Since a few months, I have got myself an office job in engineering (hence sub 3’’). I don’t know how I feel about the office part, but I love to invent stuff in all kinds of materials.
I never bought a lot of knives, but my budget improved considerably.
The thing what I appreciate a knife for, is pure cutting performance and build quality. For me, ergonomics are a large part of cutting performance. There isn’t a thing as too light for me; when both knives are up to the job, the best knife is the lightest (you can replace knife with car, airplane, flashlight or wheelbarrow).
I have done some Bladesports in the past, and would like to vent my opinion about the conventional blade and edge thicknesses: I think we overestimate our precise control while cutting and underestimate the strength of steel. Remember the cutting forces we expose Stanley knives to. They are about 0,70mm thick. The bending strength of a blade increases with the cubed thickness. A three mm blade is a factor 78 stronger in pure bending than this Stanley blade (assuming same grindshape, steel, etc.). Pure bending must be avoided in a knife made to cut, because every effort to increase its bending strength will drastically impact the cutting performance of the blade. Because of that reason, I don’t think sub-2mm bladestock is that extreme for a gentleman’s, or even a workman’s knife.
Shown below are a few knives I really appreciate:
From left to right; PM2, Veld Knives PFB, Benchmade Leopard Club, FRN Calypso Jr, LM New Wave
I would like to do a mini review of my user experience with those cutting tools for your enjoyment and to give some insights in my preferences. These are the preferences of someone thinking he has his cutting technique down, and has more appropriate prying tools at hand rather than a knife.
Paramillitary 2 in S30V;
Great blade, my to go knife almost everywhere but at the office because I find it too large for that environment. I love the ergonomics (carry it RH tip down), opening and closing is great, build quality is top notch. What really grinds my gears about it is that it is quite thick behind the edge; 0,8mm. This makes it objectively the worst cutter out of the shown knives. I should take the edge down to about .15mm, but don’t like losing Sal & Spyderco’s logos. It will happen eventually though. I also wonder if it would be possible to make it lighter without losing strength or stiffness, but have to talk with Sal or Eric about it before stating it, because I know they work very hard to make their knives as light as possible.
Field Knives Pocket Fixed Blade in D2
This is an interesting little knife, the blade is 3,5 mm thick and just 19 mm wide, but the edge is just 0,30mm thick. This low edge thickness makes it a great cutter even though it is quite thick and the small handle doesn’t give a lot of purchase for large cutting forces. In a provided kydex sheath it is possible to carry it loose in the pocket, but it takes some extra time to put it back in the sheath.
Sander’s Website; http://www.field-knives.com/
Benchmade Pat Crawford Leopard Club in ATS-34
It is a nice sleek knife, and quit heavily modded. The previous owner took the anodizing off the aluminum handle. It cuts great thanks to a full distal tapered, 2,5 mm thick blade. The edge is 0,70 mm thick and will get thinned out in a while because this blade is still able to cut a lot better. The plunge cut was horrible, the edge thickness near the handle was about 2mm which made it a disaster to sharpen. I shortened the edge by about 5 mm, and now it is acceptable. The opening ergonomics are just worse than my standard office knife, the Calypso Jr.
FRN Calypso Jr in VG-10
This is an epic little blade. It weighs just 53 grams, handles great and cuts fantastic. The shape works great. The edge thickness is about 0,50mm, and it has been sharpened frequently. I like the fiberglass reinforced Nylon handle, the backlock is reliable and easy to manipulate. It has some bladeplay, and this doesn’t affect the performance at all. Frankly the Calypso is the reason I do not need another knife for use in the office. But I would like another knife, mostly because of reasons.
LM New Wave with thinned out S30V clippoint and de-serrated 420HC wharncliffe
I can hear you think; what is the place of a multitool in this group? Well, I carry it every day, and both 2,5 mm thick blades cut better than all the above mentioned knives. I thinned both blades to an edge of about 0,2 mm, and they just cut like a dream even though the ‘handle’ is awful. I would like my purchase to cut as well as these, but I think that is a lot to ask.
HELP!
As you will understand as a fellow knifenut, my new knife has to be ‘better’ than the Calypso. Cutting performance at least has to be better, I think this limits me to a blade thickness of 2,5 mm or less and a thin grind. The blades pictured show what kind of bladeshape works best for me. I would like a more classy appearance and a lock without bladeplay. I would like a clip, but won’t exclude the Bradley Air because it is light, a great design and I am willing to mod it.
The major contenders;
Bradley Air. I love the low weight and the steel. I don’t like the fact I would have to add a wireclip myself. I am in doubt about the ergonomics of opening and closing. Can somebody shed some light on this?
Chapparal
1,9 mm bladestock! New type backlock! Proven pattern! The Chapparal totally clicks with me. I like the Ti with the subtle scales the most, but the CF version is cheaper and a bit lighter. Even the CF version is a lot heavier than my Calypso Jr (54 gr vs 71 gr). Will the better looks, lock and cutting performance of the Chapparal tip the scales in its favor?
Almost made it;
Kiwi 4
Just as light as my current knife, an nice wireclip and an interesting design. The looks don’t click for now. I held an earlier Kiwi, and I found the handle quit ‘forceful’ if that makes sense.
Memory
Beautiful knife, great story behind it, thin but a bit flashy for me, and too heavy.
Centofante 3 LW
A tad too long.
Sage 1, Caly 3
Too much like my Calypso (how come? ^^), much heavier, not substantially better cutters.
Can you talk me into buying a knife?
