Forged in SBG.
Oct 2, 2015 20:02:14 GMT
Post by randomnobody on Oct 2, 2015 20:02:14 GMT
All right, guys; I have no idea anymore what's going on with the preliminary rounds (Chris? Let us know, man), but all entries for the first official round are in. Of the original nine competitors, only six took part in this round. Tom Kinder (TomK), Lyndle Driggers (fallen), Henry Vila (DigsFossils-n-Knives), Marc Sanford (sanmarc), Jeffrey Burlinson (balimund21), and Michael Kerley (Mikeeman).
Unfortunately, Mike suffered from some personal circumstances throughout the entry period, and despite a 10-day extension, was unable to complete a satisfactory entry and had to drop out. Real shame, too, as the in-progress shots he was sharing were looking promising... I'll let him decide whether to share his story or not.
Anyway, despite his non-entry, Mike has been generous enough to supply some wood boards for the testing. I've also acquired a pack of standard printer paper, a 24-pack of 16.9oz water bottles, and a 20-foot length of 1-inch-thick manila rope for additional tests. I haven't received the boards yet, they're on the way, but I did just receive the final entry today from Tom, so while we wait, here's a quickie group shot I took of all five blades, in order of receipt, from top to bottom:
(Warning: 2MB file size, it might take a moment to load...)
As pictured, top-to-bottom is Fallen, Digs, Marc, Jeffrey, and Tom.
Weather here in Richmond-ish, VA has been absolutely lousy for the past week or so, so I haven't had any opportunity to go outside, so apologies for the carpet backdrop and lighting.
Since I can't do any of the testing yet, what with the rain and all, here's a few specs for each of the knives:
Fallen
Overall - 16"/40.5cm
Weight - 1lb 1.4oz/ 494g
PoB - .75"/1.9cm (app)
Blade
- 9.75"/24.5cm long
- 1.65"/4.2cm wide (base)
- 1.68"/4.3cm max
- 3.75"/9.5cm swedge
- 0.27"/0.8cm thick
Grip
- 6.05"/15.5cm long
- 1.17"/3cm swell
- 0.95"/2.4cm min height
- 0.88-0.9"/2.2-2.3cm thick
Digs
Overall - 20"/51cm
Weight - 1lb 5.8oz/619g
PoB - 1.5"/4cm
Blade
- 11.5"/29cm long
- 1.19"/3cm wide (base)
- 1.25"/3.2cm max
- 1.25"/3.2cm tip
- 0.26"/0.6cm thick (0.28"/0.8cm)
Grip
- 7.25"/18.5cm long
- 1.25"/3.2cm height
- 0.75"/1.9cm-1.25"/3.2cm
Marc
Overall - 13.5"/34.5cm
Weight - 11.6oz/329g
PoB - 0.25"/0.6cm
Blade
- 8.25"/21cm long
- 1.36"/3.4cm wide
- 0.19"/0.5cm-0.16"/0.4cmthick
- 2.75"/6.5cm tip
Grip
- 5 3/8"/13.5cm long
- 0.9"/2.5cm height
- 0.74"/1.9cm thick
Jeff
Overall - 16.5"/42cm
Weight - 1lb 10.9oz/762g
PoB - 3.5"/9cm
Blade
- 11.25"/28.5cm long
- 2.33"/5.9cm wide
- 4.15"/10.6cm tip
- 0.25"/0.6cm thick
Grip
- 4.5"/11.5cm long
- 1.5"/3.7cm height
- 0.55"/1.4cm thick
Tom
Overall - 16.75"/42.5cm (1.5"/4cm)
Weight - 1lb 5.4oz/606g
PoB - 0.7"/1.8cm
Blade
- 11.5"/21cm long
- 1.68"/4.3cm max 1.85"/4.7cm
- 0.22"/0.55cm base 0.19"/0.49cm
- 3.16"/8.05cm tip
Grip
- 4.85"/12.4cm long
- 1.34"/3.4cm - 1.53"/3.9cm height
- ~0.8"/2cm thick
Guard
- 7.25"/18.5cm long
- 0.35"/0.8cm - 0.7"/1.8cm wide
-0.28"/0.7cm thick
So far, I'm thrilled to see the level of variety the entries achieved. Not one blade is like any other, and each one demonstrates the smiths' individual preferences on the makings of a "Fighter/Chopper" style knife. Each knife behaves differently in the hand. Marc's is the lightest, with the closest balance, so it dances with ease and would no doubt deal terrible slashing cuts against soft, squishy, meaty things. Jeffrey's is the brute of the bunch, with the widest, heaviest blade and the farthest balance, which might be a challenge to some, but in the right hands...well, let's just say it hits hard. Fallen and Digs seem to have settled right in the middle of "Fighter" and "Chopper," with blades that may not excel at one or the other but would certainly do both equally well, and Tom's beast of a bowie demonstrates clearly his aim to achieve excellence in both categories and highlights his emphasis on keeping the wielder safe with a massive guard that, on first impression, might seem to take away from the blade-biased "Chopper" style, but once you get it moving, you realize the only thing stopping it is when you stop swinging it, which is very easy to do.
I'm excited to see how these knives each take on the various tests we have lined up. I think I can already guess which knife would be better at what, but I'm ready to be surprised. Now, if only the weather would clear up during daylight hours, we could get this show on the road!
I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited.
Unfortunately, Mike suffered from some personal circumstances throughout the entry period, and despite a 10-day extension, was unable to complete a satisfactory entry and had to drop out. Real shame, too, as the in-progress shots he was sharing were looking promising... I'll let him decide whether to share his story or not.
Anyway, despite his non-entry, Mike has been generous enough to supply some wood boards for the testing. I've also acquired a pack of standard printer paper, a 24-pack of 16.9oz water bottles, and a 20-foot length of 1-inch-thick manila rope for additional tests. I haven't received the boards yet, they're on the way, but I did just receive the final entry today from Tom, so while we wait, here's a quickie group shot I took of all five blades, in order of receipt, from top to bottom:
(Warning: 2MB file size, it might take a moment to load...)
As pictured, top-to-bottom is Fallen, Digs, Marc, Jeffrey, and Tom.
Weather here in Richmond-ish, VA has been absolutely lousy for the past week or so, so I haven't had any opportunity to go outside, so apologies for the carpet backdrop and lighting.
Since I can't do any of the testing yet, what with the rain and all, here's a few specs for each of the knives:
Fallen
Overall - 16"/40.5cm
Weight - 1lb 1.4oz/ 494g
PoB - .75"/1.9cm (app)
Blade
- 9.75"/24.5cm long
- 1.65"/4.2cm wide (base)
- 1.68"/4.3cm max
- 3.75"/9.5cm swedge
- 0.27"/0.8cm thick
Grip
- 6.05"/15.5cm long
- 1.17"/3cm swell
- 0.95"/2.4cm min height
- 0.88-0.9"/2.2-2.3cm thick
Digs
Overall - 20"/51cm
Weight - 1lb 5.8oz/619g
PoB - 1.5"/4cm
Blade
- 11.5"/29cm long
- 1.19"/3cm wide (base)
- 1.25"/3.2cm max
- 1.25"/3.2cm tip
- 0.26"/0.6cm thick (0.28"/0.8cm)
Grip
- 7.25"/18.5cm long
- 1.25"/3.2cm height
- 0.75"/1.9cm-1.25"/3.2cm
Marc
Overall - 13.5"/34.5cm
Weight - 11.6oz/329g
PoB - 0.25"/0.6cm
Blade
- 8.25"/21cm long
- 1.36"/3.4cm wide
- 0.19"/0.5cm-0.16"/0.4cmthick
- 2.75"/6.5cm tip
Grip
- 5 3/8"/13.5cm long
- 0.9"/2.5cm height
- 0.74"/1.9cm thick
Jeff
Overall - 16.5"/42cm
Weight - 1lb 10.9oz/762g
PoB - 3.5"/9cm
Blade
- 11.25"/28.5cm long
- 2.33"/5.9cm wide
- 4.15"/10.6cm tip
- 0.25"/0.6cm thick
Grip
- 4.5"/11.5cm long
- 1.5"/3.7cm height
- 0.55"/1.4cm thick
Tom
Overall - 16.75"/42.5cm (1.5"/4cm)
Weight - 1lb 5.4oz/606g
PoB - 0.7"/1.8cm
Blade
- 11.5"/21cm long
- 1.68"/4.3cm max 1.85"/4.7cm
- 0.22"/0.55cm base 0.19"/0.49cm
- 3.16"/8.05cm tip
Grip
- 4.85"/12.4cm long
- 1.34"/3.4cm - 1.53"/3.9cm height
- ~0.8"/2cm thick
Guard
- 7.25"/18.5cm long
- 0.35"/0.8cm - 0.7"/1.8cm wide
-0.28"/0.7cm thick
So far, I'm thrilled to see the level of variety the entries achieved. Not one blade is like any other, and each one demonstrates the smiths' individual preferences on the makings of a "Fighter/Chopper" style knife. Each knife behaves differently in the hand. Marc's is the lightest, with the closest balance, so it dances with ease and would no doubt deal terrible slashing cuts against soft, squishy, meaty things. Jeffrey's is the brute of the bunch, with the widest, heaviest blade and the farthest balance, which might be a challenge to some, but in the right hands...well, let's just say it hits hard. Fallen and Digs seem to have settled right in the middle of "Fighter" and "Chopper," with blades that may not excel at one or the other but would certainly do both equally well, and Tom's beast of a bowie demonstrates clearly his aim to achieve excellence in both categories and highlights his emphasis on keeping the wielder safe with a massive guard that, on first impression, might seem to take away from the blade-biased "Chopper" style, but once you get it moving, you realize the only thing stopping it is when you stop swinging it, which is very easy to do.
I'm excited to see how these knives each take on the various tests we have lined up. I think I can already guess which knife would be better at what, but I'm ready to be surprised. Now, if only the weather would clear up during daylight hours, we could get this show on the road!
I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited.