Laventrix Forum Knife: First Impressions

[SteelIsReal]

Well, something long anticipated turned up in the mail today...

It is a thing of beauty. It looks bloody horn from every angle, and I reckon I'll get a ton of satisfaction from using such a finely crafted knife.

The D2 (1/8")blade is a tick under 4" & the handle is about 5".
The ergonomics feel just right, like it becomes an extension of the hand. Balance is approximately at the front corby bolt. (the maker's mark is on the left hand side)

John Foxwell has done an outstanding job with this knife, and I'm confident that the other guys will confirm that impression.

Next... taking it out in the field

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/Swimmingdragon888/IMG_0838.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/Swimmingdragon888/IMG_0843.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/Swimmingdragon888/IMG_0844.jpg



http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/Swimmingdragon888/IMG_0846.jpg

[Waldganger]

nice stuff Will, I can't wait for mine!

[Easy Rollins]

Sweeeet! :cool:

[MDG]

I thought that I would add my impressions to this thread.

I usually have some trouble with fit of handles. My hands don't close fully any more due to damage over the years. But I can hold this one quite comfortably. It also passes the fingernail test for sharpness. Little drag and no roughness. A good edge. You have done very well Mr Foxwell. Thank you very much.

[SteelIsReal]

cool, thanks for that MDG. Mine came shaving sharp. Very nice :cool:

Guys, feel free to add your thoughts on the forum knife on this thread or another one if you would like to.

[MDG]

Mine is shaving sharp as well. But I don't test for that as Mr Gillette and I don't get on. I haven't shaved in decades. This is the sharpest D2 knife I have come across. This is a treasure.

[SteelIsReal]

'shaving sharp' for me means it was tested on arm hair only :D

[MDG]

Ah yes, patchy arm syndrome. No cure known to man.

[southern bigfoot]

It's always only one arm though?

I've gone for any point above the t-shirt line to reduce quizical looks from my clients.

[MikeF]

I do both arms, and then start on my legs. :confused:

A test of a steady hand!

[dhc4ever]

Well mine showed up today and I just had to have a play with it.
This thing fits well and has a solid feel without being too heavy.
Its contempories in my collection would be the bark river aurora and clives drop point hunter, all very similar and at the same time very different knives.
I had a play with it this evening, guess what cut up the veges for dinner?
Its not a paring knife by any imagination but it does a reasonable job. It doesnt shoot carrot slices across the room like the Aurora and Clives hunter due to it being slightly thinner, worked well on the brocolli and beans and did a good job on the potatoes as well. Very comfortable to handle and has a nicely shaped tip that will allow it to do varios tasks reasonably well. Why do the veges with it? Well my thinking goes along the lines of its a camp knife that will get used for everything from opening boxs,skinning goats thru to cooking(hopefully after a wash). It probably wont cut through many car doors or act as a backup baton like some others but it wasnt designed for that was it.
So how do you stop D2 steel from rusting?

Arm hair seems a bit patchy as well for some reason :).

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/dhc4ever/IMG_0001_20.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/dhc4ever/IMG_0006_1.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/dhc4ever/IMG_0011_1.jpg

[CMOT]

Well I'm also very impressed with the quality and finish of this knife. I went over it millimetre by millimetre in search of a flaw, and was unsuccessful. Overall it is a beautiful knife in my eyes, well balanced and comfortable to hold despite the handle being larger (longer) than my smaller hands require.

The sheath is also a lovely piece of leatherwork, and adds to the attraction of the overall package (actually a couple of non-KE people I've shown it to were more impressed by the sheath than the knife - but they still acknowledged the craftsmanship there too).

It probably wont cut through many car doors or act as a backup baton like some others but it wasnt designed for that was it.



I suspect it would cut up a car door if it really had to - it's nice and hard, and seems not so thin that it needs to be treated gently, but I have no plans to try any potentially destructive tests of this hypothesis!:cool:

This size and style of knife is new to me, so I'm still not quite sure what (if any) real life use I may put this to. I've mostly collected and used folders for anything that couldn't be comfortably done with a Golok, and chosen fixed blades with heavy use and/or tactical applications in mind.

Having said that I'm grateful for the excuse to have purchased my first "Camp Knife"(?) which is also my first real quality custom handmade knife... and what a beauty it is! :)http://laventrix.net/images/icons/icon14.gif

[southern bigfoot]

It sounds great.

I'm patiently (and happily patient John, no rush) waiting for mine so no review yet. BUT... all of your ones I handled, in John's shed, felt really good.

When it gets here I do look forward to using mine for years to come. Good all round shape for most hunting/fishing/camping jobs.

[apsilon]

So how do you stop D2 steel from rusting?

I use a Sentry Solutions "Tuf-cloth" to wipe over all my carbon blades before putting them away. It deposits a coating on the blade that prevents rust.

This is my 4th piece of Johns work and his workmanship has improved on each of them. I'd be happy to reproduce the level of the first one. I'll probably use mine but it's a real heirloom piece in quality that'll be passed down for generations.

[MDG]

These days I also use a tuf cloth. But I used to use a good quality gun oil. That used to work quite well too. But I don't know what is in modern gunoils. But a small amount of mineral oil (such 3 in 1 which has no additives) won't hurt you. In any case clean it before you use it on food.

[Stewart Townsend]

BUT... all of your ones I handled, in John's shed, felt really good. Your's is the one I sanded. LOL :) LOL

[MDG]

What! No Runes! OK, you sanded left to right while John sanded right to left. LMAO.

[Waldganger]

I took mine to work today (butcher) and had a bit of a crack at some meat.

I think this knife would be absolutely perfect for hunter tasks, as it cut the meat pretty well, although cold bloodless meat is seriously different to the "hot" meat that you would find in the field. Also the smaller detail work that I do is vastly different than the skinning and quartering you would do in the field.

Mine is going to get a good job on the sharpening stone sometime over the next couple of days, then I'm going to sit and wait till I shoot something