It's been a long time coming, but I've finally completed another shootout. I think everyone will agree it was worth the wait.
In this shootout I'll be comparing 3 similar sized knives designed for different tasks. Survival, EDC and Hunting.
The three contenders are, MaxPax Small Survival, JK Proud Supporter knife and Buck TSIU 475.
Knife Specs:
All blade lengths measured from end of scale to tip, not where the edge starts.
MaxPax Small Survival - 2 7/8" flat grind C70 steel convexed edge blade. Green micarta handles. Full tang. $180 shipped.
JK Proud Supporter - 2 3/4" Saber grind O1 tool steel. Black and yellow liners with Ebony wood scales. Full tang. $150 shipped.
Buck 475 Tsiu - 3 3/8" hollow grind 12C27M Sandvik steel. Black micarta scales. Full tang. ~$20 +shipping.
Sheaths:
MaxPax Small Survival - Leather vertical or horizontal carry. Thumb break strap, firesteel holder and sharpening stone pouch. Very high quality.
JK Proud Supporter - Pocket kydex. Good, basic kydex sheath.
Buck 465 TSIU - Nylon with thumb break strap and sharpening stone pouch. Cheesy, somewhat low quality. Just enough to do it's job.
First Impressions:
MaxPax Small Survival - Small and Simple yet elegant. Very comfortable handle. Great all around package, very solid/tough. Came hair popping sharp.
JK Proud Supporter - Very pleasing to the eye, gorgeous ebony wood scales. Comfortable handle. Very tough/solid knife. Came shaving sharp.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Lightweight small package. Blocky grips, slightly uncomfortable, not a deal breaker yet. Not sure it will survive the testing. Came shaving sharp.
Specs and thoughts out of the way let's see how these knives do during testing. I stropped all knives so they're equal sharpness, hair popping.
Carving:
MaxPax Small Survival - Very sharp and exceptionally comfortable handle make this a great carver. Jimping isn't sharp so it's easy on your thumb. Blade shape, like the Izula, lends itself well to carving. Could use this knife for hours with no problem.
JK Proud Supporter - Not quite as comfortable to use as the MaxPax but above average anyway. Comfort in hand and sharpness make this knife a great carver. Could also use this one for hours with no problem.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Sharp hollow ground blade makes for an efficient slicing and carving blade. Pointy tip is great for detail work such as squaring notches. The blocky handle does become uncomfortable during long term use.
Overall: The MaxPax was the best carving simply because it was the most comfortable closely followed by the JK and last the Buck. A knife must be comfortable to use for extended periods.
Fire Prep:
MaxPax Small Survival - Worked great for this task. Made the best shavings and the easiest. Again, the most comfortable to use throughout the process. Tough knife, no fear of breaking.
JK Proud Supporter - Processes wood great for it's size as well, not quite as comfortable as the MaxPax but still above average. Didn't make the best shavings with this knife, but they were acceptable.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Did alright for breaking down firewood but I wouldn't push it too hard or as often as the others for fear of breaking. Made alright shavings. Some hand shock when batonning, not very comfortable.
Overall: The MaxPax and JK did great for this task especially considering their size. Very tough little knives, no worries about breaking. Like I said above I wouldn't feel comfortable using the Buck for this rough of a job very often, it's a hunting knife, just not as tough as the others.
Ferro Rod:
MaxPax - Threw alright sparks with spine of the knife. Got the fire lit but not as easily as using the JK. A firesteel striker part on the spine is an option from MaxPax, I went with the jimping.
JK Proud Supporter - Threw the best sparks, very easy to get the fire started.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Spine wouldn't throw sparks, used the cutting edge. Worked fine, lit fire easily enough.
Overall: If you know how to use a firesteel any of these knives will work fine.
Cross Grain Batonning:
MaxPax Small Survival - Worked great for this task. Comfortable to use during entire process <--seeing a trend?
JK Proud Supporter - Worked great as well, no pain or discomfort.
Buck 475 Tsiu - It survived! :11: Honestly I was expecting it to break. It worked but not great. Handle shock was hurting my hand half way through this piece of wood, and it's not even that big.
Overall: Batonned through the wood fastest with the MaxPax and JK, most likely because I felt comfortable beating on them harder than the Buck. This is another task I wouldn't subject the Buck to very often.
Hole Drilling:
MaxPax Small Survival - Drill acceptable hole. Most comfortable yet again.
JK Proud Supporter - Drilled clean hole, comfortable to use.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Drilled best hole, uncomfortable, hurt my hand to use for this task.
Overall: Even though the Buck drilled the cleanest/best hole I would choose the MaxPax or JK over it simply due to the pain the Buck caused during this task. Handle comfort is a very important factor to me.
Final Thoughts:
When all is said and done these are 3 fine knives. The MaxPax and JK are the best and show this during use but they are also the most expensive. They can handle long term hard use just fine, whereas I don't think the Buck will. Being a thin, hollow ground hunting knife it doesn't lend itself well to hard use tasks.
This was a lot of fun, hope you guys/gals enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed doing it.
In this shootout I'll be comparing 3 similar sized knives designed for different tasks. Survival, EDC and Hunting.
The three contenders are, MaxPax Small Survival, JK Proud Supporter knife and Buck TSIU 475.
Knife Specs:
All blade lengths measured from end of scale to tip, not where the edge starts.
MaxPax Small Survival - 2 7/8" flat grind C70 steel convexed edge blade. Green micarta handles. Full tang. $180 shipped.
JK Proud Supporter - 2 3/4" Saber grind O1 tool steel. Black and yellow liners with Ebony wood scales. Full tang. $150 shipped.
Buck 475 Tsiu - 3 3/8" hollow grind 12C27M Sandvik steel. Black micarta scales. Full tang. ~$20 +shipping.
Sheaths:
MaxPax Small Survival - Leather vertical or horizontal carry. Thumb break strap, firesteel holder and sharpening stone pouch. Very high quality.
JK Proud Supporter - Pocket kydex. Good, basic kydex sheath.
Buck 465 TSIU - Nylon with thumb break strap and sharpening stone pouch. Cheesy, somewhat low quality. Just enough to do it's job.
First Impressions:
MaxPax Small Survival - Small and Simple yet elegant. Very comfortable handle. Great all around package, very solid/tough. Came hair popping sharp.
JK Proud Supporter - Very pleasing to the eye, gorgeous ebony wood scales. Comfortable handle. Very tough/solid knife. Came shaving sharp.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Lightweight small package. Blocky grips, slightly uncomfortable, not a deal breaker yet. Not sure it will survive the testing. Came shaving sharp.
Specs and thoughts out of the way let's see how these knives do during testing. I stropped all knives so they're equal sharpness, hair popping.
Carving:
MaxPax Small Survival - Very sharp and exceptionally comfortable handle make this a great carver. Jimping isn't sharp so it's easy on your thumb. Blade shape, like the Izula, lends itself well to carving. Could use this knife for hours with no problem.
JK Proud Supporter - Not quite as comfortable to use as the MaxPax but above average anyway. Comfort in hand and sharpness make this knife a great carver. Could also use this one for hours with no problem.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Sharp hollow ground blade makes for an efficient slicing and carving blade. Pointy tip is great for detail work such as squaring notches. The blocky handle does become uncomfortable during long term use.
Overall: The MaxPax was the best carving simply because it was the most comfortable closely followed by the JK and last the Buck. A knife must be comfortable to use for extended periods.
Fire Prep:
MaxPax Small Survival - Worked great for this task. Made the best shavings and the easiest. Again, the most comfortable to use throughout the process. Tough knife, no fear of breaking.
JK Proud Supporter - Processes wood great for it's size as well, not quite as comfortable as the MaxPax but still above average. Didn't make the best shavings with this knife, but they were acceptable.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Did alright for breaking down firewood but I wouldn't push it too hard or as often as the others for fear of breaking. Made alright shavings. Some hand shock when batonning, not very comfortable.
Overall: The MaxPax and JK did great for this task especially considering their size. Very tough little knives, no worries about breaking. Like I said above I wouldn't feel comfortable using the Buck for this rough of a job very often, it's a hunting knife, just not as tough as the others.
Ferro Rod:
MaxPax - Threw alright sparks with spine of the knife. Got the fire lit but not as easily as using the JK. A firesteel striker part on the spine is an option from MaxPax, I went with the jimping.
JK Proud Supporter - Threw the best sparks, very easy to get the fire started.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Spine wouldn't throw sparks, used the cutting edge. Worked fine, lit fire easily enough.
Overall: If you know how to use a firesteel any of these knives will work fine.
Cross Grain Batonning:
MaxPax Small Survival - Worked great for this task. Comfortable to use during entire process <--seeing a trend?
JK Proud Supporter - Worked great as well, no pain or discomfort.
Buck 475 Tsiu - It survived! :11: Honestly I was expecting it to break. It worked but not great. Handle shock was hurting my hand half way through this piece of wood, and it's not even that big.
Overall: Batonned through the wood fastest with the MaxPax and JK, most likely because I felt comfortable beating on them harder than the Buck. This is another task I wouldn't subject the Buck to very often.
Hole Drilling:
MaxPax Small Survival - Drill acceptable hole. Most comfortable yet again.
JK Proud Supporter - Drilled clean hole, comfortable to use.
Buck 475 Tsiu - Drilled best hole, uncomfortable, hurt my hand to use for this task.
Overall: Even though the Buck drilled the cleanest/best hole I would choose the MaxPax or JK over it simply due to the pain the Buck caused during this task. Handle comfort is a very important factor to me.
Final Thoughts:
When all is said and done these are 3 fine knives. The MaxPax and JK are the best and show this during use but they are also the most expensive. They can handle long term hard use just fine, whereas I don't think the Buck will. Being a thin, hollow ground hunting knife it doesn't lend itself well to hard use tasks.
This was a lot of fun, hope you guys/gals enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed doing it.
