Interested in opinions...

[RHGraham]

...on this knife, which I made in response to a complaint by a friend about knives that wern't "work-orientated enough", particularly slippery handles.
We called it the "extreme Scandi"...

What do you folks think?

Forged-to-shape W-1 scandi-style workhorse;
Two-strand cord wrap over stabilized maple scales, resin infused, for a 100% sure grip, wet, bloody, muddy, greasy, it doesn't matter.
3.5 inch/90mm blade, 8 inches/200mm overall, 5/16th inch/4mm thick at center tapering to both ends.
High hollow grind, and stupid sharp.
100% function first.
Wood-lined leather sheath, hot wax-treated.

 

[Greg]

Very nice work, and like you say a purely practical knife.

Is it a hollow or full tang?

 

[Snufkin]

Very pretty. I'm not a fan of the hollow grind personally, but each to their own .

 

[British Red]

What do you folks think?

Well, you did ask

I like the sheath, and I like the high grind and general lines of the knife.

I despise hollow grind even more than I do convexing. However if its for mainly slicing meat and "soft materials" I understand the hollow ground logic - for wood or anything tougher, it goes too far to "sharp" and too far from "strong" for me (although convex goes too far the other way - both comments clearly subject to angle - but a high ground hollow looks fragile to me)

I can't comment on the cord wrap, but it looks quite abrasive to be honest - although beautifully executed. For a"grippy" finish, I'd rather go for something over moulded and kraton type.

So for me? For a work knife? Grind it flat and use a kraton handle. Love the lines and sheath but that would be my 2p worth

Sorry...but you did ask!

Red

 

[jojo]

That's really neat work. When you say "resin infused" what resin do you mean? Is it epoxy? It's very neatly done if so. Is it synthetic cord, looks it could be a bit hard on the hand, but bomb proof

 

[RHGraham]

Well, you did ask

I like the sheath, and I like the high grind and general lines of the knife.

I despise hollow grind even more than I do convexing. However if its for mainly slicing meat and "soft materials" I understand the hollow ground logic - for wood or anything tougher, it goes too far to "sharp" and too far from "strong" for me (although convex goes too far the other way - both comments clearly subject to angle - but a high ground hollow looks fragile to me)

I can't comment on the cord wrap, but it looks quite abrasive to be honest - although beautifully executed. For a"grippy" finish, I'd rather go for something over moulded and kraton type.

So for me? For a work knife? Grind it flat and use a kraton handle. Love the lines and sheath but that would be my 2p worth

Sorry...but you did ask!

Red

\

Yup, I did, and thanks! Sa'll good.
This knife is the "hunting version", hence the hollow-grind, that's wht my friend needed for the task at hand.
I prefer flat grinds or half-width hollow-grinds myself, depending on the use.

And yes, the grip is intense, not as hard on the hands as you'd think though, but it's personal preferance of course. The intent here was a very sure grip in very bad conditions, and again, I do fairly traditional Scandi's also and for the most part I prefer the smooth oiled wood handles.

The idea here was to meet the demands of extreme circumstances, I couldn't think of a better method than this.

Thanks for the input, that's what I wanted. I got thick skin, it's all good.

 

[British Red]

Hey, my own design is getting built right now...you get to have revenge

I'd give you rep for that reply (except its still offline)

Red

 

[RHGraham]

That's really neat work. When you say "resin infused" what resin do you mean? Is it epoxy? It's very neatly done if so. Is it synthetic cord, looks it could be a bit hard on the hand, but bomb proof

It's a epoxy-type resin, I started my life as a fabricator in shipyards, one of my best buddies did the composite stuff, I learned how to do the vacuum-infusion deal from him, so that's how I do these, it draws resin through the materials 100%, making them more-or-less "bombproof", like you said.

I did a bunch of these as trials, the two strand wrap was one of a few variations tried, and the one that provided all-condition grip without chewing the skin off your hand, which some of them were really good at.
Although, you're correct in assuming it's an intense grip, it wouldn't be something you'd want to spend all day carving with for sure. It's not overly vicious, and it doesn't bother me at all, but I got some pretty mean hands being a blacksmith so what I think there doesn't count for much.

But in the context of being a workhorse piece for extreme conditions, I guess "survival" or "emergency" knife, this is what worked-out the best overall.

Mainly just wanted some feedback to see if it warranted exploring the style more, and this is where I thought I'd get some intelligent comments.

I was right.

 

[RHGraham]

I forgot to add, it's a natural cord, hemp fibre.
The infusion method allows me to stick with pretty much all natural materials and still get the composite effect/strength. It draws the resin completely through cordage, leather, wood, etc.

 

[RHGraham]

Very pretty. I'm not a fan of the hollow grind personally, but each to their own .

Pretty?
Darn... that's not what I was goin for eh...


Hey, I just make em as they want em. I like flat grinds personally.

 

[jojo]

I forgot to add, it's a natural cord, hemp fibre.
The infusion method allows me to stick with pretty much all natural materials and still get the composite effect/strength. It draws the resin completely through cordage, leather, wood, etc.

I am being dim here What resin is it and how do you do it? Would that weatherproof leather?

 

[Ogri the trog]

Looks pretty good to me RHG,
I'll follow the lead of others with the grind, and take another stance on the part where you said Hunter version. For a field dressing knife, I'd want to ba able to field sharpen, and while hollow is not impossible to do, a good flat grind might be better. And in a similar vein, if I was field dressing, I wouldn't want all the voids in the cord wrapped handle to get filled with body fluids, so Kraton gets another vote here.
As a stand alone item it looks great, sheath included - the type of thing I'd like to see more of. If you'd called it anything other than a Hunter Version, my comments would not stand.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[RHGraham]

I am being dim here What resin is it and how do you do it? Would that weatherproof leather?

Just about any long-set epoxy will work, basically the hilt or whatever assembly is wrapped in a permeable fabric that won't stick to the handle or epoxy, then it has a feeder and vacuum tube mounted, and then plastic over that. You draw a vacuum on one hose, and the other hose carries in the resin to the materials, the method can create a 100% saturation of resin into the material, making it inot a composite, without having too-much resin, which actually makes the assembly weaker than if you have "just enough".

Mainly i do it this way cause I have the stuff and know how.

Another method is to simply brush epoxy onto/into everything you want to saturate, and warm it with a hairdryer (heat-gun too hot) so it thins and gets drawn into the fibers, then after a while you wipe the excess off and allow it to set. Pretty much works just as good, although it's hard to get 100% saturation in stuff like wood that way.

Yes, you can do this to leather also.

 

[RHGraham]

Looks pretty good to me RHG,
I'll follow the lead of others with the grind, and take another stance on the part where you said Hunter version. For a field dressing knife, I'd want to ba able to field sharpen, and while hollow is not impossible to do, a good flat grind might be better. And in a similar vein, if I was field dressing, I wouldn't want all the voids in the cord wrapped handle to get filled with body fluids, so Kraton gets another vote here.
As a stand alone item it looks great, sheath included - the type of thing I'd like to see more of. If you'd called it anything other than a Hunter Version, my comments would not stand.

ATB

Ogri the trog

Hmm, not sure I get what you mean about sharpening, nothing easier to sharpen than W-1 carbon steel. Oh, you mean sharpening in the scandi-style?
This knife has a secondary edge bevel so it's not an issue, if that's what you mean.

Yeah, the voids hold all kinds of crud, they sipe it away from under your hands.
Which would be BAD, but you can clean this with an old toothbrush and dishsoap and rinse it off, it's completely impregnated with epoxy.
With exactly that in mind I would't have done it this way at all unless that was possible.

I should point out I'm a custom full-time maker, so most everything I make is to order, in some cases I may have strong opinions myself about how something should be, but mostly I'm meeting the requests of the customers.
In this case it was 100% function, no slip, waterproof handle, and carbon steel.
I talked him into the scandi style, cause, well, that's one of my strong opinions, the Scandi IS the 100% fucntional design.

In other cases things could change alot... for a woodworker primarily it would be the flat true-scandi grind, that sharpens flat on the bevels. For "bushcraft", I'd lean towards a half-flat grind with a secondary edge bevel, or perhaps a half-hollow with a secondary bevel as well. There isn't any design I believe will meet 100% of the needs 100% of the time, intended use is always the driving force ( or should be anyway) of any knife design.

 

[Longstrider]

I like the lines of the knife as a whole. The hollow grind would be ideal for dressing game, so I guess as it's the "Hunting Version" I'll let you get away with it this time
My concern is with the handle. It might not be too hard on the hands for the length of time that most folks would be using such a knife, but what about keeping it clean? Even with it being resin impregnated cord there are loads of little tight corners in there that all sorts of muck could get stuck into.
If I'm dressing game I like a knife that I can clean properly and easily afterwards. Blood and guts have a tendency to find every nook and cranny to get wedged into, then fester away nicely if you don't manage to get them out PDQ afterwards.

 

[RHGraham]

My concern is with the handle. It might not be too hard on the hands for the length of time that most folks would be using such a knife, but what about keeping it clean? Even with it being resin impregnated cord there are loads of little tight corners in there that all sorts of muck could get stuck into.
If I'm dressing game I like a knife that I can clean properly and easily afterwards. Blood and guts have a tendency to find every nook and cranny to get wedged into, then fester away nicely if you don't manage to get them out PDQ afterwards.

I answered some of that earlier, the handle isn't that bad on the hands. With nylon cord, sword wrapping, and paracord, it WAS, oh boy, damn near instant blister. This guage of cord and the two-strand wrap actually worked out real well and it's not too bad, BUT, yeah, it's not an all-day handle, carving spoons and such, you are absolutely right. It's for extreme use, and fits that use well.
The guy who got the other example is a guide in the Rockies and field-dresses and quarters game in heavy Bear territory and the rifle shot is basically a dinner bell. And they use horses extensively so getting things done very quickly and effeciently is pretty important.
The other knife of mine he carries is a pretty standard wood-handled Scandi that does most everything else.
When he gets back to camp he just gives it a brush in the dishwater, drys it off, and it's back in the sheath.

 

[C_Claycomb]

It looks a nice light knife. Easy to carry till you need to cut something. That scandi style is a hard one to adapt for really secure grip with wet hands, any guards start to detract from the style, ditto using soft rubber.

This sort of quality cord wrap isn't something that one sees often, I haven't handled many cord grips, good or bad, so it is kind of hard to judge how it would feel. I reckon my gut reaction is pretty close to what has been said before. It just seems counter intuitive that it would be easy to keep clean in the field. But, if the guys you make 'em for are happy, that is all that matters It is certainly one of the most stylish high-grip-handled knives I have seen.

How long has the other one been with the guide?

The sheath looks good good. It looks like the leather has conformed to the handle wrap pattern, did the that give you any problems with fitting that style of pouch sheath?

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[RHGraham]

It looks a nice light knife. Easy to carry till you need to cut something. That scandi style is a hard one to adapt for really secure grip with wet hands, any guards start to detract from the style, ditto using soft rubber.

This sort of quality cord wrap isn't something that one sees often, I haven't handled many cord grips, good or bad, so it is kind of hard to judge how it would feel. I reckon my gut reaction is pretty close to what has been said before. It just seems counter intuitive that it would be easy to keep clean in the field. But, if the guys you make 'em for are happy, that is all that matters It is certainly one of the most stylish high-grip-handled knives I have seen.

How long has the other one been with the guide?

The sheath looks good good. It looks like the leather has conformed to the handle wrap pattern, did the that give you any problems with fitting that style of pouch sheath?

Thanks for sharing!!

The first one has been with my Buddy about a year now and went through a full season.
It is actually a bit of a pain to clean if it gets real gooey, but in this case it's ok cause he's in camp everyday so a scrub and a wash is no big deal.
I made another to get back in the "groove" and maybe tickle the "tactical" market a bit.


Yeah, making the sheath is a pain for that very reason, and was the first time around, and I forgot... when the leather shrinks up it takes hold of the wrap and doesn't want to let go. You'd think a guy would learn after the first time.
Just had to work at it for awhile to make it right.

The wrappped handle in this style IS a bit harsh, there is no doughbt about it.
Not nearly as much as I thought it would be early on though, it's not that bad, but it is a special purpose set-up.
This same cordage in a straight closed-wrap is still very grippy, but not nearly so intense and gives up a bit of grab for all-day comfort. It feels about like the Cold Steel kraton grips and that stuff when it's done like that.
I even tried kevlar cord at one point, that stuff would just about take a layer of skin right off your hand just getting it out of the sheath.

I think I'll work on it more anyway, I do have a customer that wants something similar but for more of a "bushcraft" usage, and had exactly the same comments most of you folks did here. I'll post some pics of it when I get it done.
My goal is to eventually get some kind of all-weather high-grip handle that IS comfortable and good for extended use, this is just the starting point.

In any case, all the comments are very welcome, I appreciate it.

 

[Shinken]

I think that given what the customer wanted this is an extremely well executed knife. Everything else is just personal preference

 

[RHGraham]

I think that given what the customer wanted this is an extremely well executed knife. Everything else is just personal preference

Thanks Shinken, yeah, that's the deal, "Custom" knifemaker.
It can be a bit of a hassle sometimes, but mostly, that's why i dig the gig, putting usefull tools into people's hands that fill a specific need.