I held off posting in this thread for a while because I wanted to be sure that I adequately convey how much I appreciate Osprey Knife & Tool knives. Ill start with the obvious attributes and work through the esoteric things that separate OK&T from other makers in my opinion.
The attributes I appreciate about OK&T (in no particular order) are:
- The knives are made start to finish by a single craftsman in the USA.
- The designs show original thinking rather than being close copies of other makers work. While Chris has said that no specific design is his flagship model, I consider his models with the first finger handle depression or finger choil (i.e. Warthog, Raptor, Mamushi, & Razorback) to be his most recognizable signature designs. His weapon / self-defense designs like the Ferox draw from his military experience where he learned what features make that type of knife safe for the users and effective against the enemy.
- In a handmade knife market that is dominated by; O1, 1095, and A2, I like the fact that Chris uses a lot of stainless like CPM 154 and more recently S35VN. His hand polished or belt finished W2 with hamon is another attractive alternative.
- I like the fact that Chris hammer textures the flats on his stainless blades rather than taking the easy way out by settling for a mill or tumbled finish. The fact that he tapers tangs on his stainless blades (and other steels) even as thin as 3/32 stock is a huge distinguishing factor to me.
- As others have stated above, the ergonomics of the handles across all models are impeccable. Supple feeling with lots of sexy curves that mold to your hand like it was made especially for you. All handmade knife makers use belt sanders for shaping and sandpaper for finishing. I believe that the file shaping that Chris does to fine tune the shaping in between those two steps is a key difference in why his handle feel so much better that other makers who bypass that step.
- The artistic mix of handle and bolster materials along with interesting compound pinstripe combos on some knives really sets his knives apart from the competition.
- The finished knives exhibit as close to flawless fit and finish as humanly possible, including an edge that is scary sharp from heel to tip. After looking at and handling almost every knife that Chris brought to the Blade Show this year, I could tell that is the standard that he sets for himself. No good enough standard at OK&T.
- The base prices are a very good value for the quality received.
All those individual attributes are evident, but the whole of them adds up to more than the sum of the pieces to me. Peter mentioned above that Chris pours his heart and soul into making these knives. While I wont go so far as to say that an inanimate object like a knife has a soul, I definitely feel Chris' passion that went into making it when I use an OK&T knife.
The best example I can give of that is my experience with the first OK&T knife I bought at the 2015 Blade Show. That knife is a 3/32 CPM 154 Raptor with black canvas micarta scales and red pinstripes. Chris was still fairly new as a knife maker at that point, so I went back to his table several times to check out the knife before finally buying it. My thinking was that it would be another Bird & Trout type knife in my collection. After getting back home and comparing the Raptor to the other three B&T knives I had at the time, I realized the Raptor was something truly different and special to me.
In October 2015, I wrote my thoughts about this knife in the Models, Tang Types, Steel Thicknesses & Weights thread on the Fiddleback forum. Here an excerpt of what I wrote there:
This knife has taken over the bird & trout role for me. I have also discovered that the curve of the blade makes this a handy kitchen knife, particularly for mincing herbs and vegetables.
This knife is like a Ninja in the way that it has snuck into a respected regular user position and disrupted the balance of power in my collection.
My three other B&T knives were all sold shortly after I wrote that. Since then, the Raptor continues to disrupt the balance of power in my collection. Other knives have moved out too as a result of head-to-head comparisons with this knife. It has happened enough that I have nicknamed my Raptor the "Black Widow," not just for the black body and red warning stripe, but more so because it has led to the demise of other worthy contenders.
I think all of us can relate to making purchases that seem to make sense at the time, only to find later that the thrill of ownership quickly wears off after a relatively short time. I know that has been true for me many times. Not for lack of research usually. Its more because something else has proven to be superior in comparison. I have a small group of possessions that have proven themselves as a joy to use and dependable over an extended period of time. The Osprey K&T Raptor has joined that limited group of tools that bring me tremendous joy to use.
In closing, I want to make the point another way to express how I feel about Osprey Knife & Tool knives and why you should consider buying one. A perennially popular thread topic on forums like this is, "If you could have only one knife for the rest of your life, what would it be?" Most serious knife nuts dont bite on that topic because it's never going to happen in real life. A more realistic question that could unfortunately happen is, "If you lost all your knives in a house fire or a burglary, which one would you replace first?" Even though I have many great hand made knives by Fiddleback Forge, Fletcher Knives, W.A. Surls, Malanika, AA Forge, Robert Erickson, Mareko Maumasi, among others, my answer would be quick and easy. The first knife I would replace would be an Osprey Knife & Tool Raptor. Yeah, I like it that much.
I purchased two more knives from Chris this year that show even better attention to detail than my first one. There are only more good things to come from Osprey Knife & Tool.
I encourage anyone still on the fence to buy one and see why I and the others who posted above feel so passionately about what Chris is making.
Phil
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