You are NOT Mad Mike... Mad Mike is another member who is a dwarf Ranger with a bad attitude and fewer social skills that even an Italian Paratrooper.... Gary doesn't make a combat bowie that goes well with a Fruitti del Mare like you...
Even at home, nobody believes him... so just ignore about 95% of what he says and you'll be fine.... The Troll prisoner grab mission was successful.... there was a diversionary side mission that distracted the knife guy and guards with homemade Banana-walnut-chocolate chip-cinnamon ice cream. the Troll has been sent to an undisclosed location for debriefing by intelligence operatives of multiple departments ...
Made BY a Texan (from Beaumont, who else would make a knife this big?) FOR a Texan ! Yeah Troll and his MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH, exponentially better half stopped by and we had a good time. He got to handle both the Bowie and a Bravo Smash WIP. Had to mace, tase, then hit with a baseball bat to pry them from his sausages. He's right though the Bowie is really one hell of a knife.
wow I have received a compliment from the Troll... so I have social skills... thanks! That knife I used to collect mussels from the rocks... not to cut flowers in the mountains like you...
Ok... this is a project I have been working on for a while. I designed this knife for my old chaplain. He's a personal friend and a fellow knife enthusiast. The only direction he gave me was that he liked big knives.. well, I think what we have falls in that category (I mean it's not quite the beast the Combat Bowie is but..). I hadn’t planned on showing this and wasn’t sure if I was going to offer this knife to anyone else but after an email I sent to him and some careful thought I figured I would at least show you guys and I told him about this forum and this particular thread so if he checks it out he'll have a little sneak peek of his knife. Since it's going to a chaplain I figured I would name this knife "Vengeance" in reference to Romans 12:19. I decided I will offer this knife and with almost all my knives, I like offering the same style in different sizes so this is the first and probably largest of two or three.. Here's the specs. Almost 1/4" S35VN (.22") Double hollow ground *** Flat ground false top edge (thinnest area at the top is still about 1/8"- 5/32") OAL: 12.5" Blade Length: 7.25" This is all that will be shown until after it's deliverd. Once he get's it I will post pics of the finished product. Enjoy you knife junkies!! ***-- something I have never brought up... Just so you all know, I grind all my knives with a 10" contact wheel not the standard 8". A hollow ground knife is easier to sharpen because of the edge is thinner for longer. The advantage of the flat grind is there is more material behind the edge for strength, especially compared to a blade ground with an 8" wheel. With my 10" wheel I think you get the better of the two. You get a the thin area but because of such a large circumference you get a lot more material behind the edge for strength... so it's almost a flat grind that is slightly concave. I probably didn’t explain that very well so if you need clarification let me know and we'll discuss it further.
Ok.. I want all of your opinions on this (I am sure this is a can of worms being opened;).. The point behind this design is having the maximum amount of blade edge in the smallest package possible for maximizing concealment/stow-ability. So with this, you get 3" of blade in a 4.25" package. It's amazingly comfortable and secure in the hand, even more so than I thought when I designed it and great dexterity. I have no issues slashing, punching, or doing fine detail cutting.. it really is more functional than I ever thought it would be. I expected to trade alot more functionality in for the small size. This knife will come with a sheath that can be worn as a neck knife or IWB. This is the NHK... No Handle Knife! what else?! Tell me what you guys think. You guys are a perfect sounding board.. you all actually USE your knives! Suggestions.. comments.. critiques.. Enjoy! Thanks, Gary
That looks like the knife Tom Berenger slashed Charlie Sheen with in Platoon. Shoot, I'd wear that around my neck. How much are you looking at selling it for? I might have to add that to the Bravo Smash...
I was thinking 119.00... Even the small neck knives in S35VN are going for much more than that. What do you think?
Not knowing what they traditionally go for, I thought that sounded like a very reasonable price. After doing some research, that seems like a pretty good deal!
I try hard to keep the prices low and reasonable. The only thing more expensive than knife collecting is knife making! Every knife is hand made, one at a time and extreme attention to detail is used. For a knife the size of the Combat Bowie I may have 20+ hours into it. Every knife literally has my name on it and being the proud, barrel chested freedom fighter that I am, it has to be perfect and you can bet your life on it. That my Guarantee! Allright.. wife is yelling at me to get to bed!!
Troll and Gary, I'd like to hear your opinion about M9 bayonet... I have found it when I moved house last month...
Mike, Well, as a former Infantry guy I have had lots of experience with this lil guy. Since becoming SF I havent seen one, I dont think we have any in our inventory to be honest. The reason being two-fold. It never get's used and most are honestly pieces of garbage. Now.. I am not sure who makes the particular one you have, and that makes all the difference. The one in US Military stocks have been made by at least 4 manufacturers (the best and least of those were made by BUCK and Ontario) and keep in mind each one was the lowest bidder at the time. Here's a link to the history of it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M9_bayonet Now I have seen some modern versions by Ontario and the like, that I am sure are very well made and solid. I know on several GI versions, I have tried to use the wire cutting feature and there was about 10 times more damage done to the knife than the wire. I also believe most GI versions were made of either 420 or 425 stainless.... 420HC can ... CAN make decent blades IF IF IF heat treated properly. The question here is do you think ANY company that is shooting for the LOWEST bid to MASS PRODUCE a knife is going to be meticulous while heat treating? Probably not. I am sure if you compare a Ontario M9 made for the troops and one of thiers off a shelf in a store and compared them, they would be drastically different knives.. another lesson in capitalism (for God sakes man.. stay on subject!!) The M9 is also probably the most counterfeited knife in the world and hell some of those may be better than the GI version and I am pretty sure they are made from melted down Coke cans.. ;) So to summarize.. essentially the design is what we are talking about.. I think it is an outstanding and innovative design that served a purpose for the average infantryman. I think because of poor quality materials and workmanship it has gotten a well deserved bad reputation, I also believe bayonets today on the modern battalfield are probably out dated and truth be told, no one carries them anymore. So if you did get into some crazy situation and you needed one, no one would have one to use anyways. Didnt realize I had so much opinion on this subject.. lol
