Hey there BLF. In this video I review two more budget Schrade fixed blades, made from 1095 Carbon steel. These are the slightly smaller cousins to the SCHF51 and SCHF52, but share a lot of common features. Like the TPE handle, Teflon-ish blade coating, and they’re also drop point hollow ground. The 56 is about 3.4 inches and the 56L is about 4.3 inches. These blades have not been released yet, but expect a price from $20-$30 when they’re released in February.
Also say a prayer to the knife gods for one of my cameras, on which the shutter seized up during the making of this. It’s just out of warranty, so it probably won’t be free. Which brings me to my final point- these knives were provided by Schrade for review.
The sheath would be a welcome upgrade, for sure. I’ve flipped through their catalog and they do offer better sheaths on some of their other blades. The handle isn’t the coolest, but it’s large and comfortable.
The grips as they are are Very Grippy. And viewing them in person, they appear "serpentine-like". Not bad at all. Yes, would be nice if they offered them in the Micarta Handle as they do the 52 Series.
Schrades micarta gets roundly panned at Blade forums. I’d settle for one of their glass filled nylon sheaths. It’s not kydex but still functional. I could be wrong but I don’t think they offer a hard sheath on any fixed 1095 blade.
I sent an email to Spyderco earlier this year, but they said they were all maxxed out in the review territory. Ok cool guys… I did do a Spyderco while back but I had to baby it. I’ve sent some stuff to other companies, like cold steel, but they take their time. Schrade on the other hand basically said “anything we make, just ask us.”
I’ll send out a few other emails, but basically I take what I can get right now. Well that isn’t exactly true. I look for stuff that’s budget friendly- but seems to be well built. I’ve spent most of my money on camera gear, and this last review took out my B-camera, which I’m expecting a several hundred dollar repair bill on. I’m working on getting better stuff, and new stuff- but it ain’t easy with all the “tactical” or “survival” guys out there. We’ll see.
Thanks for the comments, I appreciate the kind words.
I had a person comment on the grips, saying they like the TPE handles better, because they’re more comfortable for chopping. Do you like the knife overall?
So when taking the 51 and 52 apart a while back, I noticed the underside of the Micarta handles was very smooth and plastic like. I have one other (cheap) micarta handled knife, so I guess I don’t know what a high quality micarta handle is like. What makes one better than the other? I mean I get how Micarta is made… but what real world advantages does a good micarta handle have over a cheap one.
On a tangent, by brother is waaaay more outdoorsy than me. He makes long bows out of wood he finds and deer carcasses. He is making me some micarta handles for one of the Schrades, in exchange for one of the knives I used in the video. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
So it is a real child expected, & not just the release date of the knives! Congrats :)
You already covered the "why don't you just use an axe" part, which I'm sure your neighbors have uttered many a time by now.
I stopped half way through my dinner to post this.... Yes, I was watching a YT video of a knife review whilst eating dinner... Ohh it's getting cold now...
It is real, and it’a due on the 27th!! We don’t know the sex yet, so it is possible a knife might pop out! My house has flanked by apartments on one side and a house on the other. I try to work on my videos in areas of the yard that are blocked by my “carport” so the apartment can’t see the weirdness, that is called- making Youtube videos. Thankfully the house on the other side usually has the blinds closed on the side facing ours. When I baton, it really echoes, so it probably irritates the neighbors.
