General - One more design of my own :) This bolo inspired blade was made by custom knifemaker Jerry Hossom.
The entire project took several months, for that I've ordered another knife from Jerry, that was the
smaller version of his Duelist. Later I've made a decision to get one more knife. And that's how the Gator was born :) I can proudly say,
that Jerry named the design after me ;) My nick, to be precise. Jerry specializes in fighting/tactical knives (although he has a whole bunch of hunting and utility designs as
well) and high-end steels, such as ATS-34, A2, M2, CPM 3V. I have more than one blade in each type of the steel listed here, I like all of them, except may be ATS-34, in turn with
Strider MH exception, all but CPM 3V were in my collection, obviously I've desiced to go with this one. CPM 3V is an
interesting alloy, that has many unique properties, I'll discuss some a little bit later.
Gator is a somewhat small bolo, with long back recurve, very lightweight, probably medium size, blade measures full 7 inches, with 12 1/4 " OAL. I have
nothing but positive to say regarding the craftsmanship of both blades from Jerry. Close attention to every detail, no matter how small. Grind lines are very nice, everything
matches perfectly. Sharpening job is also great. The Gator is the sharpest top edge I've ever seen :)
Blade
- The geometry is somewhat complicated, it's not a pure Bolo as you can see, has back recurve, fully sharpened top edge, and the saber grind. In short it was a quite chalenging task to make this one, and Jerry did it just gerat :) The bolo geometry has it's own advantages and disadvantages. It's preferable for chopping, and slicing. Though for finer cutting tasks one might find it less useful. The back recurve increases slicing abiilty of the blade, and the increase is rather significant, however adds to sharpening difficulty also significaltly :) For that type of task Edge-Pro fits just perfect though. As you can see on the pic, Gator is quite a curvy blade, the spine is slightly curved, and the edge, basically is a set of long curves. Overall, Gator is a very good slicer, and for it's size and very light weight, a pretty much good chopper too. When I was designing this knife I wasn't really looking for the chopper, but at the same time wanted a blade that'd do the job if necessary, with CPM 3V I'm confident it won't chip if I have to chop a branch or two, or sometihng tougher ;). But, in general Gator is a slicer, has relatively thin, very aggresive edge, long recurve, light weight for more controlability, basically all you need for fast slicing ;)Steel
- As stated above tha Gator is made of CPM 3V high alloy steel. This steel is produced by Crucible. The exact chemical composition of CPM 3V is: C 0.80%; Cr 7.50%; V 2.75; Mo 1.30;. Simply put CPM 3V is one of the toughest steel, S7 plus high content of vanadium. Vanadium compensates relatively low abrasive resistance of the S7. Well, things are not exactly like that, but as a simplified example this is close enough. So, the result is CPM 3V, very tough steel with good wear resistance. That all makes CPM 3V an excellent choice for large blades and swords. In short you can have a thiner blade which will offer equal lateral and impact srength as a thicker one, made out of A2 or some other steel, lighter weight, in turn allows to achieve greater speeds and maneuvrability. A2 is a very good alloy for it's purpose, and to outperform it in its area is a tough job :) From what I know so far CPM 3V is definitely superior alloy. Although I think it's a great material for large and medium blades as well. Probably toughness(in other words - impact resistance) is much more important for heavy duty, large blades, swords and other fighting knives, but one shouldn't underestimate it's importance for any blade in general. After all you don't want your blade chipping anyways. Of course everything has its purpose, and with 3 inch folder you won't need extreme toughness, most likely you'll be looking for better wear resistance :) BTW, this year (2001) first the the rummors appeared, and later they were confirmed by Chris Reeve Knives on the Bladeforums, that CRK is experimenting with CPM 3V as a future material for their one piece line. I find this news very interesting :) One piece range from CRK offers excellent pieces and this new steel will take it one level higher.Handle
- Unlike many, Jerry pays great attention to the handle design. He's got several of his exploits, and as usual tries to fit each knife to the owner, well when possible :) Both of my knievs were made for my hands, he asked for several exact measurements of my palm and fingers, and have to admit the result is excellent. Fits my hands just perfect, I find it very comfortble and secure :) Material used - green micarta, which is both, durable and cool looking for the handle material. The original plan was to use snakewood, but it became to troublesome to get a decent piece, so Jerry suggested this one. Turned out to be a good one :)To be continued...
Last updated - 06/20/08