ti would do with wood, so I did a little wood working with the necker.
The handle length and simple shape fits my medium sized hands well. The cord-wrap really helped out here, since I’m not a huge fan of straight-up skeletons. The wrap added a nice bit of girth and gripping texture to the handle. The necker felt comfortable and effective in all the grips I normally use when working with wood outside (hammer, chest-lever, scraping, reverse pincer for end trimming, scalpel). The blade length provided enough room for my left thumb on the spine when carving, and the carbidized spine did add a little bit of traction as Ban had intended.
I’m not the best feather-stick maker, but it seems this chisel-ground, carbide edged, Ti necker placed no limitation on me. One should have no problem making tinder with this type of knife.
You should also have no problem making kindling by splitting small stuff. I think this necker can handle larger stuff too, but I rarely split stuff that large with a knife when outside. I’d say I could take on 1.75 -2” diameter seasoned wood with this necker, possibly more if I took off small splits from a larger chunk or made and used wedges.
I was too lazy to take in-progress pics, but I did whip out this Fig4 with no problem. I actually enjoyed using the chisel grind, because it allowed me to use a chiseling/scooping cut to get tight and nicely squared notches. The handle was comfortable throughout this task, and the knife was obviously light and nimble. I also enjoyed its versatility in a number of grips. The wharncliffe is great for carving and detail work as well; you can really use that tip to good advantage.
I prefer fatter handles for extended use, but the cord-wrap seems to work pretty well so far. I experienced no hand fatigue, and even with the relatively rough texture of the coated cord-wrap, the feather-stick making and trap carving didn’t cause any significant hot-spots. I think perhaps if you made 20 of these traps, the wrap might begin to eat at your hand, but you could always wrap it the handle with a bandana for increased protection and comfort. Or you could wrap it yourself with something softer on the hands.
I was curious about how well this necker would do with a firesteel. While it doesn't throw nice showers of burning globs like my Fallkniven F1 did, or even the striker that comes with the LMF firesteels, it did a respectable job sparking a steel with the diamond-dusted spine. I suspect it might do an even better job if the spine was left crisp and un-dusted, but the carbide-embedded spine still did the job well enough. I didn't try sparking with the edge. I don't know if I could get wood shavings going using this as a sparker (no luck so far), but I have sparked char cloth and fluffed jute twine with this necker. In the video below, I used a PJCB because I was lazy.
[youtube]KTTn-teH8BM[/youtube]
Food prep
I haven’t been doing much cooking this weekend, but I did use the necker to slice up a little Portuguese sausage…Mmmmmm.
I hadn’t stropped the knife yet, but it still cut well. I could even use the pinch grip, although it did take up a bit of real estate on this necker. I’ll try to snap pics the next time I cut up veggies or section a chicken. I’m very stoked that I can use this knife in the kitchen with impunity. Makes me think about getting some carbidized Ti knives exclusively for kitchen duty
And, since we’re in the kitchen, the cord wrapping on this necker provided an excellent grip when working around water. Obviously the necker would function well in other wet or slippery conditions out of the kitchen. No problem with retention there.
How'd the edge hold up?
I checked the edge after the day’s use and saw only a few minor rolls. A couple seconds of steeling put it right. It still felt working sharp after that, but I forgot to do a shave test before stropping. After hitting it with a few passes on my strop on the chisel-ground side, I checked if it shaved. The hair doesn't pop off, but it seems good to go to me:
Conclusions
All in all, this is a fantastic necker. I had my reservations about the performance of the carbide edge, but I’ve demonstrated empirically - at least, to my own satisfaction - that this necker would do well in a majority of my outdoor activities. I’m confident in its performance ranging from food prep to woodcraft. Combine this functional utility edge with its feather-weight and rust-proof nature, and you’ve got a great option for those who want a light weight, low maintenance blade (UL crowd, perhaps?
). I think Ban’s got a real winner with these :thumbup:.I plan to update this thread after using this necker over a longer period of time. Until then, thanks for reading.
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