THE CRKT SKEGGOX IS A HANDY CHOPPER THAT CAN HANDLE THE TOUGH CHORES
Make no mistake about it, I really like my huge knives. However on most of my outings, I’m not restricted to 1 knife as my solely device. After I head to the woods, I’m not barefoot, bare or afraid. I’m normally ready with all the pieces I want as a result of I need my time there to be satisfying and never a survival problem.
As a part of that “ready” philosophy, I’m extra apt to pack a mid-sized knife, a noticed, and both an axe, a hatchet or a tomahawk. That measurement knife is best for intricate duties, and a very good noticed, along with a device designed particularly for chopping, do a way more environment friendly job of turning huge wooden into small wooden.
Not too long ago, I had an opportunity to work with a few odds-on favorites for 2 of the blades in any most well-liked device trifecta. Each are comparatively new choices from Columbia River Knife & Instrument. The primary is the Skeggox axe and the second is the Ramadi fixed-blade knife.
ONE HANDY HATCHET
Is it a one-handed axe, a hatchet or a tomahawk? I’ll depart the definitions to you, however the Skeggox by any identify is simply as candy. That identify, by the way in which, is derived from the Outdated Norse bearded axe courting again as early because the sixth Century and subsequently utilized by the Vikings as each a device and a weapon.
This new CRKT Skeggox might be employed in related functions at the moment. It options an total size of 12.94 inches. That’s nearly proper because it supplies sufficient size for good leverage when chopping, but is compact sufficient for packing on nearly any outing. I’ve by no means appreciated these little shorty hatchets that compromise a lot of the device’s chopping energy for the sake of portability.
The Skeggox is a full-tang design – it’s one steady piece of metallic from the toe of the bit to the tip of the deal with knob. It’s manufactured from SK-5 metal, 0.025-inch thick, that’s powder coated for additional corrosion resistance.
I’ve different blades in SK-5 and I’ve at all times been glad with this metal’s efficiency. The leading edge is a beneficiant 4.83 inches, a lot of that the “beard” that hangs down significantly beneath the top of the device.
The complete-tang building means you’ll by no means have to interchange the deal with, though the device’s lengthy beard would defend the higher a part of the deal with from errant strikes anyway. The beard additionally means that you can choke as much as the highest of the deal with for planing or shaving wooden, skinning recreation, and even some ulu-style meals processing.
As a weapon, the beard might be used to hook and parry the opponent’s arm or weapon in close-quarters fight, leaving him open to a counter-strike.
CURVE AHEAD
The Skeggox was created for CRKT by James Williams of Vass, North Carolina, and I believe he did an particularly good job at designing the form of the deal with. It has curves in all the fitting locations, together with an upturned knob on the finish that may preserve your grip locked in the place you will have the utmost leverage for taking probably the most highly effective swings.
The Skeggox weighs 1.63 kilos that’s distributed properly to provide the impression of adequate heft whereas not being so heavy that you simply’ll need to depart it residence.
The tang is roofed on either side with glass-reinforced nylon (GRN) scales which might be bolted on. The scales have a little bit of texturing and that’s wonderful. However I don’t need an excessive amount of texturing on an axe, machete, or any chopping device that might depart my author’s fingers uncooked in brief order. There’s a lanyard gap, too.
The Skeggox comes with a really good thermoplastic sheath that ought to be impervious to the weather. It’s good to have a pleasant sheath on a device that you simply’ll be toting alongside typically and never simply hanging on a device rack in your storage.
The Skeggox suits into it from the opening on the backside of the sheath and there’s a nylon strap with quick-release buckle to safe it. Each a belt clip and MOLLE-style attachment clips are supplied for a number of mounting choices on the belt or pack.
A CLOSE SHAVE
Throughout use, I discovered the Skeggox did a very good job pruning limbs and taking good-sized chunks out of small logs with every contact. I break up some small items of wooden and the Skeggox carried out effectively, however remember the fact that with its skinny profile, it’s not likely designed for heavy-duty splitting.
You’d desire a extra wedge-shaped head for that, which might additionally present a wider ballot for hammering.
“…THE BEARD ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO CHOKE UP TO THE TOP OF THE HANDLE FOR PLANING OR SHAVING WOOD, SKINNING GAME, OR EVEN SOME ULU-STYLE FOOD PROCESSING.”
I took benefit of the Skeggox’s ample beard to strive shaving some wooden. This device got here with a really sharp edge and when choking up on the deal with that edge was straightforward to regulate. Creating tinder or rough-shaping wooden for campcraft initiatives could be no downside for the Skeggox.
WORTHY ADDITION
If I needed to stack a winter’s value of wooden, this isn’t the device I’d need, and sure, there is perhaps some few events after I is perhaps higher served with a machete. No, I haven’t had the chance but to journey to South America, the place I’d have to hack my means by means of a jungle environment, and to be trustworthy, that’s not on the prime of my listing of trip locations anyway.
All issues thought-about for the areas I most frequent, I’ll most likely stick with my three-tool equipment that features a knife, a noticed and a hatchet. The CRKT Skeggox would really feel proper at residence in that group.
Not too long ago having the fitting instruments paid off. My spouse and I rented a cottage in Golden, Colorado for a number of days and an in a single day storm introduced down branches throughout us. Our 88-year-old hostess went exterior the following morning with a pair of hedge clippers to deal with the issue, however wasn’t faring effectively.
I had a folding noticed and a hatchet with me as a result of we had anticipated tenting alongside the way in which on this journey. Additionally, I used these instruments to chop the branches all the way down to a manageable measurement for her in order that they might be eliminated. I wouldn’t have wished to deal with the job with an enormous knife alone.
THE SPECS
Mannequin: CRKT Skeggox
Designer: James Williams
Kind: Axe/Hatchet
Metal: SK-5 with powder- coat end
General Size: 12.94 inches
Blade Size: 4.83 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.25 inch
Deal with: Glass-Bolstered Nylon (GRN) over full tang
Sheath: Thermoplastic, 5.5 ounces
Weight: 1.63 kilos
Origin: Taiwan
MSRP: $150
THE CRKT RAMADI MAKES A GREAT SIDEKICK
Whereas I’d pack the Skeggox with me on many events, I’ll at all times be carrying a knife. The CRKT Ramadi is a superb alternative both as a companion blade to the axe and noticed or as a stand-alone blade.
Darrin William Sirois designed this fastened blade in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It measures 8.5 inches total and is manufactured from powder-coated SK-5 metal that’s 0.17-inch thick.
The sting measures 4.37 inches. The sting has a little bit of a recurve to it that may make it a very good slicer. The blade seems to be a drop level in configuration, with only a trace of an upturn on the very tip. It is going to be a very good penetrator. The Ramadi is a knife that may deal with the camp chores and self-defense obligation, too.
The deal with scales are G10. The thermoplastic sheath holds the knife safe and it comes with a detachable belt clip for a number of mounting choices.
THE SPECS
Mannequin: CRKT Ramadi
Kind: Fastened-blade knife
Designer: Darrin William Sirois
General Size: 8.5 inches
Blade Size: 4.37 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.17 inch
Metal: SK-5 with powder-coat end
Deal with: G10
Weight: 5.6 ounces
Sheath: Thermoplastic (1 ounce)
Origin: Taiwan
MSRP: $87
SOURCE
Columbia River Knife & Instrument (CRKT)
A model of this text first appeared within the July 2022 subject of American Outside Information Boundless.
The publish CHOPPER REVIEW: THE CRKT SKEGGOX appeared first on American Outdoor Guide.
