J&L Custom Cutlery sam mai skining/hunting knife
Nov 27, 2017 23:59:39 GMT
Post by Razor on Nov 27, 2017 23:59:39 GMT
J&L Custom Cutlery San Mai Skinning/Hunting Knife
By Ray Harrington
Introduction
L. Driggers sent two knives for me to review. One is a skinning/hunting knife, and the other is a uitility knife. At first I was going to write one review for both of the knives, but I think it would be better suited to give each knife it's own review. I have handled and cut with some of J&L's knives and axes, and I have already written a review for one of their bowies.
Full Disclosure
I did not buy this knife. L. Driggers, from J&L Custom Cutlery, sent me this knife and told me to give it an honest review. It is mine to keep.
Initial Impressions
I was excited when the package came, because I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that two small knives where on their way to me. Upon opening the box, I noticed the knives where wrapped in bubble wrap. When I was taking the knives out I noticed a blade tip of the hunting knife sticking out. I quickly checked the box and I saw that the tip went through the box too. The very tip was damaged and rolled over. I stropped the blade to fix the tip for testing.
Statistics
Blade Length: 4 3/8"
Handle Length: 4 7/16"
Overall Length: 8 13/16"
Blade Thickness at The Handle: 4.92mm
Blade Thickness at The 1" from the Tip: 2.85mm
Blade Width at The Handle: 1 1/4"
Weight: 6 oz
POB 1" below the blade
Blade
The san mai blade is laminated with 1018 on the sides and 1075 for the core. The blade has a ricasso and on the right side, the J&L logo. The blade is hair shaving sharp, with a drop point tip and a thick spine. There is a little swell or wave on the edge by the ricasso.
Handle
The knife is full tang with a finger grove and has two slabs of tiger stripe maple wood on each side. Two pins secure the wooded grip to the full tang. The grip is not flush with the pins, and there are gaps around the pins that I can stick my fingernail in. Out of all the J&L knives I have handled, this one is the most comfortable and my favorite.
Cutting
This being a small knife, I picked three cutting tests for it. For the first test, I split a piece of wood by battoning the blade with a stick. For the second test, I cut and thrusted into pork ribs with a t-shirt wrapped around it. For the final test, I chopped into a piece of beef femur that is used for stew.
The wood I used for the test was a piece of 4x4 and the knife split it with ease. The knife performed very well for the pork rib test, and it didn't incur any tip or edge damage from the ribs. The blade did meet it's match on the femur bone.
Conclusions
I really liked this knife. It handled well and the grip is my favorite J&L grip that I have handled. I was disappointed that I mangled the edge of the blade, but with the thickness of the blade and how it performed on the ribs, it was a little shocking that the edge became damaged to this extent.
My next goal for this knife, is to have the Rockwell hardness tested on the blade.
By Ray Harrington
Introduction
L. Driggers sent two knives for me to review. One is a skinning/hunting knife, and the other is a uitility knife. At first I was going to write one review for both of the knives, but I think it would be better suited to give each knife it's own review. I have handled and cut with some of J&L's knives and axes, and I have already written a review for one of their bowies.
Full Disclosure
I did not buy this knife. L. Driggers, from J&L Custom Cutlery, sent me this knife and told me to give it an honest review. It is mine to keep.
Initial Impressions
I was excited when the package came, because I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that two small knives where on their way to me. Upon opening the box, I noticed the knives where wrapped in bubble wrap. When I was taking the knives out I noticed a blade tip of the hunting knife sticking out. I quickly checked the box and I saw that the tip went through the box too. The very tip was damaged and rolled over. I stropped the blade to fix the tip for testing.
Statistics
Blade Length: 4 3/8"
Handle Length: 4 7/16"
Overall Length: 8 13/16"
Blade Thickness at The Handle: 4.92mm
Blade Thickness at The 1" from the Tip: 2.85mm
Blade Width at The Handle: 1 1/4"
Weight: 6 oz
POB 1" below the blade
Blade
The san mai blade is laminated with 1018 on the sides and 1075 for the core. The blade has a ricasso and on the right side, the J&L logo. The blade is hair shaving sharp, with a drop point tip and a thick spine. There is a little swell or wave on the edge by the ricasso.
Handle
The knife is full tang with a finger grove and has two slabs of tiger stripe maple wood on each side. Two pins secure the wooded grip to the full tang. The grip is not flush with the pins, and there are gaps around the pins that I can stick my fingernail in. Out of all the J&L knives I have handled, this one is the most comfortable and my favorite.
Cutting
This being a small knife, I picked three cutting tests for it. For the first test, I split a piece of wood by battoning the blade with a stick. For the second test, I cut and thrusted into pork ribs with a t-shirt wrapped around it. For the final test, I chopped into a piece of beef femur that is used for stew.
The wood I used for the test was a piece of 4x4 and the knife split it with ease. The knife performed very well for the pork rib test, and it didn't incur any tip or edge damage from the ribs. The blade did meet it's match on the femur bone.
Conclusions
I really liked this knife. It handled well and the grip is my favorite J&L grip that I have handled. I was disappointed that I mangled the edge of the blade, but with the thickness of the blade and how it performed on the ribs, it was a little shocking that the edge became damaged to this extent.
My next goal for this knife, is to have the Rockwell hardness tested on the blade.