Custom Scandi Blade Shootout!

Well im a self proclaimed Convex Junkie but i have been giving scandis another whirl to keep it interesting, I was able to get ahold of a Alan Wood Nortrek, Adventure Sworn Classic, and a Griffith Knives Grifflore. The interesting factor was i was running a Alan Wood knife against two blades made from Alan's most popular design each with their own twists.

Left to Right :
Alan Wood Nortrek http://www.alanwoodknives.com ,
Adventure Sworn Classic http://www.adventuresworn.com/gear/,
Chris Griffith Grifflore https://www.facebook.com/CGCustomKnives


 First Impressions/Fit and finish

AW Nortrek:
The Nortrek has a very interesting look to it at first i didnt know if i loved it or just liked it and was curious how well it would actually workout, the extreme tapered tang really balances the blade well and and the Jigged Camel bone handles had enough grip but i was a little worried how well i would be able to handle it got wet. Nearly perfect fit and finish blade edge has a different Satin/mirror finish i hadnt really seen before, like Alan took it from a lower grit straight to the buffer.

AS Classic:
I really thought this was the best looking blade of the bunch, great choice of materials and well done as i come to expect from AS the extra large pommel looked great for power cuts, my hand did feel a little cramped on the handle which is smaller than the explorer and mountaineer blades i have owned.
Im no stranger to AS knives and their fit and finish in my experience has been as good as it gets, however this particular blade did have a few things that im not sure id call flaws but i thought were notable and in the interest of this being a honest review i feel i should note, about half a inch on both sides of the blade were the liner and steel meet there was a very small gap, this was filled well with epoxy and i have no doubt was perfectly fine but it was there and very hard to notice(not sure you can see them in any pics) unless you were looking for it. there also was a few natural cracks (that sounds bad but i couldnt think of a better word) in the snakewood that may or may not bother a person , it didn't bother me but it had to be mentioned. id give this a Great F&F mark (it is worth noting that all four of my other AS blades ive owned have had what i consider a perfect F&F

GC Grifflore:
The look of this blade really caught my eye and the continuous curvature really sold me on the looks of this one, the handle is plenty long felt great in all the grips and seemed the most comfortable of the three just handling out of the box. Chris hasnt been at the knife game for long but he is doing a great job so far in my opinion, he has a way to go with his F&F to catch up with AS or AW but he has plenty of time. the right handle had a gap from the steel i could slide a piece of newspaper in and the bolts weren't quite flush with the handle. grind was pretty well done i wouldnt say as crisp as the other two but very good in its own right, id rank this one right around Average when it come to F&F.

F&F
Winner: Nortrek
Runner Up: AS Classic

 I carried all of these knives for nearly the same amount of time they preformed basic camp tasks well, i then sat down and did some side by side comparisons

Carving/notching (cross battoning)

Nortrek:
I was really wowed by the comfort of this blade seems like Alan is really pushing the limits of his designs as far has handles, as different as it looks, its a crazy comfortable knife, It crosss battoned very well and carving the pot hook was easy and went quick. I maintained a good grip the entire time and my worries of a slick handle vanished.

 AS Classic

Cross Battoned super well, power cuts where very easy with the extra large pommel i really could get a great amount of leverage with it. i did find my hand felt cramped and seemed to get fatigued fairly quickly i feel i need another half inch on the handle to put it over the top.

 Grifflore
Another wonderful Cross Batoning knife i think scandi is well suited for it, the handle was comfortable in all my grips and the blade shape seem to really help with leverage as well. had too much fun with it!

 Winner: Nortrek, man i was really starting to like this puppy at this point i gave it the slight edge because it was equal in handle comfort with the grifflore but i felt it cross batoned slightly better i think because the curvature of the top of the blade focuses the force of the baton instead of glancing off or sliding done like it does in a conventional drop point or spear point blade.

Runner Up: Grifflore

 Split wood fire prep
All the blades threw gobs of sparks off a ferro rod so i just focused on the prep here. which i got more pics but the darn camera battery was all but dead so for the rest of the review i had take my shots when i could..

Nortrek:
No problem here battoned with the best of them and made feathers with easy, I also drove tip into smaller pieces to split the wood and the tip had zero damage

Classic:
Battoned very well the large pommel made driving the tip very easy, made feathers very well and the smaller handle didn't bother me while feathering

 Grifflore:
I think the severe drop may slightly hinder the battoning of this blade as the baton would glance more running down the severe drop it seemed like i needed a few more whacks than the first two blades. The curvature also made driving the tip a little more awkward but was fine once i got the knack for it.

 Winner: Nortrek/Classic couldnt really put one in front of the other here
runner up:The Grifflore was only slightly behind the other two and if i used it more i may have gotten more accustomed to the curvature.

Final Thoughts.. all the blades proved to have amazing HT they all shaved and easily dispatched newspaper after a thorough few days in the woods. All were easy to touch up as well even though they didnt even really need it... 

Nortrek:

Man i was really wowed by this blade and with only a 4 month wait apposed to 9 years for his woodlore this is a great blade and awesome option the was a reason Alan kept making knives after the Woodlore he continues to push the limits of a knife with his ideas and this handle really opened my eyes that perhaps the "coke bottle" may not be the ultimate in comfort quite yet.

AS Classic:
A great blade in its own right, and as beautiful a blade as you will find but me med sized hands were yearning for my AS Explorer handles during most my work with it.

 Grifflore:
Coming into this i saw it as a true underdog but it was a pleasant surprise and it can roll with the big boys and as for bang for your buck its a home run, you get one for the same price or cheaper than alot of semi production blades so my question is why own a expensive production blade when Chris Griffith is making knives???

 The Final Verdict?

1. Alan Wood Nortrek, home run comes to mind when i think about this blade sitting in my safe, super comfortable, a great looking and unique blade oh and Stainless, now im normally a carbon guy but this 12c27 is great and low maintenance sure is nice when the snow is on the ground and temps are above freezing (it is available in carbon).

Now i may get some heat from some guys here but i said this was a honest review, Id take the Grifflore at number 2 all day, the cramped handle on the classic is just too much for me to over come , is the classic far behind? No. but if i had to choose id take the Grifflore. Now those of you with smaller hands may have no issue but it was a deal breaker for me. I will say id take my AS Wayfarer and Explorer over all three of these knives but i have to have a healthy variety so the Nortrek is here to stay awhile!