Okie dokie guys, sorry for the delay! I finished my coursework last week (8 years in coming) and started a 'pulmonary critical care' rotation this week. It has required more than a little bit of time and energy!
I've been fiddling around with the PSN all week, but finally got to put in some real time with it today. Impressions are good! This is a very quality blade indeed.
The sheath has been shown, but it's pretty much just what a necker sheath should be. Strong, lightweight kydex that won't get hurt from sweat and water. It's got two eyelets at the top for the neck cord and no more. I go back and forth on whether more eyelets would be preferable. On the one hand, it'd be cool to be able to more easily lash a firesteel or light or SAK to it, but I also desp ise too much weight around my neck. So basically it's a moot point.
To the blade! It came pretty sharp, shaving sharp indeed. I stropped it but I always do that to a 'new' one. It's also certainly got some heft, and this is another 'back and forth' issue for me. More on it at the end. The handle is what I'd call full-length, none of that sissy "I can't decide if I'm a real fixed blade or a half-assed substitute". Solid. The micarta is actually pretty thick for a necker, and weighty in its own right. There are mild contours to it which are quite comfortable. Everyone knows I'm a chubby chaser, but I wasn't at all unhappy with the handle on a blade this size.
Working with the blade, I went straight to make some fuzzies. It's a quick way to tell how comfortable the blade is to work with, how controllable it is, and how well it bites into wood. The PSN did well at all of those. The grind didn't have an overly thick shoulder so it could bit the wood pretty smoothly. The other side of the coin makes you ask if it is then strong enough to handle heavy stuff like batoning, but I threw as much as I could at it in that regard (including the irresponsible batoning at the proximal edge/handle portion). Anyway, very fine curls on multiple kinds of wood. It's not an M2K but it's a solid performer.
I also sat around the back porch for a good while and just whittled, making trap notches and point things and trying to throw it (kidding, kidding). I left feeling I really enjoyed the short, stout blade on the PSN. It's really quite controllable and smooth to work with. The full handle means you don't feel cramped and awkward. The only reservation I have about it is carrying it around my neck, and this is entirely personal. I just don't care for much weight there. If this thing had a small leather belt sheath, I think it'd be the bee's knees.
And I'd like to live you with some pictures of my dog rolling around in something she found in the grass.....