Brownie
04-19-2006, 07:45 PM
SteveTarani/Blade-tech Journeyman Karambit Review
I received the Journeyman karambit from Sandy at http://www.karambit.com. Opening the box it came in, I was impressed with the "feel" of this knife.
From the manufacturer's website:
Designed and manufactured with the same integrity as the Master's folding model, the Journeyman Karambit Utility Knife is an outstanding example of superior workmanship at an affordable cost. The industry standard 154CM steel blade and the textured black 30% glass-filled reinforced polymer handle are locked into position by the same exact Front Lock system as the Master's Model. Made by Blade-Tech.
I immediately noticed the textured 30% glass-filled reinforced polymer knife felt "soft" in the hand. By soft, I mean the handle feels very smooth like a bar of soap. It has no 90 degree or radiused "edges" to it anywhere. The knife came set up the same way as the masters model which is for right handed saber grip deployment from the pocket.
I attempted to deploy the Journeyman in reverse grip at pocket level and was pleasantly surprised that this model was capable of opening into the reverse grip with little effort. I then changed the clip so that it could be carried on the right front pocket in reverse grip. I loctited the clip screws, took the pivot screw out and tensioned the screw until there was no lateral play when locked in the open position. I then left the knife to sit for 24 hours to set the loctite.
The next day I picked up the knife, put it into the right front pocket and practiced deploying it in reverse grip a few dozen times. The Journeyman model is quite capable of reverse grip deployment from the pockets unlike the master's model. I believe that the glass filled polymer has less drag on the knife blade than the g-10 handle of the masters' model, which allows this. I'm of the impression that the polymer used in this model is "slick" against the side of the blade and makes for a very smooth, low drag opening.
See photo #01
I carried the knife for a week as my primary EDC [every day carry] in the right front pocket of Dockers and jeans. I deployed the knife close to 300 times into reverse grip from the pocket in that time and did not notice any loosening of the pivot screw or clip screws after they had been loctited.
The first hour of the first day of spinning the knife I dug the tip into the inside area of my wrist while flipping it around. The photo shows the wound sustained from the tip biting into the wrist 3/16" deep, measured by the blades mark afterwards. All I can say about this is [WARNING: Do not attempt to flip or spin the karambit without wearing some form of gauntlet]. I should have taken the time to wear the leather gauntlet and as you can see from the picture, it would have saved the wrist from this damage.
See photo #2
I have had the Tarani aluminum trainer for a year and have practiced the techniques of spinning the knife in reverse grip as well as from retracted to extended position and back thousands of times. I was confident that I would not get bit right away, but I was wrong. Even with that much practice, mistakes can and will occur so please be diligent and wear a leather gauntlet while practicing with the live bladed Journeyman or master's model. As you can see from the photo of the wrist, it missed a vein by 1/16" and fortunately no tendons or nerves were injured when the tip penetrated. No emergency run was necessary----this time.
In spinning the knife around by its ring, I noticed a few things worth mentioning. The knife had no roughness to it as mentioned earlier. I also noticed that the knife spun more blade heavy, and that helps with using the centrifugal forces while flipping it around by the ring. Apparently the handle material being somewhat lighter than the g-10 masters model allows the weight distribution to favor the opened blade. This allows, in a more positive way, keeping the blade moving around the index finger placed in the ring.
I had initially attempted accessing the closed Journeyman from the pocket with the index finger placed inside the ring. I found right away this was not the best way for me to deploy from the pocket and open the blade quickly. I "played" with various methods of accessing the knife and which ways allowed faster deployment of the blade after it had cleared the pocket, keeping in mind the need for a solid grip once opened and grasped in "retracted" [reverse grip].
See the rest of the photos
Summary and conclusions:
I like the Journeyman more than the masters' model in a few ways. I like the "feel" of the polymer in the hand and though I don't think it is better than the g-10 masters model, it feels great to me. I like how it is blade heavy when opened which helps keep the knife moving around ones index finger, when moving it from the retracted to extended postions, around by the ring. I like that it can be carried in reverse grip and deployed thusly from the pocket, which the masters model is almost incapable of for me.
As an analogy others may be able to relate to relative the difference between the masters model and the Journeyman: The masters model is like a Colt Government Model 45 acp and the Journeyman is like a Glock. If you are one who doesn't like the glock platform and use of polymers, you may not like the Journeyman as well. I personally like both very much; blade-tech has done an outstanding job of executing both models. They both lock up solidly and do not unlock until the release is depressed fully which instills confidence this knife will not unlock due to inadvertent hand manipulation while in use.
The Journeyman comes with a blade made from 154cm steel. It is one of my all time favorite steels for EDC's and this models steel is no exception. It came very sharp and has a strong needle like tip that will penetrate most everything it meets with ease. I did sharpen the knife blade to my own preference with the sharpmaker upon its arrival after loctiting the screws. Now it is scary sharp which is how I carry my EDC's for personal defense.
I would like to recognize and thank Steve Tarani and Sandy at http://www.karambit.com for their assistance. I would like to recognize and thank Tim Wegner of Blade-tech (http://www.blade-tech.com) for making two excellent products in the Masters and Journeyman models of Steve Taranis' design.
I received the Journeyman karambit from Sandy at http://www.karambit.com. Opening the box it came in, I was impressed with the "feel" of this knife.
From the manufacturer's website:
Designed and manufactured with the same integrity as the Master's folding model, the Journeyman Karambit Utility Knife is an outstanding example of superior workmanship at an affordable cost. The industry standard 154CM steel blade and the textured black 30% glass-filled reinforced polymer handle are locked into position by the same exact Front Lock system as the Master's Model. Made by Blade-Tech.
I immediately noticed the textured 30% glass-filled reinforced polymer knife felt "soft" in the hand. By soft, I mean the handle feels very smooth like a bar of soap. It has no 90 degree or radiused "edges" to it anywhere. The knife came set up the same way as the masters model which is for right handed saber grip deployment from the pocket.
I attempted to deploy the Journeyman in reverse grip at pocket level and was pleasantly surprised that this model was capable of opening into the reverse grip with little effort. I then changed the clip so that it could be carried on the right front pocket in reverse grip. I loctited the clip screws, took the pivot screw out and tensioned the screw until there was no lateral play when locked in the open position. I then left the knife to sit for 24 hours to set the loctite.
The next day I picked up the knife, put it into the right front pocket and practiced deploying it in reverse grip a few dozen times. The Journeyman model is quite capable of reverse grip deployment from the pockets unlike the master's model. I believe that the glass filled polymer has less drag on the knife blade than the g-10 handle of the masters' model, which allows this. I'm of the impression that the polymer used in this model is "slick" against the side of the blade and makes for a very smooth, low drag opening.
See photo #01
I carried the knife for a week as my primary EDC [every day carry] in the right front pocket of Dockers and jeans. I deployed the knife close to 300 times into reverse grip from the pocket in that time and did not notice any loosening of the pivot screw or clip screws after they had been loctited.
The first hour of the first day of spinning the knife I dug the tip into the inside area of my wrist while flipping it around. The photo shows the wound sustained from the tip biting into the wrist 3/16" deep, measured by the blades mark afterwards. All I can say about this is [WARNING: Do not attempt to flip or spin the karambit without wearing some form of gauntlet]. I should have taken the time to wear the leather gauntlet and as you can see from the picture, it would have saved the wrist from this damage.
See photo #2
I have had the Tarani aluminum trainer for a year and have practiced the techniques of spinning the knife in reverse grip as well as from retracted to extended position and back thousands of times. I was confident that I would not get bit right away, but I was wrong. Even with that much practice, mistakes can and will occur so please be diligent and wear a leather gauntlet while practicing with the live bladed Journeyman or master's model. As you can see from the photo of the wrist, it missed a vein by 1/16" and fortunately no tendons or nerves were injured when the tip penetrated. No emergency run was necessary----this time.
In spinning the knife around by its ring, I noticed a few things worth mentioning. The knife had no roughness to it as mentioned earlier. I also noticed that the knife spun more blade heavy, and that helps with using the centrifugal forces while flipping it around by the ring. Apparently the handle material being somewhat lighter than the g-10 masters model allows the weight distribution to favor the opened blade. This allows, in a more positive way, keeping the blade moving around the index finger placed in the ring.
I had initially attempted accessing the closed Journeyman from the pocket with the index finger placed inside the ring. I found right away this was not the best way for me to deploy from the pocket and open the blade quickly. I "played" with various methods of accessing the knife and which ways allowed faster deployment of the blade after it had cleared the pocket, keeping in mind the need for a solid grip once opened and grasped in "retracted" [reverse grip].
See the rest of the photos
Summary and conclusions:
I like the Journeyman more than the masters' model in a few ways. I like the "feel" of the polymer in the hand and though I don't think it is better than the g-10 masters model, it feels great to me. I like how it is blade heavy when opened which helps keep the knife moving around ones index finger, when moving it from the retracted to extended postions, around by the ring. I like that it can be carried in reverse grip and deployed thusly from the pocket, which the masters model is almost incapable of for me.
As an analogy others may be able to relate to relative the difference between the masters model and the Journeyman: The masters model is like a Colt Government Model 45 acp and the Journeyman is like a Glock. If you are one who doesn't like the glock platform and use of polymers, you may not like the Journeyman as well. I personally like both very much; blade-tech has done an outstanding job of executing both models. They both lock up solidly and do not unlock until the release is depressed fully which instills confidence this knife will not unlock due to inadvertent hand manipulation while in use.
The Journeyman comes with a blade made from 154cm steel. It is one of my all time favorite steels for EDC's and this models steel is no exception. It came very sharp and has a strong needle like tip that will penetrate most everything it meets with ease. I did sharpen the knife blade to my own preference with the sharpmaker upon its arrival after loctiting the screws. Now it is scary sharp which is how I carry my EDC's for personal defense.
I would like to recognize and thank Steve Tarani and Sandy at http://www.karambit.com for their assistance. I would like to recognize and thank Tim Wegner of Blade-tech (http://www.blade-tech.com) for making two excellent products in the Masters and Journeyman models of Steve Taranis' design.