Why ? Because it’s take a razor sharp edge and keeps it, it’s a tougher than stainless steel super steel and its edge stability is better: no chipping or warping in my uses. Of course it will get stained but that is the part of his multiple charms. This is a steel used in blade competitions and Gayle Bradley is a fan of it.
The Yojimbo2 design asked for a very thin point and a stronger, tougher steel. M4 is a must if you want to use it (like myself) in everyday chores… hard !!
Because such great ergos ask for hard working.
Compared to my previous YO2, the closing sound “TICK” got a much higher pitch than my S90V version. I had noticed that kind of higher pitch on another super tool steel: Maxamet.
Does it mean the steel is harder ? Will see.
So stay tuned!
I have changed the OEM clip for this one.
It’s a shortest deep carry clip.
The Para 3 in Maxamet got the same high pitch TICK.
Dirty blade ready for some chores.
Both knives are excellent EDC. The Yo2 offers really powerful cuts on wood.
A word which comes back a lot with my Yo2 review is “power”. The heft of the saber ground hollow blade and the confortable thick spine is a call for pushcuts and “very light” chopping. You will see what I mean in a few photographies…
Deshouldering and starting to get a thinner edge. The factory edge is excellent though.
“Ghost” and “Jade” together: same materials.
The handle lengths are different just because one is standing on its clip.
Push cuts are easy.
This is the kind of “very light” chopping cuts which are made in blink of an eye.
The Yo2 is a great trimmer. The edge bites deep and the straight edge won’t let go.
It’s very efficient !
M4 steel erases any fear of breaking the thin tip easily but I do respect too much my knife to try any lateral forcing. At least I’m no afraid to use that blade tip hard !
Rinsing and cleaning the blade in a spring stream. No real patina so far but soon it will come. M4 get darker in a slow way on my experience: no hurry !
But that Jade handle goes so well with natural environments…
There is a lot of charm in the Yo2: the heavy blade smooth action, the straight edge power and the great ergos ! Nobody seems to notice it while used in a restaurant, the Jade helps a lot to make it less a weapon and more a tool.
Its quince season here in Paris (October – December). Quice originate from the Caspian sea banks and has been cultivated as early as 4000 BC. It comes from the quince tree (no kidding) and the fruit looks like a big pear. Raw it is sour, very hard and has a strong scent.
The Greeks would eat quince with honey and the Romans used it to make perfume. It has sevral medical virtues mainly related to the intestins and as anti sceptic. In the very famous book from Cervantes (that I recommend to read if not already done), Don Quichote advises Sancho Pança some slices of quince to ease his digestion!
So I had about 2.5 kg to prepare for the freezer. We eventually de-freeze and cook quince dices to make quince paste (great with cheese) and jelly.
Quinces being pretty hard, after cleaning the skin and drying them, I had a rather tough job ahead. I had done this already and had some hands-on experience so wanted to test alternatives. I made a selection of heavy duty fix blades and folders in order to figure out which would turn out being the best fitted for the job.
The knives I chose were:
1. Spyderco’s 2010 Para Military 2 (folder)
2. Spyderco’s Alcyone (folder)
3. Philippe Perotti’s Commander (fix)
4. Morakniv Pro C (fix)
1. Spyderco’s Para Military 2 (folder)
The length of the CPM S30V blade is well adapted to the size of the quince.
The full flat grind reduces any drag during the cut; solid compression lock – no surprises.
Working with the tip enables to get rid of each quarter of the core. The handle being skeletonized for weight consideration, blisters can appear when having to prepare much more quinces. This is what I was referring to as “hands-on” experience last time I prepared quinces but in much greater quantities (+6 kg). The job was completed at good pace; you can see this on the picture based on the degree of oxidation (not too much).
2. Spyderco’s Alcyone (folder)
Similar behavior to Para Military 2 as it also features the full flat grind blade.
The CTS BD1 Stainless steel blade being a bit smaller, its not always possible to split the quince in halfs in one go. On the other hand, working to remove the each quarter of the core is a bit easier as the blade is shorter. The liner lock is very solid.
3. Philippe Perotti’s Commander (fix)
Longest blade; flat saber grind N690Co. Cutting in quarters was easy but I spent more time to extract the core. Again the oxidation intensity enables to reflect the increase time vs the folders. However the full grip is much more comfortable when performing heavy duty repetitively and for a long time.
4. Morakniv Pro C (fix)
Sweedish carbone steel. Has an optimized handle made of TPE rubber; comfortable grip that does not conduct the cold. Low price.
Surprisingly something unexpected happened to the extent of having to cease the test once I realized what was happening. First cut was easy but I immediately noticed black streaks on the quince. First reaction was to clean and dry the knife but that did not address root cause. So I continued and the quince was continuing to be tainted black; I guess its the carbon. On the blade a patina was rapidly developing. Hence STOP as this is a knive Nemo lended me to test!!
So there is a chemical reaction here and I have not yet identfied what combination of chemical elements are responsible for the rapid stains & patina.
I tested with a pear as it resembles and the constituants seem similar but I did not observe the same behavior; searching for the differences!
And the winner is…
So the test has been very instructive even though at this time I could do with a chemist to help with the full explanation.
As far as reducing the quince in dices, the winner for me is the Para Military 2. As I did not have a huge quantity to do I did not get the blisters. However if I had more, I would use a combination: PP Commander to cut in quarters and Para Military 2 to work the core.
Back from the 2018 Mini Meet in The Netherlands, my freind Nemo had a nice surprise for testing and benching: the Sal Glesser signed Alcyone!
So I have been testing the knife in different conditions so to get familiar with it. The manufacturing is very precise; serious stuff. Its a lightweight heavy duty!
However before that, I did a bit of research on the origin of the chosen name. There are different mythologies about king Ceyx’s spouse: Alcyone. In all cases she ends up being transformed into a kingfisher (1) by pity, (2) as a punishment for a sacreligous stand, (3) to reward her for her courage and love of Ceyx. A hypothisis is that the kingfisher flew far away from earth and became a fixed star in the Bull Taurus Constellation https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/01232012-ephemeris-the-face-of-the-constellation-taurus-the-hyades/: Alcyone, greenish yellow star and the brightest in the Pleiades star cluster. Finally Alcyone thought to be center of the universe for the Mayan…
Now that we have travelled so far lets land back again for some down to earth experiences.
The first test I like to do is against something that is both hard and soft: hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Imagine what a really dull knife would do: not get through the outer crust and squish the inside. Yuk!!
So I expect exactly the contrary as a demonstration of success. That is the idea with the first test involving an epiphyte (member of the bromeliads family able to store water in a structure formed by their tightly-overlapping leaf bases). For this test I call the ripe pineapple!
The result is great with minimum liquid escaped once the peeling complete and all pineapple “eyes” are removed.
Another example is the pear test. Here the harder element is inside the softer one: the pip! See how the pip got cut without squishing the pear.
So Alcyone passes both tests!
The next test is a “no going backwards test” over a long distance and observing whether matter builds up (which would be the result of a dulling blade). So for this resistance test I have used honeycombed cardboard over a meter long.
The result is very neat from start to finish both thick exterior and thinner inside making up the alveolus. Somewhat similar in structure: the french baguette and the test was conclusive too!
Cheese or the art of preserving milk…
The idea of Conte cheese was to accompany the bread I had just cut! That with the cork, we enter the realm of the famous “perpetual movement”: reserving oneself of wine, bread or cheese as an excuse to finish the trilogy.
In this case the Conte is one that has aged in good conditions for atleast 20 months in the french Jura as we start to see Tryosin crystals (the white spots). Tryosin is an amino acide that enters in the composition of milk protines. All that to say that the cheese can be moist inside but crumbly near the crust: even more with one aged 30+ months.
With all respect due to the Ceyx’s spouse, Alcyone cut the cheese well!
Finally the Big Sirs: two legs of lamb. Here I focused on working mostly with the tip of the blade to be precise when cutting the meat and removing it from the bones; tagine was excellent! From the mini meet to the big meat!
My first experience with Massdrop exclusive design was one year ago. The Falcon has been a surprise in its quality and design and since has been my Spyderco Techno replacement. The Gent is even a better deal !! We are in presence of a real masterpiece in modern cutlery and, pardon my French but I weight my words.
First thing I have noticed is the blade to handle ratio: in a folder, the blade will be most of the time shorther than the handle but with some designers tricks you can give the illusion… It was already the case with the Falcon: we got a real elegant knife despite being short, the blade is perfectly centered, the blade evenly ground, the action is smooth as butter and the edge cut my hairs… WOW !!
The large choil seems to be a Ferrum Forge signature and it is handy for precision cutting. Also when not using it I can hold the handle with 4 fingers. It is much more ergonomic and fonctionnal that my Izulas in that matter.
The lock is similar to the Spyderco PPT. It is a thick pride liner lock made of bead blasted grey titanium. The slabs are G10 with a very nice texture. Attention to details is stunning: quality is at the rendez vous. The lock feels strong and any way your hand is protected by the flipper used a guard and by the choil if you choose to use it. This is a very solid folder.
The blade is exquisitely ground and the edge is thin, razor sharp our of the box.
The opening construction is ultra minimalist and VERY EASY to keep clean !!
I love ultra minimalists design as found on the Spyderco K2 for example.
The spine is gently chanferred for an excellent confort in thumb pushing cuttings.
Something I won’t have to do myself.
Immediatly you want to play with and put the high saber flat ground S35VN blade in its pace. A steel first introduced to me through the Spyderco Native 5.
As a Lady/Gent knife it is small like a jewel.
Non threatening is a must in that kind of EDC knife. But don’t get fooled by its size; this is a real workhorse !
The detent is a little harder than the one of my Falcon or my ZT0562CF but it works and fires every time. It is really smooth and no side play so far. I was not able easily to open the blade without using the flipper.
The deep carry clip is well thought and it makes the knife disappearing in the pocket. EDC is often better in low profile configuration.
So let’s put a little convexing on that baby: Stuff 2, Fallkniven DC4 and leather…
Diamonds are in play for the first round. The thin edge makes it easy to scratch and of course I have scratched it. You can notice the very nice belly on the blade.
But nothing some use and future stropping won’t erase in a “beautility” attempt. The idea is just to bring convex in the middle of the belly.
Leather stropping, razor sharp let try it on my favorite test in ergos and edge: the Bottle Butt !!
As you can see it was an easy cut for that little knife. There is power in this one. The blade is just thick enough to provide a comfortable spine to strongly push through.
The Belly always help for push cutting in hard material.
So far what do we got:
an elegant, non threatening short folder with premium materials (Titanium and S35VN).
It can be deployed and close with one hand. Great balance with its sweet spot just behind the pivot. Great ergos, thin edge and easy to clean ?
This is almost the perfect EDC, worst it the best EDC you can buy for 80 dollars !!
This kind of high quality knife could be the only folder to bring with you anywhere. A great little big knife ready for anything ! Thank you to my friend Dan Sharpe for having introduced me to that little wonder !
SPECS
Produced by Drop
Designed by Ferrum Forge
Manufactured by WE Knife (in Guangdong, China)
Blade: CPM-S35VN stainless steel
HRC: 58–61
Blade type: Drop-point
Grind: Flat saber
Finish: Stonewashed
Handle: 6AL4V titanium with rosewood or carbon fiber scales
Lock: Liner lock
Open: Flipper tab
Ceramic detent ball
Caged pivot bearings, hardened steel washers
Choil for easy sharpening
Reversible, deep-carry steel pocket clip
Blade thickness: 0.13 in (3.2 mm)
Handle thickness: 0.4 in (1.1 cm)
Blade length: 3 in (7.8 cm)
Closed length: 3.6 in (9.7 cm)
Overall length: 6.6 in (17.5 cm)
Weight: 2.4 oz (68 g)
Founded in 2009, Ferrum Forge started from humble beginnings in Elliot Williamson’s garage in Southern California. Using found pieces of steel like old files and leaf springs, Elliot gradually taught himself the art of knifemaking and metallurgy. As his skills and passion grew, so too did the demand for his work. Luckily, Elliot’s brother Chris joined the team in 2012 to help expand Ferrum Forge to what it is today: a small operation dedicated to designing and producing custom knives through a rigorous process of development, machining, iteration, and quality control.
The story of the Gent starts back in 2016 when Elliot and Chris Williamson from Ferrum Forge teamed up with Drop (formerly MassDrop) for a cross brand collaboration. Ferrum Forge designed a series of unique Drop x Ferrum Forge knives that they produced, but none would compare to the Gent. After the success of the first few models, Drop asked for a less aggressive design better suited for carrying in an office environment. It was time for Elliot from Ferrum Forge to break away from aggressive, “tactical” style and give the world his take on a modern, gentlemen’s folding knife. Not only did he accomplish his goal, he created the most popular, best selling knife that Drop ever sold.
Ironically, Elliot didn’t like the Gent after he rendered it in 3D. His artistic side screamed it was boring and too simple. Meanwhile, Chris, lacking that artistic side, saw the elegance in the simplicity and loved it. Drop cast the tie breaking vote and the Gent came to life.
The Gent started their evolution toward slimmer, lighter, more pocket friendly, and less expensive knives. It was the first ever Ferrum Forge liner lock design and would eventually lead them to creating liner locks like the Stinger, Mini Archbishop, and Prolix.
Unfortunately their collaboration with Drop ran its course and they discontinued the Gent.
Back to trying to get a patina on cruwear after my first attempt.
Because lemon juice is not smelly and we use it a lot in the house, I have tried to let the blade all night in a tissue imbibed.
Tissue seems to be some kind of catalyst as it help to keep a contact between the citric acid and the surface of the blade.
In the morning the tissue was dark!
And you can notice rust starting to form in between strokes of the patina.
Rust is removed with some polishing which keeps the patina.
So here we are now with a kind of camouflage results.
It looks forced but should “mild” with uses but yes you can get a Patina from Cruwear with lemon juice and a night…
Which means if you forget your knife in the sink after making some salad, you can get rust on your Cruwear blade and a very swaggy patina.
Forcing a Patina on Cruwear!
Why?
Because I’m going to the sea and I just need to be certain it won’t pit.
Now Cruwear seems tricky compared to 52100 or Maxamet.
Let see how it will get…
45 minutes later… No patina yet some stains…
“It’s not as rusty as 1095 usually, so it’s easy to get complacent. It can go 3-4 days easier than O-1 or 1095 but 3-4 months is a different story. It’s easy to get fooled by steels with this level of chrome ( 8%) as to corrosion resistance. It will appear as a tiny spot of rust. Easy to overlook as it does not make it apparent that spot is deepening, not getting wider. The surface layer of rust covers up the hole. ”
The Mastiff
And he was right…
Trying to mix oxygen and vinegar using tissues and apple vinegar ?… Nope.
Apple vinegar and apple sugar under the sun….. Nope.
Aceto di Modena…. nope.
Even in the wind…
Naaah forget it. This steel won’t stain beautifully… Just a bit but not enough in my taste.
It will perhaps pit if let unclean some weeks but in my daily uses it should not.
Putting the blade back in the handle the tolerances on that knife are so great you can tight the screws with locktite and pur a drop of nano oil… the pivot is smooth as butter.
Also ten passes on white ceramic and it is back to jumping hairs harvest again.
So cruwear seems to be a very “friendly” steel which doesn’t smell anything when confronted to apple, apple vinegar, various vinegar including aceto … nothing seems to harm it surface.
It is like CPM 3V and will be kept oiled and shiny. My Ed Schempp’s Tuff never needed or develop a patina as my grey Military in Cruwear.
At least I got less worry. 🙂
This time I have decided since the blade of this Paramillie is thin, to protect it with some gaffer tape.
Same process as usual: diamonds, then ceramic and stropping on leather.
The DC4 of Fallkniven and the Spyderco Double Stuff 2 were used.
I got also an old barber leather I use with some polish.
I use the diamonds to remove the shoulder of the edge to round it a little, this is where you can scratch the blade as the angle used is very shallow.
Once you see the edge is widen, you can switch to tsone and ceramics mainly to smooth the scratches made by the diamonds.
It is very simple and just ask for time and patience.
Cruwear is stropping friendly much less than 52100 though.
I really do love that short stubby folder which are turned to be my Spyderco Techno replacement.
In term of ergonomy first, the rounded hand, large choil, smooth thick blade spine, all concours to make your hand “at home” when holding it.
This large choil gives a lot of control and force on precise cut need at the start of the edge. It is the exact opposite of an Izula for example when the index finger is blocked behind the guard, here you can whittle with index finger near the piece of wood giving you a lot of accuracy.
This handle also scales the blade up in term of proportions making it a beautiful short knife. Also in the elegance department, the edge feels like the tip of a lance with it spear’s point. Mine has aged beautifully with a gentle sanding on the titanium.
The clip has hold perfectly and is not hurting my palm when holding the knife tight.
The edge has been gently convexed and did not show any chipping or bending after a year of rotation.
So far I am very happy with my #734 and I highy recommend it.
Massdrop is not always offering bargain, especially regarding some famous 1095 steel made American Blades like TOPS, but for their US/China connection they are often great purchase. My friend Dan Sharpe (thanks to Loremicus a young Mangaka from Hong Kong) highly recommends their FF CRUX which turn to be two of his favorite folder.
I will certainly follow his advice at one moment, those folders are a bargain of high quality.
CUSTOM-KNIFE FEEL, PRODUCTION KNIFE PRICE: That’s the idea behind the Massdrop x Ferrum Forge Falcon. This folder is small enough to take anywhere, yet rugged enough to open boxes, cut rope, slice food, and more.
BEST STEEL ON THE MARKET: Developed by Crucible Industries (a leading manufacturer of specialty steel), S35VN is perhaps the most balanced blade steel ever in terms of all-around performance.
SMOOTH DEPLOYMENT: The Falcon has a grippy flipper tab and a ceramic ball-bearing opening system for buttery-smooth deployment with little effort.
SOLID TITANIUM HANDLE: The 6AL4V titanium handle is both lightweight and strong. Bead-blasted to a smooth gray finish, it perfectly complements the satin blade. The matching titanium clip is reversible for righties and lefties.
ABOUT FERRUM FORGE: Founded in 2009, Ferrum Forge is a dynamic duo of brothers Chris and Elliot Williamson. Known for their innovative designs and precise craftsmanship, the pair operates out of a small Southern California workshop.
KEY MEASUREMENTS: Blade length: 2. 9 in (7. 4 cm), closed length: 3. 9 in (9. 9 cm), overall length: 6. 8 in (17. 1 cm), Weight: 3. 6 oz (102 g)
Its quince season here in Paris (October – December). Quice originate from the Caspian sea banks and has been cultivated as early as 4000 BC. It comes from the quince tree (no kidding) and the fruit looks like a big pear. Raw it is sour, very hard and has a strong scent.
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