Chris loves feedback on his blades as any good knifemaker should and doesnt shy away from constructive critisism so he sent me a prototype he had made so I could play with it for a few weeks and give him my thoughts on the blade. Now Ill say this again I am not a knife expert in anyway in either skill or knowledge but I have owned quite a few customs and production blades and USED them so I know what works for me and what works better.
My first Impressions of the knife was it was a little big for my tastes with a 5-1/4 inch blade and being 10-1/2 inch overall it just seemed like more than I need. I am also not a fan of pommels, I use to be, I use to drool over them because in my opinion they make knives look cool but after owning a few i just never seemed to actually use the pommel so it just added weight and discomfort during power cuts. Im not a real gram counter but hey if i don't use it then i don't need it. If you like pommels and use them then power to you! Just not my thing ive seen them used and they do in fact work.
I was surprised by how light the knife actually was with its dimesnions and 3/16 thick stock i thought it be a real pants puller. Chris did a excellent job Removing steel from the handle and then grinding this blade very thin, everytime I pick it up I expect it to be heavier.
Performance
Food prep: Did I mention this puppy was Ground thin? wow this by far is the best slicer I have ever used it didnt matter if it was a tomato, Cheese frozen at -5 or a chicken, the thin blade just sailed through it all. I want to keep it just to replace all my kitchen blades with!
Wood working : I didnt do alot of fire prep with this blade or carving its just too big for carving and I didnt get out enough to put it through too many fre preps but i did get to use it enough to know it will handle all your fire making needs I think even Chris was a little nervous at the thought of me beating on it being it is ground so thin but I had zero issues with the blade and I dont think I dulled the thing the entire time i had it, held a wonderful edge that i just maintained with a strop. The O1 devolped a good patina by the time i was finished with my testing.
Conclusion
Fit & Finish - Being a prototype I didnt expect Perfect fit and finish and I didnt get it, but it was still very good a few small gaps near the the blade on the handle as well as the pommel all filled well with epoxy. The very edge has one spot where the grind is off a bit but doesnt effect the function of the knife. No real problems.
Ergonomics- nice fat handle with a great "coke bottle" shape was very comfy but the blade shape and pommel made power cuts a bit of a pain but still doable. I think if it had a nice rounded butt i would really love it.
Design- I really like the design I think it looks great and it works but as I stated above I wish it was scaled down a bit maybe to a 4 inch blade and 4-1/2 - 5 inch handle with no pommel and it be alot more practical for my uses and id be in love.
Final Thoughts : I believe Chris is already working on 2 more prototypes for this design one a bit smaller and one the same size minus the pommel. If your a big knife guy you cant go wrong with one of these and if you just like the design then keep a eye on Chris's Instagram and Facebook for his smaller pattern that may be popping up sooner or later. Remember Chris doesn't do orders so keep a eye out for when he puts a blade up for sale and you wont be disappointed!
Thanks for looking everyone, hope you come back soon!
- Lain
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