While Waiting On Corporate To Make Up Their Minds...

My last post described my troubles with a new Svea 123 gas stove.

Notice the thin red ring?  It bubbles when the stove is hot!

Since that posting a few things have happened.

Right after I wrote the blog post I decided to contact the vendor, Backcountry.com, for a replacement stove.  Since this stove was purchased through Amazon (Backcountry is an authorized Amazon vendor) I used Amazon's normally outstanding exchange/return system to notify Backcountry that I wanted an exchange.  Well, four business days ticked by with no contact from Backcountry.  Hmmm...  I checked with Amazon and confirmed that Backcountry had received the request.  It was starting to not look good from a customer service perspective.

About day four I got tired of waiting and decided to contact Primus (the manufacturer of the stove) directly through their website to see if they could do anything for me.  The next day I got an email back from Primus asking me to send the stove in for evaluation.  I did, and as I was walking out of the Post Office after having sent the stove off I got a call on my iPhone from Backcountry asking if there was anything they could do for me!  I didn't take the call, but later that day they got an email from me letting them know I was clearly dissatisfied with their service.  Is one sample point an indication of a trend?  No.  Backcountry may offer outstanding service and I'm the unlucky outlier who fell through the cracks.  However, a quick Google search for reviews of Backcountry's customer service reputation reveals they've got some issues.  I'll think hard about ordering from them again.

Well, Primus has had my stove for just over a week now and no word yet on how they intend to handle the issue.  Here's hoping for a new stove!

In the meantime...

On one of my nocturnal laps around the internet I happened to stumble on a very used Swedish Optimus 8R stove for sale on eBay (or evil-Bay, as many call it).  I put in a low bid and to my utter surprise I won.  I started to wonder why nobody outbid me - did I miss something in the listing that should have warned me off?  I didn't notice anything, so I waited fretfully for the stove's arrival.

Just a few days later the stove showed up.  I unboxed it and gave it a quick visual check.  It was well used, but not abused, and appeared to be more dirty than anything else.  I tore the stove down to it's major components, scraped all the soot off and went after the major parts with Brasso.  The steel case needed a good scrubbing in soapy water and came out looking fine, with just a little paint loss.

Optimus 8R after a good clean-up

But would it light up and run properly?  That's always the big question with used stoves.  These brass stoves are very simple devices and there's not much that can go wrong on them, but if they don't work properly replacement parts can be hard to find.

So I filled up the tank with Coleman gas (the only fuel you should use in these stoves, by the way) poured fuel in the priming cup and touched it off to heat up the vaporizer tube.  After a few minutes the priming flame had burned down and it was time for the big test.  I opened the fuel valve and held a match to the burner head and - flame!  A few seconds of smoky yellow flame then the burner settled down to produce a beautiful blue ring of flame and the wonderful roar these old stoves are noted for.  The thing runs like a champ.

Flame On!

Putting out some steam!  Since this is a knife blog I threw a
Cold Steel Mackinac Hunter into the shot to keep things kosher.

There seems to be some minor pressurization issues that I hope will be solved with a new gasket for the fuel tank cap (ordered all they way from Merrie Olde England) and this gal should be good for another 20 years of service.

But this Optimus is a 50+ year old design.  How well does it stack up to more modern pressurized liquid and gas canister stoves?  We'll take a look at that another time.

No Free Time But Time For This

I'm procrastinating.  But it's high summer and high summer is peak procrastination season.

But we have a few things going on in Das Blade Haus that I'll touch on an provide in-depth reviews later.

First is sharpening.  Last month I lamented that I'll never get the hang of sharpening a knife.  After writing that I had an epiphany.  Why continue to suffer?  In this day and age there is no reason to put up with dull or less than shaving sharp blades.  Man is the tool-maker and he's made some great sharpening tools designed specifically for dullards like me.

So I went out and bought myself what looks to be the premiere non-powered sharpening system available - the Apex by EdgePro out of Oregon.  So far I've only tested it on a few blades, a badly nicked Buck 105, a Buck 402 folder and a Becker BK-16.  The system works as advertised - it is fairly easy to get a good, consistent bevel on a blade (consistency has been my big failure in sharpening).  However, there is a technique to it all and it does require a bit of practice so I'm still in the learning stages.  The real test will be putting a usable edge on my Becker BK-2.

New knives.  New knives continue to trickle in and I'm behind in photographing them.  Again, blame the weather.  I do all of my stock knife photography on my deck using a tripod mounted digital camera, and I like to do one set-up and photograph a series of knives in one session using the same background and lighting conditions.  But when it's 80 degrees in the sun at 0700 my motivation just ain't there.  I'll wait for cooler fall mornings to get all this done.

But like I said, new knives and accessories are trickling in.  Some are new designs that caught my eye, some are just to round out my collection.  Two interesting new arrivals are a Buck 124 Frontiersman and a Cold Steel Lone Star Hunter folder.  

The Buck Frontiersman is a knife I've wanted for a very long time.  In fact, I used to own one until, decades ago, some SOB mover stole the duffle bag that held my small knife collection.  We were moving from Fort Bragg, NC to Fort Belvior, VA to attend the Engineer Officer Advanced Course.  This was back in 1983, and at the time I had more important things to worry about than replacing an expensive knife.  I always intended to replace it when the time (and finances) were right, but not long after the knife was stolen the Frontiersman went out of production and the knife entered collector status.  Buck would do occasional limited runs of the knife for various retailers but it pretty much remained a tough to acquire knife.  Recently Buck put the Frontiersman back into limited production and I was able to grab one directly from the factory.  It is just as I'd remembered it - a big full tang chunk of steel.  We'll talk more about it in a later post.

Buck 124 Frontiersman

The Cold Steel Lone Star Hunter is one I just stumbled across.  I think I spied it discussed on one of the knife forums I haunt (more chronic procrastination).  I was impressed by it's elegant simplicity - a large (4") single blade lockback folder in a slim stainless steel frame.  I make no secret of my respect for Cold Steel knives.  A lot of folks are put off by their bombastic advertising (and it IS over the top), but the truth is they put out good blades at good prices.  The Lone Star Hunter is a surprisingly good knife.  It is a little cheesy looking with it's faux stag handle slabs, but everything is nicely fitted and finished.  A darned good knife for less than $50.

Cold Steel Lone Star Hunter

Last up, the BK-14.  More accurately, handle scales for the BK-14.  The BK-14 was originally designed as a skeleton handled knife and it works very well in that role.  However, Becker knife nuts can't leave well enough alone and started fashioning handle scales for the knife.  Ka-Bar, never one to let a good idea pass them by, decided the time was right to introduce a set of 'official' handle scales for the BK-14.  I picked a set up at the 2012 Blade Show here in Atlanta and I have to agree - they make the already great BK-14 a better knife.  The scales are made out of DuPont zytel and fit the knife perfectly.  I like that they are orange - the compliment the black blade very nicely and make it easier to find the knife when I drop it on the forest floor.  You actually get two sets of handle scales with each order - an orange set and a black set.  Lets you tailor the look of the knife to your current activity - orange for day wear, black for evening wear.  Nicely done Ka-Bar.  Now how about some orange handle scales for the BK-16?

Ka-Bar/Becker BK-14 with orange handle scales

Oh, and last, last, last (I promise).  Over on the Blade Forums I've posted so much garbage and drivel, particularly about Becker knives, that they have officially designated me Beckerhead #252.  I'm so honored.  I'll be signing autographs in the lobby after the show.

That's it.  Stay sharp!

Brian

   

Now THAT'S a Knife!

As Mick Dundee demonstrates to us in the video above, a big knife has a quality all it's own.

Impressive, intimidating and unapologetic.  These are all useful traits found in big blades.  In today's world it's just too difficult to intimidate someone with a pen knife.  Only a big blade will do.

From a practical standpoint the era of the big blade ended in the 1970s.  Before then big blades were common sights on camping, hunting and fishing trips.  Our collective national experience, fed by westward expansion, the Civil War and two World Wars told us that big blades were what you needed when afoot in the wilderness.  This necessity hearkened back to the days when firearms were unreliable and slow to reload.  You got one shot with your gun and then it was back to the blade to finish the fight.  It didn't matter if you were attacked by a bear or were set upon by wild savages, nobody finished fights with pocket knives.  You turned to the sword or a large knife.    

But America's infatuation with big knives can actually be traced to a single historical incident.

In 1827 Jim Bowie attended a duel where many of the attendees carried pistols.  The incident quickly devolved into a riot and everyone carrying a gun emptied it early in the fight.  Things were ended using large knives and sword canes.  This was the infamous Sandbar Fight near Natchez, Mississippi and the incident cemented the legend of Jim Bowie and his large blade in American popular culture.  After the story of the fight hit the eastern newspapers the demand for large 'Bowie's knife' style blades became insatiable.  No self-respecting woodsman would venture beyond his front yard without a large Bowie-style blade on his belt. 

The famous studio shot of Teddy Roosevelt in his buckskin
outfit with a large Bowie-style blade stuck in his cartridge belt.
Legend has it he bought the knife from Tiffany's!

It took almost 150 years for American tastes in outdoor knives to change.  I believe this was driven by two influences.  First was a flood of laws that made carrying large knives in public illegal.  Some jurisdictions went even further and simply banned them outright.  Many of these laws had been in place for years in places like New York City but enforcement was expanded in the wake of the civil unrest of the 1960s.  Suddenly carrying a large knife drew suspicious looks, even on camping trips.  The pressure was on to abandon the large blade.

However, I attribute the real change to the influence of custom knifemakers like Bob Loveless and Jimmy Lile.  These men were experienced hunters who championed the concept of the smaller drop point hunting knife.  Large volume knife manufacturers picked up on the trend and soon you had companies like Gerber putting out affordable, high quality drop point knives.  This trend is still going strong, and the drop point hunter blade style still rules.

And yet, the large Bowie-style blade is still immensely popular.  In terms of volume sales it is probably as popular as it was 50 years ago.  The reasons are simple - there are just some chores only a large blade can handle.  As the late Ron Hood was fond of saying, "You can do small things with a big blade, but you can't do big things with a small blade."  The other reason is that, well, the Bowie knife is just so damned American!  American history and outdoor culture is so tightly intertwined with the Bowie knife that it is impossible to separate them.  Anybody with any interest in American knives will one day own a big Bowie-style blade.  It is a cosmic inevitability.

Knife manufacturers around the world are happy to supply the American addiction to the Bowie knife.  Virtually all domestic and foreign manufacturers have a Bowie-style blade or two in their lineup.  Some manufacturers seem a little embarrassed with their Bowie knife offerings, hiding them at the back of the catalog and referring to them as a 'clip point' style or the currently popular 'combat knife' (like that's any more politically correct than 'Bowie knife').  Others are up-front and in-your-face about their Bowie knife offerings. Loud and proud.  No apologies or genuflections to political correctness.  The bigger the better.  Almost a big, fat middle finger to the anti-knife bed wetters.

Perhaps the most up-front, in-your-face, unapologetic big knife purveyor in the market today is Cold Steel Knives.  Cold Steel's founder and president Lynn Thompson just loves big blades and the Cold Steel catalog is chock full of swords, machetes, kukris, tantos and, of course, some of the biggest Bowie-style blades available on the market today.

One of the Cold Steel blades I'm particularly taken with is the Trailmaster Bowie.  In my opinion it is one of the best modern interpretations of the classic Bowie knife.  This is a big piece of steel - the blade is 9 1/2" long and 5/16" thick - but it is surprisingly well balanced and quick in the hand.  The blade sports a long false edge, or swedge and ends in a well formed clip point.  The double brass guard perfectly complements the blade.  The Kraton handle is a nod to modern materials and manufacturing, but the shape is reminiscent of the classic 'coffin-style' handles.

Cold Steel Trailmaster Bowie.  This particular model is made out of carbon steel.
I included a Case medium stockman pocket knife for scale reference.
Cold Steel has these manufactured in Taiwan, but the design is all American and
is very well executed.

As Mick Dundee would say, "THAT'S a knife!"  Loud, unapologetic, intimidating and so uniquely American in design.  Just what you need to finish an argument.  Or conquer the West.

Stay sharp!

Brian

Blade Of The Month - Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter

I'm a sucker for a good knife that is also inexpensive.  With modern materials and production methods it is possible for today's manufacturers to crank out great knives at low cost.  All they have to do is put some thought into the design.

I'm also one of those guys who constantly asks "how low can you go?"  How cheaply can a manufacturer bring a truly outstanding design to market?  Well, today we are going to look at what is, in my opinion, the single best low cost knife on the market today.  It has all competition beat in terms of design and execution.  It is the current 'How Low Can You Go?' champ.  The Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter

Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter

This knife is a low cost version of the Cold Steel Pendleton Hunter, itself a great knife.  This knife was designed by custom knifemaker Lloyd Pendleton and has been in the Cold Steel lineup for a number of years.

Cold Steel has a reputation for producing some really nice low priced knives.  They leverage their relationships with manufacturers in the Far East to re-interpret some famous designs using less expensive materials and manufacturing processes.  That is how we got the Pendleton Lite Hunter.  In comparison with the original Pendleton Hunter this knife sports a simpler molded handle, the blade is made of a lower-cost (and thinner) steel - Krupp 4116 - that is stamped instead of ground.  Krupp 4116 is widely used in the kitchen cutlery industry so it's a proven steel.  Krupp 4116 isn't a sexy steel like Cold Steel's San Mai laminate, but it works just fine in the real world.  The sheath is a simple nylon pouch style that is used with several other Cold Steel knife designs like the Finn Bear, so there's a big cost savings there.

What I also suspect, but can't confirm, is that this knife is not a full tang design.  My guess is that the tang only runs part way into the handle, a common compromise with lower cost knives.

___________________________________________________

Update! I recently contacted Cold Steel and asked whether or not the Pendleton Lite Hunter has a full tang.  Here's the reply from Anthony Russell in Cold Steel's Customer Service Department:

"The tang goes just over 1/2 way to the end of the handle, and the handle is injection molded around the tang.  The tang is also "keyed" into the [handle] for added strength."

So as I suspected it is not a full tang knife. It's not a problem, just good to know.

___________________________________________________

What the Pendleton Lite Hunter retains from the original is the excellent blade profile and handle shape.  The blade incorporates a slight upsweep along the spine that results in a deeper edge belly and reinforced tip.  The handle is extremely comfortable in a multitude of positions.  In fact, I think I like the Pendleton Lite Hunter's handle more than the original model.  The handle shape and texture is very reminiscent of the excellent cast aluminum handles Pete Gerber used to put on his classic knives like the Gerber A-400.

The knife is very light, very comfortable in the hand and very easy to use.

The sheath is also a pleasant surprise.  It is a simple pouch design that is very well constructed and is a very effective design.  The sheath is made of stiff nylon that is stitched and riveted and it incorporates a thick spine to help it hold its shape.  It ain't fancy, but it does precisely what a knife sheath is supposed to do - hold the knife securely and protect the user from the blade.

So how much does all this goodness cost?  This morning I checked prices on the web and found you can buy this knife from Amazon.com for a whopping $13.72!

Stay sharp!

Brian