In the recent issue of Blade there was an article on Anza knives, and thier new model. It was designed with the help of Brig. Gen. Craig Boddington. He is well respected and I would not expect him to support junk, but something has always bothered me about Anzac's knives. Most,if not all, Anza knives still have portions of the original file pattern on the blade. From what I have read if a blade is heat treated that way it will cause stress fractures and make the knife brittle. Does anyone have expirience with these knives to know if that is true? Or do they simply temper the knives without ever quenching them and subjecting them to the thermal stress. Thanks
Anza knives
- Thread starter DARKKNIFE
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I don't know how they temper them, but I don't think it would matter, it does still have the checkering on it from once being a file. If a scratch larger than 220 grit can cause a stress riser, than file marks for sure will cause stress risers. It probably wouldn't matter as long as it was never used to pry anything. The fit and finish seems crude for what they charge ($150.00), and from what I've seen and read the handles are held on with only epoxy, no bolts no pins, nothing. I'm sure they'll sell like hotcakes, but for $150.00 I'd rather have a handmade Gene Ingram in D2 or O1.
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averageguy
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Most Anza knives sell for under $75.00. Very sharp. Excellent users. You would have to take a chisel to those slabs to get them off.
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Good knives -- the blades are tough as nails, and take a wicked edge if you know what you're doing (a little tough to sharpen.) The sheaths won't win any beauty contests, but functional for any big game hunter out there.
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Growing up here in San Diego, I grew up with Anza & Buck knives, using/abusing them both over the years.
When I started writing about Randall Made Knives (RMK's) for Jim Nowka's knife magazine 'KnifeForums, the Magazine' http://www.knifeforums.com/subscriptionspage.html
I attempted to involve my wife Edna in the project...
True to form, she decided to do something similar, yet different. Contacting Buck knives (even though we were adamant that we a only wanted to write about knives that we owned, and 'DID NOT' want product samples for review) we were 'stonewalled' from the git...
Contacting Anza Knives was a completely different story, with Knifemaker/owner Charlie Davis asking us to come out for a visit...
That visit has blossomed into a friendship, with many visits since for nothing more than to just watch the man work, hang out, and have some laughs.
In the process, Edna did a fairly comprehensive write-up on Anza Knives for the aforementioned KFC magazine (Feb. 2003, copies may still be available thru the publisher).
The bottom line here is that Charlie & crew make 'using' knives from tempered (annealed) files, and the file marks left on the blades are his signature mark...so, you'll continue to see them on all 'legitimate' Anza knives, and on many knock-off's as well...
As to the 'user' standpoint, all of the Anza knives have a 100% replacement warranty, and in 21 years of making knives, they've had to replace exactly 1 knife to date; as was told to me.
To that end, Charlie asked me to break a 'virgin' file placed in a vise, which I easily did. He then asked me to break a tempered version of the same file, set at the same depth, in the same vice...and I couldn't (I'm 5'10, 240+, and am fairly strong...I bled, the file didn't break, YMMV)
So, there you have it...strong, guarantied 'using' knives, at a reasonable price (usually <$80). Ugly? Yes; wicked sharp, yes; easy to resharpen if you know how, yes to that too...
Hope that helps,
Mel
When I started writing about Randall Made Knives (RMK's) for Jim Nowka's knife magazine 'KnifeForums, the Magazine' http://www.knifeforums.com/subscriptionspage.html
I attempted to involve my wife Edna in the project...
True to form, she decided to do something similar, yet different. Contacting Buck knives (even though we were adamant that we a only wanted to write about knives that we owned, and 'DID NOT' want product samples for review) we were 'stonewalled' from the git...
Contacting Anza Knives was a completely different story, with Knifemaker/owner Charlie Davis asking us to come out for a visit...
That visit has blossomed into a friendship, with many visits since for nothing more than to just watch the man work, hang out, and have some laughs.
In the process, Edna did a fairly comprehensive write-up on Anza Knives for the aforementioned KFC magazine (Feb. 2003, copies may still be available thru the publisher).
The bottom line here is that Charlie & crew make 'using' knives from tempered (annealed) files, and the file marks left on the blades are his signature mark...so, you'll continue to see them on all 'legitimate' Anza knives, and on many knock-off's as well...
As to the 'user' standpoint, all of the Anza knives have a 100% replacement warranty, and in 21 years of making knives, they've had to replace exactly 1 knife to date; as was told to me.
To that end, Charlie asked me to break a 'virgin' file placed in a vise, which I easily did. He then asked me to break a tempered version of the same file, set at the same depth, in the same vice...and I couldn't (I'm 5'10, 240+, and am fairly strong...I bled, the file didn't break, YMMV)
So, there you have it...strong, guarantied 'using' knives, at a reasonable price (usually <$80). Ugly? Yes; wicked sharp, yes; easy to resharpen if you know how, yes to that too...
Hope that helps,
Mel
Chris Keller
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I have an Anza 7 inch bowie (my only one, got it 11 years ago) that in one swing will cut through a pine brabch an inch thick. It is a very good knife for the money.
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Just cuz, this is a cool thread...lol
Mel
Mel