Lubo was kind enough to send me one of the Drugar fixed blade knives to try out and review, thanks sir!
The knife is a bit more robust than the Patriot, both in size and thickness, with a more contoured handle and deeper guard area as well as an extended jimping on the spine and an extended tab at the end for smashing things
The blade thickness behind the edge on this one I have measures about .019" so it is fairly thin and cuts well. It arrived with a relatively sharp edge but a light few strokes on a fine ceramic and then a leather strop, she is shaving sharp. One 'test' that I do with most all my knives, is to see how comfortable it is whittling on a piece of hard wood, this handled and cut great, very comfortable and easy to control the cutting.
Blade width is about 1.13" wide handle at it's thickest is about .7"
Here are some shots compared to the Patriot, Lubo had sent the red one sharpen up as he intends to gift this to a Boy Scout in an upcoming give away.
Red and Green...seems appropriate for an old salty sailor that I am, I was a plank owner on the USS Ortolan ASR22...many many years ago!
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
some handle comparisons
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
You can see that the Drugar has a softer contouring of the handle scales, fit and finish is excellent !
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
The Patriot is riveted together while the Drugar scales can be removed/changed out.
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
The guard area, while the Patriot has a good guard area, the Drugar provides a bit more security in use.
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
and I am not familiar with the Wanger name but I'll let Lubo fill us in on who or what that stands for;
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
The sheath holds the knife quite secure without any rattling, but the edges around the outside of the sheath could use some TLC to round off the crisp edges from when they were ground down, but that is a very minor issue, also there isn't any drainage hole but you can easily add that to the sheath if you feel that it is necessary.
As with the Patriot sheath, the handle ends up being pretty high above your belt when worn vertically, the Drugar is about 3" of handle reaching above the top of your belt. This does keep the sheath from hanging too low I suppose, but I think I will end up making a leather swivel belt loop that will drop it a bit lower for easier retrieval and return.
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
Manly by
GaryWGraley, on Flickr
It's a very fine well made and well ground knife!
G2