Rockstead Higo-J in the spring time

02/05/2011 nemosandman 1 Comment

I don’t have cherry trees or I would have pictured the Higo with some cherry tree blossoming… but here we got roses almost a month earlier !
So it was the occasion to picture the blade in the middle of them.
As you can notice, the Rockstead quality is something you can mesure in time. The knives which has been included in my EDC rotation and my hicking in the woods, did not suffered from his chores. The mirror polished blade is still perfectly intact. The lock up is secure and there is no play.
Now ZDP-189 is a very nice steel on the long run. I mean by “nice”…. “gentle” !
Using a Paramilitary 2 Sprint Run with a blade S90V, this last is a bear to get sharp. As Sal Glesser said S90V do not want to give away molecules.
ZDP-189 which I EDC with the Michael Walker and the Rockstead is “gentle” as I can polish it. (I was not able to do that yet with S90V.
The Higo is a very pragmatic knife, it is made to get dirty and to be clean easily. WIth his incredibely hard blade, I did not have any issue to keep it razor sharp in the woods. The choil makes it a very precise knife for wood cutting. You can applied a lot of force in confidence and the handle is very confortable despite it’s open fram structure.

Spring is the time for cleaning. I have used my Higo to cut hard plastic before to have it recycle. I was able to try to compare ZDP with S90V.
I’m very confident, even with a 66,6 HRC ZDP when I’m still very careful with S90V at 60HRC. S90V is like a “alien” steel, it can stay as sharp for “strange” reason I can not quantify even if I can qualify it, knowing how the steel carbid matrix is reinforced by vanadium…
ZDP on the other side both on the Michael Walker and the Rockstead got at first some micro chipping issue, but once resharpen never shown any more unreliability.
Oslo I was not able to get any patina on ZDP and my main way to keep it sharp is some white compound on a leather belt.
It’s razor and don’t want to give up.

My only little complaint is the shape of the clip but this is really not a big issue as I have prevent any scratches it could have done. (That was not the case on my various Sebenza clips wich has been very nasty on car paint…).
All in all after eight months of use, the Higo-J is still like a new knife. I was not able to scratch the handle, despite my rings on my left hands. The blade stay sharp with easy maintenance. The lock up is secure and the feeling of using a fixed blade is very strong.

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Spyderco Navaja Carbon Fiber ~ C147CF – Spirit of Spaniards

22/04/2011 nemosandman 11 Comments

Nemo and his Navaja

The Navaja is a legendary folding knife. For the first time in History, a folding knife was considered as the poor man sword in a country were sword fencing was the highest art. Actually they were three schools in fencing: the French, the Italian and the Spanish school. In Spain however, everybody were encouraged to be armed with a sword at the end of the 15th century. It was the time of Isabelle de Castille (born a 22nd of april) and Ferdinand II d’Aragon who both were in charge of the greatest occidental power of that time.

navaja-fighting-knife-stylized-ornamental-elaborate-handle-design-AMH73J

Navaja
Early navajas were not much smaller than swords

La Navaja was the first Tactical Folding Knife. It was born in the 16th century in Andalusia for one main purpose—fighting. For the first time a folding knife was not made as a tool but as a weapon. James Loriega, wrote two great books about it: Sevillian Steel and the Manual of Baratero and I can only encourage you to read them !
For Randy (Ransom) Price: “These magnificent knives have an ominous appearance when open and it’s easy to understand why many people believe the early navaja was the original inspiration for the Bowie knife. No doubt a navaja unfolded before an unsuspecting victim must have had the same effect as Jim Bowie unsheathing his monster fixed blade. ”

Here come the Spyderco reboot and hommage to the mighty Navaja. The Golden princes of tactical folding knives take a bow to the queen of spanish edge.
There is a very strong “spirit” in this design: centuries in refinement which were really inspiring Ed Schemp.
The knife is gorgeous. Made in Taiwan with the highest quality material ( S30V steel blade, Carbon Fiber handle and Stainless Steel bolsters) the C147 is simply a pleasure to the eyes and to the hand.
Opening the blade and you got the “sound” of Caracas. I really like it. It’s discreet and sound like an old camera to me. It gives something dramatically “mechanical” to the opening and closing of the blade. Respecting its heritage, the edge is a little on the thick side and totally weapon oriented. This is minor and it can be improved with some elbow grease to have it turned into a better push cutter. Something I’m planning to do as S30V is a very forgiving steel to convex and to polish. Also the fact that the belly doesn’t start at the ricasso like on a Paramilitary for exemple, change the way you use the knife on hard matter but again, Ed thought about everything and It’s easy to choke up the blade with its very large choil and work with full control.
The long handle gives also the opportunity to have a much better range/reach. Again this is a reminiscence of the 17th Century Navaja made as edge weapon. The balance of the C147 is actually just in front of the index finger when holding the knife that way. The blade is fast and “alive”, easy to control and prompt for backcuts. This is really a fighting folding knife.
But when closed the Navaja keeps all its elegance as this is really a knife to admire in all circonstances.

OK, now this was not a real review as I need to test the knife in my EDC rotation. But as it’s a beauty, I wanted to share it with you.
I’ll be back on this.

Spyderco Navaja C147

The Paramillie 2 and the Navaja: two beauties ! Notice the difference in the belly.

Spyderco Navaja C147
The Navaja in the spring roses.

Spyderco Navaja C147

A fang at the ready !

Spyderco Navaja C147

Detail of the blade.

Spyderco Navaja C147
The beautiful bolster announcing the Sage 4 ?

Spyderco Navaja C147
This is the pure concept of elegance.

Spyderco Navaja C147

A grip with a long reach.

Spyderco Navaja C147
The folded beauty.

Spyderco Navaja C147
Details of the pivot.

Quoting Ed Schempp:

My goal in knife design is to put a very usable blade in the hands of the ELU. I chose the Corsican version as inspiration for the knife. I own a handmade Corsican Navaja made by my Corsican friend Alexander Musso. My interpretation is stylized with Spyderco and my style influences.

The Carraca mechanism is self destructive. The mechanism in the Spyderco Navaja is not part of the lock and on a different axis of impact from the original inspiration for this piece. This knife should bring Spyderco’s reliable high performance to this centuries old ethnic design.

I hope that you get a chance to handle and use this piece…Take care…Ed

Spyderco Navaja C147
Now I wanted to convex the edge of the Navaja to really turn the weapon into an EDC tool.

Spyderco Navaja C147
The tools of the trade are not really fancy: sandpaper, sharpmaker and white compound…

Spyderco Navaja C147
And elbow grease…

Nonw the edge is convexed. Some passes on the white ceramic of the Sharpmaker to erase the burr… and it’s a Razor !

Closed the Navaja is as big as the Paramillie 2 ! But, once open… it’s another story ! 🙂

Folders, Uncategorized

Spyderco Sage 3 – The Blue Brother

19/04/2011 nemosandman 5 Comments

The Sage II is one of the greatest Spyderco knives in my own humble opinion, so I was never really excited by another Sage…
What could have it more ? A better lock than the Reese Integral Lock ? A better Handle than the smooth rich full titanium scales ?
Enter the Sage 3 a.k.a. the C123GBL and the chance for me to change my mind. The Sage 2 and the Sage 3 are not the same animals.

Again the Taichung plant is offering a close to the perfection production knife with a rich blue handle.
You know that beautiful G10 like the one found on the Dodo or on the Manix sprint run…. It’s very sheeple friendly.
Blue is a cool color. The Navii, the Smurfs, the Cops, the Collars, the Sky, our planet… all are blue and my Blue G10 Dodo is really one of my favorite knife ever made.
So I got that feeling as I grap the beautiful handle.
The weith on that knife is not as lightweith that I thought. It’s even 1 gram heavier than the Sage 2 titanium tank ! Looking closely inside the handle they are two stainless steel nested liners ! Those are really the kind of hidden features you only find in a Spyderco Knife. There is even no mention of that in the Spyderco official communication.
So this is a very very solid handle destined to be on a heavy duty knife.
Once open there is no play in any direction. The knife feels solid like a fixed blade. The Bolt Action Lock has been patented by Blackie Collins and is operated like the Manix 2 lock with its caged Ball Bearing lock. It’s even a little easier as I’m able to disengage it using only my thumb.
So this is a very fast knife to open just by disengaging the lock and flicking the wrist and fast to close to.

The real difference with the two other Sages is that this knife doesn’t have an open handle construction. There is a blu G10e backspacer running along all of it. The result, filling the gap between the two scales, is a much more confortable handle for hard cutting. I remember a video of Bluntruth4U where he was complaining about his Sage 1 handle and he was obliged to wear gloves for hard cutting. The Sage 3 is really an improvement in ergonomy thanks to it full blue spacer. I remember how the Tim Wegner Spyderco serie was gentle on my palm. Same here with the blue Sage.

So we got a very strong knife, which feels even beefier than the Sage 2. The full flat ground S30V leave blade is equally strong and accurate in all the cuts.
With its backspacer and skeletonized nested liners, the Sage 3 will be a little harder to clean than the Sage 2 but the confort of its handle is really appreciable on hard chores. So if you use your knives very hard, the Blue Bro strong lock and confortable ergos is really something to try. Another little big knife from Spyderco and real workhorse with a royal blue robe.

Oh, something also to remember. The Sage serie is about memory. Memory and hommage to the inventors of the locking folding knives. And 5% of the sales is donated to the National Alzheimer’s Association Denver, Colorado Chapter. Another great initiative.

Spyderco Sage 3 The Blue Brother by Nemo Sandman

Folders

Amsterdam Spyderco Minimeet 2011 – The Forbidden Pictures !

08/03/2011 nemosandman 6 Comments

Only here, you will be able to see the forbidden pictures of the Am’dam Minimeet.
Here we go:

I’m everywhere ! 🙂
The Lucane and Eric and Sal Glesser
Sal, Eric and Jur looking at the Lucane prototype.

Sal taking a closer look.
Amsterdam Spyderco Minimeet 2011
The gathering of the spydernuts is starting !

Father and son…

JD and Sal !

Gail and Sal Glesser

The proto, the concepts all in one pic !

Jur (with his new Spyderbeat Sheath made by Emmanuel Amoreau) giving his last instructions to Sal. 😉

Amsterdam Spyderco Minimeet 2011
And all the feedbacks are welcome !

Gail, Sal and Eric.

Gail and Sal’s old van where Spyderco started last century…

The Massad Ayoob is inspected.

Eric explaining the raffinements of the new back lock !

The graph of the Spyderco Knives Breaking Machin !
Amsterdam Spyderco Minimeet 2011
Joyce Laituri chatting with Ted and friends…

Gail and the boys ! 🙂

All the knives came back on the table eventually.

JD and the Lucane.

A closer look at Jur sheath ! 😉

– End of line –

Edit 01/05/2017 There is a video made for BladeHQ “Meet Your Maker” using some part of this post and crediting the blog.
Here the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLcTWwh1Cpc

Folders

The Lucane by Jérôme “Torpen” Hovaere

01/03/2011 nemosandman 8 Comments

We met Jérôme at last Paris Knive Show. This young gifted full time knifemaker just had received his Spyderhole licence from Golden. He’s a huge fan of Spyderco.
I immediatly fell in love with the radical lines of his Lucane Folder. An efficient powerfull blade and an ergonomic handle, this is a workhrose designed by a worker who needed a strong a practical knife as an EDC. It’s a knife to use for mondane task and even to eat with it. The back of the blade was especially though after pushing aliments on a plate without to dull the edge.
My prototype is made of 02 for the blade and G10 with SS liners for the handle. It was made to be shown around at Amsterdam Minimeet 2011.
This will be also the occasion to achieve one of Jérôme’s dream: to have his baby pictured in the hand of Sal Glesser.
More on it later.

All the pictures down under are (c) Jérôme Hovaere (so, you will notice the hand of the maker!)

The G10 Proto with another clip.

The ergonomy is amazing thanks to its wasp shape handle.

A previous aluminium handle prototype. Notice how the lock release is not placed as on the G10 version.

The Lucane next to a Spyderco Tenacious

I have forgotten the specs:

Length: 203mm (with clip)
Blade length: 90mm
Once closed: 110mm
Blade thickness: 3,4 mm
Handle thickness: 16mm

Weight: 140 grammes

The steel on this proto is 90MCV8 which another name for O2.

Folders

Spyderco Paramilitary 2: the second son of Millie

19/01/2011 nemosandman 8 Comments

Being the son of a legend is not easy and it’s not because you are shorter that you need to develop some complex. Designed by Sal and Eric Glasser, the Paramillie 2 is simply gorgeous.
Since its first incarnation, it did not walk in dad’s footsteps: the smaller version was using another lock than the good old linerlock (I love liner locks !) but the Compression Lock developped for Martial BladeCraft. This was the kind of lock you could find on the Yojimbo and the Lil’ Temperance and on the Gunting (but mounted on the opposite liner). The Compression Lock is strong reliable, easy to clean and was a great addition. Also the knife is so well made, the blade can be flicked in close position just by releasing the lock. This is a gravity knife for closing purposes.
The second version of the Paramillie got a longer blade, some ergonic improvements and a bigger lanyard hole. This is a very well balanced and homogenic package who offers the same “cockpit” of the C36 Millitary in a more civilian way. The cuts are equally strong as with the C36: the Paramillie keeps the same geometry (with a lil’ even more belly) than its dad.(*)

Anyway, The first thing I have made when I have received my Paramillie 2 was to turn it thick G10 handle into a more “trouser friendly” version: sanding the grippy G10! (Also I get so much used to Carbon Fiber that I wanted to have the same feel…)
I prefer my handles softer than the factory’s one. G10 can be used to file the linen of your pocket and I don’t want holes.
After sanding it (beware the micro dust of G10 which is highly toxic!) I have polished it. I’m happy with the result. Grippy handle can be handy but once sanded my handles keep a positive grip without the side effects of filing fiberglass.

I also found the shiny clip a little to shiny for my taste. So I have switched it with my Gayle Bradley bronze clip. The result is more stealth for the city.

The GB clip screws are a little longer (and the diameter is perharps a little thinner) but it worked perfectly. Also the Gayle Bradley’s clip is known to keep its appearance for a long time. (mine is one year old and looks like new!)
There is another plus with second version: you can positionned the clip in four ways. So As I want to use my Paramillie in the wood and hard material, I have decided to reposition the clip Tip Up / Left Handed way.
(I’m right handed)
Why ? Because there is no more metal clip against my palm: no more sore or hotspot.
And thanks to it very large blade hole I can even open it in reverse grip easily.

The balance on the Paramillie 2 is perfect. The knife is very “alive” in the hands. No bladeplay what so ever, great ergos…
I have already test it on my Bottle Butt test and it has passed it with flying colors !

On this picture you can notice how the G10 looks once sanded. And also both signatures of Eric and his father Sal ! This is the very 1rst Spyderco knife which got both !
I will update this post later, but for now, I think I have found the perfect folding match for my G10 Bushcrafter.

Also I have gently convexed the edge like I have done on my Sage II.

**** edit****
(*) eventually a picture worse a thousand words:

Update of the 10th of March 2011.

Here are some pictures of the S90V/CF sprint run of the Paramillie 2. This is a dream come true folder: since the release of the C36 Military: a compact package and upgrade materials. I recognized to have been traumatized by Phil Wilson’s articles about S90V (CPM420V) in 1998…

I have gently sanded the Carbon Fiber handle just to remove the biting. I don’t want to get a polished handle like on the G10 version.

On this last picture you can compare the edge of my polished CPMS30V Paramillie 2 blade and the CPMS90V (HRC60) which has been stropped for four days without any polishing improvement but the edge is incredibly sharp.

The blade is cutting meat like hot butter…

This a folder which is meant to be used and get dirty !

I have sanded the handle to smooth it and also the “hump” which can file your trouser at each extraction of the knife frome the pocket:

Now I can carry it “Tip Down” and open it with the SPyderdrop which is IMHO the most elegant way to open a folder.

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Spyderco BushcraftUK G10 – The Revenge of the Bold and the Beautiful

28/12/2010 nemosandman 24 Comments

Santa has spoiled me and (scoop) Santa lives in Golden, Colorado.
I have been a huge fan of the Spyderco Bushcraft and really regretted to see such a great company with such great initiatives
obliged to sale that great knife as Second since the wood handles has cracked.
FYI I got some friends who had moved from San Francisco to Denver and all their furnitures had been ruined.
In beautiful Colorado, high altitude and continental weather can be destructive on wood furniture and wood handles.

BushcraftUK G10
Thea, as a Norvegian Skogkat is inspecting carefully that Scandinavian ground blade.

Anyway, Sal would never had given up such a knife as the BushcraftUK and now he has spawned the Bushcraft with G10 handle:
the Revenge of the Bushcrafter !
G10 is a very strong material, it won’t crack. Some blades are even made with G10 as a composite layering the steel’s edge or as full G10 undetectable weapon.
G10 is epoxy mixed with fiberglass. It’s impervious to weather, choc, low tempetures, chemicals and is used in tactical knives for twenty years.

For a non conoisseur, the G10 slabs on the Bushcrafter would look almost like hard dark wood. They are absolutly gorgeous !

BushcraftUK G10
Leather stropping is Scandinavian Ground knives best friend !

The handle of that knife is a state of art in ergonomy. This a a splinter free design which turns any hard work in sheer pleasure.
The design of the Bushcrafter is really well thought, providing a extremely well balanced knife with an ultrasharp grind.
Chris Claycombe has made his homework as far as I have used my BuscraftUK Second all summer in France and Tuscany, the knife has always performed beyond my expectations.
(The thick square back of the blade is great to remove the bark of a walking stick for example)

BushcraftUK G10
Both of my Bushcrafters. Notice how the edge of the wooden one is polished by stropping.

The heat treatment, as always with Spyderco products, is simply top notch. The scandinavian ground knife stays sharps in various hard tasks and only needs some stropping to be kept razor sharp.
My first Bushcraft is almost mirror polished on its scandy edge now.

BushcraftUK G10
As confortable as it looks good.

I have noticed “Taiwan-Taichung” is now written on the blade.
Some American people were complaining about having “Taiwan” written on their blade. They got what they desserve ! 😉
I don’t understand how those people would never mind to have “Japan” stamps on their Spyderco Police for 25 years and worst
they are the ones who only swear by Maxpedition bags… all made in Taiwan !!
The Taiwanese craftmen chosen by Spyderco have proven to be some of the best knive artists and manufacturers in the world.
The G10 Bushcrafter screams pure quality, attention to detail and reliability in a compact and solid package !
And that knife is really international: designed in the UK, produced in Colorado and manufactured in Taiwan !

BushcraftUK G10
My EDC equipment: the C22 Sprint Run Michael Walker, the Casio GW2000 Gravity Defier and the G10 Bushcrafter.

The leather sheath is now black. I love that sheath which is really suiting my need toward that design.
Again a plastic foam encapsules the blade inside the leather. Under it “classic” look that ambidextrous sheath is really well thought and modern too.

All in all the G10 version was itching my wishlist since I was so in love with the previous wooden handle version.
Now this is going to be some kind of “elegant tank”, capable to withstand all hard used and batonning imaginable.
That kind of knife is really perfect from light chopping to precise whittling.
My friend Jur has added that beautiful lanyard with a micarta bead which is mandatory when chopping. (He also add some usefull red paracord for a dramatic Black & red effect.)
The knife is a very sensual too. Handling and holding it is something which is not found in many design but custom ones. (Like the Sean McWilliams Panama Fighters)
Again, attention to detail is extraordinary.
Eventually, my wooden handle version will soon be adopted by a friend of mine as it cannot desserve to be stuck as a safe queen. It needs to go out into the wild and cuts some wood for Xmas sake ! 🙂
But the G10 version is already hidden in my EDC Bag ready to carve some more turkey on the New Year Eve !
I’m impatient to go back in the woods and use this baby as hard as it desserves it. Timber !!! ;-D

Also as a writer of the “Richard Blade” adventures for Gérard de Villiers, I have equipped that MI6 Operator with a Military Ti but for his new adventures for issues #199 and #200, he has a G10 Bushcrafter as main survival tool. Lucky man.

BushcraftUK G10
The bead on the lanyard is a real genuine Fuzzyedge bead which adds a real touch of class to the whole package. Click here if you want to know more about the gorgeous creations of Fuzz’ via the USN Forums !

In concern of the design, Sal Glesser became interrested in Bushcraft at one of the three Spyderco meets he did in Sheffield, UK for his UK followers. Many of them were also interested in Bushcraft and questioned why Spyderco would not enter that specific arena ?
Sal and Jur met Chris there and he showed them his Bushcraft design, which were different from the Ray Mears (*) design, and Spyderco started talking knife with Chris. They developed the very special and ergonomic handle shape and decided to go on with all the “classic” Bushcraft features: a natural handle, scandi gring, tool steel and a leather sheath.
At that time Spyderco manufacturing was running on the top of its capacity and they could not produce the Bushcraft knife in the USA.
Japan was also (and is still) at the top of what they could handle for them. (Spyderco works with small family businesses in Japan).
Japan was also too expensive. Sal has already established contacts in Taiwan and went there with the Bushcraft project.
The quality of work they provide is, as noticed since, simply top notch.
It’s evident to state that currently, there is no other factory made Bushcraft knife on the market with an handle so specifically shaped for the hand, as the Spyderco FB26P.

(*) Another thing to remember is that Ray Mears is NOT a knife maker nor a knife designer. He is in fact a TV host and a business man who finds his customers through his televised adventures and stories. If you would like to collaborate with him to endorse any outdoor style products, you first deal with his agents and then with his marketing lady. As they have lot’s of success and they are asking high commitments, also in terms of money….

Folders

Rockstead Higo-J: Part III – Masamune in Winter

08/12/2010 nemosandman 3 Comments

The Rockstead Higo-J # 102 continues to be worn and used daily as part of my testing of this high quality knife through the seasons in France.

The road so far:
“Rockstead Higo-J part I – A Folding Masamune in Paris”
“Rockstead Higo-J ZDP-189: Fears and Cures”
“Rockstead Higo-J In the woods”

Rockstead Higo-J ZDP

The mechanism did not show any sign of wear since I got the knife used daily. The feeling/sensation of holding a light fixed blade is real once open. The opening and closing is getting smoother (the retention ball was the main brake to the butter like opening provided by huge phosphoric bronze washers) the clip (despite its lip) was a great surprise in confort of carrying and did not caught anything.

Rockstead Higo-J

What is appreciated in the ergonomy of the Higo-J conceived as “a very pragmatic knife” is the natural way the fingers find their places on that very straight design.
The choil offers a very nice position for the index for any precise work. And the balance of that light knife makes it a natural extension of your hand. There is no issue or hot spot while using the knife even on hard wood.
Some bushcrafters friend of mine really appreciated its grind which is almost scandy. It seems to remove the bark of wood stick like a zipper: with a lot of control.
The Higo was also used in hunting dejointing and skinning and the ZDP grind and heattreated by Rockstead did not failed us.

Rockstead Higo-J

Now how the ZDP-189, hard as Rockstead like to treat it (HRC66,6) was a concern for me. The initial grind was a little to fragile and my regrind did not permit to recover the initial performance of the knife. This was an issue that many users of thin grind knives may have encountered: rolling edge on stainless can be messy.
Now with patience and elbow grease, the edge of the Higo-J has been restored and maintain to an excellent level of working sharpness.
As a very polish edge (I don’t see myself putting a toothy edge on it, sorry…) the knife shows a constance in performance: it cuts cuts and cuts with accuracy and reliability. Now I only strop it once a week with compound and leather and it enough to keep it sharp.
So I don’t use saw motions and mainly pushcuts. It’s easy to reproduce the demo of Hanada-San. even the “Schtock” sound of the repeating cutting is reproductible.
Also the encounter with some hard surface and even some stapples were not able to mark the edge: no nicks, nothing which could not be fixed with a light ceramic and a lot of stropping.

Rockstead Higo-J ZDP-189

The more I use it, the more it grows on me. It’s easy to use and very easy to clean. So you don’t mind getting dirty and use that beautiful blade on messy jobs.
I have even seen Hanada-San being able to put it apart in a matter of seconds: there is only two main screws on that incredible design.

I was not able also to scratch the mirror finish and only some little scars are visible witnessing the use of the Higo on hard material.
So far I’m still very impress by the overall quality of that expensive tool.
The handle don’t show any scratches or anything which could alter their beautiful lines. I’m conscient that, if the knife would fall on concrete it would be marked (when G10 or carbon Fiber are very shock/scratches friendly) but it did not occur to me. So far the Higo-J only fell on soils and was rinse after.
BTW the ZDP blade did not stain (that steel is known for being sometime easy to stain).
This is the end of my update. The Higo-J will be used on X-mas turkey and I will come back to it in 2011…
Rockstead Higo-J

Folders

Ladybug Hawkbill Sprintrun – The Real Cat Claw !

27/10/2010 nemosandman 3 Comments

“Everybody wants to be a cat,
because a cat’s the only cat
who knows where it’s at…”

My friend Jur told me: “the older you’ll get the shorter the blades you will love.”
The first injection came from a baby Wayne Goddard, then the C22 Walker… now that little claw which is an amazing little tool !

Wolverine, Sabertooth are not the only one to produce some sharp claws in a blink of an eye ! You can do it too and with a very sheeple friendly (and invisible) Spyderco knife. There is a little Ladybug which got all the attribute of a feline “blade”: the “LBKS3HB”. Of course it’s a limited edition but soon it will be (re)release in a H1 and yellow handle version !

What I love about that little knife is its smoothness and the quality of construction. This is the shortest knife I can “Spyderdrop” and close by releasing the lock with a smooth flick of the wrist. So, it’s short, serrated, powerfull, handy, secured in the hand (thanks to the little fob provided by Jurphaas.)
This is the kind of knife I love to use in the city: removing labels on clothes, opening parcels, cutting plastic, strings, paper and even bread !
With a baguette this is a great knife to make the long incision for some ham !

Also, this little knife can be a real contender as a last ditch self defense tool aiming at the hands or the face !
The serrated edge can make painful and bleeding wounds with a swift caress of the blade.

Invisible, fast to put in service, performant… a real Cat Claw indeed !

Thea

Thea checking the knife.

Mini mini mini !

Confortable in various grip !

Closed, it’s almost got a grin !

This is VG10, baby !

Thea approves it !

And this is the H1 version of a Ladybug !

Uncategorized

Rockstead Higo-J part II (in the woods)

18/10/2010 nemosandman 3 Comments

Bringing the Rockstead Higo-J in the wood is easy. The handle is smooth enough to find another pocket than the right front denim’s and the clip keep it attached.
The straight handle permits different grips and the grooves in the duraluminium help to secure them even with wet hands.

Now the edge is narrow, thin and mirror smooth and the back of the blade confortable enough to push cut with the left hand thumb.
The result are incredibly powerful deep cuts in wood.
Compared to my ATS34 Sebenza (narrow edge and mirror polished and my faithful CPM M4 Gayle Bradley the Higo-J cuts with much more ease.
It’s amazing and it’s logical.
The edge is so narrow, almost like a scandinavian grind. So the fibers of wood are no match for this wonderful tool.

But a narrow edge also means a much fragile edge. My version is the ZDP-189 version: a very hard steel wich is not a tool steel able to withstand torsion and very hard use. The Higo-J is a lamborghini not a tractor. The handle is enough confortable for long works. It’s not a UK Bushcrafter but for an open handle it’s better than my Sebbie ergos.
After two days of various works on differents woods, food and strings: everything a knife that size is confronted when you are in the wood. (Also I have whittle a lot as the sensation of ease of cutting is really addictive… I have only noticed a tiny micro nick in the blade.

Again, you don’t want to notice any nick on a Lamborghini.
So back home, I decided to gently caress the edge with the with ceramic of my Sharpmaker and succesfully removed 60% of the nick.
Then I have been stropping the blade for two hours to remove the marks.
Now it looks like new but it has lost its factory edge.
I will need more time to gently reprofile it and strop back to mirror.
Ah, the learning curve…
If you use your knife, you will be obliged to touch up the very thin edge and to reprofile it with a tiny wider angle…

OK. So after using the Spyderco Sharpmaker at 30° to rease the nick and eventually realign the edge and fifteen more minutes of stropping
on my Snail Belt and then on my razor leather. The crispy and hair popping sharpness is back to normal. (which means outstandingly amazing!)

The road so far:
“Rockstead Higo-J part I – A Folding Masamune in Paris”
“Rockstead Higo-J ZDP-189: Fears and Cures”
“Rockstead Higo-J: Part III – Masamune in Winter”

NemoKnivesReview

Rockstead Higo-J in the spring time

Spyderco Navaja Carbon Fiber ~ C147CF – Spirit of Spaniards

Spyderco Sage 3 – The Blue Brother

Amsterdam Spyderco Minimeet 2011 – The Forbidden Pictures !

The Lucane by Jérôme “Torpen” Hovaere

Spyderco Paramilitary 2: the second son of Millie

Spyderco BushcraftUK G10 – The Revenge of the Bold and the Beautiful

Rockstead Higo-J: Part III – Masamune in Winter

Ladybug Hawkbill Sprintrun – The Real Cat Claw !

Rockstead Higo-J part II (in the woods)

From The Edge To The Point Since 1995