As a dedicated office commando, I jump at the chance to pit my high-end blade steel against the boxes and blister packs that cross my desk every day. There’s something satisfying about a blade cleanly and effortlessly gliding through cardboard, that I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with sharpness. But today’s wonder steels with their 60+RC hardness ratings, come a cost that is not just monetary. Sharpening them can be a major PITA.
I suck at freehand sharpening. Give me a fine Arkansas stone and a few hours to work on it, and I can turn a Sebenza into the worlds most expensive butter knife. Over the years I’ve accrued a hodgepodge of stones and clamps from Lansky, DMT and Spyderco to make up for my shortcomings. With these implements, I manage to keep all my knives hair popping sharp and my forearms as smooth as a baby’s butt. The Spyderco Sharpmaker is my go-to system for quick touch ups. It’s quick and simple to drop the ceramic rods into the guided base. A few swipes against the rods and my semi-dull blades are easily returned to razors as long as the grind angle of the edge matches the preset 30 or 40 degree angles of the sharp maker. BUT, take a new blade with a greater edge angle, or heaven forbid, an edge that’s been chipped or damaged, and it might take hours, even days, of wrist-cramping agony to re-profile the steel on even the most aggressive of the Sharpmaker’s stones. To regrind an edge to a thinner angle so that it can be maintained on the Sharpmaker, I turn to a clamping system with diamond stones. Enter the “Wicked Edge.”
We spoke with Andrew Gritzbaugh, and he showed us the new Gerber De Facto. Andrew said this one was designed with feedback from US Military troops who wanted a dagger for up close and personal work. The De Facto has a four inch blade, is made of S30V steel, and comes with a lockable sheath. The sheath is almost as interesting as the blade itself. It features an easy to use lock, in addition to its normal friction lock. This is designed to let guys jump with the knife, but still have it easy to access. We pulled on the knife pretty hard with it locked in place, and couldn’t get it to budge. After releasing the lock, the standard friction lock worked without any problem. One of our concerns was if the lock could get stuck in place if it was hit hard, this does not seem to be an issue from our limited time with it.
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Ever wonder what we are doing over here at Gear Scout when we aren’t writing, shooting pictures, fondling gear or working as a city cop? We play with knives, of course. In this case, we are playing around with a knife we slapped together for under $20. I know some of you will be disgusted at this point, and while you vomit, you will curse me and anyone associated with a $20 blade. I can understand your concern, but before you regurgitate your latest meal, take a read and check out the whats and whys. … I’ll mention it’s an AUS8 steel for $20, just to keep you interested.
Click the image below for more info and pictures; you know you want to.
There’s plenty more here than I can see in a few days, but here’s what caught my attention on day 2: a one-off Bawidimann blade made for dealing with the walking dead, some beautiful hand made blades from Japanese knifemaker Kiku Matsuda, an updated Wilson/Chris Reeve Star-benza, new 1911 grips from VZ grips, a hotly anticipated ZT/Hinderer collaboration and two production knives that are certainly in the running for Blade awards this year; ZT’s high tech 0777 (shown above) and Microtech’s return to the folding market with a new selectable automatic opening system on it’s Select Fire model.
I arrived here in Atlanta for Blade Show and immediately got wind of Ernie Emerson’s new Ek-1 multitool. I got hands on with a prototype and have to say it’s going to be a beefy tool meant for tackling serious work. The design is a collaboration between Ernie Emerson and Multitasker Tools. I had a chance to catch up with Emerson and he told me the idea behind the tool is to make the toughest multitool out there.
“There’s a difference between tough and simply overbuilt,” said Emerson. He explained his leap into the multitool realm would bear the same hallmarks of durability, efficiency and elegance found in his knives. “We want our tool to work no matter if you’re cutting C-Wire on the battlefield or barbed wire on the ranch.”
I got hands-on with the tool and the first thing I noticed was the tool’s size. It’s large, but not bulky. The grips filled my hands, feeling far more like a real tool than a pocket tool. The big jaws are nicknamed “chompers” and are made from a block of billet tool steel for durability just like the AR Multitasker Series 2 jaws.
The prototype had two large blades, and 6 onboard tools that will likely be reduced to 4 in production to make the tool a little slimmer and more pocket-friendly. By production, the tool will also have G10 scales instead of the metal slabs seen in the photographs of the prototype. The tool is still in it’s early stages of development, so there will be more to come in the way of specs and pricing.
The release comes ahead of Emerson’s entry into the larger tactical gear market. He told me he’s poised to release a line of tactical nylon that includes everything from load bearing gear and holsters to a novel kettle bell made from nylon that folds flat for travel after the contents (lead shot, BBs, sand, water…) have been dumped. Look for rumors to give way to announcements over the summer and for an official release by Emerson at SHOT Show 2012.
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When Ernest Emerson placed his newest knife in our hands, it was evident the “Roadhouse” is destined to be a classic.
If you are in the market, take a little advice: Forget all the cheesy blade designs and grips that have become all too common. This is a practical and tactical fighting knife.
Roadhouse comes with Emerson’s patented Wave feature which opens and locks the blade for you as you pull it out of your pocket. It has a Double V Ground Blade but a Tanto-type design, which provides two types of grind. A key feature is that the 3.8-inch blade is under slung but its cutting edge sweeps up. This maintains the centerline through the middle of a very ergonomic 5.1-inch handle. This design offers optimal thrusting and stabbing balance.
And this thing is just plain cool.
Ernest Emerson described the Roadhouse like a chopped Harley, low slung and ready to roar. “If a chopper could be a knife it would be the Roadhouse. This is a bad to the bone fighter with a rebel’s soul and a Rock ‘n’ Roll attitude that cannot be tamed. Pick it up and you can just about smell the whiskey.”
‘Nuff said.
The first run of The Roadhouse sold out in 24 hours. But don’t worry, there are more in stock. And you can get yours for just under $250. You can find Emerson Knives and local dealers at www.emersonknives.com. Emerson Knives offers a military a law enforcement discount.
As a personal testimony, I’ve owned an Emerson Super Commander for many years, and it never let me down. I recently gave it to a friend headed to the ‘Stan. I’m not sure whether I miss him or my Emerson more.
Again, ’nuff said.
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Benchmade has several new knives on display at SHOT Show this year, including a smaller variation of the Onslaught, which was named a 2010 Knife of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence.
The Mini-Onslaught (pictured at right above) looks like a chip off the ol’ block, but the size differences are substantial. The blade length has been reduced from 4.28 inches to 3.45, the blade thickness has been reduced from .12 inches to .07 inches and the weight has been reduced from 6.96 ounces to 3.9 ounches.
The prices are relatively stiff. Depending on color options, the original Onslaught sells for $185 to $200. The new mini version is priced from $160 to $175.
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Ka-Bar knives have been in the military for a long time, but the company doesn’t stop there. In fact, they’ve added a new use for their tools this year: killing zombies.
I kid, but not really. The company is displaying its new ZK knives at SHOT Show. They’re easily identifiable because of their lime-green handles.
Ka-Bar named the line after its top officials joked about the need to design knives capable of killing a zombie when firearms aren’t available, said Joseph Bradley, a company representative at SHOT. Hence, “Zombie Killer.” He wasn’t kidding, even though there is no mention of zombies anywhere in Ka-Bar’s new promotional materials.
The ZK knifes have serious utility value, though. There’s the “Kharon” Tanto folder, shown above. Its MSRP price is $40.98, and it has a 3 3/8-inch blade. There’s the ZK “Pestilence” chopper, featuring a 10 1/4-inch blade and priced at $75.63. And there’s the ZK “Acheron” skeleton knife, which sticks out in this group because it’s the only one missing the lime-green handle. It has a 3 1/8-inch blade, and sells for $11.70.
“We wouldn’t make a novelty knife just to make a novelty knife,” Bradley said.
For those who like the series, but can’t handle the green handles, Ka-Bar includes an extra set of interchangeable black handles with each purchase (check the photo gallery below) . You know, just in case you don’t want your knife to look like Slimer got a hold of it.
Not much detail on this one at the moment, but Benchmade just sent out a press release announcing their acquisition of Lone Wolf Knives. They didn’t say how much it cost them, but they did promise some new designs for the 2011 SHOT show.
PR after the break.
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Hailing from France, the BALADÉO 22g’s 440c stainless steel blade is 3.5” but the whole knife weighs in at a mere 22 grams (thus the name). They could have called it the 1.2 oz, but the French are still trying to get that whole metric thing to stick. It garnered an innovation award at the European gear show OutDoor 2010 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, for it’s light weight and minimalist design. We guess they hadn’t seen the Ed Halligan designed CRKT Kiss or they wouldn’t have found it so groundbreaking. Still, the 22g is bigger blade than the KISS and it’s lighter, so that’s something to be proud of.
Just be careful; there’s no choil to keep your finger from sliding up the blade nor is there a thumb stud to push the blade open. The 22g is $30, It comes in a larger, 4.33” version, called the 34g, for $40. More info allegedly available at www.baladeo.com (if you can figure out how to find anything on their site.)
UPDATE: Thanks to reader Jared for the direct links to the 34g and the 22g.
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