L.T. and Dan of Blind Horse Knives worked with JRE Industries to give their Small Tiger Knapp knife a unique twist on an old concept. The problem they're trying to solve is how to carry a small fixed blade in your pocket without having to fish for the sheath every time you want to resheath the knife.
The Snap Knapp, bottom right, shown with a Small Tiger Knapp and a Frontier First Patch knife. The patch knife has become my favorite small fixed blade pattern.
I've had mine for about a couple months now and it's been very handy. The knife is made from a recycled mill saw, so rust may be more an issue than with other knives, along with the knives not being as highly polished as others (larger pores for rust to start in). Not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind and take preventative maintenance for.
To that end, I have done the following to mine:
-sanded/smoothed the little bit of rough leather along the edge of the sheath and coated the edge with Sno-Seal, which resulted in a two-tone look.
-applied Krazy Glue to the stitching to make sure they don't back out.
-coated the inside of the sheath with mineral oil to act as a rust inhibitor.
-soaked the naked knife in apple cider vinegar for an hour to get a nice patina.
When I first got the knife, it poured rain and it got a small amount of rust at the cut away from living in my pocket. Since these treatments, there has been zero rust and that includes several days camping out in very damp and dewy conditions.
The spine is squared by the tip to facilitate striking ferro rods and it works very well for this. I've read of a company that is working on bringing to market a spy capsule/ferro rod combo that would be pretty sweet with this. Put that (with Petroleum Jellied Cotton Balls inside) together with a photon, whistle, and a Snap Knapp on an S-Biner by NiteIze and you're in business.
The leather folds nicely back and away and since it becomes a negative shape, it fills the hand nicely. I don't notice that it's there. Most recently, it's been sporting a lanyard made by a buddy of mine, so it's stylin' now.
The thin stock will get to you if you use it hard, but keep in mind what the knife was meant for. I've been able to execute some nice fuzz sticks with it and it batons smaller pieces without issue. I like the shape (my current favorite small knife pattern is the patch knife and I love my BHK Frontier First Patch in Curly Maple) and it makes for a handy food prep knife when one isn't available. I've achieved respectably thin carrot slices without splitting and my wife and mother in law groan when I get that hungry look in my eye and pull my Snap Knapp out to use on some poor unsuspecting meal.
Having taken the Snap Knapp on a couple group camping trips, the comments have been very positive. The are typically go like this - I hand the person the knife, closed and they look it over and say blandly, "That's nice." Unsnap the sheath, deploy the knife and , "Whoa! That's a a fixed blade knife!" I then have to watch and make sure I get the knife back.
This little knife has done a wonderful job as an EDC knife along as a smaller companion to a woods knife and I expect many years of service out of it.
Good job Blind Horse and JRE.
The Snap Knapp, bottom right, shown with a Small Tiger Knapp and a Frontier First Patch knife. The patch knife has become my favorite small fixed blade pattern.
I've had mine for about a couple months now and it's been very handy. The knife is made from a recycled mill saw, so rust may be more an issue than with other knives, along with the knives not being as highly polished as others (larger pores for rust to start in). Not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind and take preventative maintenance for.
To that end, I have done the following to mine:
-sanded/smoothed the little bit of rough leather along the edge of the sheath and coated the edge with Sno-Seal, which resulted in a two-tone look.
-applied Krazy Glue to the stitching to make sure they don't back out.
-coated the inside of the sheath with mineral oil to act as a rust inhibitor.
-soaked the naked knife in apple cider vinegar for an hour to get a nice patina.
When I first got the knife, it poured rain and it got a small amount of rust at the cut away from living in my pocket. Since these treatments, there has been zero rust and that includes several days camping out in very damp and dewy conditions.
The spine is squared by the tip to facilitate striking ferro rods and it works very well for this. I've read of a company that is working on bringing to market a spy capsule/ferro rod combo that would be pretty sweet with this. Put that (with Petroleum Jellied Cotton Balls inside) together with a photon, whistle, and a Snap Knapp on an S-Biner by NiteIze and you're in business.
The leather folds nicely back and away and since it becomes a negative shape, it fills the hand nicely. I don't notice that it's there. Most recently, it's been sporting a lanyard made by a buddy of mine, so it's stylin' now.
The thin stock will get to you if you use it hard, but keep in mind what the knife was meant for. I've been able to execute some nice fuzz sticks with it and it batons smaller pieces without issue. I like the shape (my current favorite small knife pattern is the patch knife and I love my BHK Frontier First Patch in Curly Maple) and it makes for a handy food prep knife when one isn't available. I've achieved respectably thin carrot slices without splitting and my wife and mother in law groan when I get that hungry look in my eye and pull my Snap Knapp out to use on some poor unsuspecting meal.
Having taken the Snap Knapp on a couple group camping trips, the comments have been very positive. The are typically go like this - I hand the person the knife, closed and they look it over and say blandly, "That's nice." Unsnap the sheath, deploy the knife and , "Whoa! That's a a fixed blade knife!" I then have to watch and make sure I get the knife back.
This little knife has done a wonderful job as an EDC knife along as a smaller companion to a woods knife and I expect many years of service out of it.
Good job Blind Horse and JRE.
