Well there finally comes a day, after all the waiting; first by me for Black Rabbit to finish the knife, and then by Black Rabbit for me to write this post.......Da DALet the Unboxing commence
One of the best things about being a blogger is the email correspondences I've had with other denizens of the bloggersphere. A while back I started an email correspondence with another blogger, a chap who lives down under and writes as Black Rabbit. He used the google follower function to join team bushwacker, i reciprocated and after a few comments on each others blogs we started another conversation by email. His blogging went quiet and then came back to life. Then one day as I sat in my hotel room day dreaming of being able to afford a custom knife to my delight he emailed and asked me to review his output as a knife maker.
We talked/emailed about trends in knife making, the dating perils that the devilishly handsome must endure, and all kinds of other important stuff. The end result of these conversations is what you see above, Scandi ground, Hunter blade shape, the lashing holes to harvest high hanging fruits, welded butt plate, in my favorite 'So-That's-Where-It-Is' Orange, and with a southern cross emblem.
The Handle shape has a 'manga-ness' to it that I really like - very different to the design conventions of knife making and, like it or loathe it, is all the better for it. Not every day that we see a maker who is trying to do something different.
As far as the true tests go:
Feels great in the hand - locks in well to my grip and has a nice balance
But here's where I have to admit to breaking my own rules for testing, I just can't bear to beat it up the way I normally would! Arraggh! So against everything i believe in (and have mouthed off about) I now own a knife that I'm too precious about to use for the heavy work its maker intended. WTF!
Thanks to Black Rabbit for all your hard work at the bench and patience.
Your pal
SBW
That is a seriously nice-looking knife. I wouldn't beat it up, either.
ReplyDeleteI know what you're going through. I still haven't bloodied the custom I bought for myself last year...
Knives are like wedding rings in that way. You only see the first five scratches, after that it's just part of what it is. Go on give it some stick, I know you want to.
ReplyDeleteJust don't loose it!
BOB
One all then chaps
ReplyDeleteSBW
Get out there and bloody that knife, SBW! Or come out here and do it with some nice, fat, CA hogs!
ReplyDeleteBut I know the feeling. A client gave me a really sweet little Norwegian skinner after a hog hunt recently, and I was hard-pressed to get it bloody. I finally used it on my first bow-kill (a deserving enough opportunity), and have fallen in love with it.
The best thing about a really well-made knife is that it really works! And when it's working, you know you've truly honored the knifemaker.
Utility is overrated.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely get to some more hunting stories soon... that is, once I get my moose in the freezer and canning jars! Man, you need a small army to process a moose! On another note, have you ever used a Gerber Exchange-A-Blade? If not, you should get one... wouldn't be caught dead without one (well, that's exactly where I might be caught without one out here! LOL).
ReplyDeletecheers,
HDR
Nice looking knife SBW - looking forward to the 'field test' post.
ReplyDeletecheers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tESrJaRnjZY
ReplyDelete