Swamp Rat Knives Chopweiler Knife in Green/Black Micarta

I have blogged in previous posts on the Busse Family of Knives. The Scrapper 6 was covered in a previous post, and this week I will talk a bit on the Scrap Yard offering called the Chopweiler. I don't really know where to start on this knife other than to say it's a handful. Made of Swamp Rat's SR101 Steel, Chopweilers  feature a differential heat treat. Differential Heat Treating is an interesting feature not often found in commercially made blades because of the extra time and expense required. In a nutshell the the bottom half of the blade is quenched to a different hardness than the top half of the blade allowing for good edge retention at the bottom with a tougher spine on the top. Blade Width on the knife is 1-3/4" and around 7.5" long with a massive 1" choil included, leaving the usable blade length at 6.5". Overall Blade length is 13.25" with a spine thickness of a quarter inch! I would put the weight of this chopper at over a pound! The Carved  Micarta Handles are curved to fit the hand perfectly for chopping and are right around 5.5" long. I did not have any trouble with hot spots on my hands that I typically get with carved micarta. The handles are striking in appearance, and really add a bunch to the character of the knife. I put the blade through it's paces on pin oak and holly a couple weekends back and was very impressed. The knife really performs more like a hatchet than a blade when chopping heavy brush and limbs. The heat treat on the steel was exceptional and it needed little touch up after several hours of chopping. The over sized choil allowed for me to choke way up on the blade safely for smaller work around the camp when I needed to. This blade could no doubt fill the role of a "1 Blade Only" type camping, hunting or survival scenario. I intend to take it Hog Hunting this fall and will be interested to see how it does on skinning and boning out an entire boar without sharpening. I continue to be impressed by all the Busse Kin Knife Offerings and look forward to doing more short reviews on them in the future.



Salmon Oleander

Finally gave up on my Azaleas and planted Oleander at the homestead today. The Azaleas just could not handle the Texas Heat and required constant water. The Oleander is very drought tolerant and blooms constantly. We had a light breeze today in Leon County and it was a wonderful morning to plant. We dove hunted in the early morning and then I planted these around 10AM. I am looking forward to less watering, and the nice salmon colored blooms throughout the Texas Fall.



Grape Vine Cordage

While watching wildlife today I grabbed a very green muskadine vine and peeled the bark off, which came off in very long strips. I proceeded to make an eight inch section of reverse wrap cordage with it as watched the woods around me come to life this morning. I went to pull it apart as I got up to leave, and was amazed that I could not break it between my thumbs and index fingers, even when wrapped! Grape vines do really well in East Texas even during drought (massive root systems), so this will be a good cordage source for me. I have never used green grape vine bark for cordage before, but this thin little piece has made me a believer!

John Greco MST Knife Review

This will be an attempt at a brief review of the John Greco MST Survival/Tactical Knife. Here are the specs:

Blade Description; 8670 high carbon steel by .200" thick, OAL 10-1/2",
Blade Length 5"
Handle: Black Micarta with SS fittings
Sheath: Black leather with snap around belt loop

The maker was described below at a knife show by poster "Stainz" in a knife forum I am a member of:

"A slight man, with lots of grey hair, he will talk to you... appreciative of good company, I suppose, because of his self described austere cabin life in Kentucky. I like John - and look forward to our talks".

John frequents knife shows and has somewhat of a following on the forums.
You can't help but like John Greco. All the correspondence I had with this fine man during the purchase process started with: "Hope you are having a great day."

When I communicated with John he said that MST stands for "Mid Sized Tactical". He describes the grinds as flat but they do have some saber/compound characteristics to them as they are not full height flat ground. I heard about these knives by accident from a guy I have bought Scrapyard Knives from. He had one listed and it caught my eye.



To me this knife is somewhat of a hybrid, bridging that gap between tactical and bushcraft perfectly. The wonderful website "Zknives" describes 8670 steel as a "War Steel" first concieved to conserve alloy during WWII. I had never heard of 8670 Steel so it got me interested. My research later pointed toward this steel as basically being "L6 Lite" as it mimics L6 but lacks some of it's alloys. Nickel was higher than in many knife steels I've used and this combined with lower carbon around (.75)translated directly into the knife being very,very tough. Heat treat was oustanding. Edge holding after a tough day in the field was very respectable.

see Alloy Level Chart Below from Znives:

The knife is very thick for it's size coming in at 1/5 of an inch, so I had a high comfort level batoning it and beating it into things during the field test. Batoning on Pin Oak Firewood was no problem for the MST. It just blasted through anything. There were no deformations on the blade after batoning, so making fuzz sticks afterward was not a problem.

Alloy Level was good as my Firesteel threw all nature and color of beautiful sparks off the jimping at the spine.........

The only place I could track manufacture of 8670 was to Germany. Germany is very picky about it's steel making process so the presence of high and stable alloy made sense.

Jimping on the spine was adequate, but I am going to have to extend the jimping down the spine an inch or so, as the jimping is too short and too close to the handle. The Micarta Scales were getting scorched by the firesteel. Not a dealbreaker really for me, but over time it will cause embrittlement in the scale. They do however provide good "Choke Up" traction for camp work just as they are, which was most likely the intent.



Overall I am very impressed with the MST. John has put a great deal of thought and outdoor experience into the design, balance, type of steel, thickness, size, grinds, and features of this knife. Stainless Steel Hardware is a nice plus to work with. I have yet to remove the scales and cord wrap it, but most likely will at some point as John has well thought out placement of a hole at the ricasso and and a glassbreaker style tip to facilitate cord wrapping, spear use, or whatever you can think up. John runs an Ebay Summer Customer Appreciation Sale that I lucked into. I think he closes up shop and travels some during the summer, so this clears out his stock. I lucked into my MST for around $60.00 bucks, but they frequently sell for well North of that at shows and on forums. Communication from the maker was outstanding , and he sent a hand written thank you note with the knife, saying to call anytime with questions or concerns. The knives can be purchased at any time on John's Website where he has an impressive line of his other designs including Bowies and Folders in 8670, some in mirror finish!

The MST sells for $125.00 on the website, and includes a nice, full welt leather sheath! Wow!

http://www.grecoknives.com/

I have read on the forums that John's Folders are basically bomb proof and I intend to get one and review it here before the summer sale ends. If it's built anything like this MST my great grand kids will still be carrying it one day. Thanks John for the great knife and you have made me customer.

Daddy, your knife reviews are silly...Let's go to the woods now!



My Review of Men's Newmarket 9-Eye Moc Toe

Originally submitted at Timberland

Rugged, durable and hard-wearing: the Men's Newmarket 9-Eye Moc Toe. Inspired by the simple lines of our heritage, this relaxed, casual style really gets back to basics.

Men's Newmarket 9-Eye Moc Toe

Newmarket Old Style Moc Toe Boot

By FHM615 from East Texas on 6/17/2011

 

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels half size too big

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Comfortable

Describe Yourself: Outdoorsman

I have a narrow foot and these Moc Toes don't slip at all. I also love the Old World Style.

(legalese)

Friend in the Garden!

This little guy was hanging 10 in the garden today on one of my plant barrels. He looks like he could take out some plant pests if he wanted to! Probably looking for a drink however as water is the top priority of most creatures here right now.... The drought here in East Texas has been a challenge. We really need some rain!





Dragonfly Lake Day Trip with my sons (Leon County Texas)

Took the boys to Dragonfly Lake yesterday to fish, hunt dragonflys, play with the knives, and just cut loose. Even in the midst of the East Texas Drought, nature endures, adapts, and thrives. It was a great recharger from the work week to just enjoy the scenery with the boys. Hope everyone enjoys.

Peace-