Gunfighter Design: Onerous Use Instruments for Critical Individuals

Rob Ziarnick, founder and proprietor of Gunfighter Design, has been designing and making blades for over 5 years and determined it was time to check the boundaries of his product. He reached out and requested if I might take a superbly crafted, handmade knife and, “put it via an insane quantity of abuse and write about it”. When Rob supplied to ship me a pattern of his POPS (Skilled Outdoorsman Precision Skinner) MK2 and submit it to some gnarly testing, how might I refuse?

Gunfighter Design has an attention-grabbing story that began again in 2018. With the objective of creating a terrific knife, the unique design was a lounge collaboration with Rob’s pal and colleague Michael Baccellierli (aka Buck). Each Buck and Rob frolicked addressing the shortcomings they encountered with knives previously. Each have been Marines and Snipers who broke knives whereas on fight deployments. Power, ergonomics, performance, and usefulness in multiple job  result in their prototype design, the Ravens Head. The double thumb reduction or DTR was born, in addition to the concept to include a glass breaker. After making the primary Ravens Head in a small propane forge with a chunk of 80CrV2, it despatched Rob on a journey of creating knives as a enterprise. Simply as he was getting began, he was struck by a drunk driver, and was uncertain if he might ever bladesmith once more. However Rob is as robust because the knives he makes, and was again within the bladesmithing saddle very quickly. Partnering with Eric Moser, a retired Inexperienced Beret Sniper, machinist, and somebody who additionally had expertise with knives breaking in fight, they started manufacturing with a brand new and improved design.

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 Movies of all types of blade destruction assessments exist, however I didn’t need to wreck a superbly good knife only for the sake of seeing it damaged. At the very least not at first. I made a decision that I needed to push its limits in a purposeful sense, earlier than seeing what it’d truly take to bodily injury it past restore. Most knives are sometimes able to performing three primary features, piercing, chopping and slicing. The POPS MK2 was going to be evaluated on its skill to retain its edge and authentic design specs, whereas performing these features throughout testing.

The  Blade

 POPS MK2 is an absolute beast of a blade, not as a result of it is the longest mounted blade on the market, however due to its design and composition. Constituted of CPM 3V, it is cast from powdered, excessive carbon metal with a excessive quantity of vanadium. Crucible Particle Metallurgy, designated by the CPM has a a lot finer grain sample, and a extra even dispersion of alloy components. 3V signifies that the metal has round 3 % vanadium, which is particularly used to extend hardness and edge retention. CPM 3V is specialised metal that’s usually utilized in industrial shear blades, or business forging punches, however Gunfighter Design is utilizing it within the type of a skinning knife!

Above: A number of supplies have been chosen to check the blades hardness, sharpness and sturdiness. These embrace seasoned maple batons, a brass rod, and a copper tube.

The blade itself is 3.5 inches, and eight inches over all, with a girthy width of 5mm. A purposeful glass breaker is floor into the top of the butt, and titanium eyelets maintain G10 deal with slabs in place. For a hard and fast blade on the quick finish of the spectrum, it has sufficient mass to let weight and gravity do many of the reducing work. It is a thick, large blade, and the bevel skirts the border between meat cleaver and hatchet. One of the crucial distinctive options is its Double Thumb Aid on the backbone of the blade. Inserting your thumb on the backbone when holding a knife is usually referred to as the “saber grip”, and it’s used to increase your attain. Including a reduction notch affords extra management, and the second reduction notch allows you to work the blade with extra dexterity in tight locations.

 Fundamental Assessments

 Earlier than moving into the intense efficiency assessments, I needed to ascertain a comparatively easy baseline of its reducing capabilities. Probably the greatest methods to do that is just letting the sting slice via a chunk of ordinary printer paper. The sting of the POPS does this simply sufficient, though the width of the blade slows down its momentum. That is completely superb because the blade is made for breaking bone and reducing via ligaments and sinew. Because it’s a model new knife, there are not any chips or rolls alongside the sting. Now that I do know that it is sharp and can slice simply, it is time to check its piercing and chopping efficiency.

Above: Having the ability to easily slice a chunk of printer paper is a simple approach to check a blades’ sharpness.

For chopping, I’ve three gadgets of various densities: wooden, copper and brass. First up is a seasoned arduous maple baton. Summoning my interior Jay Nielson, I swing the POPS into the wooden with as a lot drive as I can muster. The blade chews via the baton like a hungry beaver, leaving the sting completely intact. So as to add additional drive behind it, I take advantage of a second baton and hit the backbone of the blade to drive the sting into the wooden deeper. To take away it from the wooden, I pry the blade so far as I can backwards and forwards. The metal stays straight, and the sting stays true. Turning it on its level, I baton the blade tip-first into the wooden so far as I can go, prying it backwards and forwards to take away it. POPS stares again at me unphased.

Above: Seasoned sugar maple is a hardwood that can give an axe a run for its cash, however its only a stroll within the park for the POPS MK2.

 Okay, nice, it might probably deal with wooden, nothing supernatural about that, so lets strive it towards some gentle metals. POPS is batoned into copper pipe, after which right into a brass rod. The copper pipe is minimize and bent, and the brass rod is minimize via as nicely. Nonetheless the sting of the POPS stays in pristine situation. No rolls, no chipping. Possibly among the anodized end is blemished, however past that, it is like nothing ever occurred. I do a observe up slice check on the paper and see a slight lower in sharpness. However after just a few passes on an 800 and 1000 grit stone, and slightly stroping, it is slicing higher than ever. 

Above: Copper has a hardness between 45 and 50 on the Rockwell Hardness Scale (HRC).

At this level, I really feel the POPS MK2 has held as much as greater than would ever be requested of it, even in probably the most troublesome settings. It may be pried with out dropping its straightness. If it might probably minimize via brass, it might probably certainly minimize via bone unphased. Clearly the warmth therapy–a knife making course of that impacts the standard of metal hardness–was accomplished expertly. The sting sharpened simply, and over all, I’d rank this as a high notch looking knife. Sadly for the POPS, I used to be requested to punish the blade, and wanted to crank issues up a notch to push it to its limits.

Above: Brass, a composite of zinc and copper, has a hardness of round 30 HRC.

 The Punishment

 I need to preface this by stating, on the report, that I really like handmade knives, and I cringe each time I see destruction testing taken to the intense. Somebody’s arduous work, ability and time goes into each blade, and to purposefully destroy one appears disrespectful to me. So simply know, that what I’m about to do might have been tougher on me than it was on the knife.

 On a knife, the tip is without doubt one of the weakest, if not the weakest level. Any inconsistencies within the warmth therapy may cause the tip to bend or break. I already know the tip of the POPS can maintain as much as hardwood and gentle metallic, however what about chipping its method via ice? For this punishment, I’m not utilizing your regular, clear, run-of-the-mill ice. As an alternative I chip my method via 4 inches of stamp sand and gravel that is been frozen stable and compacted by a county snow plow over the course of a number of months. After a number of minutes of steady chipping, POPS survives! The tip didn’t break, bend or roll, and it didn’t lose a lot of its sharpness. The truth is, I’d go as far as to say a gap could possibly be augered for ice fishing utilizing this blade for those who have been in a pinch.

Above: Chipping via a concrete combination of ice and gravel proved to be a boring problem for the POPS MK2.

Punishment quantity two is a check of its total integrity. To date I have been focusing primarily on the sting and its performance, and total it appears bullet proof. However what in regards to the deal with and the remainder of its development? To seek out out what this factor is fabricated from, I place the knife flat on the gravel strewn ice pack, and soar in my truck. Every truck tire exerts roughly 1,400lbs of contact strain with the bottom, and since I am transferring, that strain is rolling alongside the width of the blade at totally different factors at totally different instances. Any issues with the warmth therapy or deal with development will trigger a vital failure of the blades integrity. First I again over the POPS with the rear tire, then the entrance tire, then drive ahead and get it with the entrance, then once more with the rear tire. POPS has been pushed over 4 instances. Then I repeat this course of 4 extra instances for good measure for a complete of 20 instances. At one level I turned nervous in regards to the blade going via the tread of my tires, however I threat all of it for the sake of science!

Above: The POPS MK2 awaits being run over, repeatedly, by a full dimension pickup truck.

Getting out of my truck, I stroll round to see what occurred to my beloved tanky POPS, and… it survives! Not solely did it survive, nevertheless it appears utterly indestructible at this level. The backbone of the blade remains to be straight, the G10 deal with slabs haven’t come unfastened, and if there’s any injury in any respect, it is solely to the anodized end. Even the G10 seems unscathed after cleansing it up a bit.

At this level I am going through a little bit of a conundrum. I used to be requested to brutalize this factor, and other than throwing it within the fires of Mount Doom, or dragon’s breath, I’m not precisely certain what else to do to check it. My thoughts wanders to taking the blade to the vary and throwing some lead at it, however lead is way softer than brass, irrespective of how arduous you toss it at one thing. The truth is, given the speed, mass, and acceleration of your widespread 9mm, you’d solely be exerting about 1,600lbs of strain on the blade. Granted, at a lot quicker speeds, however nonetheless, that is only some extra kilos than truck tires. And we simply did that twenty instances in a row. I wander via my storage in search of inspiration, and discover it within the type of a 10lb sledge hammer. Imagine it or not, relying on how briskly and arduous the swing is, a metal sledge hammer can produce astronomical quantities of strain. We’re speaking within the double digit tons of strain.

 Selecting up the sledge, and putting the POPS down reverently on the compacted ice, I placed on some security glasses, and say some last phrases to 1 stubbornly sturdy knife. Aiming for the flat of the blade, I swing the sledgehammer overhead as arduous and quick as I can. Ice and gravel spray violently in all instructions. Wiping clear the particles from my security glasses to evaluate the injury, I discover, to my astonishment… POPS survives! Simply to make sure, I swing once more. POPS survives! And once more. POPS survives! It isn’t till the sixth swing of the sledge that POPS suffers a catastrophic failure.

Above: It took an insane quantity of punishment to lastly inflict sufficient injury to trigger the blade to interrupt.

Failure occurred at the place the deal with meets the ricasso of the blade, which is a standard place for a break to occur. Close to the break, there’s a titanium eyelet, and my finest guess is that there was simply not sufficient metal in that location to soak up the ferocious influence of a number of sledgehammer blows. Apart from the break, the G10 appears slightly roughed up however nothing main contemplating what it simply went via. The blade itself is unbent, and when pieced again collectively, makes a superbly straight line.

 Conclusion

 Iron is a magical component within the palms of somebody who is aware of the right way to manipulate it. Combine it with the appropriate components and it turns into an alloy metal that takes on otherworldly properties. Within the case of the POPS MK2, it’s a metal blade that might outlast humanity if taken care of correctly. Barring industrial reducing instruments, or temperatures that exceed 2,000 ^oF, Rob, Eric and Gunfighter Design has introduced a knife to market that you can depend upon along with your life. Though the blade is now damaged, it is going to be saved as a reminder of what dedication to high quality and a spotlight to element can obtain.

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Written by Patrick Diedrich