So here is my half way review of the new Osprey Recon.
This blade has quickly skyrocketed to the top of my favorites list. The handle and balance point make this thing feel like a 4" blade in the hand instead of a 6 incher. The balance point, unlike most tapered tangs, actually sits just a hair in front of the handle keeping it from feeling too front heavy. It's not so neutral though that you can't make a decent chop with it either. It really is my Goldilocks spot.
The handle shape fits my hand like a glove, just tight enough to make you feel really secure but not tight enough to cramp up your grip either. The palm swell sits perfectly and isn't so overdone as to make bulge your grip. The butt of the handle has a nice flair that secures your hand for heavy swings but can also be used in between your fingers when choking back to get some serious chopping leverage.
The Recon has an ever so slight recurve to the blade, that when paired with the slightly forward balance and the flared butt, make this a formidable chopper for such a thin blade in this size range. It also makes it quite easy to keep the first 1" or so of your blade nice and sharp for tasks like making curls to get a fire started. I'm not the best at this (I actually downright suck at it lol) but even I was able to get some nice tight curls going, after having tried it out as a chopper.
The edge held nicely after chipping up some Cocoa Lumber but didn't stay sharp enough to shave with or slice paper cleanly. I really believe though that this mostly comes down to the blade cleaving clean through the wood and slamming into my workbench underneath. There was a lot of energy being transferred into that small edge that I started with. It did clean up quickly and easily though and readily took a nice polish.
Overall I am extremely happy with this blade and it will be accompanying me from now on when we take trips to the great outdoors. Over the years I've gotten stuck in a rut finding nothing that was making me excited. In fact my interest in knives was starting to diminish until I got this bad boy in my hands. I initially bought it on a whim thinking that I would just shelve it and possibly sell it to a customer some day but now I know that it will be one of the last blades to ever leave my collection or shop. It's always a great feeling when you get to handle something that brings a bit of excitement back into your hobby and this one certainly did that!
Well, enough rambling from me. Here are a few photo's from my (very) mini review and a few glamour shots taken before the major chopping started.
