- Joined
- Feb 4, 1999
- Messages
- 5,786
This review will be rather incomplete because I just got these knives yesterday, but at least it will be a 1st impression I can build upon. The two knives are the Seraph and the Scaepha, I think...or Stygia..it really doesn't matter because both are discontinued, but the review is still valid because they represent what Sean is now calling his Novare line.
These knives are discontinued models from Sean's Novare series, which represents his top of the line models, of which the Kerver is the most famous. His knives are unique in several ways. First, these knives are small. The Seraph is 4" overall with a two inch blade, and is basically a Kerver witha different texture and handle style. The Stygia (I'm pretty sure that's what it is) has a 3" handle and a 2" blade, so it is 1" longer. Other than size, the dominate feature that sets these knives apart is the grind on the blade, which Sean calls a Scythe Grind. It is flat on one side and has a nicely curved bevel on the other side, almost like a half-dome. This gives the knife a chisel-like edge that is extremely strong and cool to look at to boot! Both knives were shipped with Sean's Klaspe pocket sheath. The sheath is quite small 2"x3" I would guess, and is heavy oiled leather that is folded and riveted. They are oiled enough that the knives were shipped in butcher paper and I thought Sean had sent a
nice prime rib at first! ;-) Anyway, the sheath is square on the botoom so as to sit handle up in your pocket, and it has a metal ring with a clasp on it on the side. The clasp is attached toa leather lanyard, also included, which is attached to the knife's lanyard hole, of course. This allows the knife to be pulled from the pocket, you "thumb" the sheath and it pops right off, you cut whatever it is you wanted to cut, then you still have the sheath attached to the knife. The lanyard is a nice touch, too, for the Seraph because it can be wrapped around the last two fingers to support the first two on the handle. I'm not quite sure what I thought about having a big sheath dangling there for some jobs, but for playing around with and using on light chores it was pretty cool. One sheath is the COrcovan leather, which is a reddish color with streaks in it like marble. The other is plain black. I liked both, but I think I liked the plain black a little better for some reason.
On to the knives...both knives are cut from 1/4" A-2, so you can imagine how stout these little suckers are! Sean does a rigorous set of tests on each knife, then textures, signs, patinates, etc before they leave the workshop. You can see on the spine of both blades where Sean did the tests as there are indentations from where a hammer was used to strike them into the oak testing block. These knives are definitely hardcore! Anyway, the Seraph features a drop point while the Stygia has a Wharncliffe style blade. Both end with a rather blunt tip. The Stygia has what I think is the stone texture also found on the Kerver, and muct be produced by some sort of grinding process. It looks like a hammered brass finish, only in steel color. The Seraph has a more subtle texture which is either the wind or stream texture. Both are different and both are really attractive and old-worldly.
The texture extends about an inch on the flat side of the knife. Both have lanyard holes, as I already noted. The other main difference is that the smaller Seraph has the full patina, which is like a gun-bluing finish, and the Stygia is in bright steel, which is just the un-patinated steel. Both are significantly different, and they reflect and radiate the light differently. I like both and haven't a favorite in this department, although the bright steel is a little more dressy and classy, while the patina makes the knife look like it is ancient and was dug up from some dwarven battle site of yore. Whatever. Both look really cool, and the patina brings out the hamon where you can see the differential clay hardening that all the knives have.
Enough with the cosmetics...now on to performance. I cut some woody weeds outside yesterday. Both knives sliced right through quite nicely. They cut the fibrous stuff surpisingly well for cuh small knives. These would also be fantastic for detailed gardening (trimming stems, cutting flowers, etc). The sheath got in the way while I was taking bigger swings, so I would remove it for that type of work. I whittled on a pine 2x4, and again they cut nicely. I was surprised to see that they are somehwhat finicky in their cutting. You have to play with the angle of the cut a bit, but once you get it it is easy to get a feel for the proper technqiue. I noticed that the knives cut almost as well, too, toward me as they do away. Because of the Scythe Grind, they are intended for left or right hand use with away-from-the-body cutting strokes. On wood, at least, they bit pretty well toward the body, too. Cutting paper and a cardboard box was not their strong suits, though. They are simply too short to cut
envelopes very effectively, and they didn't do well of a cereal box at all...the grind kept making them want to turn directions. I didn't have a proper, "real" box to cut on, though, so I will do a more inclusive test and see how this turns out.
The bottom line for these knives is that they are VERY, VERY well crafted individual works of art. They will appeal to people who appreciate tools made to last literally forever, and to people who recognize old-school methods of craftmanship and detail. If you are looking for a scalpel-sharp knife, then these aren't for you, and I would recommend a Praecisio (new series by Sean) or a Spyderco Calypso (is it possible to be TOO sharp? If so, both will probably qualify!). Instead, these knives seem to shin with woody, fibrous materials. They are sharp, but not hair-popping. On the other hand, if I was in a desperate situation and had to pound a knife through a block of wood for some reason, I wouldn't reach for my Calypso! These knives are SUPER tough, and they suffer a bit in the sharpness department for it, but then again, every knife is a balance, especially with knives. I would feel pretty damn confident in just about any situation with one of Sean's Novare series knives. Especially in a situation
where durability of edge counts for almost everything. I suppose the ideal setup for someone who need a super sharp knife as well as one that is trong would be to have a piggyback sheath made for a Praecisio (these are as small as 3" OAL with a 1", 1/8" razor sharp flat gorund blade) and a Novare. That would be really sweet, although maybe slightly bulky in the pocket...Anyway, I can't say enough about Sean's knives, obviously, so i guess I have to quit sometime.
Ideal buyer: toughness freak who appreciates minute details, old-world craftsmanship, superior testing and quality control, and interesting show-off pieces.
------------------
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/knifehome.html
These knives are discontinued models from Sean's Novare series, which represents his top of the line models, of which the Kerver is the most famous. His knives are unique in several ways. First, these knives are small. The Seraph is 4" overall with a two inch blade, and is basically a Kerver witha different texture and handle style. The Stygia (I'm pretty sure that's what it is) has a 3" handle and a 2" blade, so it is 1" longer. Other than size, the dominate feature that sets these knives apart is the grind on the blade, which Sean calls a Scythe Grind. It is flat on one side and has a nicely curved bevel on the other side, almost like a half-dome. This gives the knife a chisel-like edge that is extremely strong and cool to look at to boot! Both knives were shipped with Sean's Klaspe pocket sheath. The sheath is quite small 2"x3" I would guess, and is heavy oiled leather that is folded and riveted. They are oiled enough that the knives were shipped in butcher paper and I thought Sean had sent a
nice prime rib at first! ;-) Anyway, the sheath is square on the botoom so as to sit handle up in your pocket, and it has a metal ring with a clasp on it on the side. The clasp is attached toa leather lanyard, also included, which is attached to the knife's lanyard hole, of course. This allows the knife to be pulled from the pocket, you "thumb" the sheath and it pops right off, you cut whatever it is you wanted to cut, then you still have the sheath attached to the knife. The lanyard is a nice touch, too, for the Seraph because it can be wrapped around the last two fingers to support the first two on the handle. I'm not quite sure what I thought about having a big sheath dangling there for some jobs, but for playing around with and using on light chores it was pretty cool. One sheath is the COrcovan leather, which is a reddish color with streaks in it like marble. The other is plain black. I liked both, but I think I liked the plain black a little better for some reason.
On to the knives...both knives are cut from 1/4" A-2, so you can imagine how stout these little suckers are! Sean does a rigorous set of tests on each knife, then textures, signs, patinates, etc before they leave the workshop. You can see on the spine of both blades where Sean did the tests as there are indentations from where a hammer was used to strike them into the oak testing block. These knives are definitely hardcore! Anyway, the Seraph features a drop point while the Stygia has a Wharncliffe style blade. Both end with a rather blunt tip. The Stygia has what I think is the stone texture also found on the Kerver, and muct be produced by some sort of grinding process. It looks like a hammered brass finish, only in steel color. The Seraph has a more subtle texture which is either the wind or stream texture. Both are different and both are really attractive and old-worldly.
The texture extends about an inch on the flat side of the knife. Both have lanyard holes, as I already noted. The other main difference is that the smaller Seraph has the full patina, which is like a gun-bluing finish, and the Stygia is in bright steel, which is just the un-patinated steel. Both are significantly different, and they reflect and radiate the light differently. I like both and haven't a favorite in this department, although the bright steel is a little more dressy and classy, while the patina makes the knife look like it is ancient and was dug up from some dwarven battle site of yore. Whatever. Both look really cool, and the patina brings out the hamon where you can see the differential clay hardening that all the knives have.
Enough with the cosmetics...now on to performance. I cut some woody weeds outside yesterday. Both knives sliced right through quite nicely. They cut the fibrous stuff surpisingly well for cuh small knives. These would also be fantastic for detailed gardening (trimming stems, cutting flowers, etc). The sheath got in the way while I was taking bigger swings, so I would remove it for that type of work. I whittled on a pine 2x4, and again they cut nicely. I was surprised to see that they are somehwhat finicky in their cutting. You have to play with the angle of the cut a bit, but once you get it it is easy to get a feel for the proper technqiue. I noticed that the knives cut almost as well, too, toward me as they do away. Because of the Scythe Grind, they are intended for left or right hand use with away-from-the-body cutting strokes. On wood, at least, they bit pretty well toward the body, too. Cutting paper and a cardboard box was not their strong suits, though. They are simply too short to cut
envelopes very effectively, and they didn't do well of a cereal box at all...the grind kept making them want to turn directions. I didn't have a proper, "real" box to cut on, though, so I will do a more inclusive test and see how this turns out.
The bottom line for these knives is that they are VERY, VERY well crafted individual works of art. They will appeal to people who appreciate tools made to last literally forever, and to people who recognize old-school methods of craftmanship and detail. If you are looking for a scalpel-sharp knife, then these aren't for you, and I would recommend a Praecisio (new series by Sean) or a Spyderco Calypso (is it possible to be TOO sharp? If so, both will probably qualify!). Instead, these knives seem to shin with woody, fibrous materials. They are sharp, but not hair-popping. On the other hand, if I was in a desperate situation and had to pound a knife through a block of wood for some reason, I wouldn't reach for my Calypso! These knives are SUPER tough, and they suffer a bit in the sharpness department for it, but then again, every knife is a balance, especially with knives. I would feel pretty damn confident in just about any situation with one of Sean's Novare series knives. Especially in a situation
where durability of edge counts for almost everything. I suppose the ideal setup for someone who need a super sharp knife as well as one that is trong would be to have a piggyback sheath made for a Praecisio (these are as small as 3" OAL with a 1", 1/8" razor sharp flat gorund blade) and a Novare. That would be really sweet, although maybe slightly bulky in the pocket...Anyway, I can't say enough about Sean's knives, obviously, so i guess I have to quit sometime.
Ideal buyer: toughness freak who appreciates minute details, old-world craftsmanship, superior testing and quality control, and interesting show-off pieces.
------------------
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/knifehome.html
