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ISSUE 32054 OFFOFFGRIDGRIDWEB.COMWEB.COM
Torturing the Test Subject
One of the most destructive things you can do to a
knife is throw it. Let’s face it, the idea of knife throwing is
cool as hell, but it’s also highly impractical. Most knives
aren't made for throwing, and those that are are typically
intended to be disposable. But it’s lots of fun and a great
way to jack your knife up for an unorthodox gear review!
Twenty throws in, most stuck to the trunk of a tree with
a few bounces. Ultimately, the knife did what one might
expect — bent from the hilt.
Keep in mind, I have yet to see a knife that didn’t bend
with this kind of abuse. If you ever watch slow-motion video
of a handle of a knife once it’s stuck, the handle wiggles
a lot on impact — hence the bending at the hilt. All that
energy has to go somewhere, and it completely throws the
blade off kilter. The throwing and bouncing also produced
a few nice chips in the blade, which came by way of hitting
rocks and hard surfaces. Then, I left it outside in the rain
for a few days ... just because. So after a massive amount of1.We wanted to
see how well a
damaged knife
would perform
normal tasks after
it was deliber-
ately banged up.
We simulated this
by throwing it at a
tree trunk.- No knife is
really designed
to withstand this
kind of punish-
ment and we're
by no means
recommending
you use your own
knife this way. - As you can see,
it didn't take long
for us to signifi-
cantly bend the
blade, but all that
energy has to go
somewhere. Now
let's see if it'll con-
tinue to perform
the other tasks a
survival situation
may call for. - Even though
the blade was
bent and the edge
was chipped, the
SXB was still able
to chop through
old logs and re-
move tree limbs
with ease. - The blade's
edge remained
sharp and
feathered with no
problem. So far,
we're impressed. - The jimping
on the spine
was able to saw
through logs and
branches with
ease. - Notching was
another task the
damaged SXB
tackled with
no problems.
Shucks, we're
really starting to
admire this knife.
Hunted familiar. When I first saw this knife, I thought it
was the most bat-sh*t insane-looking knife I’d ever seen.
It weighs almost 2 pounds and is massive. This thing
looked like it would cut and kill everything! And then I
thought, of course it will — it’s heavy, sharp, and brand
new. But what if it were jacked up? Rusted, chipped, bent
... how well would it work then?
Humans have to endure survival situations with the
odds stacked against them all the time — and EJ had to
do it naked (see Issue 24 of this magazine). When you
go into a tough situation, your gear has to hold up to
your pace; otherwise you might be screwed. Of course,
a brand-new knife is the best for a survival situation, but
since nothing is ideal in real survival, I set out to take this
knife and beat the ever-living hell out of it — and then
test it out. Oh boy, a guiltless little pleasure, to take a free
knife and do whatever you want with it. Have you ever
thrown a $300 knife at a target and watched it bounce
off a rock?123