UPDATE : Newt Livesay is no longer making knives after several years of consistent problems with unable to fill customer orders.
The RCM is made by stock removal out of 1095 high carbon steel, with a differential heat treat used which leaves the edge at 59-60 RC. The blade is fully glass bead blasted under a black parkarized coat. The overall length is 18 inches with a cutting length of 11 3/4 inches. The Micarta handle scales are secured with two solid brass cutlery screws and epoxy. There is a lanyard hole lined with stainless steel tubing. The sheath is custom formed out of Kydex with a drainage hole. There is no extended Kydex lip for security but a retention strap across the grip holds the blade securely in the sheath.
The RCM has a full flat grind one 3/16" stock, growd down to 0.17" at the spine. The edge was ground decently acute with a 20 degree bevel. There was a slight roll to the edge which was removed with a few passes on an 800 grit ceramic rod producing shaving sharpness aside from one patch in the middle of the blade about 1/2 an inch long that was a bit rough but other than that the edge would now push cut paper. The handle is decently ergonomic but a little thin. The overall level of fit and finish was high, with strong attention to detail such as a fully rounded spine.
Due to past problems with catastrophic failure on hard wood limbing with long blade, this use was described to Newt Livesay to check confirm the suitability of the RCM.his products. His reply (ref):
I think the "high energy impact" cuts against hardwood targets would be a challenge for most blades, but I know the RCM, RTAK, & WASP knives will handle this type of usage.
The RCM was used alongside the Battle Mistress, limbing soft woods, Pine and Fir, gradually working up to harder woods, trees in low light conditions where the wood had died and dried out becoming very hard. The branches were mostly small, about 1/4" to 3/4" with the occasional one being 1" or slightly more. The blades were alternated every 100 chops or so.
After the first 100 chops the thin grip on the RCM had started to induce discomfort in the hand. Here a firm grip with a locked wrist was being used, this handle would be better suited to a loose grip allowing the blade to pivot around the index finger and thus snapping into the wood. Firm grip chopping however lowers the chance of glancing and offers more power with heavier blades especially on the follow through.
With use of a thick rawhide glove the chopping continued and the RCM appeared to have an advatnage over the Battle Mistress, which would be expected as it is significantly thinner and slightly longer. However after 500 chops the RCM rippled along the edge. The major edge damage was a bend about one millimeter mm or so to the side for about 3.5 centimeters wide. This deformation ran about a centimeter deep. There was also a smaller similar dent below the main one.
Cutting was stopped to prevent further damage, repeated impacts would increase the deformation eventually leading to ductile failure. The Battle Mistress was not bothered by the 500 chops.
UPDATE : it would have been informative to have measured the edge thickness behind the primary bevel and behind the dent.
Livesays comments on the performance of the RCM :
a quote :
We had the knife x-rayed and a test ran by an independent testing lab earlier last month. The report and accompanying x-ray photos showed no apparent internal structural damage. A series of Rockwell test were done on the blade also, and in only one case was a low number (Rockwell hardness) shown on any part of the blade. I feel that this Rockwell hardness should have been higher (harder) at this location on the blade, which was 1/3 of the way up the center from the cutting edge.
A refund was issued for the cost of the blade and shipping.
While it was easy to place an order for the RCM, actually getting the blade was much more difficult. The due date for the RCM was three weeks but it took over four months for the blade to arrive with multiple missed dates along the way. Similar when it was returned. There was no notification of arrival, and it was three months before the maker gave a reply.
The RCM was used for some limbing and quickly took gross damage, which was attributed to a fault in the steel by the maker. More extensive work was done with the RTAK from the same maker.
Comments can be sent via email : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com and seen in the following ARCHIVED thread :
| Last updated : | Wed Jun 23 22:53:56 NDT 2004 |
| Originally written: | 03-04-2000 |