a few weeks ago, Heinnie had the SOG knives northwest ranger 2 (NWR from here on in) on offer, and having read the few reviews that seem to be around, I decided to take the plunge.
these are my first impressions, sort of a desktop review hopefuly over easter I will get a chance to give it a a proper workout on a survival course.
what you get:
in the box, along with the knife itself and the sheath, the NWR also includes a length of cord for use as a wrist lanyard, and the various peices of paperwork (warranty card and mini SOG catalogue)
the wrist lanyard struck me as a particualy nice touch, since many choose not to use a lanyard, they could have happily leave the lanyard out, and saved a few cents. I thought it showed attention to detail, and sugested a company that had put a bit of thought and care into their product.
the knife:
the knife itself wes also impressive. the general build quality seems to be solid, no gaps where there shouldn't be. the only manurfacturing flaw was a lump of handle material found in the lanyard tube, which needed to be removed using a suitable tool (I used a very heavy duty needle, but any other similar tool would have done) since otherwise a lanyard cord wouldn't have fitted.
the handle itself fits the hand well in every position I can think of. the texture of the grip material is very grippy, as is the jimping on the back of the blade. this knife isn't going to be slipping in your hand any time soon. however, it does worry me that over prolonged use it may chew up your hands a bit. defineately a case of only time will tell.
the blade itself came shaving sharp, taking arm hair off without a problem. the tip seems pointy enough for most jobs, but has enough bulk behind it that it's not delicate. equally, the spine thickness is enough that I would happily baton this blade, if I felt the need.
the sheath
after all this, the sheath was a bit of a letdown. the mouth is too tight, so the point where the grind ends gets hung up on the edge of the sheath, and replacing the blade in the sheath can be stiff. the retention strap is simply threaded through a slot in the sheath, and so there is nothing but friction to prevent it from moving when you try to undo the snap.
Overall:
- a solid, well built knife
- let down a bit by poor sheathing
hopefully, I'll be able to post a full review in a month or two, once I've put it through it's paces.
these are my first impressions, sort of a desktop review hopefuly over easter I will get a chance to give it a a proper workout on a survival course.
what you get:
in the box, along with the knife itself and the sheath, the NWR also includes a length of cord for use as a wrist lanyard, and the various peices of paperwork (warranty card and mini SOG catalogue)
the wrist lanyard struck me as a particualy nice touch, since many choose not to use a lanyard, they could have happily leave the lanyard out, and saved a few cents. I thought it showed attention to detail, and sugested a company that had put a bit of thought and care into their product.
the knife:
the knife itself wes also impressive. the general build quality seems to be solid, no gaps where there shouldn't be. the only manurfacturing flaw was a lump of handle material found in the lanyard tube, which needed to be removed using a suitable tool (I used a very heavy duty needle, but any other similar tool would have done) since otherwise a lanyard cord wouldn't have fitted.
the handle itself fits the hand well in every position I can think of. the texture of the grip material is very grippy, as is the jimping on the back of the blade. this knife isn't going to be slipping in your hand any time soon. however, it does worry me that over prolonged use it may chew up your hands a bit. defineately a case of only time will tell.
the blade itself came shaving sharp, taking arm hair off without a problem. the tip seems pointy enough for most jobs, but has enough bulk behind it that it's not delicate. equally, the spine thickness is enough that I would happily baton this blade, if I felt the need.
the sheath
after all this, the sheath was a bit of a letdown. the mouth is too tight, so the point where the grind ends gets hung up on the edge of the sheath, and replacing the blade in the sheath can be stiff. the retention strap is simply threaded through a slot in the sheath, and so there is nothing but friction to prevent it from moving when you try to undo the snap.
Overall:
- a solid, well built knife
- let down a bit by poor sheathing
hopefully, I'll be able to post a full review in a month or two, once I've put it through it's paces.
