I'll try to post pics whenever I have internet. We will be on the road, on hikes and camping the entire way to Utah. Plenty of spots to test the blade.
Saw the pics Todd posted on FB the other day - I'm a bit jealous. Looking forward to some use reports - Todd does nice work, but I'd love to see this come out as a production knife.
Just got the knife. I'm at work, so I left it in the car. The knife looks great, the only thing different is it seems that Todd went with the constant spine thickness instead of distal taper. It feels a little heavier, so I will remove some material from the spine. I'll post pics once I get home.
No idea, I don't have scales that accurate. It balances well, but it is a hefty blade. Next to my Junglas for comparison.
Sure is. It will definitely be a good chopper, but I think it could stand to lose some weight. A distal taper would help, I think.
That's the plan. All my blades endure domestic abuse. No safe queens in this household lol. Might have a friend take videos, too.
Otherwise what's the point in having a working knife. Even my Carothers I recently got is seeing hard work. The biggest test for this blade is going to be in the light brush. I need it to be swift enough to handle it well and light enough to not strain my wrist.
you should talk to Jim Bensinger -- he does some of the best forged distal tapers I've handled. I can guess what you paid for that from Todd, and Jim could probably build one for similar $$$. since it's your design, there's no worry about copying another maker's work. this is the spine of one of his Ruination bowies - about 3/8" at the hilt, tapered down to almost nothing at the tip. this is Jim smiling, holding a custom oversized Jest pattern bolo
I might just modify this one. I like tinkering with my blades. Or maybe ask Ben if he would grind it down for me.
So, after giving it enough thought, I decided not to take this blade on the trip. It is a monster chopper, but that's not what I set out to accomplish. I underestimated the scale and the mass of it (Junglas is easier to swing than this knife), so I'll need to trim quite a bit off in order to bring it to what I had in mind. I'm afraid if I take it for a week-long trip, I'll get used to it, and I don't want that to happen. EDIT: I borrowed a bench grinder from my friend and was able to remove some material from the spine. Feels better, so she's coming with me, after all. If I think it needs some more metal removed, Ben @FortyTwoBlades agreed to help me with that.
Did some work on it this week. Took some metal off the spine and handle, and tried to put a distal taper on it (best I could do with a bench grinder). Handles a lot better, IMO. Next to the inspirations for the concept: FBF short machete and Junglas.