Don Gwinn
Moderator Emeritus
In my family, we pretty much just traded around knives this Christmas. I gave dad a Kershaw Scallion (he loves switchblades, but can't legally own one here) and Melissa's dad a Queen "Utility Knife"--a "traditional" looking single blade slipjoint with rosewood scales and a D2 blade. Heck of a knife. and I hope he treats it right. Her parents gave us a collectible jar of smoky cheddar cheese spread. No kidding.
Anyway, while I was ordering dad's knife from Grand Prairie Knives over the internet, he and mom drove down there to get a knife for me, but they couldn't decide what to get. GPK carries pretty much every Case, Kershaw, Cold Steel, Camillus, Ka-Bar, Spyderco and Benchmade out there, which is not to mention all the United Cutlery-type junk, along with some really great custom stuff from D'Holder, Charles Ocks, etc. They picked up a copy of Blade and a $100 gift certificate instead.
Well, I knew what I had to buy. I went in and made a show of looking around, showing knives and swords to my boys, but I had to have a Camillus CUDA Maxx 5.5, clip point, no serrations. I asked to hold one, just to make sure, as I'd never seen one in person before. That did it. The thing just put a smile on my face. . . grins busting out all over. My wife commented at this point on how "menacing" the thing looked, which I took in stride. Then she asked me to confirm one more time that the carrying (and the possession) of such a knife is legal in this state. It is, by the way, although you must read the law carefully to know that. I was being pretty gentle with the display piece until Mike asked to see and whipped it open with the flipper plus a bit of wrist flick, then demonstrated the use of the pocket to open it Wave-style. Mike couldn't tell you my name or anything about me, but I sure do appreciate his service. Then again, maybe he knew that once I opened one fast I'd have no choice but to buy it.
"I've gotta have that!" I told him, "Wrap it up."
The more I play with this knife, the more I love it. Frankly, most knives are small by my standards. This one fits my hand. In a saber grip, the length is perfect where most grips end up nestled in the pocket of my palm. That's a comfy grip, but I truly prefer this feeling of a full hand. The damn thing opens like lightning and is silky smooth. I have noticed a tendency for the scale lock to get wedged a bit tightly and take a little extra effort to disengage when the blade is snapped open, but it's rock solid and feels strong as can be. The D2 blade is fantastic and easily pops hair; I can't wait to see how it holds its edge. The titanium scales are beautifully finished and the anodizing is uniform and even. The mechanism seems exceedingly well-fitted and smooth, especially when you consider that this gigantic folder, made of a bunch of D2 and 6AL4V titanium, cost me $125.
The only finish issue I could find is that one of the flippers has what looks like small rounded ridges on it--they're placed almost as if they could be intentional efforts to improve the finger's purchase on the flipper, but they're pretty random and are not on the other flipper, which is smoothly and finely finished and polished. They don't affect function and very nearly don't affect the aesthetics, though I may polish them out one day.
I do eventually want to add a tip-up clip, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy this monster. It really is a fantastic knife first and a big knife second, but it's a mighty close second!
Anyway, while I was ordering dad's knife from Grand Prairie Knives over the internet, he and mom drove down there to get a knife for me, but they couldn't decide what to get. GPK carries pretty much every Case, Kershaw, Cold Steel, Camillus, Ka-Bar, Spyderco and Benchmade out there, which is not to mention all the United Cutlery-type junk, along with some really great custom stuff from D'Holder, Charles Ocks, etc. They picked up a copy of Blade and a $100 gift certificate instead.
Well, I knew what I had to buy. I went in and made a show of looking around, showing knives and swords to my boys, but I had to have a Camillus CUDA Maxx 5.5, clip point, no serrations. I asked to hold one, just to make sure, as I'd never seen one in person before. That did it. The thing just put a smile on my face. . . grins busting out all over. My wife commented at this point on how "menacing" the thing looked, which I took in stride. Then she asked me to confirm one more time that the carrying (and the possession) of such a knife is legal in this state. It is, by the way, although you must read the law carefully to know that. I was being pretty gentle with the display piece until Mike asked to see and whipped it open with the flipper plus a bit of wrist flick, then demonstrated the use of the pocket to open it Wave-style. Mike couldn't tell you my name or anything about me, but I sure do appreciate his service. Then again, maybe he knew that once I opened one fast I'd have no choice but to buy it.
"I've gotta have that!" I told him, "Wrap it up."
The more I play with this knife, the more I love it. Frankly, most knives are small by my standards. This one fits my hand. In a saber grip, the length is perfect where most grips end up nestled in the pocket of my palm. That's a comfy grip, but I truly prefer this feeling of a full hand. The damn thing opens like lightning and is silky smooth. I have noticed a tendency for the scale lock to get wedged a bit tightly and take a little extra effort to disengage when the blade is snapped open, but it's rock solid and feels strong as can be. The D2 blade is fantastic and easily pops hair; I can't wait to see how it holds its edge. The titanium scales are beautifully finished and the anodizing is uniform and even. The mechanism seems exceedingly well-fitted and smooth, especially when you consider that this gigantic folder, made of a bunch of D2 and 6AL4V titanium, cost me $125.
The only finish issue I could find is that one of the flippers has what looks like small rounded ridges on it--they're placed almost as if they could be intentional efforts to improve the finger's purchase on the flipper, but they're pretty random and are not on the other flipper, which is smoothly and finely finished and polished. They don't affect function and very nearly don't affect the aesthetics, though I may polish them out one day.
I do eventually want to add a tip-up clip, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy this monster. It really is a fantastic knife first and a big knife second, but it's a mighty close second!
