Knifemaker DJ Urbanovsky

[x SF med]

DJ... How long did you have to stalk the broccoli before you got the kill?

[DJ Urbanovsky]

Not long at all. Around here, all you gotta do is just throw down a salt lick, squeeze some lemon on yourself, and bang a couple of florets together.



The potatoes, on the other hand...

Originally Posted by x SF med

DJ... How long did you have to stalk the broccoli before you got the kill?

[DJ Urbanovsky]

Couple of Colubris vids I shot earlier this week. One on features and benefits, one on safety and preferred carry method. Hope these shed some light into the design of the knife.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV6YEXT99j0&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12QCfId1QfY&feature=plcp

[DIYPatriot]

Originally Posted by DJ Urbanovsky

Couple of Colubris vids I shot earlier this week. One on features and benefits, one on safety and preferred carry method. Hope these shed some light into the design of the knife.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV6YEXT99j0&feature=plcp

Just watched the first video and must admit I had a crush on this knife at 2:02 but fell in love around 6:24. Nicely done!

[MVP]

DJ,

Have you considered tapering the tangs? I know it will throw off the balance but it gives a knife a much slimmer "feel" even when the overall grip is of the same dimensions as the same knife with a flat tang.

MVP

[x SF med]

DJ, you need to send one to me for Troll testing. I won't even charge you.

[DJ Urbanovsky]

DIYPatriot: This makes me happy.

MVP: That's a good question, buddy. I have not, and here's why.

1) Less steel means less strength. If you happen to be hanging over the side of a building hanging on your knife while bad guys are shooting at you, do you want a tapered tang with lightening holes drilled in it? Probably not. You want that knife to be as strong as possible. Does the Yarborough knife have a tapered tang? No it does not. Like that knife, these knives are built to go places and do stuff. Not everybody needs a knife they can hang off of, but you never know what someone is going to end up doing with something you built. So I'll always err on the side of strength.

2) As you mentioned, that would throw the balance off. While balance is certainly an important consideration, it's not the end all be all of knife design - by virtue of their designs, some knives are simply going to be blade heavy and some are not. However, if I've got a design where everything came together just right, it wouldn't make any sense to me to change it.

3) These knives already have slim feeling handles, and additional slimness would be of no benefit to the user. In fact, it might be a hindrance - from both a retention and a comfort standpoint. Take a steel bar, hold it like you would a knife, and whack stuff with it. Not very comfortable or stable. Now do the same thing with a steel pipe. Much more comfortable and stable.

x SF med: Actually, I'm doing a pass around on another forum. I'd be happy to get you plugged into that. Same goes for the anybody else interested. There are rules, though.

[MVP]

DJ,

Really??? "If you happen to be hanging over the side of a building hanging on your knife while bad guys are shooting at you..."

I tried to say that the overall handle dimensions would be the same, not reduced. The tapered tang is compensated for by making the scales thicker.

Found this in a quick internet search: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Tapered-Tang

MVP

[DJ Urbanovsky]

Yes. Really. Not to me, but it happened with one of my knives. The knife in question was double edged, handmade custom, made of 1095, and was probably around 0.20-0.23" thick at the tang. Cord wrapped handle.

If you're removing tang to lessen weight, and you're adding handle material, then you're adding some of that weight back. If you're adding handle material to increase thickness to offset the tapered tang, then your argument for a tapered tang having a slimming effect on the handle becomes moot. Because now it's as thick once again as it was prior to tang tapering. The only other benefit to a tapered tang would be to adjust the balance of the piece. Again, a moot point with these knives, as you can see in my videos - neutral, balance point at the index finger, which is what I want. This will make even the heaviest knife feel light. These knives weigh under 9oz, so you can imagine how fast they feel in the hand.

Originally Posted by MVP

DJ,

Really??? "If you happen to be hanging over the side of a building hanging on your knife while bad guys are shooting at you..."

I tried to say that the overall handle dimensions would be the same, not reduced. The tapered tang is compensated for by making the scales thicker.

Found this in a quick internet search: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Tapered-Tang

MVP

[MVP]

DJ

Who: (maker and individual)

where:

MVP

[DJ Urbanovsky]

You're asking about details of the incident I mentioned?

Like I said, I built the knife in question.

As to who the individual was on the end of that knife (again, wasn't me), I could certainly tell you that. But let me ask you something - If you told me a crazy story about something that you did with one of my knives while you were on the job, would you be comfortable with me telling the whole world enough info about you or that situation so that you could be easily identified? Right now it's just a guy with a knife. I start filling in blanks, and before you know it, that guy has a name. On a publicly readable Internet forum. Not good.

I don't know where precisely it happened, because it would not have been appropriate for me to ask. But I imagine that it was someplace hot.

This is not me being a jerk or being evasive. I am very protective of my clients. I may like to laugh and joke around, but I am very serious about my people and my business. And I promise you, I would do the exact same thing for you, bud.

Originally Posted by MVP

DJ

Who: (maker and individual)

where:

MVP

[MVP]

Seems like a tall tale to me...

MVP

[DJ Urbanovsky]

If you have an issue with the story, please PM me your email address, and I'll see about getting the guy to contact you, that way you can take up the validity of his story with him personally. Or maybe TS would like to step in and assist with vetting.

If it's an issue about whether or not someone was hanging off of one of my knives, without it breaking, here's a video I just shot. I weigh 190 lbs and that's about 50 lbs in the ruck. The knife I'm hanging off of is one of the rejects from this run of Colubris. The only difference between knife I'm hanging off of and an actual finished Colubris is strictly cosmetic. I could slap handles on it, sharpen it, and immediately start using it. This knife is actually thinner, shorter, and not as fat as the knife in the story. It also has more and larger holes drilled in the tang, which means it's not going to be as strong. Furthermore, the knife in the story was driven in at at an angle, so the load wasn't entirely lateral as it is on the knife in the video. Lateral loads are what snap blades (that and shock). Knives simply aren't strong that way. Hope you enjoy the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4INcMAg7F4&feature=plcp

Originally Posted by MVP

Seems like a tall tale to me...

MVP

[MVP]

It was probably a secret classified mission and I don't have need to know....

No, thanks. I've lost interest.

MVP

[DJ Urbanovsky]

And now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Just finished these up over the weekend. Hope you guys dig 'em.