| Swiza VS Victorinox (12 min 23 sec) |
Some of you may already have heard of Swiza ?
Apparently some one left Victorinox and took a few people with them to start a new Swiss Knife Company - Swiza !
I heard of Swiza some time ago , but the prices were a little .................
Anyways , I was Feebay window shopping and spied a reasonably priced Swiza .
Swiza D01 .. Is this the cheapest / least featured model ( D01 ) ? The only Victorinox I have that is / was now factory NIB , is my Camper ! This is important as I wanted to test factory edge against factory edge . ( bye bye NIB camper )
Now the Swiza gave up with what appears to be a rolled edge @ 225 slices of rope . The D01 suddenly felt different at 220 and I stopped at 225 .
Camper - The Camper ( Victorinox ) went to 350 for a fail with what also appears to be a rolled edge . Still , the win goes to Victorinox for a factory edge !
1) Swiza has a thinner blade , which is also a little longer and feels a little whippy under load .
2) Swiza is built lighter , and the Victorinox feels sturdier
3) Swiza has a liner lock for the main blade and a trick release button ..
4) Value for money goes to Victorinox hands down ..
If you want to add a Swiza to the collection = Great ! If your comparing the two in regards to purchase , my humble vote goes to Victorinox . The Swiza feels a little too much like a toy while the Victorinox feels like a ....................................... Victorinox Swiss Army Knife !
For light duty , there is little to compare .. Butt !!! When the going gets harder and you look at what you get for your dollar = Victorinox !
But that's just my opinion !
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| $10 knife blows me away (12 min 2 sec) |
History !
I don't remember how many years I have had this knife ..
But I paid $9.99 for it and initial testing back then showed a 220 fail on the rope ( at the time )
Since then I have worked hard to push edge retention . Experimenting and trying different things till now ( 2023 )
Currently I am stopping at 320 grit Diamond on the guided system . ( Video posted ) .
And the edge seems to slice very cleanly / smoothly as well offer edge retention and edge stability ( less likely to roll ) .
I mean , the ideal edge will hang in there until it gets dull .
So that's where we are now ( 2023 ) .
Now ...
The $10 banana knife .
I was slicing rope , keeping the previous result in mind ( from years ago ) of 220 . And on this new rope I was expecting , maybe 150 slices tops ! Yeah , there was no way I was expecting this knife to pass two hundred . Let alone fail at 600 slices ! I mean it's a $10 knife ... ( Australian Dollars at that = $6.34 USD )
It's crazy .. And a huge fail for me as I wanted to calibrate the rope once more . But there was that massive variable I did not take into account = My sharpening technique has vastly improved chasing edge retention .
So while the exercise was a fail , I guess it showed just how much you can stretch $10 .
Don't get me wrong , that knife is now a $100 knife in my books .. But it means I have to do it all over again .
I mean , 600 slices actually hurts ( in the physical sense ) .
So I tested the new rope !
Took a previously tested 400 Fail knife .. Put a fresh edge on it ( same edge as tested ) .
And it failed at 200 slices on the new rope ! Or about 50% , or twice as tough / hard to slice . ( No wonder it hurts me so much )
So that $50 3V did really well , 250 slices on the new rope which is literally twice as hard to slice ..
Can we double the 250 to 500 and add 350 ? ( For a comparison ? )
Anyway , it certainly holds it's own against it's more expensive ......... Brother / cousin / 2nd cousin once removed ?
Took a previously tested 400 Fail knife .. Put a fresh edge on it ( same edge as tested ) .
And it failed at 200 slices on the new rope ! Or about 50% , or twice as tough / hard to slice . ( No wonder it hurts me so much )
So that $50 3V did really well , 250 slices on the new rope which is literally twice as hard to slice ..
Can we double the 250 to 500 and add 350 ? ( For a comparison ? )
Anyway , it certainly holds it's own against it's more expensive ......... Brother / cousin / 2nd cousin once removed ?
| $50 3V VS $300 3V (25 min 37 sec) |
At the start of the year I turned six & 0 ..
As a Birthday present for myself I got me a Master Hunter CPM3V ..
I paid a little over $200 Bananas too my door !
Factory edge was very poor for a 200 banana knife ..
After resharpening ( corrective ) the knife did 700 slices of rope !
August 2023 ........... I'm surfing for a new knife ( I do that a lot - window shop ) .
And what do I spy ? ......... A $50 banana 3V !!!
What the parking lot ! Is this a scam or what ? ..... Yeah , I shelled out the $50 bananas to find out .
A couple of months go bye and I'm starting to feel a new RIP in my wallet ! Cos the tracking was showing that the 3V never left .
Surprise / Surprise ! A few days ago it was at my doorstep !
There is very little difference between the ( Now ) $300+ Banana 3V ( 50% inflation in half a year ) and the $50 banana 3v ...
So I guess where I was going to feel the difference was at the rope ? ( Right ? )
$50 Banana 3V : The edge was horrendous and I just went straight to a re grind on my wet stone grinder !
The front / tip of the blade was still horrendous .. But the working part of the blade for slicing rope looked ok !
So to the rope we go !
a 500 slice fail ... Ok , ............ That was un expected ! So for the 2nd go round , I sharpened the knife on the guided system .
I started with 80 grit Diamond to remove as much material as possible to fix the factory grind...Continue Reading
| Camillus 716 Retro Test (10 min 18 sec) |
Edge was done to 320 grit Diamond Cut on a guided system to 22 degrees each side .
Yeah , the 716 is pretty much a collectors item these days and commands rather large $$ .
But , I had to sharpen mine ( first time ) and put it to the rope .
HRC = 55HRC file bites & the 50HRC file skates .
Factory edge was about 25deg on one side and 22 deg on the other ! So I just made it 22 both sides .
Knife is / was new otherwise and nice N tight .
With the edge I put on the knife failure to slice printer paper ( test ) came at 400 slices of 10mm twisted sisal rope ( hemp rope ? ) .
Testing today a Chinese production Queen cutlery Barlow .
Yeah , I dont know what the blade steel is , maybe 440A ?
HRC .. My 60HRC file bites & my 55HRC file skates ! At least it's reasonably hard for a cheap knife .. $15 to $16 USD in the USA .
It is a classic Barlow pattern knife in Stainless Steel (?)
The factory edge rolled / failed @ 125 slices of 10mm twisted sisal rope .
Resharpening the knife showed that one side was 21 degrees and the other side 19 degrees ( edge bevel ) .
Resharpening I re did the edge 20 per side . Resharpened the failure point came at 400 slices of rope !
That's a hell of a lot of knife for the money !
What's to complain about ?
Aside from the price in Australia , nothing really ! There is no slop / play .. The factory edge was better than I expected .
Resharpened & the performance was excellent !
It is a small knife ( pocket knife ) and one should not expect it to perform as well as a larger knife .
So ? I have to give what I have in my possession a 9/10 .
A small cheap knife running with much more expensive knives and kicking quite a few of them to the curb !
Yeah , I dont know what the blade steel is , maybe 440A ?
HRC .. My 60HRC file bites & my 55HRC file skates ! At least it's reasonably hard for a cheap knife .. $15 to $16 USD in the USA .
It is a classic Barlow pattern knife in Stainless Steel (?)
The factory edge rolled / failed @ 125 slices of 10mm twisted sisal rope .
Resharpening the knife showed that one side was 21 degrees and the other side 19 degrees ( edge bevel ) .
Resharpening I re did the edge 20 per side . Resharpened the failure point came at 400 slices of rope !
That's a hell of a lot of knife for the money ! What's to complain about ?
Aside from the price in Australia , nothing really ! There is no slop / play .. The factory edge was better than I expected .
Resharpened & the performance was excellent !
It is a small knife ( pocket knife ) and one should not expect it to perform as well as a larger knife .
So ? I have to give what I have in my possession a 9/10 .
A small cheap knife running with much more expensive knives and kicking quite a few of them to the curb !
| Queen Barlow review (21 min 17 sec) |
| Mateminco S03 4 x XPG3 (10 min 13 sec) |
Sent for review by FlashlightBrand
Product page
Mateminco S03 1 x 18650 ( 1 x 16340 / 1 x 18350 )
Let me get right to power draw :
What I measured
Lowest - 0.01 Amp
Highest - 2.07 Amp
TURBO - 4.34 Amp
What we have is a compact or small form factor 4 x XPG3 ( Quad emitter ) pocketable flashlight with USB recharging capability . Now I have to say that my sample had no physical issues . Everything was where it was supposed to be and worked as it should . But I did read a few reviews that were border line scathing , so I would suggest checking out the other reviews out there . The only thing I have to mention ( call it a complain if you like ) is the very high current draw in Turbo mode . 4.34 Amp is a lot and all that current is very quickly reconstituted into heat ! If running this light in the short form ? I would highly recommend avoiding TURBO .
Speaking of TURBO :
This light features a very trick shortcut mode to TURBO ! It’s essentially a momentary TURBO mode . You press and hold the button mode for TURBO and as long as you hold the button down you get TURBO output and as soon as you let go the button , the light turns off .
To enact such shenanigans : Turn on the light and press the button 5 times . To disable , turn the tailcap to lock out the current .
Funky Flashing ! :
I was clicking the switch like a monkey with terrets ! And some how found some sort of beacon mode ? Maybe I just freaked out the flashy ?...Continue Reading
| Lumintop D2 (9 min 13 sec) |
Sent for review by FlashlightBrand.com
Product page
What I was sent to review is literally a pocket rocket . Not only does the D2 slip in and out of a trouser pocket without issue ( due to it’s size ) but it also throws crazy for such a small light . And even though it is a thrower , it still has enough spill to be used as a walking light . Wow , what a time to be a flashaholic . Moderately or budget priced lights have come of age . What am I supposed to complain about ? I have had this light for some time now and there is simply naught to complain about ! It is just really well made . Ok , I personally dont care for the USB charging . I much prefer dedicated battery chargers and the ability to charge at a rate I am happy with . But it may be a feature that some people can use , especially when camping or using the light for security work and the light might need re charging on the go . Lets talk about measurements !
Parasitic drain - 1/10 of a milliamp
Low - 0.03A
Med - 0.39A
Hi - 0.94A
Turbo - 2.47A
These figures are what I was able to measure .
Throw : ( Did I call this light a pocket rocket ) Measured at 1 meter .
Low - 700Lux
Med - 10,500Lux
Hi - 20.500Lux
Turbo - 44800Lux
That’s a lot of throw for such a small light . Lumintop seem to be going out of their way to make sure their flashlights have reach ! I don’t know if the average person is going to need all that throw , certainly for people involved in...Continue Reading
Merry Christmas Everyone ... Been rather quiet this year as my back is playing up !
Had a CT guided injection a couple of weeks ago , very little effect so far if any ...
Yeah , that's how bad it is ...
Oh well ! , wishing everyone a happier New Year ( especially myself ) ...
Bad weather ! Just been wet and woolly !
Just seems like the weather is getting worse and worse every year !
And in return I get to do less and less flying .
| Wuben G2 Keychain Light (8 min 2 sec) |
Review was made possible by FlashlightBrand.com . ( As in sent for review )
Wuben G2:
Wuben Series: 10% off
So , a while ago I used to test / review flashlights . I was a FLashaholic !
At any one time I may have had 10 or 20 flashlights ready to rock N roll ! I only have half a dozen ready to R&R , or there about's now . I dont have a clue how many hundred flashlights I own and dont want to know ! Like the US army says , we wont ask and you dont have to tell ! ( how many flashlights you own )
But flashlightbrand reached out and asked me to do a review !
The Wuben G2 is a Keychain Light designed along the lines ( to me ) , a little like a mobile phone . So is some what distinctive from your regular run of flashlights and some what familiar to mobile phoneaholics .
...Continue Reading
| FMS800 Vtail at 2 8 deg C (7 min 34 sec) |
It's Cold ! It was so cold my fingers would not obey my brain !
And at the start my fingers just went crazy ..
I ended up cutting the throttle and the model almost came to a stop ..
I hit the throttle and then my fingers started working ..
Damn ! Just how freaking RC starved am I ....
