Post by homerj on Apr 25, 2014 2:29:13 GMT
I finally got to do some chopping with my CS Kukri, Trail Master, Becker BK2, and new Mark Green custom. I visited my grandparents over the Easter weekend in Alpine, a small West Texas ranch/railroad town real close to the Big Bend National Park. I chopped some old mesquite that had been cleared a few years ago. This wood was really dry and hard, on the janka wood hardness scale, mesquite is pretty high on the list and probably the hardest naturally growing wood I have access to.
I was surprised that the Trail Master chopped and split better than the Kukri which is a little longer, wider, and heavier. The Trail Master is the new for CS O-1 steel and may have been a little sharper. The Kukri has a nice "sweet spot" that when you chop just right feels like you have a hand axe instead of a knife, but if you don't aim just right the Kurki wasn't that impressive. The bowie shape of the Trail Master was just right, easier to chop and maneuver around and in between limbs and all around more versatile.
I love how thick blades like this split logs batoning, the biggest pieces I split were upper thigh sized pieces of mesquite I chopped into 1'-2' pieces. When breaking down the wood almost half the time it didn't take much more than batoning 1-2 times the depth of the knife into the wood for it to be cleanly split. I think the Trail Master is going to be my new go to heavy use knife.
I was just as impressed with the BK2. For being such a small knife it chopped and batoned better than I thought it would. The only issue is that since the blade is less than 6", to generate enough leverage to chop well a lanyard and two finger grip is a must. I wrapped my lanyard around my wrist real tight and gripped the very bottom curve of the handle with just my index finger and thumb. Surprisingly I was able to generate some pretty good chopping momentum and I had enough control that the knife was bouncing out of my grip or anything. While the BK2 didn't bite into the mesquite as deep and took more swings to chop through the same logs it still chopped very well. Batoning with such a small knife limits the diameter of logs you can split, but as long as I had a bit of the tip and the handle to thump on, I was able to split every log I tried. The width of the blade also help blast the logs apart. The only negatives I came away with was that the sheath is beginning to be a PITA, the handles are too slick, and the finish is starting to wear. The sheath is still ridiculously tight even after trying to loosen it up and pry it apart, I def need a kydex sheath. The handles are too slick for my liking without gloves, I want to order some micarta scales but in the mean time I just may give it some texture with a soldering iron. The finish is showing wear with just one day of testing but a common Becker mod is to strip the finish and polish the blade which I think will look very nice with the kydex sheath and new scales. The factory edge wasn't that great but I put a nice convex edge on it with my work sharp sharpener and the edge withstood the abuse very well with no damage. I think this knife has great value for the $60 you are looking at spending and I was thoroughly impressed.
My new Mark Green custom knife also was also very impressive. As a small utility knife I didn't bother chopping at anything bigger than small branches but with those this knife chopped through with ease. Much thicker than my first Mark Green knife, this knife split wood way better and was still sharp enough to make fuzz sticks. The steel is 440C, which has a bad reputation as a junk or cheap chinese knife steel, but apparently the heat treat makes some difference. The edge retention and strength is superb, I have been carrying this knife on my belt ever since I took it home and I think I found a new favorite EDC knife.
I also did a quick test with my CS 5.5" voyager. I didn't do any chopping since the blade is so light but I did some batoning, nothing too thick but just a few pieces of wood to see how the lock would handle being thumped on. I had to hit it pretty hard to get through some knots in the wood and the lock showed no wear or wobble. A folder wouldn't be my first choice to process wood but at least I can confirm that it is capable of batoning if I had to.
I got rained out before I could test my Moras, but there are tons of reviews out there and I wouldn't be reporting anything new.
I was surprised that the Trail Master chopped and split better than the Kukri which is a little longer, wider, and heavier. The Trail Master is the new for CS O-1 steel and may have been a little sharper. The Kukri has a nice "sweet spot" that when you chop just right feels like you have a hand axe instead of a knife, but if you don't aim just right the Kurki wasn't that impressive. The bowie shape of the Trail Master was just right, easier to chop and maneuver around and in between limbs and all around more versatile.
I love how thick blades like this split logs batoning, the biggest pieces I split were upper thigh sized pieces of mesquite I chopped into 1'-2' pieces. When breaking down the wood almost half the time it didn't take much more than batoning 1-2 times the depth of the knife into the wood for it to be cleanly split. I think the Trail Master is going to be my new go to heavy use knife.
I was just as impressed with the BK2. For being such a small knife it chopped and batoned better than I thought it would. The only issue is that since the blade is less than 6", to generate enough leverage to chop well a lanyard and two finger grip is a must. I wrapped my lanyard around my wrist real tight and gripped the very bottom curve of the handle with just my index finger and thumb. Surprisingly I was able to generate some pretty good chopping momentum and I had enough control that the knife was bouncing out of my grip or anything. While the BK2 didn't bite into the mesquite as deep and took more swings to chop through the same logs it still chopped very well. Batoning with such a small knife limits the diameter of logs you can split, but as long as I had a bit of the tip and the handle to thump on, I was able to split every log I tried. The width of the blade also help blast the logs apart. The only negatives I came away with was that the sheath is beginning to be a PITA, the handles are too slick, and the finish is starting to wear. The sheath is still ridiculously tight even after trying to loosen it up and pry it apart, I def need a kydex sheath. The handles are too slick for my liking without gloves, I want to order some micarta scales but in the mean time I just may give it some texture with a soldering iron. The finish is showing wear with just one day of testing but a common Becker mod is to strip the finish and polish the blade which I think will look very nice with the kydex sheath and new scales. The factory edge wasn't that great but I put a nice convex edge on it with my work sharp sharpener and the edge withstood the abuse very well with no damage. I think this knife has great value for the $60 you are looking at spending and I was thoroughly impressed.
My new Mark Green custom knife also was also very impressive. As a small utility knife I didn't bother chopping at anything bigger than small branches but with those this knife chopped through with ease. Much thicker than my first Mark Green knife, this knife split wood way better and was still sharp enough to make fuzz sticks. The steel is 440C, which has a bad reputation as a junk or cheap chinese knife steel, but apparently the heat treat makes some difference. The edge retention and strength is superb, I have been carrying this knife on my belt ever since I took it home and I think I found a new favorite EDC knife.
I also did a quick test with my CS 5.5" voyager. I didn't do any chopping since the blade is so light but I did some batoning, nothing too thick but just a few pieces of wood to see how the lock would handle being thumped on. I had to hit it pretty hard to get through some knots in the wood and the lock showed no wear or wobble. A folder wouldn't be my first choice to process wood but at least I can confirm that it is capable of batoning if I had to.
I got rained out before I could test my Moras, but there are tons of reviews out there and I wouldn't be reporting anything new.
