Well, maybe not this time...

As you know, I'm a great fan of the Graham Brother Razels and their licensed copies made by CRKT.

Since the larger Graham Brothers version can cost over 700 dollars (and I didn't want to break a 1,000 dollar bill in which we gurus are paid) I decided to try the CRKT knife first.

My intention was to create a wilderness campfire knife, suitable for both campers and outdoor cooks. Nice idea, bad follow-through.

When I unwrapped the knife for the first view I got scared, like a little girl! The thing is huge, thick, and I mean thicker than any blade blank I've seen in quite some time. Over 1/4 inch thick, well over.

Yes, it's good for campfire living. Yes, Locutus could live out where the buffalo roam with this and only this incredible device. But if he wanted to flip flapjacks, he's have to worry first about cutting through the bottom of the skillet.

Kindling would be no problem. You can fell saplings, or just splinter whatever wood you may have on hand, like an old army packing crate.

I was carrying this thing out to my truck and two joggers just threw me their wallets and ran. ('Thank you' to Mr. John AusVenner and Mr. Bill Brunhill, dinner was delicious and the public appreciates that you are organ donors...)

It's a great knife, but I'm not sure it has a place in cooking, that is unless you are really roughing it. The blade is just too big for the normal chores a traditional campfire knife fills, and I'm not even sure the thing would serve a chuckwagon honcho.

Quartering a moose, definitely. Serving a mousse' probably not.

Well, while I watched/listened to Stargate Atlantis, my stellar guru skills to put a mirror finish on a prybar. Yikes.

Yes, the thing is incredibly sharp. The steel alloy and the HT have made this edge hard, to the max. If Jim Bowie would have had this knife he would have burned his own. I've never seen anything like it.

But as Locutus and I discussed this evening, "Okay, now we have it, what do we do with it?"

Holding to the idea of cooking and food, I can see a knife of this design and the quality of this example to be used in blocking or breaking down a large carcass. And I've seen that. One restaurant wanted to have their sous-chefs cut their own portion size.

Even the razor sharp trademark Veff Serations on the spine could easily process sinew and silver during any blocking operation.

But I find the kudus end there. If you're not a wilderness outfitter, if you do not butcher your own meat on a regular basis, or if you have a more refined collection of edged processing implements, this knife is just overkill.

Now, having said that, this SS7 model is hard to find. They were back-ordered for months, in fact, not only was this the first one I could purchase, it is the first one I have ever held.

In my neck of the woods we often refer to edged tools like this as "truck knives." You carry it in a truck, because it's too heavy with which to hike. The imagined concept is that if a dire emergency befalls the owner, he has this big semi-sword.

Yeah, this knife does that.

Sure is wicked looking. I have 50 acres that I play on with ATV's and hike through on occasion. A knife like that would come in handy for all the multi flora throny stuff that grows so fast and covers established trails 5 minutes after you passed.
I have tried a big and smaller machete and the smaller worked better. Easier to handle in tight spots ....that's why I think the knife you have shown would work even better ..especially with the saw edge.

Doc said:

I have 50 acres that I play on with ATV's and hike through on occasion. A knife like that would come in handy.

Click to expand...

Oh, did I mention I sell knives...

I did fail to mention that this knife comes with a kydex sheath and it has one of those "universally adjustable" placement attachments that allow you to strap or hang the knife in any direction. The sides of the sheath have numerous holes drilled into the sides, and the (re)placement of four screws changes the carrying angle. Even to upside down.

As you know, tinkers/bikers have kind and generous hearts. We're givers, traveling bands of warmth and kindness.

I got into this knife for a ridiculously low price. If you allow me a small profit...

Hey, sounds very good to me. PM me the details.

Now DOC, you do realize this isn't a scalpel, don't you???
(Unless of course you're a veterinarian operating on hippos!! )

Funny Locutus. Na ....I've never found any hippos on the back 40 so far.

I will tell you one funny thing about cutlery, the concept of "size" changes with familiarity.

For example, let's say that a client wants a new gyuto, and he describes this new purchase in terms of a "bigger knife." I show him an eight inch model and a ten inch model. He orders the eight inch one because the ten incher is just "way too big."

Of course, a week later he calls and asks if I have anything in fourteen inches.

And so it is with this SS7. I ordered one with the foolish notion that I might be able to sharpen one for outdoor cooking. Yikes, the thing looked like a claymoor when I pulled it out of the box. And it initially felt like trying to sharpen a propellor on the Queen Mary.

However, a day has passed. The knife is sitting next to my computer. I play with the stupid thing as I post. I began to think, "Hey, it's not so big."

Of course, now I like it. And I just opined if a SS9 was in the works...

Take a look at the Jerry Hossum designed Spyderco Forester!

Yup, I just hit ask.com and scoped out the video. Same idea as the SS7.

Now, I don't think I ever whacked through a 2x2 in my entire life (or needed to, actually), but it's somehow comforting to have the tools to accomplish it. Must be the romance in most guys.

I bought my F-150, and all of the accessories, for prairie dogs. That's eleven years ago.

But now the big question. We now know what doesn't work. And manly men do traverse the wilderness, and camp and fish in solitude. They need to eat.

So if a "campfire knife" is to be used, just who makes the best? And just what size is useable and portable?