- Joined
- Apr 8, 2004
- Messages
- 277
I have never bought a knife before without at least some degree consideration as to how it would fit in with how I might use it on a practical level. But this time sheer curiosity drove me to purchase the Pocket Bushman. I've got to tell you, I think this is one fascinating folder; the lock, the construction, the design and the controversy over it all captured my attention.
As for the blade steel, I have a few other of the CS Krupp 4116 knives and have found them to always be more than adequate for my needs; and as with most other of the CS stuff I've purchased it came razor sharp. I don't think I would want it to be the only knife I carried out in some sort of survival situation, but for something to use and abuse I think the Pocket Bushman is great. So unless I decide to do a little rope cutting testing I won't be commenting here on it's edge holding abilities. Just it's construction and design.
My first impression as I pulled it from the box was that it is certainly a good sized folder. I like mega-folders and have had many, the old Round Eye Sifu, the CS Vaquero Grande, XL Voyager Clip Point and the XL Tilite (which also serves as an EDC). With a blade of 4 3/16" and a handle of 5 7/8" I suppose a lot of folks would consider the PB a mega-folder, I just consider it large. According to my micrometer the blade is 1 1/16" (27mm) wide at it's widest point and the folded steel stock in the handle is 1mm thick. My magnet does indeed confirm that the knife is all of steel construction. I can't find my little Weight Watcher scales (ahh, those were the days, when I was a svelte 150 lbs) so I guess I'll take their word for it when they say it weighs 6.1oz. The website says it's hollow ground, well okay, that's the flattest hollow grind I've ever seen.
This thing is intimidating to open and a one handed opener it is NOT! To open it you've got to overcome that spring and it's tension. This may be due to a really tight pivot pin and while it is starting to loosen up its still darn tough to thumb open. And whether you're opening or closing it you'd better damn well have your fingers and hand clear of that big exposed locking bar in back because as it goes in and out it will nip you between the lock bar and the frame and it hurts.
This knife is even more intimidating to close due to that huge spring driven lock bar. I had watched Lynn Thompson's video about a dozen times before trying to close it and it is every bit as awkward as it appears. This is a locking mechanism unlike any I have ever seen, but I guess that that is the price you pay for trying to design a folder that's the next best thing to fixed blade. I don't think that there will be any problem with this knife folding up on you. However, when you are folding it you absolutely, positively, without any discussion in the matter MUST have you're fingers clear of the line of travel of the blade!! You have to overcome that spring to both open and close it and that spring drives it shut with considerable force. If you don't keep your fingers clear you will lose a considerable amount of blood and maybe even chip some bone!
The thumb studs seem totally useless in trying to open this knife and as I first played with it I thought about removing both them and the clip. If you are thinking about doing so my recommendation is don't. I have found that they both serve as anchor points for your thumbs when closing this knife.
That handle is designed really big and I find that for my smallish hands it's just about too big. It is 1 3/16" deep at the handle swell and 15/16" deep at the finger cut out, it measures 1/2" thick at the handle swell. But perhaps the most disturbing feature I found about the handle are the edges formed by folding the steel stock around the lock bar. Even though they are nicely rounded and smooth they are still only a millimeter thick and dig into the palm of my hand like twin plates. This is not a knife that I find comfortable to hold in my bare hand and I believe it would actually hurt to try to use it for moderate to heavy cutting.
However...there is one consideration I think must be made for this construction. I tried holding the knife while wearing different styles of gloves. Oh My! This became a totally different knife! The size, the bumps, the curves, the edges, they all worked together to lock that knife in my gloved hand.
Of course the big controversy is in the locking bar slipping out if the spring is compressed too far. There are even a couple videos referenced in an earlier thread regarding this bar coming out and Demkos (the designer) fix for that problem. Well never underestimate the power of human stupidity; I have been able to duplicate this fault even with the new modification. I did it by having the knife clipped into my pocket and then by use of the lanyard, ripping the knife out of my pocket and swinging it as an impact weapon. The forces generated pulling on the lanyard will compress the spring and allow the knife to open. It will also allow the locking bar to pop out and disengage and send the rest of the knife flying out behind you leaving you to stare dumbly at the bar in your hand. I was glad I was at least smart enough to make sure that I had lots of clear space around me. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I do have to wonder about Nutin Fancies video though. I found his manner of opening the knife really awkward. There is absolutely no need to open the knife the way he did. I open mine just like I would any slip joint/ jack knife style knife. Just pinch the blade between your thumb and finger, hold the handle and unfold. When opened in this manner there is no danger of over compressing the spring and releasing the locking bar. Of course this doesnt relieve Cold Steel of a serious design limitation.
I also wondered about his attempts to reinsert the bar. Not being really mechanically savvy, I simply did not think of putting the bar back in by inserting it from the front. Instead, I removed the spring retaining sleeve and slid the bar back in. I then put the blade in my vice, compressed the spring with a small tool and slipped the retainer back in place.
In Nutins video, if I remember right, he said that due to its deformity, his spring quit working. Well my spring was every bit as kinked as his but it works just fine. I suspect that is due to the modified channel. However I have every expectation of this spring breaking and will send CS a letter asking for a new spring.
This knife will never be my primary tool and will only be carried as a useful back up. But other than the issue of over compressing the spring it appears to be as strong as advertised. Like any lock mechanism it has its limitations. However I do agree with Nutin that it does need a retaining screw for the bar. Does this make it a deal breaker? That would be up to each individual. When you compare this design with any other folder design and consider their limitations I think that calling it a deal breaker is just colorful rhetoric.
I appreciate Nutins work in revealing this design flaw and am disappointed that Cold Steel let something like this slip by. But I feel that Nutin does everybody a disservice when he criticizes this design flaw in relation to the strength of the knife. He presented nothing that disproves the claims of the strength of the design when the lock is engaged.
This is an interesting, innovative design that seems to avoid other folding knife issues but presents an issue of its own. Each person has to decide for themselves on the merits of the Pocket Bushman and how its particular design will meet their needs. In the few days that I have had this knife Ive opened and closed it dozens of times and the only time the lock bar disengaged was when I deliberately tried to compress the spring and open the blade by swinging it violently.
As for the blade steel, I have a few other of the CS Krupp 4116 knives and have found them to always be more than adequate for my needs; and as with most other of the CS stuff I've purchased it came razor sharp. I don't think I would want it to be the only knife I carried out in some sort of survival situation, but for something to use and abuse I think the Pocket Bushman is great. So unless I decide to do a little rope cutting testing I won't be commenting here on it's edge holding abilities. Just it's construction and design.
My first impression as I pulled it from the box was that it is certainly a good sized folder. I like mega-folders and have had many, the old Round Eye Sifu, the CS Vaquero Grande, XL Voyager Clip Point and the XL Tilite (which also serves as an EDC). With a blade of 4 3/16" and a handle of 5 7/8" I suppose a lot of folks would consider the PB a mega-folder, I just consider it large. According to my micrometer the blade is 1 1/16" (27mm) wide at it's widest point and the folded steel stock in the handle is 1mm thick. My magnet does indeed confirm that the knife is all of steel construction. I can't find my little Weight Watcher scales (ahh, those were the days, when I was a svelte 150 lbs) so I guess I'll take their word for it when they say it weighs 6.1oz. The website says it's hollow ground, well okay, that's the flattest hollow grind I've ever seen.
This thing is intimidating to open and a one handed opener it is NOT! To open it you've got to overcome that spring and it's tension. This may be due to a really tight pivot pin and while it is starting to loosen up its still darn tough to thumb open. And whether you're opening or closing it you'd better damn well have your fingers and hand clear of that big exposed locking bar in back because as it goes in and out it will nip you between the lock bar and the frame and it hurts.
This knife is even more intimidating to close due to that huge spring driven lock bar. I had watched Lynn Thompson's video about a dozen times before trying to close it and it is every bit as awkward as it appears. This is a locking mechanism unlike any I have ever seen, but I guess that that is the price you pay for trying to design a folder that's the next best thing to fixed blade. I don't think that there will be any problem with this knife folding up on you. However, when you are folding it you absolutely, positively, without any discussion in the matter MUST have you're fingers clear of the line of travel of the blade!! You have to overcome that spring to both open and close it and that spring drives it shut with considerable force. If you don't keep your fingers clear you will lose a considerable amount of blood and maybe even chip some bone!
The thumb studs seem totally useless in trying to open this knife and as I first played with it I thought about removing both them and the clip. If you are thinking about doing so my recommendation is don't. I have found that they both serve as anchor points for your thumbs when closing this knife.
That handle is designed really big and I find that for my smallish hands it's just about too big. It is 1 3/16" deep at the handle swell and 15/16" deep at the finger cut out, it measures 1/2" thick at the handle swell. But perhaps the most disturbing feature I found about the handle are the edges formed by folding the steel stock around the lock bar. Even though they are nicely rounded and smooth they are still only a millimeter thick and dig into the palm of my hand like twin plates. This is not a knife that I find comfortable to hold in my bare hand and I believe it would actually hurt to try to use it for moderate to heavy cutting.
However...there is one consideration I think must be made for this construction. I tried holding the knife while wearing different styles of gloves. Oh My! This became a totally different knife! The size, the bumps, the curves, the edges, they all worked together to lock that knife in my gloved hand.
Of course the big controversy is in the locking bar slipping out if the spring is compressed too far. There are even a couple videos referenced in an earlier thread regarding this bar coming out and Demkos (the designer) fix for that problem. Well never underestimate the power of human stupidity; I have been able to duplicate this fault even with the new modification. I did it by having the knife clipped into my pocket and then by use of the lanyard, ripping the knife out of my pocket and swinging it as an impact weapon. The forces generated pulling on the lanyard will compress the spring and allow the knife to open. It will also allow the locking bar to pop out and disengage and send the rest of the knife flying out behind you leaving you to stare dumbly at the bar in your hand. I was glad I was at least smart enough to make sure that I had lots of clear space around me. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I do have to wonder about Nutin Fancies video though. I found his manner of opening the knife really awkward. There is absolutely no need to open the knife the way he did. I open mine just like I would any slip joint/ jack knife style knife. Just pinch the blade between your thumb and finger, hold the handle and unfold. When opened in this manner there is no danger of over compressing the spring and releasing the locking bar. Of course this doesnt relieve Cold Steel of a serious design limitation.
I also wondered about his attempts to reinsert the bar. Not being really mechanically savvy, I simply did not think of putting the bar back in by inserting it from the front. Instead, I removed the spring retaining sleeve and slid the bar back in. I then put the blade in my vice, compressed the spring with a small tool and slipped the retainer back in place.
In Nutins video, if I remember right, he said that due to its deformity, his spring quit working. Well my spring was every bit as kinked as his but it works just fine. I suspect that is due to the modified channel. However I have every expectation of this spring breaking and will send CS a letter asking for a new spring.
This knife will never be my primary tool and will only be carried as a useful back up. But other than the issue of over compressing the spring it appears to be as strong as advertised. Like any lock mechanism it has its limitations. However I do agree with Nutin that it does need a retaining screw for the bar. Does this make it a deal breaker? That would be up to each individual. When you compare this design with any other folder design and consider their limitations I think that calling it a deal breaker is just colorful rhetoric.
I appreciate Nutins work in revealing this design flaw and am disappointed that Cold Steel let something like this slip by. But I feel that Nutin does everybody a disservice when he criticizes this design flaw in relation to the strength of the knife. He presented nothing that disproves the claims of the strength of the design when the lock is engaged.
This is an interesting, innovative design that seems to avoid other folding knife issues but presents an issue of its own. Each person has to decide for themselves on the merits of the Pocket Bushman and how its particular design will meet their needs. In the few days that I have had this knife Ive opened and closed it dozens of times and the only time the lock bar disengaged was when I deliberately tried to compress the spring and open the blade by swinging it violently.
