Review: Jason Aube Tanto.

[bogflogger]

Finding myself in the fortunate position of having some cash spare and seeing this, over on BB:

I decided that I NEED this knife immediately and so contacted Paul (circlepknives) about ordering one, as he is the exclusive dealer on these.

A week later it had arrived and I was impressed at the care that had gone into packing the knife, to prevent damage in transit from the USA.

As you can see, the knife has a clay quenched Hamon, which looks like a Mountain range.

This is what first attracted me to it, and it is very clearly defined in the blade.

The 3/32" thick 1095 steel blade is Surgically sharp!

I have tried the 45 Degree "Fingernail test" where you rest the knife edge vertically on your nail and see if it slides.

It did not.......nor did it slide on a piece of Perspex!

Seriously Sharp, plus it feels like a good long lasting edge too.

The 4" long handle wrapping is black paracord (with the inner strands removed) over a silver and black flecked, synthetic silk underwrap.

The whole wrapping is very tight and neat and has been sealed in place with waterproof varnish.

The grip is exceptionally good, even with wet hands, without being too "Gnarly" and is approx 10mm thick.

Overall, this knife is very comfortable to handle and use, plus, it is not run of the mill production stuff.

It is definitely being added to my Outdoor gear, particularly as it only weighs 100g including the Kydex sheath and paracord lanyard.

The knife is very securely held in the Kydex sheath and snaps in and out with a positive "Click."

I am very impressed with this little knife!

For further infomation, heres a link to the dealer thread over on BB:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25979



(No connection and all the usual guff.)

 

[mtnfolk mike]

wow... that is a cool looking knife.... i recently got my first custom and i'm already itching for another....

i've also been in the market for someting similar..... i have been looking into michael burch's japanese style knives...... he has a wide selection of knives....

cheers... mike

 

[ggfh666]

For those who don't believe Bogflogger, I agree with him.
I own one as well.

For those who don't believe me either, wait for the next one to confirm

 

[circlepknives]

Thanks fr the great review Mac, I am well pleased with these knives meself, will let you know when I get more (Hint: this week )

 

[C_Claycomb]

Interesting little knife, but...
That has got to weigh less than 500g!!
I have a belt knife from 5/32 stock, 5" blade, 4.75" handle and thick stabalised wood grips + kydex sheath with Teklok that comes in at 270g, which is about Woodlore weight.

What do you intend to use it for?

 

[bogflogger]

Yes, I think my scales are guilty of "rounding up" as I never use them, because I prefer cooking using "A handful of this" and "A teaspoon of that."

I will check it on some more accurate scales when I get a chance and edit the review.

What is certain is that the knife and sheath weigh less than a Frosts Clipper, without it's sheath.

My plan is to use this knife for most camp chores and food prep, leaving heavier woodwork to my Hatchet and smaller delicate cutting tasks to one of my small folders.

I have never understood this preocupation with "batoning" and Wood splitting with a knife.

As far as I am concerned, making a blade heavy enough to do this compromises it for everything else and turns it into an unwieldy lump that is a jack of all trades and Master of none.

 

[C_Claycomb]

No worries about the weight thing
Hey, I only use my scales for weighing camping gear....you mean they could also get used for cooking too? WOW

I have a flat ground knife in 1/8th stock, complete with tapered tang and have womped on that when need arises and it took no harm. Having seen what Mors can do with a Mora and a baton I have ammended my views on the matter. I have been amazed at what can be cut with what seem to be pretty little blades. Wood workers use mallets on carving tools, and that does not mean the tools are less fine than if they were only used by hand alone. It just gives greater mechanical advantage and speeds certain jobs.

How do you think that the paracord will hold up? All the "using" knives like this that I ahve seen had the cord soaked in epoxy to water/dirt proof it.

 

[bogflogger]

Well, theres absolutely ZERO movement at all, as the wrapping has been sealed in place with resin.

It is more of a Laminated Composite (like Tufnol/Micarta or Fibreglass) rather than a lashing that has been varnished.

So it should be good for at least 10 years.

 

[circlepknives]

Ok got the scoop from Jason, Knife and sheath weigh ~100g He sometimes uses Shellac or lacquer for the wrap, but for all the knives in this batch, he used a slow cure epoxy.

 

[bogflogger]

Thanks for checking that out Paul.

The slow cure Epoxy is a definite plus for wet European conditions.

I forgot to mention that the grip feels almost like velvet, which adds to the non slip grip, rather than being a solid plastic lump.