Sunday, August 7, 2011

Shadow Tech Knives Talon E and Backup - Knife Review

A few months ago I was looking for a small, belt carry fixed blade knife and started hitting up the ol' google search. I already periodically carried a Fallkniven F1 which is a great knife but not exactly what I wanted - looking for something a shade smaller and with a more "safe" handle. I thought I might have my answer with the Fred Perrin Street Beat but it just wasn't quite right for me - handle was a little off for my hand, the price is high, and the sheath left me a little underwhelmed. One of the searches brought me to a forum where someone was suggesting Shadow Tech Knives; after viewing the website, I decided to try two of their models, the Talon E (small bowie shape) and the Backup (small bowie shape).


TALON E:
BLADE LENGTH: 3 1/2"
O/A LENGTH: 7"
THICKNESS: 3/16"
WIDTH: 1 INCH
STEEL: 1095 HIGH CARBON STEEL RC-57-58
FINISH ON BLADE: POWDER COAT
SHEATH: KYDEX WITH HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL AND 45 DEGREE DRAW OPTION, LEFT OR RIGHT SIDES.
BACKUP:
BLADE LENGTH: 2 1/2"
O/A LENGTH: 6"
THICKNESS: 3/16"
WIDTH: 1 1/4"
STEEL: 1095 HIGH CARBON STEEL RC-57-58
FINISH ON BLADE: POWDER COAT
SHEATH: KYDEX WITH HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL AND 45 DEGREE DRAW OPTION, LEFT OR RIGHT SIDES.
www.stknives.com
They have some pretty interesting knives and I liked the two I picked up, though the Talon E was the definite favorite for me.

Talon E Positives
- great handle, love using the bottom of the blade as a guard (reminiscent of the street beat)
- solid knife
- inexpensive ($65) and comes with an excellent kydex sheath
- comfortable carry, very small while still feeling like a "real" knife that I could get hard use from

Talon E Potential Negatives (I didn't have any for my use)
- carbon steel, some may prefer a thinner stainless
- a little heavy
- handle scales are not perfectly matched to tang all the way around

This is more of a defensive stabbing blade IMO than a bushcraft or utility/EDC blade. I have done zero tests for bushcraft and probably won't bother but I do find it useful for EDC tasks thanks to the comfortable handle.

Backup Positives
- very small
- grooved handle (could be considered a subhilt?) provides a very secure grip with just three fingers
- inexpensive ($65) and comes with an excellent kydex sheath
- comfortable carry, very small while still feeling like a "real" knife that I could get hard use from
- very short (yet solid) blade makes it legal to carry in more places

Backup Potential Negatives
- carbon steel, some may prefer a thinner stainless
- a little heavy
- three finger grip on hilt (I generally will not carry knives like this)
- very wide, more than I would like for a small knife (some may love this)

I would consider this primarily a defensive stabbing blade. It could be used for EDC/utility though I don't like the shape for that. Very limited if any use for bushcraft as far as I can see (no testing done).

They sell a lot of different models of knives, including partially serrated versions, spikes, push daggers, tanto tips, etc.


I also completed a video review of the knives, you can see them through these links:

Youtube knife review Part 1 of 2

Youtube knife review Part 2 of 2

2 comments:

  1. Thinking about picking up one of these myself. How is the edge? I found a year old review that reflected poorly on the geometry and the coating's effects on the sharpness. I look forward to seeing more of your reviews.

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  2. Thanks for the comment. I don't really consider myself too qualified to answer your question but I will do my best.

    I found the edge to be adequate but it's nothing to get excited about; I'm not surprised to hear about some negative reviews. A lot of how much you like it will depend on how you decide to use it. It's definitely not what I would call shaving sharp but it's sharp enough out of the box to do routine cutting tasks. As for the geometry, it is an incredibly thick blade for something so small which would make it harder to get that super sharp edge, you'd have to do some major re-profiling, probably more work than would be worth it.

    My Fallkniven F1 is also a very thick blade but its convex grind allows for a wicked edge; too bad it also comes with a wicked price tag! My Mora 511 is also wicked sharp but is super thin and has a very weak handle in comparison.

    Based on the handle designs and the blade thickness, I would consider these little ones more as stabbers than slashers if used as a defensive knife. If you want a small, easy to belt-carry, inexpensive blade for self defense and you train in a point oriented style I think you'd like it. Or, if you want an inexpensive blade for regular belt carry, I think it would be good enough for most tasks and should be quite strong.

    For real razor sharpness though, I suspect these knives will always come up short. I love the handle design though, especially the Talon knife.

    I'm not sure if they have a return policy or not, I took a flier on them and was pleasantly surprised. If you do buy one I'd love to hear your opinion on it. I was a little tempted by the larger ones but I think I'll pass for now, once you start looking at $130 and up I'd rather stick with the ones I have (Fallkniven S1, A1, CS Recon Scout).

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