Cutlery in Maniago, Italy was as founded in 1977 by Oreste Frati and
has long been known as a manufacturer of quality cutlery products for
civilian, military, law enforcement, rescue and other special forces.
However, seeing the need for an American based subsidiary company to directly oversee their American market Fox Knives USA was
founded in the U.S. to satisfy that need and as such, they are a
relatively new company dedicated to designing, manufacturing and
distributing high quality cutlery.
Fox Knives USA uses only those of the highest grade stainless blade
steels along with other high quality handle and sheath materials to
create knives that will appeal to the American demand for quality
cutlery at a reasonable price.
The Fox Knives Kukri is a well-designed and well-built dedicated wilderness survival knife that has an overall length of 16 inches. It has a drop point blade that measures 10 ¼ inches and is made from 0.187 thick, 56RC, 440C stainless steel. In addition, it features a highly ergonomic handle that is made from ABS plastic and it includes a heavy-duty leather sheath.
Now, those of you who have read my recent articles on this web site
are aware that lately, I have been writing about three ethnic Nepalese,
Malaysian and the Philippine outdoor camp knife designs called the Parang, the Bolo, and the Golok.
In addition, for those of you who have read my last article on the
Cold Steel Kukri, you are also aware there that there is another ethnic
Nepalese design called a “Kukri”
and that there are both eastern and western versions of this design
which differ greatly in their particular characteristics depending on
the knifesmith who made them.
Consequently, as I mentioned in my last article, the Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri is
a prime example of the “western” style Kukri with its sharply angled
spine and deep bellied recurved edge which is designed specifically for
heavy chopping tasks and vicious slashing attacks when used as a weapon.
In fact, this style of Kukri knife is still standard issue to the special regiment of the Royal Nepalese Army known as the “Brigade of Gurkhas” who are highly trained in its use as a close quarter, hand-to-hand combat weapon.
However, the Fox Knives USA Kukri is prime example of the “eastern”
Kukri design and is meant to be a far more general purpose knife.
Therefore, it has a much straighter spine and a shallower belly on
the recurved edge. But it still retains its weight forward design much
like the Philippine Bolo knife. Also, due to its moderate drop point
blade shape, it is both an effective chopping tool and an excellent
general purpose tool. The Kukri blade’s distinctive forward drop is
intended to aid the cutting action by having the edge maintain an angle
(like a guillotine) which provides more of a “slicing” action rather
than having a straight edge striking at right angles to the target.
In addition, the use of 440C stainless steel with
a black, Teflon, coating combined with ABS plastic handles make this
knife nearly impervious to nature’s elements due to the fact that 440C
has a Carbon content of 0.95% – 1.20%, a Chromium content of 16% – 18%, a
Manganese content of 1.0%, and a Molybdenum content of 0.75% which
means that it is a high carbon, stainless steel that is both very hard
and very corrosion resistant. The addition of both Manganese and
Molybdenum make the steel both stronger and tougher.
The ABS plastic handle slabs are designed to be as tough and moisture
resistant as the blade and shape of the handle combined with the
vertical ribbing are specifically designed to enable the user to retain
their grip on the knife when chopping especially when the user’s hands
are wet.
So, although the “eastern” style Malaysian Kukri knife design appears very similar to the Philippine Bolo knife
design to me, I can see that there are definite differences and yet,
each knife is imminently well-suited for use as a wilderness survival
knife.
No comments:
Post a Comment