Schrade SCHF42 - Followup review.

[Mistwalker]

Oh my, I definitely look forward to adding that bottom knife to my collection, I can tell you that right now. :thumbup:

That knife on the bottom is one of my designs produced by another company. This is one of the stainless versions. The carbon steel version is widely available in different places. But there have so far only been two runs of stainless ones, and they only sell through me. There were 33 made in cryo-quenched ATS-34, and then 125 of the cryo-quenched 154CM. The first 33 were gone in an hour. This time I held back several of the 154CM because it will be some time next year before I have time to do another run, and I am not sure what steel the next run will be. I do have a few left available if you are interested. There are a few people making aftermarket scales and sheaths for them these days.

The carbon steel version is pretty easy to find.

 

[Mistwalker]

Forgive me if I overlooked it but who makes the micarta handles for these? Awesome design by the way.

His name is Joe Snarski, and he can be reached at lmfknives at gmail dot com. Joe does an excellent job and makes scales for several different knife models, and makes aftermarket scales for all of my designs that don't have fixed scales. Thank you, I'm glad you like it

 

[LG&M]

The 55 looks nice. IMO 1/8" would be better.
Whats the sheath like & when will it be released?
Thanks .

 

[Mistwalker]

The 55 looks nice. IMO 1/8" would be better.
Whats the sheath like & when will it be released?
Thanks .

I wanted to do 5/32 on it, but the handle attachment system used on this series wouldn't work well for that. So, I'll have to work on thinner models next year. From the factory it is coming in a molded plastic sheath. I'll post some pics of that later.

 

[GrinderMcgee]

Put in a solid 24 hrs of camping stuff with the 42 this weekend. So nice of a grip you can tell this was designed by someone who has held a knife in his hands for chores hrs a day and days a week. NO corners or spots to rub holes in your grip. As with all coatings, the splitting of kindling scrubbed it off near the spine but it is still a quite durable coating. It also aided in some adventuring for wildlife.

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I had the hardware for the grivory back out so I must remember to loctite those for next time. Also, who is Joe and how may I get some of those nifty micarta scales?

Ok, just took off the scales and they were loc tite from the factory but I added some SupGlu . There are 2 diff length screws and threads in the tang itself which they attach to. Short screw in front longer one in the back space.



Also made a sheath for it in a recent hands-on shop visit to Mike Sastre's @ River City Sheaths shop. Minimalist style w/ Spyderco G-clip attachment.

 

[Mistwalker]

Put in a solid 24 hrs of camping stuff with the 42 this weekend. So nice of a grip you can tell this was designed by someone who has held a knife in his hands for chores hrs a day and days a week. NO corners or spots to rub holes in your grip. As with all coatings, the splitting of kindling scrubbed it off near the spine but it is still a quite durable coating. It also aided in some adventuring for wildlife.

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I had the hardware for the grivory back out so I must remember to loctite those for next time. Also, who is Joe and how may I get some of those nifty micarta scales?

Ok, just took off the scales and they were loc tite from the factory but I added some SupGlu . There are 2 diff length screws and threads in the tang itself which they attach to. Short screw in front longer one in the back space.



Also made a sheath for it in a recent hands-on shop visit to Mike Sastre's @ River City Sheaths shop. Minimalist style w/ Spyderco G-clip attachment.

Thanks for chiming in with your experiences man! Yes, I grew up doing commercial fishing and trapping as a means of supplementing our income when I was a kid before my father worked his way up to operations manager of one branch of a printing company he worked for. Then we moved to Florida. With him having been raised in south Florida during the depression, and having been a Marine who fought in Korea, he taught me how to live off the land there during the bed recession of the 70s. As I grew up I continued to enjoy the outdoor life, and then also loved cooking and worked a few years prep cooking in various restaurants. I have spent a lot of time with a knife in my hand, and tried to incorporate what I learned from all of that into the handles and blades I design.

 

[anttttt]

Thanks for making yourself available to talk about your knife designs.

I have just bought a 42 because of the good reviews even though I have several knives in this size. I have a SCHF 9 which is very good apart from the fat handle which I have trimmed down a little bit.
On the 42, I checked the handle scale and one was a little loose. it seems as if the opposing screw screws in too far and doesn't allow the opposite screw to be tightened properly. I undid the screw a little bit then tightened both screws and the scales seems to be tight now but i will check it as I use the knife. Maybe I will have to file just a little bit from the screws to make them a little shorter.

I was wondering why the grind was at an curved angle on the blade, is it just to look different or for a special reason?

Thanks

Anthony

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for making yourself available to talk about your knife designs.

I have just bought a 42 because of the good reviews even though I have several knives in this size. I have a SCHF 9 which is very good apart from the fat handle which I have trimmed down a little bit.
On the 42, I checked the handle scale and one was a little loose. it seems as if the opposing screw screws in too far and doesn't allow the opposite screw to be tightened properly. I undid the screw a little bit then tightened both screws and the scales seems to be tight now but i will check it as I use the knife. Maybe I will have to file just a little bit from the screws to make them a little shorter.

I was wondering why the grind was at an curved angle on the blade, is it just to look different or for a special reason?

Thanks

Anthony

Both of the guys who are making micarta handle scales for my knife designs are making scales for the 9 as well. One here in the US and another in England. They are both making the scales a bit thinner at my request.

Sounds like someone messed up and put one rear screw in one of the front holes. The forward screws are a bit shorter than the rear screws.

I made the 9 and 42 re-curves because I happen to like the way re-curves function in heavy whittling and carving, and the mechanical advantage they offer in this task when very fatigued. To me they also come in handy whittling feather sticks, but it's all in what you are used to.

 

[anttttt]

Thanks for the reply but I didn't explain properly.
I didn't mean the recurve but the grind line that curves from the finger guard to the top of the blade.
Why it curves as usually it is usually vertical to the cutting edge.

Thanks

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for the reply but I didn't explain properly.
I didn't mean the recurve but the grind line that curves from the finger guard to the top of the blade.
Why it curves as usually it is usually vertical to the cutting edge.

Thanks

Ah yes, that. Yes, it does have a structural purpose. Everything about that blade geometry does. But I will have to go into all that at a later time....

 

[LG&M]

I would like to take a guess,
The plunge line is at that angle for..
1, it offers more structural strength then one at 90*
2, it allows the cutting edge to be as close to the handle as possible but also leaves the spine full thickness for the thumb notches.
3, it looks cool and sets it apart from other designs.

 

[Mistwalker]

I would like to take a guess,
The plunge line is at that angle for..
1, it offers more structural strength then one at 90*
2, it allows the cutting edge to be as close to the handle as possible but also leaves the spine full thickness for the thumb notches.
3, it looks cool and sets it apart from other designs.

Looks like somebody here understands me

 

[anttttt]

Thanks for the explanation LG&M. I find this interesting.
I see from a previous comment on page 2 about the difference on the tibo and this knife and structural strength. I suppose it is easier to grind the knife with a vertical line and the strength is still adequate. So that is why people do it.

Thanks
Anthony

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for the explanation LG&M. I find this interesting.
I see from a previous comment on page 2 about the difference on the tibo and this knife and structural strength. I suppose it is easier to grind the knife with a vertical line and the strength is still adequate. So that is why people do it.

Thanks
Anthony

With mass produced knives yes sometimes easier does figure into it, and vertical being easier is likely the reason it is so common. But it's not all that is out there. Knife makers and knife designers often adjust the plunge line and grind line to suit their purposes.

 

[Jamesh Bond]

Yes, we get that some people feel this way. The 42 was one I designed for specific attributes that I personally prefer and areas that I frequent. The straight blade version is coming though. The tooling has been sorted out, and prototype knives and sheaths have been made, it uses the same shape handle scales but comes in brown instead of black, and it is in production now. Should be available around October.

Ankerson. Thanks for the review.

I, too prefer straight blades to recurves. Cant wait to get my hands on that one.

Mistwalker.

What is your particular go-to method for sharpening recurves ?
Just curious since you have a preference and assumably lots of experience with em.

Thx.

 

[samclaymore]

:thumbup: Very cool stuff Ankerson & Mistwalker. Though I must admit, the schf 45 has lingered on my taste buds since I saw it. Ankerson, if you get your hands on one. Review the snot out of it with a ton of pics

Ninja edit: I wouldn't exactly cry if you managed to put up a yt vid of it.

 

[anttttt]

Mistwalker, thanks for the photos comparing the different plunge line grinds. I hadn't really noticed this before as a comparison.

 

[d10k6]

I am ready to pull the trigger on the 42, does anyone have any recommendations on a Canadian supplier for these? There are only a handful of suppliers that will ship across the border so it would be nice to find one on this side of the border. @Mistwalker? Anyone else?

 

[Mistwalker]

Ankerson. Thanks for the review.

I, too prefer straight blades to recurves. Cant wait to get my hands on that one.

Mistwalker.

What is your particular go-to method for sharpening recurves ?
Just curious since you have a preference and assumably lots of experience with em.

Thx.

My field kits all contain small sections of narrow cylinder honing stones and small ceramic rods. At home I will use the same or sometimes a large ceramic rod used like a butcher's steel.

Mistwalker, thanks for the photos comparing the different plunge line grinds. I hadn't really noticed this before as a comparison.

No problem man, there really are a lot of different styles and different ways to approach them.

I am ready to pull the trigger on the 42, does anyone have any recommendations on a Canadian supplier for these? There are only a handful of suppliers that will ship across the border so it would be nice to find one on this side of the border. @Mistwalker? Anyone else?

I do not currently know, but I will definitely look into it.

The design element that I just love is the grip. One of the most comfortable grips I have ever used. I love it and cannot wait for the SE brown handle version. I will be checking the web every day until I see it.

Definitely one of the best blades in this size/weight category. :thumbup:

Just noticed today that the SCHF42D is available online now.

 

[cmillercustoms]

Got the 42d last week and so far I absolutely love it. Takes a shaving edge and keeps it. Only thing I've found I don't care for are the grivory scales.

Didn't care for the color of the scales so dyed them with some dark brown rit dye and added a firesteel loop to the sheath.

Almost the perfect all purpose field knife. Now just need to change those scales and I believe it will be perfect for me. Mist you did an excellent job on the design, my hats off to you.