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January 2010 Article in Knives Illustrated
Blunt Force Blades
Written by Terrill Hoffman. Author
Archive »
CRKT’s new half-razor, half-chisel
taskmasters might look broken, but the truth is they’re ready to take on
any challenge.
It’s about time for another episode of
“true confessions.” How many of you reading this issue own just one
knife? It is a safe bet that not many of you, if any, raised your hand. In
fact, most of us really don’t want to admit to the number of knives we
have accumulated over the years. Now comes the fun part. How many of you
have broken a knife by misusing it? I know, now you’re saying, “I have
never broken a knife.” At least that is my story and until someone
sneaks a peek in the top drawer of my dresser, I’m sticking to it. But I
do know that someone out there must be breaking knives. Just check out the
typical box of old knives at an antique store and it’s certain you’ll
find the majority missing the last inch of their blades. Most of you
(remember, I’m not admitting to anything personally) will have to admit
that something needed a little prying and “that” knife was handy.
Before you know it, snap, another knife is ready to be hidden away in that
drawer.
 The
Original Razel
It has been just a few years since I was at a knife show and saw the
perfect answer to this problem. There, sitting on a table, was a brand
new, pre-broken knife. The half razor, half-chisel, known as a “Razel”
was the creation of Jon and Josh Graham. At the time I was interested
enough in this concept to write a review of these Tennessee brothers for
Tactical Knives (November 2006). The
brothers have since collaborated with Columbia River Knife and Tool to
bring out a production model of the Razel. Recently, CRKT has brought out
another pre-broken knife, the MAK-1, and both designs have been doing well
and justify a second look.
(For the entire article, read it in the
May 2009 Tactical Knife magazine.)
Article on the Rawk in Blade Magazine in September 2008
"hawk talk by Brendan O'Brien"
Graham
Knives Razel
Walking the Razel’s Edge
I first started seriously
looking at the Graham Brothers’ knives when they came out with a pair of
outstanding tactical tomahawks and announced them on a popular knife forum. I
was blown away by the designs as well as the obvious quality in materials and
finish. I went to their site and was immediately impressed by the knives Jon and
Josh are producing and especially intrigued by their Razel design – an obvious
nod to the straight razor with its brutally straight edge and squared-off tip. I
am hesitant to compare it to a chisel in looks, as this description might
mislead folks into thinking the Razel is a “chisel grind” knife, ground only
on one side of the blade. Indeed, the Razel is symmetrically V-ground, which
adds to the versatility of this already useful blade.
When I contacted the Grahams, they immediately agreed to supply a “Utility”
Razel for my review. Within days, the package from Cleveland, Tennessee,
arrived. When I opened the package, I thought a serious mistake had occurred.
The knife I found was, in my mind, hardly a “utility” grade piece of
hardware. When I think of utility grade, I picture no adornment – plain Jane
– and often cut-priced material. The Razel I received was one of the most
beautiful knives I have ever held – and I have held a few. I was so impressed,
I didn’t know if I could actually use it for fear of hurting it.
I called Josh Graham and asked why he had sent such a fine knife when all I
wanted was a “user,” something I could beat on. Josh just laughed and
explained that the knife I was holding was indicative of what anyone would get
if they ordered a fairly generic Razel with additional options. All I could say
was wow.
Here’s why. The steel is S30V, heat treated by Paul Bos and impeccably ground
on both sides. Primary edge and “point” edge are seriously sharp. The space
just forward of the handles on the spine of the blade is tastefully file-worked
for extra thumb “grippiness” and good looks. The full tang makes up the
gracefully curving handle with two finger grooves, ending in an extended butt
that juts past the handle scales. The handle material is a lovely
caramel-colored Micarta® from Mark Nelson. The scales are attached by mosaic
pins and sandwich a red liner against the tang on either side. A large,
brass-lined lanyard hole completes the handle.
A squared-off leather sheath, molded on the front side to the blade and the
front half of the handle, completes the package. The back side is flat, with a
strong, coated clip for deep-pocket carry. Yeah, that’s right – the Razel
was designed to be carried in a front pocket comfortably and effectively. The
Graham Brothers are one of a handful of knife-making companies that offer
purpose-built fixed blade pocket knives (FXBPKs). Sure, some neck or belt knives
can be stuffed into a pocket or clipped inside, but they either need to be drawn
with the sheath still on, or they stick way out. The Razel was designed to sit
comfortably clipped in a pocket with enough handle sticking out so it can be
easily grasped and withdrawn.
So, how effective is the squared-off tip of the Razel? I joked to Josh Graham
that it didn’t need to penetrate well. After all, when was the last time you
needed to stab someone? He quickly assured me penetration was not an issue with
the Razel; he had personally stabbed a phonebook easily through several hundred
pages. He explained the tip actually has two points and a very sharp blade in
between. Well, I had to try it myself. Taking last year’s phone book (I waited
until the new ones arrived, to the relief of my wife), I slammed the Razel into
it with considerable force. I was impressed when over an inch penetrated before
stopping. I must say that I did not go full strength as I was not wearing gloves
and did not want to damage my hand from a forceful stop. Needless to say, the
penetration I attained was pretty darned good.
I have been using the Razel for
mundane cutting chores for several months now. The blade has not needed
sharpening, and I find the geometry great for heavy or light cutting. The whole
knife shows very little wear, and no doubt it will last a lifetime. It is very
much a tool, designed and built to be used. I liked it so much that I bought a
Graham Brothers wharncliffe knife that I am now putting through its paces. It is
nice to have a couple of fixed-blade knives that I can slide into a pocket,
ready for immediate use rather than languishing in my safe with all the other
fixed blades.
Since acquiring the Razel, I have had no hesitation in recommending Graham
Brothers products to anyone. In fact, I am sure I have been quite annoying in my
plugging this company. I don’t care – we need more companies that produce
first-rate, innovative designs. And those companies out there that are doing
this type of high-quality work deserve our business.
David Grant (EDC Magazine)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Some Lessons in Blade Geometry: The
Dynamics of Cutting
To view entire post see http://whiteshadowdojo.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html
(The White Shadow Dojo is a Martial Arts
school
run by Gwynne and David Decker in Addison, NY.)
 The
last weapon I want to discuss is the popular Razel™ from the Graham
brothers. Although the Graham brothers describe their invention as the
most useful tool you’ll ever own, this razor-chisel utility tool has
some very interesting possibilities as a weapon. It doesn’t take much
imagination to recognize it as a “slasher”. After all, the blade is
nothing more than a truncated straight razor. My Razel also has a slight
belly, but is this the source of its phenomenal cutting? After forty years
of playing with knives, knowing beyond a doubt that curved blades cut and
straight blades puncture, I had to question whether I was right or wrong?
I hate to admit it, but I was pretty much wrong. What was also surprising
is the Razel’s impressive capacity to create large holes during a thrust
but I’ll discuss that last.
So where does cutting power really originate from? If, as Mr. Janich said,
a curved blade is not the most effective shape, why isn’t it? It’s a
matter of PSI, pounds per square inch. That sounds boring already
doesn’t it? Consider for a moment the lowly single-edged razor blade,
the same one used in utility knives and scrapers everywhere. If you take a
test medium and place a razor blade with the full edge in contact and push
down with all your weight, how deeply will that blade cut? Not very deep I
would guess. Ok, now perform the same test and slide the blade along the
surface[1].
You should see a difference, because now you have pressure and  movement.
Finally, apply the same pressure, cock the blade up forty-five degrees so
that only the corner or tip is contacting the surface, and slide it along.
If the tip doesn’t break off you will see a huge increase in the depth
of the cut. Why would the tip break off? Because the PSI are very high
when you apply the same force on a very small area, in this case just the
tip of the razor blade. It doesn’t matter how long or short the razor
blade is since you are only cutting with the tip. There is no curve to the
tip of the razor blade either, it is just like the point of the Ronin, the
JuJu, and the Razel. Therefore, I am not so sure that it is the curvature,
or lack thereof, that makes the difference in the blade’s cutting
performance. It is more the fact that the curved blade does not allow the
fullest application of PSI that can be developed with the tip of the
wharncliff style blade. With a curved blade the tip may never come into
contact with the cutting medium at all. In essence the best cutting is not
actually done with the edge, straight or curved, and therefore the blade
length and shape have little influence on cutting performance.
I said I would address the thrusting capabilities of the Razel later, so
here goes. Many people have looked at the blade of the Razel and
arbitrarily decided that it cannot be used to puncture or thrust. These
people must not have experimented at all with the knife or they would know
how stupid that statement is! When the Razel is held naturally, in the
right hand with the wrist held straight, the knife is angled about
forty-five degrees to the left. This means that during a thrust the
sharpened flat end of the blade is not striking the target squarely. In
fact what you have is a very wide tipped blade something like a Roman
pugio (dagger) or a hunting broad-arrow. Since both edges are razor sharp
this knife will definitely penetrate, and in the process leave a very wide
wound channel. So much for arbitrary determinations and that is what this
whole article is about.
David Decker
White Shadow Dojo
Article in Blade Magazine - January 2008 issue.
The Ringed RazelTMSS3
Article in book entitled Tomahawks - Traditional to
Tactical by David Grant - 2007
Click to view color pictures of the Rawk
and Ram
Article in Blade Magazine - April 2007 issue.
Article in Blade Magazine - February 2007 issue.
Our Razel SS5 on the cover.
Article in Tactical Knives - November 2006 issue.
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