ROCK CREEK RETROS
For the battlefield or big game, the Eland and the Oryx sport the classic lines and feel of a bygone era that’s on the brink of being born again!
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Being able to easily resharpen a blade in the field is probably more important than pure edge-holding ability for combat troops. It took me exactly 4-1/2 minutes to restore the Eland to arm-shaving sharp with this EZE-LAP diamond hone.
The Eland
Because the Eland looked like a knife I personally would have been happy to carry back in my Vietnam days, it ended up being the model I spent the most time evaluating. If all you have is a blade for a tool, you end up using it for whatever is required. As a result, military knives see all sorts of use as improvised life-savers in very abusive situations. While I personally don’t expect them to hold an edge through these demands, I do look for something that will survive without major blade damage and that can be resharpened relatively easily later.
For starters, I cut a 10-inch hole in the top of an old galvanized metal garbage can lid. Right or wrong, most combat and survival knives usually end up serving as digging tools for a wide variety of reasons so I tried digging out the roots of some sour dock sprouting in our garden. This experiment proved less than totally successful because dock roots seem to grow halfway to China, but it did dull the blade up even further. While not part of my original plan, I then attempted to cut the tops off a number of onions that were starting to bolt only to discover the knife’s edge was now too blunt for even that simple task.
Having dulled the blade beyond the point of any practical use, I timed myself using a small EZE-LAP diamond hone to resharpen the super-dull edge. In my opinion, these small diamond hones are the ideal sharpener for military and survival use. It only took me around 4 minutes and 30 seconds to have the knife back to arm-shaving sharp. Frankly, I was expecting it to require at least twice that long.
The Sheaths
While, as mentioned earlier, the sheaths supplied with both knives are of very heavy, double-stitched leather, they are not stained or treated for water protection in any way. I suspect those carrying the knives for military use will want to stain the leather black or dark brown. A thorough coating of a wax-based leather waterproofing product would also be a good idea.
Many of the theories about the ideal construction of a combat knife—stainless steel, Micarta handles, Kydex sheaths and the like, have their roots in the hot, wet jungles of Southeast Asia. I see no reason why the more retro materials of these CAS knives won’t be perfectly adequate in the hot, dry deserts of Iraq or the cold, snowy mountains of Afghanistan.
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March 14th, 2012 at 9:10 am
You’re wrong Rick, your prices are way out of line for a custom knife. I DARE you to find a (new) Busse that size for that price WITH a sheath. Not going to happen. Your prices are WAY out of my league at this time, but still well BELOW many other custom makers with your talent.