- Joined
- Jun 23, 1999
- Messages
- 1,209
You can see a pic of this knife if you go to http://www.dozierknives.com/ Click on "hunting knives", the K-1 is the first knife at the top of the list.
I've had this knife 24 hours now and had all sorts of fun with it. It's in Bob's "hunting knife" group because its about in the same price arena and size (blade spec, steel thickness, etc) as his hunting knives, but it is the least like a hunting knife of this group other than the K-9 which is another nice general utility design.
Let me start by saying that I have a medium sized hand, about 3.25" across the bottom of my fingers, back of the hand, with my hand open. The handle on the K-1 is 4.25" across its top, but the spine of the knife curves (its concave on the blade side) slightly, and the bottom of the handle, from the slight swell of a guard to the hook at the end is 3.25", absolutely perfect for my hand in a saber grip!
Next thing I noticed (besides the generous lined lanyard hole) was the balance. In a natural saber grip, probably the one used most often in general utility cutting, the balance point of the knife is at the second finger, a perfect fulcrum for easy and rapid control from the first finger in the front or the last two in back. How did Bob know my hand was this size
The blade (1" wide at the start of the clip) has a shallow unsharpened clip (though Bob adds a nice touch and grinds a nice surface into the sides of the clip) beginning mid way down the blade, with Bob's characteristic steep hollow grind. Blade is 3.75" from the front of the guard to tip, but some of this is taken up in a ricasso (I think that is the term) leaving exactly (near as I can make it) 3" of wickedly sharp (a Dozier characteristic)cutting edge with a generous belly that starts 1.5" from the back of the cutting edge but curves very gradually at first leaving plenty of relatively straight edge, and lots of forward sweep too because the edge meets the clip just above the centerline of the knife.
I really love this particular blade shape because I've always thought it represented about the best compromise for general purpose work. The shallow clip gives you some point, the point above the centerline adds a little more edge, the balance point favors fine controlled work, and by size it is certainly not going to be a chopper. At the same time, the 1/8" thick spine that thins evenly all the way down the clip gives the knife both strength along most of the blade while still providing an efficient cutting profile especially near the tip. Although aesthetically I prefer a flat grind on most knives, I think Bob's steep hollow grind will ultimately make sharpening a little easier given the toughness and edge holding ability of his D2 heat treat!
This model (Linda asked me if I wanted them) sports a couple of shallow cutouts near the front of the handle. They serve best to index the knife in the hand when gripped in more of a pinch with thumb on the side of the handle pointing toward the tip. They work as indexers, but are too shallow to help hold the fingers in place.
Bob's sheath is a simple but nice piece; thin kydex, minimal and light. Very elegant and holds the knife easily and securely. I asked Bob for a right side vertical sheath, he also supplies it with a horizontal cross draw style I believe. The knife is short enough and light enough that is disappears on your belt.
As for cutting what can I say. First I tried my test I use to pick the one greatest knife in the world. I take an unsharpened pencil and put it down on a cutting board, laying the knife beside it. I then leave the room for a minute and come back. In this case, the pencil was still unsharpened. The knife failed! To be fair, no knife has ever passed this test, but I remain hopeful.
Next I sharpened the pencil myself. The edge seemed to melt through it. Over the course of the next 24 hours, I cut duct tape, lite rope, some hose, salami, cheeze, apples, dried fruit, whittled a few sticks, stripped bark from a walking stick, and gutted/fillet a fish. The edge still shaves. Like I said, I love this knife!
Anyway, I'm enjoying and I thought I'd share it will other knife knuts! Take care all and have a great weekend.
I've had this knife 24 hours now and had all sorts of fun with it. It's in Bob's "hunting knife" group because its about in the same price arena and size (blade spec, steel thickness, etc) as his hunting knives, but it is the least like a hunting knife of this group other than the K-9 which is another nice general utility design.
Let me start by saying that I have a medium sized hand, about 3.25" across the bottom of my fingers, back of the hand, with my hand open. The handle on the K-1 is 4.25" across its top, but the spine of the knife curves (its concave on the blade side) slightly, and the bottom of the handle, from the slight swell of a guard to the hook at the end is 3.25", absolutely perfect for my hand in a saber grip!
Next thing I noticed (besides the generous lined lanyard hole) was the balance. In a natural saber grip, probably the one used most often in general utility cutting, the balance point of the knife is at the second finger, a perfect fulcrum for easy and rapid control from the first finger in the front or the last two in back. How did Bob know my hand was this size
The blade (1" wide at the start of the clip) has a shallow unsharpened clip (though Bob adds a nice touch and grinds a nice surface into the sides of the clip) beginning mid way down the blade, with Bob's characteristic steep hollow grind. Blade is 3.75" from the front of the guard to tip, but some of this is taken up in a ricasso (I think that is the term) leaving exactly (near as I can make it) 3" of wickedly sharp (a Dozier characteristic)cutting edge with a generous belly that starts 1.5" from the back of the cutting edge but curves very gradually at first leaving plenty of relatively straight edge, and lots of forward sweep too because the edge meets the clip just above the centerline of the knife.
I really love this particular blade shape because I've always thought it represented about the best compromise for general purpose work. The shallow clip gives you some point, the point above the centerline adds a little more edge, the balance point favors fine controlled work, and by size it is certainly not going to be a chopper. At the same time, the 1/8" thick spine that thins evenly all the way down the clip gives the knife both strength along most of the blade while still providing an efficient cutting profile especially near the tip. Although aesthetically I prefer a flat grind on most knives, I think Bob's steep hollow grind will ultimately make sharpening a little easier given the toughness and edge holding ability of his D2 heat treat!
This model (Linda asked me if I wanted them) sports a couple of shallow cutouts near the front of the handle. They serve best to index the knife in the hand when gripped in more of a pinch with thumb on the side of the handle pointing toward the tip. They work as indexers, but are too shallow to help hold the fingers in place.
Bob's sheath is a simple but nice piece; thin kydex, minimal and light. Very elegant and holds the knife easily and securely. I asked Bob for a right side vertical sheath, he also supplies it with a horizontal cross draw style I believe. The knife is short enough and light enough that is disappears on your belt.
As for cutting what can I say. First I tried my test I use to pick the one greatest knife in the world. I take an unsharpened pencil and put it down on a cutting board, laying the knife beside it. I then leave the room for a minute and come back. In this case, the pencil was still unsharpened. The knife failed! To be fair, no knife has ever passed this test, but I remain hopeful.
Next I sharpened the pencil myself. The edge seemed to melt through it. Over the course of the next 24 hours, I cut duct tape, lite rope, some hose, salami, cheeze, apples, dried fruit, whittled a few sticks, stripped bark from a walking stick, and gutted/fillet a fish. The edge still shaves. Like I said, I love this knife!
Anyway, I'm enjoying and I thought I'd share it will other knife knuts! Take care all and have a great weekend.
