Awesome subscriber who comments on every video, Daffa Wiratama ( I hope I pronounced that
right but knowing my record on pronunciation of all words, probably not)... he said last
week What no love for fixed blades?
Now I have reviewed quite a few fixed blades... but I get what he meant...
any not named Esee, Advanced Esee Bro?
How about something different then- The Pakistan based Moschus blades sent me one of their
badass tanto fixed blades for review...
so let's take a look at this beast by going over the dimensions like the overall length
and weight, with and without that sheath.
The blade size and cutting edge.
The handle size and grip area.
Spine thickness and handle thickness, and the tallest part of the blade.
This particular Moschus knife features a big Tanto style blade made from D2 steel with
a very slight hollow edge grind for the main cutting edge. and a flat grind for the tip.
Tanto blades are generally known for several useful things other than keeping cold steel
in business, like their thickness all the way to the tip, their ability to pierce the
armor of a samurai opponent, and the ability to make other knives look punier, and less
tactical by comparison.
This knife is no exception with it's thick blade stock, and one of the few fixed blades
I have that's significantly more blade than handle heavy.
Most of my fixed blades have a center of gravity near the front of the handle or the handle,
but there's more real estate up front with it's 6 inch ish cutting edge.
The blade was nice and very sharp out of the box.
The handle is very nice and comfortable, with rounded and polished micarta handle scales.
Think kind of slick.
It fits my hand very nicely, and since the handle is smooth- the rear quillon
and the curved ricasso which acts as a front quillion keep the knife from leaving my hand
when chopping.
The tang of the blade has some grooves up top that are filled with what looks like wood,
for a little flair.
Nowhere on this blade will you find any jimping.
Nowhere.
My hands arent small, but it might be noted if you have very large hands the handle might
become too small.
Which is why I include the handle grip area measurement.
The sheath.
The black leather sheath is probably the nicest leather sheath on all of my fixed blades.
It's made from a very thick leather thats stitched and riveted.
You can either dangle it from your belt or use the leather loops for something that's
molle compatible, which are made from thick leather like the rest of the sheath.
Very impressive.
The knife is held in by friction and the tightness of the leather, so if you're on a tactical
mission climbing rock walls or climbing on the ceiling there isn't a loop to keep the
knife in it's holster.... it's not like it's a loose fit at all, but the knife is heavy
so keep that in mind.
I might prefer it to dangle a little lower, but it sits at a good balance between too
low and to high.
Here it is compared to the Esee 6HM leather sheath, by the way the esse 6hm and this are
both swappable between sheaths.
The esse sheath is nice, but youll notice the much thicker leather of the Moschus sheath.
Now the knife comes with a lifetime warranty that states intentional misuse of the knife
will void it.
I wonder where batoning falls.
Now as I mentioned earlier...
tanto blades by design are an over built knife.
They are a little over the top for regular fixed blade use, and there are few non medieval
reasons why one would need thick tanto blades except for stabbing sheet metal.
Which might come in handy when the robots do attack.
Which again may not fall within the warranty of this knife.
And I'm pretty sure there's a special place in hell for the soul of an individual who
tries to file a warranty claim with a knife maker because he broke his blade stabbing
through a car door.
As far as actual use goes... the blade has the right amount of weight for a chopper,
but as always a hand axe or a big ass machete may work better for chopping.
I mean I do it, but that doesnt mean you should.
I have to break down the rotted wood pretty small for the Chimnea.
This knife versus other knives at chopping, hacking, and batoning.
Repeated pommeling of wood does make me realize the handle is just big enough for my hand-
so a good hard whack on some non rotten wood, means your hand doesnt have much room to slip
without my pinky hitting the butt of the knife or my front finger pressing against the ricasso.
It's not sharp but like any metal edge it can make it a bit tender by repeatedly chopping
solid material like an asshole on Youtube.
Occasionally I'll get comments about my cussing, but it's my sincere hope that a person who
stumbles across and clicks on a video thumbnail of a knife that looks like a murder weapon's
line of decency isn't a swear word.
And while we beat it, let's talk about Moschus blades for a minute.
They're a small custom knife company based in Pakistan.
They make many beautiful handmade fixed blades, and can do custom orders too.
This knife retails for 80ish... and they have a ton of other knives available.
I'll link their instagram feed in the video description, as well as their facebook page.
Message them if youre interested in a particular blade or price.
And if you're one of those people watching knife videos on youtube and are like I don't
do Instagram or Facebook- what the hell is wrong with you?
The finishing and grinds on the knife is pretty good.
I wouldnt say its perfection if your one of those dudes who uses a magnifying glass to
determine if the luster of the satin finish is even throughout the entire blade.
If youre a person who thinks a good custom fixed blade for $80 in D2 is a good deal,
and you use your knives more than stare at them this knife is a very solid buy.
And it was still very sharp after all
the beatings.
Lets take a look at a few other large fixed blades so you get a good idea of what youre
getting here.
Here is the Esee 6.
A very similar sized slightly lighter knife because of its thinner blade stock the Esee
6 is a bit better at finer tasks like wood shavings, but not by a whole lot.
Neither the Esee or Moschus are great at feather sticks.
For that you want a thinner blade stock, and something like a Scandinavian grind like this
blade the Mora Kansbol or companion- which doesnt look nearly as badass- but maybe a
more practical knife than any other here.
Then theres also the Schrade SCHF52, its heavier and cheaper.
The sheath is kinda crappy but it has a long handle.
Its very handle heavy though.
I dont use this knife much.
I mean I should, but I dont
If you like this review subscribe to my channel, like this video, follow me and Moschus blade
on instagram... leave a comment- give me a thumbs up.
Thanks for watching advanced knife bros.