- Joined
- Mar 26, 2011
- Messages
- 647
Howdy all,
I've been asking a lot of questions on the forums lately about this blade. I watched CrimesonTideShooter's Youtube vids, read all the posts about this blade and have been asking about M4 steel. I finally pulled the trigger, bought one and put the knife through some work. I've had it less than a week, but I used it to cut up cardboard, sharpened it and cut up more cardboard. I've been carrying it most of this week and now had some time to put this review together. I hope it answers some folks' questions about this blade. I'll update this post if more information becomes available.
Design: A-
I love a lot about this knife. It is big. The ergos fit my hands very well (I have med/large hands). It will probably be fine in large and/or gloved hands as well since I think it just fits my hands. The large choil offers an excellent grip with my fore and index fingers. The deep carry clip allows for a very hidden blade that is comfortable to carry and the carbide glass breaker is a nice touch. I feel that the Reverse tantos provide lots of cutting edge while allowing for a strong blade (most of the thickness remains throughout the blade, almost to the tip). Additionally, this blade allows for a thin cutting edge due to the high grind (further creating an efficient cutter). The G10 has aggressive texturing to allow for maximum grip and the axis lock is one of my favorites (behind the compression lock on the PM2). My only complaints are the jimping and the stainless backspacer. The jimping is just a bit to aggressive for me. If the goal was to create maximum traction/grip, then mission accomplished! For my bare hands, the jimping could have been toned down a bit. I am however, ok with the G10 texturing. I'm not sure why the backspacer is a solid chunk of stainless. The design could have simply gotten way with barrel spacers...but perhaps some mass was desirable to maximize the functionality of the glass breaker. These are small complaints IMO.
Closed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951082756/
Centering: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951082680/in/photostream/
Opened: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097439857/
Deep Carry: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951082428/in/photostream
Fit and Finish: B+
It seems the Black Class knives (which this is) is function over form and Blue class is form over function. Both classes are highly functional and attractive...don't get me wrong. It just seems the different classes prioritize different things. Although the bushings in the blade are smooth, the finish of the axis bar and back of the blade were a bit rougher than I'm use to. This will smooth out over time, but I was a bit surprised by what I received. The blade still easily flicked out with minimal effort and was smooth so this is a footnote more than anything else. Grinds are even and blade coating is attractive (black). Lockup is solid with ZERO blade play and for such a long blade, this is an accomplishment. I have no complaints about F&F, but I expect BM to be flawless...so it gets a B+ for being a little rough.
Blade Steel: A
Lets face it the blade defines the knife, and the steel defines much of the blade. CPM M4 is a great steel. In the few days Ive had this blade, I have not been able to get it to the same level of sharpness as my PM2/M390 or Endura4/ZDP189 but that may change once I learn M4s secrets (I can still get it hair whittling sharp but it takes more effort). It seems BM runs this harder in the Contego than in previous models at RC 62-64 (although this is my first blade in M4). In a qualitative test, I cut a lot of cardboard (maybe 3 boxes worth) against the grain and the blade could still cut telephone book paper but just barely. Before the test, the blade was hair whittling sharp and the bevel was set at 15 deg/side. After cleaning up the blade it cut the phone book paper a little easier, but the edge had clearly been affected. As a comparison, I have cut much less cardboard with M390 and ZDP189 than what I did in this test and have seen more MICRO chipping in those two steels than I saw in this M4. I am not calling M390 or ZDP189 chippy or saying that M4 is more wear resistant than M390 or ZDP189 Im just saying that M4 is more chip resistant in my test than the other 2 steels.
Pile of cardboard: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097152155/in/photostream/
Cerakote: B-
Ive always liked the look of uncoated blades. Id prefer that a blade get a nice patina than have a worn, blackened blade. I did however want to test out the Cerakote so I got the black vs. the clear (which is not yet available anyway) so I could see if the Cerakote was wearing. After cutting the cardboard, I definitely saw wear just above the bevel of each side of the blade. The Cerakote held up ok but it is not the uber-coating I was hoping for. I have not deliberately cut this much cardboard with my DLC blade (Combative Edge M1), but I feel that the DLC will wear better than the Cerakote or at least will look better when it does wear. I will say that the Cerakote is better than the black Teflon coating that BM has previously used so it is an improvement over what I feel is a cheap black coating (BT coating).
After cutting, right side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097192139/
After cutting, left side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951122606/in/photostream/
After cleaning blade right side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097192017/in/photostream/
After cleaning blade left side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951122294/in/photostream/
Overall: A-
I feel the Contego is a complete package that offers a tough blade with maximum possible grip/purchase to the user. If I had to go to places unknown with only 1 folder (why I dont know but IF), this would be amongst my top contenders for toughness, edge retention and ease of sharpening (it is easy to sharpen to functional sharpness I personally just have difficulty getting it hair whittling sharp). The blade shape and steel provide a very tough package that begs to be used and used hard. However, the geometry of the blade still provides a nice slicer and the deep pocket clip makes it a discreet EDC (albeit LARGE and somewhat intimidating to some). If you are thinking about getting this blade, I recommend it and think that you will not be disappointed. I would however opt for the clear Cerakote so when it wears it still looks pretty.
I've been asking a lot of questions on the forums lately about this blade. I watched CrimesonTideShooter's Youtube vids, read all the posts about this blade and have been asking about M4 steel. I finally pulled the trigger, bought one and put the knife through some work. I've had it less than a week, but I used it to cut up cardboard, sharpened it and cut up more cardboard. I've been carrying it most of this week and now had some time to put this review together. I hope it answers some folks' questions about this blade. I'll update this post if more information becomes available.
Design: A-
I love a lot about this knife. It is big. The ergos fit my hands very well (I have med/large hands). It will probably be fine in large and/or gloved hands as well since I think it just fits my hands. The large choil offers an excellent grip with my fore and index fingers. The deep carry clip allows for a very hidden blade that is comfortable to carry and the carbide glass breaker is a nice touch. I feel that the Reverse tantos provide lots of cutting edge while allowing for a strong blade (most of the thickness remains throughout the blade, almost to the tip). Additionally, this blade allows for a thin cutting edge due to the high grind (further creating an efficient cutter). The G10 has aggressive texturing to allow for maximum grip and the axis lock is one of my favorites (behind the compression lock on the PM2). My only complaints are the jimping and the stainless backspacer. The jimping is just a bit to aggressive for me. If the goal was to create maximum traction/grip, then mission accomplished! For my bare hands, the jimping could have been toned down a bit. I am however, ok with the G10 texturing. I'm not sure why the backspacer is a solid chunk of stainless. The design could have simply gotten way with barrel spacers...but perhaps some mass was desirable to maximize the functionality of the glass breaker. These are small complaints IMO.
Closed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951082756/
Centering: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951082680/in/photostream/
Opened: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097439857/
Deep Carry: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951082428/in/photostream
Fit and Finish: B+
It seems the Black Class knives (which this is) is function over form and Blue class is form over function. Both classes are highly functional and attractive...don't get me wrong. It just seems the different classes prioritize different things. Although the bushings in the blade are smooth, the finish of the axis bar and back of the blade were a bit rougher than I'm use to. This will smooth out over time, but I was a bit surprised by what I received. The blade still easily flicked out with minimal effort and was smooth so this is a footnote more than anything else. Grinds are even and blade coating is attractive (black). Lockup is solid with ZERO blade play and for such a long blade, this is an accomplishment. I have no complaints about F&F, but I expect BM to be flawless...so it gets a B+ for being a little rough.
Blade Steel: A
Lets face it the blade defines the knife, and the steel defines much of the blade. CPM M4 is a great steel. In the few days Ive had this blade, I have not been able to get it to the same level of sharpness as my PM2/M390 or Endura4/ZDP189 but that may change once I learn M4s secrets (I can still get it hair whittling sharp but it takes more effort). It seems BM runs this harder in the Contego than in previous models at RC 62-64 (although this is my first blade in M4). In a qualitative test, I cut a lot of cardboard (maybe 3 boxes worth) against the grain and the blade could still cut telephone book paper but just barely. Before the test, the blade was hair whittling sharp and the bevel was set at 15 deg/side. After cleaning up the blade it cut the phone book paper a little easier, but the edge had clearly been affected. As a comparison, I have cut much less cardboard with M390 and ZDP189 than what I did in this test and have seen more MICRO chipping in those two steels than I saw in this M4. I am not calling M390 or ZDP189 chippy or saying that M4 is more wear resistant than M390 or ZDP189 Im just saying that M4 is more chip resistant in my test than the other 2 steels.
Pile of cardboard: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097152155/in/photostream/
Cerakote: B-
Ive always liked the look of uncoated blades. Id prefer that a blade get a nice patina than have a worn, blackened blade. I did however want to test out the Cerakote so I got the black vs. the clear (which is not yet available anyway) so I could see if the Cerakote was wearing. After cutting the cardboard, I definitely saw wear just above the bevel of each side of the blade. The Cerakote held up ok but it is not the uber-coating I was hoping for. I have not deliberately cut this much cardboard with my DLC blade (Combative Edge M1), but I feel that the DLC will wear better than the Cerakote or at least will look better when it does wear. I will say that the Cerakote is better than the black Teflon coating that BM has previously used so it is an improvement over what I feel is a cheap black coating (BT coating).
After cutting, right side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097192139/
After cutting, left side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951122606/in/photostream/
After cleaning blade right side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/7097192017/in/photostream/
After cleaning blade left side:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64190874@N08/6951122294/in/photostream/
Overall: A-
I feel the Contego is a complete package that offers a tough blade with maximum possible grip/purchase to the user. If I had to go to places unknown with only 1 folder (why I dont know but IF), this would be amongst my top contenders for toughness, edge retention and ease of sharpening (it is easy to sharpen to functional sharpness I personally just have difficulty getting it hair whittling sharp). The blade shape and steel provide a very tough package that begs to be used and used hard. However, the geometry of the blade still provides a nice slicer and the deep pocket clip makes it a discreet EDC (albeit LARGE and somewhat intimidating to some). If you are thinking about getting this blade, I recommend it and think that you will not be disappointed. I would however opt for the clear Cerakote so when it wears it still looks pretty.
...The Cerakote got all bubbly and started to flake off. So I learned 2 things:
