Aloha all!
As some of you know, I recently got a Corkum First Strike, the biggest one they make.
I also received in the mail a Cold Steel Large SE Vaquero from a Forumfriend that also included some neat Spyderco pins and a Spyderco steel chart. This Forumite sent it to me "just because" and wished for his act of kindness not to include his name should i post anything about it. He is very humble indeed!
Anyway, "adversaries" for the "F.S." and Vaquero WAS a foam swimming "thingy". (Kids use these "tubes" to float on) Normally, I place a dowel in it and duct tape old magazines and old clothing around it. Wallah, my training limb! My friends, or sometimes my wife then proceeds to "attack " me with these limbs while i block, strike, trap, or whatever. Sometimes there is a Gerber EZ Out Drone taped to the limb for disarming. These are done at 110% realtime speed, with 110% impact...Usually, there are two limbs attacking also, and we have both "arms" and "legs". EXTRA safety is always adhered to as a missed incoming from these dowel limbs could send the knife right back at ya! "Center of mass" strikes are performed on a thickly wrapped laundry pole.
I was honestly too lazy today to fabricate a "true" limb, so I just used the foam. Results:
Man, that Vaquero tore and sliced the "limb" with horrible ease! It was also very maneuverable, and I managed a pretty secure grip while holding the very end of the handle for xtra reach. MAHALO my Forumfriend for your sincerity and kindness, and for the neat xtras that came with this terrifying SD knife! Glad it was the clipless version as I would have been tempted to EDC rotate it! Yipes...
First Strike: VERY thick. Maneuverability was fine, and the sword wrap was EXCELLENT! I had no fear AFTER a few 60% strikes that my hand would silde onto the blade's edge going 110%! This is a pretty heavy blade, so I "felt the burn" after a while...It did not cut as well as the Vaquero due to it's thickness, blade shape, and PE that's not too sharp out of the box, but I did give it a few strokes on my "grey triangles" prior to testing. The sharp pommel made some "flows" from slash to backfist very interesting...gouged the foam VERY well. Cosmetically, I do not like the sharp pommel, but I know why it's there...
I even had my FRN PE Jester I got last night doing a few passes on the "limb". LOL!
Now, i know that this wasn't a Spyderco review, nor did this particular foam "limb" simulate muscle tissue but it helped me to evaluate through motion these two knives in an SD situation IF I had the knife either already open or drawn from sheath. The Vaquero took some getting used to deployment wise, and forget about withdrawing the First Strike without the sheath following, unless you have it tied to your belt that is. The belt attachment is just a plastic "hook" that you hang on to your belt.
In an SD role, either of these knives would be more than sufficiant. The F.S. is hidden on night stand, the Vaquero will be placed in my collection after a few more SD drills, LOL! It's great!
God forbid ANYONE should ever need to use their EDC's or "Other Than Body" weapons on another...but know that these two would be VERY effective at it! Remember, they cannot do it on "their own", you gotta train. Period. It always saddens me when one of the guys from my place of employ buys the latest "Combat knife" or firearm and they fall into that false sense of security of "just by owning one, I can handle myself IF a situation should arise..." This is like buying a pair of Muay Thai shorts, reading about "how to", then entering the K1 Championships!!! *sigh*...
Anyway, just another day in my knife life. Also, I wanted to sincerely thank "You know who you are" for the goodies!
God bless you all and thanks for readin'...
Chad
God will put you over...if you let Him! John 14: 13,14...try it, it WORKS!
OT: CS Vaquero and CRKT Corkum tests...
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Jimmy_Dean
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thombrogan
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The Cold Steel Vaquero Grande (or "mocha latte" as I call mines) is an excellent utility blade. With either a wrist flick or Brownie pop, it's instantly deployed (though the thumbstuds are extremely fast, too) and you have fully-serrated flatground, recurved clip-point goodness to help with your cutting needs. I really like that Cold Steel came up with their own serration pattern instead of thieving from Spyderco and that those serrations make AUS-8A an even more beautiful thing than it otherwise is.
Within the next year or so, Spyderco is rumored to be making a larger bladed knife and Sal said it was because of troublemakers like Dann and me bugging him to make a Spyderco version of the Vaquero Grande.
The one thing I dislike about the newer style Vaquero Grandes is that they put the clip on the wrong side. To fix this, you have to bug sc_rebel to make you a clip for the proper side. Glad I did.
Daywalker,
Thanks for the cool review.
Within the next year or so, Spyderco is rumored to be making a larger bladed knife and Sal said it was because of troublemakers like Dann and me bugging him to make a Spyderco version of the Vaquero Grande.
The one thing I dislike about the newer style Vaquero Grandes is that they put the clip on the wrong side. To fix this, you have to bug sc_rebel to make you a clip for the proper side. Glad I did.
Daywalker,
Thanks for the cool review.
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dialex
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Thanks for the review. I'm not a big fan of CS, though there are a few models I like there <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> I hope you'll enjoy your new knives.
And congratulations to your forumite friend for his generosity <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>
And congratulations to your forumite friend for his generosity <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>
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The General
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Bison I think was the name for the new Spyderco giant folder... 5.5" blade and a compression lock. It was very tasty and I certainly would buy one!
Why not visit britishblades.com? http://www.britishblades.com/forums/ind ... errerid=41
Why not visit britishblades.com? http://www.britishblades.com/forums/ind ... errerid=41
I have two of the CS Vaquero Grandes and although my edc doesn't include them anymore it isn't because they didn't perform. I stuffed a leather jacket with a satin lining full of poly-fil, had it free hanging from a rafter in my garage and took a slash at it. The jacket opened from shoulder to hip allowing the fill to spill out and cut effortlessly through the metal zipper without folding a tooth of the serration. If anybody has ever cut a leather jacket youll understand that the lining actually gives you more protection than the leather. But not against the Grande.
Aloha and welcome tonie!
Poor jacket..!
Man, them Grande's are HUGE! I alomost bought one w/ the Kydex sheath, but that thing was almost as long as one of my legs so I decided not to get it. LOL!
I am VERY thankful to "anonymous Forumfriend" for sending me this piece. I think I'm gonna give her ONE more run on my day off, then put her away in my "gawk at" collection. She is addicting though!
God will put you over...if you let Him! John 14: 13,14...try it, it WORKS!
Poor jacket..!
Man, them Grande's are HUGE! I alomost bought one w/ the Kydex sheath, but that thing was almost as long as one of my legs so I decided not to get it. LOL!
I am VERY thankful to "anonymous Forumfriend" for sending me this piece. I think I'm gonna give her ONE more run on my day off, then put her away in my "gawk at" collection. She is addicting though!
God will put you over...if you let Him! John 14: 13,14...try it, it WORKS!