This milestone sneaked up on me, and it is now 10 years ago that I published my first review – from then on it just kept evolving.
It started when I found online discussion forums and I became an avid reader of online reviews and active participant in forum threads – but there was something slightly lacking…
As a photographer, engineer, outdoorsman and perhaps most importantly an enthusiast, I felt I might have something extra to offer and decided to give it a go and see how I got on. The more work I did, the more I was drawn into trying to better understand the tools and gear I love, and share all of that with others in the most factual and well illustrated way possible. I’ve always worked to introduce new ideas and new tests, many of which have been adopted by other reviewers as part of a standard ‘review formula’.
In 10 years I’ve built up a considerable body of work and experience, and many valued friendships and relationships. Hopefully there is still a lot more to come, with improvements and innovations along the way.
What you might not realise (as a reader) is that all of this (photos and photo editing, technical tests, graphic design, web design, website hosting and management, video and video editing, social media, writing and many more things needed to keep it all running) is done by one person. One person with a full time job in I.T.
I often call reviewing my ‘Hobby Job’, taken as seriously as a paid job, but something that costs quite a bit to keep going, and is a lot to fit around the demands of normal life. ‘Enthusiast’, or is that ‘Crazy Person’?
Thanks to everyone that has supported me so far, in both believing in me, and in taking the time to look at the reviews – Subwoofer (aka Richard)
After its debut at Knives UK 2018 (where eyes were opened, hopes dashed, legends toppled, and shock results revealed), the quality of entries for the Sharpest Knife Competition 2019 noticeably improved.
Drama and enlightenment added to a day of excitement at Knives UK 2019, with the vast array of beautifully hand crafted knives and tools, what more could you ask for?
The Competition Table:
In case you were not able to come along, the competition table was setup in the ‘social/display’ area of the show.
The main Sharpest Knife Competition table.
An Edge On Up Tester with multiple test fixtures.
The main prize.
This year I added a display for modifications.
UK Legal.
UK EDC Legal.
The Competition In Progress:
A few photos of the competition measuring in progress.
Testing the heel of the blade.
Reloading the test media (I did this a LOT).
Testing the tip of this blade.
Logging all results.
Time was flying.
The Results:
And the Results – an impressive quality to the entries with the overall second place score thanks to a superb BESS score of 51!! A typical double-edged razor blade fresh out of the packet scores 60, so this is very impressive.
This year at Knives UK (30th June 2019) you have the chance to redefine ‘sharp’. Using a BESS Certified sharpness testing machine, Tactical Reviews will be accepting entries for ‘The Sharpest Knife’ Competition, to definitively determine who has the sharpest edge. This is both a Knife sharpening competition and an opportunity to have your knife Sharpness certified.
(Oberland Arms ‘Jager Sepp’ knife)
Entry is free and every knife tested will be given an official sharpness score and certificate, so look out for the Knives UK ‘Sharpest Knife’ Competition, and get your edge tested.
Be sure to check out the Knives UK website for more show details, location and other competitions / demonstrations etc.
How is it measured? Using a PT50A BESS Certified sharpness tester:
The BESS ‘C’ scale of sharpness, developed by Mike Brubacher (Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale) will be used to determine how sharp each knife edge is. The ‘Edge on Up’ PT50A tester uses a certified test media fibre and records the force required to cut it. The lower the score the better. As an example, a typical Morakniv scores around 250. See this guide:
A chart showing where on the BESS scale a blade is.
‘The Sharpest Knife’ Competition – Knives UK 2018
Rules:
Open to all knives, custom-made or production. – No Razors allowed.
Kitchen knives, though allowed, are NOT eligible to be overall winner (so cannot win the main prize); they have been found to have too much of an advantage, so may be entered for an honourable mention only.
Any knife deemed not to be in the spirit of the ‘sharpest knife’ contest will be disallowed (surgical/laboratory etc.).
Open to anyone – Professional / Maker / Amateur / User.
Knives must be submitted either folded or sheathed, with the cutting edge covered.
The Competition is free of charge for the participants.
Each knife tested receives an official Sharpness Certificate.
All knives will be returned to the owner immediately after testing/certification is complete.
The competition opens at 10:00, and knives must be submitted for testing before 15:00 on the last day of the knife show.
Entrant’s name, knife description, sharpening method and score will be recorded.
Testing will be carried out using an Edge On Up PT50A BESS certified tester.
Each knife will initially have a single measurements taken. If the result is within 50 BESS of the leading entry, further measurements may be taken (at the discretion of the tester).
Subject to the previous rule, each qualifying knife will then have a set of three measurements taken along the blade (tip, centre and heel) with the average BESS score counting as the result.
In the case of a draw, the longest blade will win.
The tester’s results are final – No knife may be entered twice.
A leader board will be maintained showing the top entries during the show.
Each time there is a new leader, the knife will be photographed.
The winning knife and sharpening method will be announced at 15:30 on the last day of the knife show and on TacticalReviews.co.uk
IMPORTANT: You undertake the competition (and the taking of any prize) at your own risk and your health and safety is your own responsibility. By taking part in this competition, you agree to indemnify the organisers and their agents against all costs, losses, damages, expenses and liabilities suffered as a result of your participation. No liability can be accepted for damage to any knife entered.
Prizes (all subject to availability – no cash alternative)
Every entry wins an official sharpness certificate for the knife – Please retain this certificate as proof of your entry, it will be required when collecting your prize.
The first knife achieving an average BESS score lower than 200 will receive a special prize.
Any further knives achieving an average BESS score lower than 200 will receive a prize.
There is one main prize for the winning entry. (Full prize only available to a winner aged 18 or over.)
Prizes are for collection in person only when the results are announced. (The prize may be awarded to the best scoring entrant present when the results are announced at the discretion of the organiser.)
The Prizes
The full prize is only available to a winner aged 18 or over – if the winner is less than 18 years old the prize will be adjusted to be age appropriate.
The Main Prize is made up of several items forming a bundle worth over £300. Additional items may be added on the day of the competition. Currently it contains:
Knives – Morakniv Bushcraft
Lights – Classic Foursevens Maelstrom-X, SOG Dark Energy DE-06, Thorfire S1 diving light and 5.11 Tactical S+R H3 Headlamp
Patches – Knife Collector, Chris Reeve Knives and Burnley Knives
Beer cooler – Surefire
Sharpening Guides – Wedgek (previously Angleguide) for flat stones and round rods.
Full prize only available to a winner aged 18 or over – if the winner is less than 18 years old the prize will be adjusted to be age appropriate.
The instant prize for the first sub-200 score knife contains the NITECORE EA45S and T360.
The instant prize for subsequent sub-200 score knives is a set of sharpening guides – Wedgek (previously Angleguide).
I’m excited to announce that this year while attending the IWA 2019 show, I was invited to be a guest on the excellent ‘Think Twice Cut Once Podcast’ hosted by Tim Reeve and Matt Fabbi of Chris Reeve Knives. (For those not familiar with this podcast it is definitely not the official opinion of Chris Reeve Knives.)
We all nearly ran out of steam, as this was recorded late on the evening of the third day of the show, but a beer or two, great company, and a good meal helped us make it through.
This was the same day as the informal ‘Sharpest Knife at IWA 2019’ competition which inspired some of the conversation.
This is the first dedicated Video Post on Tactical Reviews – Look out for the Video Camera symbol. In this Video, recorded at IWA 2019 and presented by Armourlite CEO Ashley Diener, we get a preview of three new tritium watches. So new, the links included below might not yet be live, so if you get a ‘404’ error, try again a bit later.
Fortunately, fitting the Sharpest Knife Competition into a very tight IWA 2019 schedule ended up working out perfectly. Huge thanks must go to Tim and Anne Reeve, Matt and Marissa of Chris Reeve Knives for being such wonderful hosts, as well as everyone who took part and joined in the interesting discussions this competition and the measurements sparked off. Here are the Results.
Photo courtesy of Troy from Benchmade
I must admit to being a little distracted by taking the measurement and didn’t take many photos. I have a small set of some of the entries along with their certificates. I did at least capture the winner!
The WINNER
And the winner was appropriately entered by Clay of Wicked Edge sharpening systems with a great average score of 139 BESS.
The Winner:
An honourable mention:
An honourable mention must go to an entry from Benchmade for being a very respectable runner up, but notably with the standard factory edge.
This year at IWA, Tactical Reviews is throwing down the gauntlet and asking the knife trade “How sharp can you go?”. OK, it’s actually a lot less formal than that, a ‘just for fun’ competition to see who can create the finest edge on a knife blade, by any means they choose.
Entry is free and open to all exhibitors and visitors to IWA 2019 (see rules below). There is no prize beyond the warm feeling the winner will have, knowing they had the ‘Sharpest Knife at IWA’.
Come and find me with the awesome people at Chris Reeve Knives in hall 5, stand 5-135, on Sunday 10th March between 16:00 and 17:00. Get in early or you might miss out.
How is the sharpness measured? Using a PT50A BESS Certified sharpness tester:
The BESS ‘C’ scale of sharpness, developed by Mike Brubacher (Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale) will be used to determine how sharp each knife edge is. The ‘Edge on Up’ PT50A tester uses a certified test media fibre and records the force required to cut it. The lower the score the better. As an example, a typical Morakniv factory edge scores around 250. See this guide:
A chart showing where on the BESS scale a blade is.
Every knife tested will be given an official sharpness score and certificate. A measurement will be taken initially in the centre of the blade, then the heel, then the tip, and an average value taken. This will test the sharpness over the entire blade, not just the easiest part to sharpen.
‘The Sharpest Knife’ Competition – IWA 2019
Rules:
Open to all knives, custom-made or production. – No Razors allowed.
Kitchen knives, though allowed, are NOT eligible to be overall winner; they have been found to have too much of an advantage, so may be entered for an honourable mention only.
Any knife deemed not to be in the spirit of the ‘sharpest knife’ contest will be disallowed (surgical/laboratory etc.).
Open to anyone – Professional / Maker / Amateur / User.
Knives must be submitted either folded or sheathed, with the cutting edge covered.
Each knife will initially have a single measurement taken. If the result is within 50 BESS of the leading entry, further measurements may be taken (at the discretion of the tester).
Subject to the previous rule, each qualifying knife will then have a set of three measurements taken along the blade (centre, heel and tip) with the average BESS score counting as the result.
In the case of a draw, the lowest individual score will be used for secondary ranking. If there is still a draw, the first one tested will win.
The tester’s results are final – No knife may be entered twice.
The winner will be announced at close of the competition.
IMPORTANT: You undertake the competition at your own risk and your health and safety is your own responsibility. By taking part in this competition, you agree to indemnify the organisers and their agents against all costs, losses, damages, injuries, expenses and liabilities suffered as a result of your participation. No liability can be accepted for damage to any knife entered.
It Happened! The first ‘Sharpest Knife’ competition of its kind in a public access show in the Northern Hemisphere. Eyes were opened, hopes dashed, legends toppled, shock results revealed, and a winner who could not believe it! Drama and enlightenment added to a day of excitement at Knives UK 2018, with the vast array of beautifully hand crafted knives and tools, what more could you ask for?
Let the contest begin:
Before it all started.
The testing equipment, a CATRA Hobbigoni, Edge On Up PT50A, and SET.
The runner up.
A Rockstead - didn't expect that.
The deserved Winner. Hand sharpened on stones, then stropped on demin and Autosol.
The leader board at the end of the day.
The Winner.
I was so busy I didn’t have time to get round all the Knives UK exhibitors, so this is a whistle-stop tour that does not do the show justice, merely giving a brief glimpse of it.
Are you the owner of the sharpest tool in the box? This year at Knives UK (24th June 2018), using a certified sharpness testing machine, Tactical Reviews will be accepting entries for ‘The Sharpest Knife’ Competition to definitively answer this question. This is both a Knife sharpening competition and an opportunity to have your knife Sharpness certified.
This will be the first of competition of its type run at a public entry show in the northern hemisphere! Don’t miss out.
Entry is free and every knife tested will be given an official sharpness score and certificate, so look out for the Knives UK ‘Sharpest Knife’ Competition, and get your edge tested.
Be sure to check out the Knives UK website for more show details, location and other competitions / demonstrations etc.
How is it measured? Using a PT50A BESS Certified sharpness tester:
The BESS ‘C’ scale of sharpness, developed by Mike Brubacher (Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale) will be used to determine how sharp each knife edge is. The ‘Edge on Up’ PT50A tester uses a certified test media fibre and records the force required to cut it. The lower the score the better. As an example, a typical Morakniv scores around 250. See this guide:
A chart showing where on the BESS scale a blade is.
‘The Sharpest Knife’ Competition – Knives UK 2018
Rules:
Open to all knives, custom-made or production. – No Razors allowed.
Kitchen knives, though allowed, are NOT eligible to be overall winner (so cannot win the main prize); they have been found to have too much of an advantage, so may be entered for an honourable mention only.
Any knife deemed not to be in the spirit of the ‘sharpest knife’ contest will be disallowed (surgical/laboratory etc.).
Open to anyone – Professional / Maker / Amateur / User.
Knives must be submitted either folded or sheathed, with the cutting edge covered.
The Competition is free of charge for the participants.
Each knife tested receives an official Sharpness Certificate.
All knives will be returned to the owner immediately after testing/certification is complete.
The competition opens at 10:00, and knives must be submitted for testing before 15:00 on the last day of the knife show.
Entrant’s name, knife description, sharpening method and score will be recorded.
Testing will be carried out using an Edge On Up PT50A BESS certified tester.
Each knife will initially have a single measurements taken. If the result is within 50 BESS of the leading entry, further measurements may be taken (at the discretion of the tester).
Subject to the previous rule, each qualifying knife will then have a set of three measurements taken along the blade (tip, centre and heel) with the average BESS score counting as the result.
In the case of a draw, the lowest individual score will be used for secondary ranking. If there is still a draw, the first one tested will win.
The tester’s results are final – No knife may be entered twice.
A leader board will be maintained showing the top entries during the show.
Each time there is a new leader, the knife will be photographed.
The winning knife and sharpening method will be announced at 15:30 on the last day of the knife show and on TacticalReviews.co.uk
IMPORTANT: You undertake the competition (and the taking of any prize) at your own risk and your health and safety is your own responsibility. By taking part in this competition, you agree to indemnify the organisers and their agents against all costs, losses, damages, expenses and liabilities suffered as a result of your participation. No liability can be accepted for damage to any knife entered.
Prizes (all subject to availability – no cash alternative)
Every entry wins an official sharpness certificate for the knife – Please retain this certificate as proof of your entry, it will be required when collecting your prize.
Any knife achieving an average BESS score lower than 100 will receive a prize.
There is one main prize for the winning entry. (Full prize only available to a winner aged 18 or over.)
Prizes are for collection in person only when the results are announced. (The prize may be awarded to the best scoring entrant present when the results are announced at the discretion of the organiser.)
The Main Prize
Main Prize is made up of several items forming a bundle worth over £300, and contains:
Full prize only available to a winner aged 18 or over – if the winner is less than 18 years old the prize will be adjusted to be age appropriate.
Knives – Morakniv Eldris Firestarter and Mora 510 Carbon special edition
Lights – Jetbeam RRT2 Tactical (plus 4x CR123), Foursevens Quark Smart QSL-X, and 5.11 Tactical S+R H6 Headlamp
Patches – Exclusive Tactical Reviews, European Blade Magazine, Chris Reeve Knives, Burnley Knives
Pins – JimmyPie, Spyderco
Stickers – Spyderco, Spartan Blades
Headphone accessory – Surefire Earlocks
Temporary Tattoo – Tactical Reviews
Sharpening Guides – Wedgek (previously Angleguide) for flat stones and round rods.
This year was the 45th edition of IWA OutdoorClassics at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg with 1,558 exhibitors and almost 47,000 trade visitors from around the world.
Exhibitors from almost 60 countries and trade visitors from about 130 countries gave the 45th edition of IWA OutdoorClassics even more of an international flavour than last year.
Tactical Reviews was there, and included here is a gallery of products that caught my eye as I went round the vast exhibition. Of course this is only a small taste of what was on show, with excellent products from Pohl Force, MecArmy, Mantis, Luminox, Armourlite/Isobrite, Morakniv, Nordic Pocket Saw, Hultafors, ZT, Victorinox, Leatherman, Fox, Oberland Arms, Buck, SOG, Nitecore, DYX, Wiley X, Spyderco, Chris Reeve Knives and Nordic Heat.
(When viewing the gallery, click on the image to remove the description, click again to bring it back)
Pohl Force Prototypes of the Force One and Mike Forty Two
MecArmy X3S Tiny USB Rechargeable lights
MecArmy SGN7 and SGN5 Personal Attack Alarm lights
MecArmy FL10 Carabiner lights
A MantisX Shooting trainer is fitted to this pistol
Luminox Tritium watches
Armourlite's Isobrite T-100 watch
Armourlite's Prototype of a 64 vial Isobrite Automatic T-100 watch
Morakniv have produced the Garberg in Carbon Steel
Morakniv's Carbon Steel Garberg
Nordic Pocket Saw - the name says it all
Nordic Pocket Saw making the saw dust fly
Hultafors blade tang has been exposed
Hultafors Åby Forest Axe on a Wetterhall Throwing Axe
Hultafors Åby Forest Axe with sharpening puck
ZT 2018 models 0609, 0462 and 0393
Victorinox Hunter Pro and Ranger Grip Boatsman
Leatherman's Tread Tempo (a watch with the Tread tool as a strap)
Fox Prototype friction folder and the Octopus fixed blade
Oberland Arms special edition Damast Sepp Jubiläumsmesser
Oberland Arms Imwoid Sepp, special edition Damast Sepp Jubiläumsmesser and Wuiderer Sepp
Pohl Force Prototype of the Force One
Pohl Force Prototypes of the Force One and Mike Forty Two
Pohl Force's Force One is a real handful
Buck Selkirk Folder and folding filleting knife
SOG's pre-production Power Pint and Power Litre, plus the production Poweraccess
SOG Baton Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4
Nitecore have a new range with infinitely adjustable output
DYX with a ground breaking single optic range finder
DYX with a ground breaking single optic range finder
DYX with a ground breaking rifle scope with integrated range finder
DYX with a ground breaking rifle scope with integrated range finder
Wiley X never stop innovating. That is protective eyewear with a metal frame
Three of Wiley X's 2018 models
Spyderco has throwing knives! Designed by specialist maker Moeller with each size coming as a set of three
Spyderco's Native family has grown with the Shaman and Lil' Native. There are back-lock and compression lock options
Rare Maxamet bladed Spydercos
Spyderco Szabohawk Hand Axe breaching tool
Chris Reeve Knives limited edition 'Doppler' design
Chris Reeve Knives limited edition Franklin quote design
Chris Reeve Knives Nyala with Insingo blade
Chris Reeve Knives limited edition 'Circuits' design
A few souvenirs from IWA - keep an eye out for the reviews