Is that a cleaver in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Here is a sneak preview of the DVM Pocket Cleaver made by Robert Scheppmann and designed by Yours Truly in the DVM Skunk Works Labs that will be available in a few weeks

The Idea came from a combination of a few things. Way, way back in the day in another life I was a chef, one of the most used and best multipurpose knives in a professional kitchen is the Cleaver. There really isn’t anything that you cant do with it. And from living, traveling and working in Asia for so long you cant help notice the 30 year old cleaver being used in every chow shop from Bangkok to Hong Kong. It is just that versatile.

I am also a big fan of smaller Wharncliffe style knives for self defense. So when I was designing this I knew I wanted a straight edged blade. On a resent trip to Indonesia I saw a Pineapple street vendor chopping with a cleaver that had an edge ground into the front. I thought it was a brilliant idea, basically you get two Wharncliffe style cutting surfaces on a single blade that can be used for cutting on every imaginable motion.

And after watching the movie “Wanted” and seeing the Cuban guy slicing and dicing a cleaver I knew I wanted to have a cleaver in my collection. So the “cool” factor is also a part of this design

But you cant really carry around a cleaver without looking like a serial killer so I figured why not chop it down in size. And after getting my hands on one of Roberts other knives [the DROP-POINT-P.D.K.] I really liked how the handle fit in my hand and the blade length.

So I drew up a Cleaver design inspired by his handle but with a cleaver head and a dual grind – with Roberts considerable talent this bad boy popped out. Big thanks for Robert for taking this on for us.

I think it will be great for everything from utility to fighting, something you can use on a camping trip or stashed around your neck in some 3rd world suck-hole – all in a sharp looking package.

Here it is with a couple of different Grinds:

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Yep, a Folding Dive Knife

I have been looking for a new dive knife after leaving my fixed blade Benchmade Dive Knife [model 100SH20] in a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand after a weekend of diving and drinking massive amounts of booze last year.

I was planning on just getting another fixed blade Benchmade just like the last one I had because it was a great dive knife and one of the only high quality ones that had a yellow handle. But when I was surfing some knife websites I saw that Benchmade now had a Folding Version of their Fixed Blade Dive Knife.

At first I was thinking “a folding dive knife, that is strange” but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. One of the other reasons why I liked Benchmade’s fixed dive knife was because it was not so big that I looked like a serial killer with it strapped to my leg.

I do 99% of my snorkeling and diving overseas in the 3rd world and I want to be somewhat discreet when I am walking around the beach and docks. So carrying a big-ass knife on my leg or waist either screams “tourist, rob my hotel room” or “crazy person walking on the beach with a bowie knife”. So having a dive knife that I can discreetly stick in my pocket [I like to wear shorts when I dive] is something that appeals to me.

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Where the hell did i put my knife?

This is a beautiful knife with fantastic ergonomics, the blade design is wicked and came out of the box razor sharp. I thought, since there are a lot of questions about the blade and the new coating and all that I’d do a little sampo (Japanese for “stroll”) test here in Japan and see how the design holds up out in the world.

I also took a few shots to show the camo against common objects and / or environments. The area I went for a stroll in is a nice mix of urban, foliage (parks, natural wooded areas), and riverine (rivers and streams everywhere). I basically just went for a walk along a route I like to take on nice days and used the shit out of the knife to see how it would hold up.

I was very excited about this knife. The Rhino / Commander recurve / CQC-10 handle combo is about as awesome as you can get without reinventing the wheel. Add the A-TACS camo pattern to it and you’ve got one mean looking blade.

But how does it handle? How does the finish hold up to real world usage? Is the tip strong? Is the G10 grippy with the ATACS coating on it, or is it slippery? These are questions I wanted to know the answers to, so here is what I think:

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This knife just screams “stab someone”

Hey folks – I have been working with Spencer over at SAR Global Tool to make a DVM Contractor Fighting Knife. Below is his work in progress and some notes from him.

~James G

[Spencer from SAR Global Tool] Hey everyone,

I have been working with James for the last few months on a knife for him and possibly become for sale in the DVM store. James gave me some great input on what he was looking for.

Based on what his ideas I put this design to paper. James liked what he saw so I put the design to steel and got rolling, I will take pictures, write comments as I work on these three blades over the next few days.

The design is a fixed blade which is 9 1/4″ long 5″ handle 4 1/4″ blade, the blade features a modified tip sometimes referred as “harpoon”

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SARclops – the finest fool-slashing handmade neck-knife your mom can buy you

For some time now I have wanted to pick up a neck knife to use as a last-ditch weapon and E&E tool for when I’m working overseas. I’ve looked at different brands here and there but nothing really caught my eye [given, aesthetics don’t have anything to do with stabbin’ a fool, but admittedly I do like the “wow” factor when it comes to knives].

So when Spencer Alan Reiter over at SAR Global Tool [formally SAR Custom Knives] sent over one of his handmade SARclops Knives I was way stoked. The one he sent to me is made of Titanium, but the standard SARclops are made out of 1/8″ thick, CPM 154 CM heat treated [in house by Spencer] to a Rockwell hardness of 59, with a 1 ½ inch long blade, Ceramic tumbled finish [stonewashed] and a carbide deposit on the back side with a Rockwell hardness of 71.

Spencer tells me that the carbide deposit is a challenge to lay without rolling the edge, but it gets sharper after use [so the more fools you cut the sharper it gets, that just sounds evil – “I like it!”]

The cord-wrapped ring [or “eye’ hence the name] is big enough to stick your finger through even while wearing gloves [unless you’re wearing arctic gloves]. The cord wrap around the eye is tight and beautifully weaved, I am guessing that he does this also by hand – it looks way cool and makes for a nice slip free grip. The cord wrap comes off by just slicing it free, but that would take too much away from the “cool” factor for me to remove it.

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