Mine (bought 22 years plus ago) was straight and well-made, but the edge was extremely thick and required a major edge reprofile to be even useable.
Once re-profiled, it became useable for big chopping tasks, but far from what I would call knife-like... It is a full 1/4" stock, as are most SP Models, but the sawback design may have changed.
The pinkie "bite" of the hooked handle end is a moot point, since the soft Kraton allows carving this easily into a rounded shape: It then became a truly outstanding handle after this easy modification was done...
Finish and sheath was tough back then, nice leather on the sheath and real baked-on epoxy paint that really resisted wear.
The sawback was similar to the Robert Parrish 3 row design, but the effectiveness was greatly lowered by the hugely thick coat of paint all over the teeth... Like the Parrish, the sawback effectiveness suffered from the broad vertical flat surface of the Saber Grind below it.
Because the low set of the sabre grind greatly increased its weight and greatly lowered its sharpness potential, I felt it was mostly a home-base item and not something worth carrying in the field other than inside a vehicle.
I greatly recommend their SP-52 or 53 over that, or other Full Flat Grind SP models that will be sharper and lighter.
I found the BK-9 generally inferior to this (cheaper) series because of the thinner 3/16" stock, the full profile tang that vibrated badly, and the inferior workmanship resulting in the spine-misaligned edge and the endemic blade cooling warpage to one side... On the plus side, the BK-9 was much sharper from the box and quite a bit thinner edged: Re-profiling most SP series is really a must, and the edge will likely be thicker on some models even after the angle is reduced.
The SP's full Kraton handle is a big advantage over most in this class (once the handle's rear hook is removed), as it isolates the hand from vibrations, unlike all the ubiquitous full profile tangs. The handle is also correctly "fat": The Cold Steel Trailmaster handle is similar in material but far too thin, which ruins much of its potentially great chopping effectiveness by allowing a great backward handle movement (within the hand) on impact.
Gaston
