What makes a $ 200 tongue different from a $ 20 one ? We asked Jungle survival trainer and knife designer Jeff Randall .
Jeff runsRandall ’s Adventure and breeding , where he teach survival in one of the harshest environments on worldly concern — the Amazon Rainforest . Along with co - laminitis Mike Perrin , he also runsESEE Knives , bring on no - Irish bull tool mean for heavy manipulation . We require him to explain how young knives come to be .
https://gizmodo.com/what-big-survival-knives-are-for-and-how-to-use-one-1572811597
IW : It ’s a piece of metal with a pointy closing and a handle . How hard is it really to contrive a knife ?
JR : make a knife in the on-key signified of the word is easy ; a lid off a tuna can will cut and slice up just o.k. . But , making a tongue that ’s comfortable to hold in in your hand and apply for longsighted periods of time can sometimes take some employment .
The initial innovation is chalk out out , a image is built from wood or plastic , blueprint is pick off to fit , a steel production paradigm is build , then ESEE adds and extra step with the prototypes being test for several month in the environment they are project for . After that , last tweaks are made and production begin .
Jeff ( right ) with co - owner of ESEE Knives , Mike Perrin .
IW : What factors are ingest into news report when consider a new tongue ?
JR : Two thing — wants and indigence . We typically contrive tongue to fit certain environments or needs . TheESEE-5is a good example of this . Even though it is my least favorite tongue we make , it had an interesting birth . A military survival schoolhouse inquire us to build up something that would n’t fail in the bad wilderness survival scenario and also pull round being beaten through a eggbeater fuselage if want . So , the ESEE-5 came to market .
On the want side , tongue users are always reach us with their ideas for the perfect knife . Many times it will be a resort idea , so a new knife is born . Our newCamp - Lore bushcraft seriesis a in effect example of that .
IW : How does a bushcraft knife take issue from a combat tongue ? Why is there a need for undertaking specialization in what is a very simple pecker ?
JR : I ’m not qualified to even mouth about combat knife since I know a little less than zero about knife combat or combat skill . But , from my observance of the tongue industry , rightful fight knife cross over pretty well into the wilderness populace . The old Vietnam - earned run average Ka - Bar combat tongue is a great example of this . On my first trip to the Amazon Jungle , I carried one and it do every job I need it to . With that said , there are purist in the bushcraft community that need Scandi labour , rounded handles , leather sheaths , etc . It ’s true those would carve a little better than a Ka - Bar and I ’m sure the long sword on the USMC would stab someone in the face best than a Mora , but we must never block that a bleak edge ’s superiority comes from the hand holding it more than it does the knife itself .
Win An ESEE-6 Survival Knife
IW : Knives have been around for 1000 of old age . What technical design is still possible ?
JR : Maybe on the material side of thing we will see some innovations . There are a lot of exotic blade being used in the manufacture , but after using a lot of them , I really ca n’t see where the extra price is justify in terminal figure of execution , specially when it comes to a mere field of study knife . I ’m just waiting for a portable brightness level sabre or laser tongue . In the interim , I will cleave with plain old carbon steel cut edges and be well-chosen .
A much - loved ESEE-3 .
IW : In what elbow room does a quality tongue take issue from a seemingly superposable one that ’s mass - manufactured ?
JR : I guess that question could go for to any industry that has usance shops as well as mass - output factories . Quality means controlling your processes , whether that ’s in a one - off piece or a mass - make production . I ’ve seen awful character from custom knife makers and special caliber from high-pitched - book producer . The reverse is also true .
prize knife will have symmetrical nerd lines and edge grinds . They will also have exceptional fit and polish off on mat surfaces such as where the handles meet the blade . Most important is the maker will have rut - treat processes down to a skill and will do destructive testing on each batch of knives . Again , quality merely means controlling your cognitive operation and caring about the finest details as well as the overall picture .
IW : How can a layman tell the remainder between a good tongue and a garbage one ?
JR : In today ’s market , it ’s becoming increasingly hard to know the difference . China is world illustrious for counterfeiting in high spirits - ending knife , right down to the boxing and clamshell promotional material . For instance , if you grease one’s palms a real Chris Reeve knife made in the USA , then you will get a piece that is visually and structurally unadulterated in every room . The Chinese counterfeit Reeve will face good on the surface , but the heating system delicacy is typically horrible and the intimate mechanism of the pamphlet are rough . So , to know the difference nowadays takes a lot of experience , employment and education . Or , just stay off from the flea market bozo and the gasoline place seller and buy from a reputable tongue dealer that knows its intersection line . There are grand of respectable tongue retailers online .
IW : How does heat up dainty work ?
JR : There ’s no such thing as magic , but there are proprietary processes . In little , heat treating is a process that brings the steel up to a critical temperature , thus causing a modification in the molecular structure of the brand . If it ’s a steel that needs to be quenched , it ’s then devolve into a resolution such as oil for speedy cooling . At this stage , it ’s too hard to be used as a knife since it will be unannealed . So , it ’s “ drawn back ” or tempered in an oven at a much lower temperature to give it the perfect via media between hardness and staying power .
https://gizmodo.com/part-machete-and-part-big-knife-is-this-the-ultimate-s-1575345900
IW : There ’s so many dissimilar steel out there . How do you evaluate the abilities of each and practice that to tongue design ?
JR : We do n’t . atomic number 6 steels have been used to sustain life and engage war for a long , long time . It works , so why change it ? The villagers and indigenous kinship group of the Amazon apply carbon brand every day to sustain themselves . They focalise their knife on matt rocks and could worry less about perfect edge angles , aesthetics or whether it ’s the latest manner trend in steel .
The only downfall to C steels is they will rust pretty speedily . And , while that does n’t trouble us since it jade off with use and patinas up nicely , some folks are anal about keep their knife pristine . So , we are answer that by coming out with a stainless steel seam of knife .
Me ? I ’ll still be carry carbon since it ’s leisurely to sharpen in the field and but works for everything with a lot tinny price tag . ESEE build childlike , worthless knife that sour .
IW : What trends are currently influencing the knife grocery store ?
JR : In all honesty , the knife industry is about 99 percent bullshit . We sell knives every day to mass who will never utilize them . Knife purchasing is more of a want than a need .
I grew up on a farm carrying a three - bladed “ Old timekeeper ” pocketknife . It did everything I postulate and got used day by day . All these novel unearthly conformation and aim that keep issue forth out are made just to have something new and “ tacticool . ” Most companies resist to speak the Sojourner Truth and just say , “ the reason we design this is because some center ninja would cogitate it ’s cool and spend money on it . ”
Once you get in the real world of knife enjoyment , whether it ’s butchering a deer or building a flack , you will see that a simple , basic tongue invention is all that ’s really needed to perform the task .
IW : What ’s the figure process of a tongue look like ?
JR : It ordinarily starts with an idea by others or ourselves . In most all case , this happens while we are sit down at a bar during a tradeshow , so a playpen and bar napkins are the first tools of a newfangled design . From there , we take it to a CAD process and then move it onto a 3D mould process in Solid Works . Once we ’re happy with the electronic version , we either make a wooden theoretical account or a steel epitome so we can get an estimate what it feel like in - hand before invest the time in a working prototype . After we pull off the models , it then go to full prototype stage . Once those first epitome are built , they get put in the environs they ’re designed for . Sometimes this think of shipping them to testers who may be in the war machine , other survival instructor , hunters etc . We put them through their paces in that surround for a distance of time , then do destructive testing on the prototypes . After we ’re satisfied with our results , it becomes a production tongue .
IW : What one knife would you want with you in a survival situation ?
Design
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