I don’t learn my lesson easy. Seeing as how my last video that featured custom knives,
was avoided like a bandaid floating in a pool… or in the parlance of the channel-
a beer video- figured I’d release something just a little bit bigger into the metaphorical pool-
and do another video about a Custom knife. Now other than house payment switchblades, one of my
favorite knife genres is the big dumb chopper one. For years I had my eye on a biggun from Wallace
Edged Tools, and 2 Novembers ago Mr. Wallace said he had an XXL Spear 2 Available if I wanted it,
because it seemed to fit my whole deal. The only thing is that it had a lefty sheath.
Now personally I’m not a freak of nature, but I figured I could get used to a cross draw,
or maybe even use the left hand occasionally. So I said here’s my $500. Mike Wallace,
in addition to making his own knives has designed knives for Cold Steel for years,
two examples being- the Colossus which I love like one of my children.
Ok you know what that sounds weird- like my father. And the Bush Ranger seen here. But
before we go any further let’s examine the dimensions and experiment with the format,
I mean I’m using my left hand sometimes now. I know two of the biggest complaints on the
channel have been that I make videos at all, and that I make more of them. I’m trying to
save some time here. And plus we’re gonna see how many blood vessels pop without the blue lines.
So the Wallace Edged Tool, Spear 2 XXL is from Wallace Edge Tools. A small one bro company like
sharp by design, that specializes in fixed blades. Mostly Mike makes weak and puny 3-8 inch blades
but then sometimes reasonable sized 10 inch bladed like this one. For an
easy frame of reference the XXL Spear 2 size is comparable to the Esee Junglas.
Looking at the blade a bit closer it’s made from a huge chunk of razor sharp hardened ZWear steel
which was responsible for a huge gash on my finger. Ok knives don’t almost cut off my finger
I almost cut off my finger. I was shooting this in a hurry, uhhh… right before church, and well
my mind was elsewhere thinking about Jesus, and bam never should have had my hand there.
While I sort of hesitate to show this, I don’t see the OSHA posters up, so who’s fault is it
really? I know brimmed hats have been waiting for this moment. And the safety glasses guy for
sure is like. Fuck yeah as he cracks his fingers, “finally this careless stupid son of a bitch…”.
His keyboard is in for it. The finger meat test shown here is evidence that I don’t think I’ve
owned a chopper quite this sharp, and that I’m real cautious with hand placement. No stitches.
Just go ahead and get it out. Now’s your chance. By the way I shot that part of a year ago.
Now Like I said in the Sharp By Design video you didn’t watch, first and foremost when buying
custom knives you need to really love the design. I’m a simple knife bro, and I respond well to the
clean look of Mike’s fixed blades, and paired with perfectly sculpted and sometimes fancy G10.
Which brings me to the handle. The generous and gentle G10 fits my hand perfectly. Everything
has been sculpted, chamfered, and rounded without any jimping or unnecessary gimmicks.
It allows your index finger to be tightly gripped on the handle here, or up front for the detail
smashing and chopping. The choil is as comfortable as the handle,
also chamfered and rounded when you choke up. The scales are Olive Drab G10 that almost feels like
Micarta, it even is textured to kind of look like it. G10 can kind of get boring nowadays,
but Mike’s knives are evidence he can transform the material by layering and texturing, turning
my frown upside down. It’s dressed up with some bead blasted brass tubes, and the medallion logo.
Now this knife I said is similar in size to the Junglas, the BK-9, the Cold Steel Wild West Bowie,
but it has significantly thicker blade stock. So it’s also noticeably heavier than those. While
over the years I’ve railed on about weight, and carried on about how pocket knives don’t really
need to weigh over 4 ounces- let’s pretend for a second I have never said those things and that I’m
not a huge hypocrite for loving this north of a pound and a half beast here. I love the weight,
for a second I assume the reason is that the knife has put some sort of hex on me, but more likely
due to a parasite I contracted in my 20s from drinking warm PBR out of nearly empty cans. Were
they my cans? Was this even the street I walked home on last night. The fun part is finding the
ashtray. Although one interesting thing, the tang is tapered it thins out near the butt.
So it could be heavier. Walking around with this on your hip, you feel like a real fucking cowboy,
even if you drive a crossover, can’t handle your liquor like a man anymore, or grow a full beard.
The sheath is made form overbuilt thick
leather, and the butt of the handle rides just below belt level. I prefer drops, at belt butts,
or danglers. I’m a fan of the muffin top area or below- if it’s above the belly button it’s too
durned high. It has some snaps so you can remove it without taking off your belt. Or if you’re like
me, at the end of day the knife comes off when the pants come off. The leather is thick like bridle
leather thick and hand sewn. Mike doesn’t make the sheaths, this one is made by Jose’s Leather who
is on Instagram, and I have linked info below if you’d like a custom one made. Or here’s his feed
Ok comparisons. First, Wallace Edges Tool. You’ll notice here in the comparison section that I like
the neutral gripped handles. Mmm… neutral. You won’t find any jimped grips or palm meat scale
grooves. The Spear 2 XXL, here has a nice finger groove and a slightly bulbous sculpted handle.
Mike spends most of his days working for Cold Steel, but he’s obviously a skilled knife maker,
even if he isn’t doing many customs these days. This big knife just feels right in the hand,
and is a pure joy to chop things with. The closest things I’ve felt to it, and the way the steel
rings when you pound some wood with it, is like the Carothers chopper I reviewed a few years ago.
I don’t know if it’s the 3v’s heat treat but most of my carbon steel knives don’t have… it’s alike a
song. Now the Junglas. A viewer gave me this a few years ago, he carried it in Afghanistan, and now
it lives in my collection. Comparatively the Junglas feels lighter in the hand, almost machete
like. It does’t have that big choil up front the Wallace spear. While I don’t do any detail work,
whatever the hell that means on a knife this big, you can conceivably get your finger safely and
closer to the blade on the spear than the other knives here. Maybe you spend warm afternoons
doing feather sticks in your fedora. Now the BK-9 which becomes a surer knife in the hand when you
put the $40 micarta scales on it. Plus there’s a familiarity to the fabric bandaid aesthetic.
The knife has some half assed jimping up top. I like a finer pitch that give actual traction,
instead of these large thumb pokers. This is under $100 though so theres that, not with the $40
scales though. Now the Wild West bowie. You know this was a breeze to touch up on the sharp maker,
the edge grind much match the 40 degree closely. This is an homage to the classic Western bowies,
cost about $70 but I the cross guard kinda rattles. I guess I could remove the scales and put
some JB weld on it, but I’m a lazy lazy man. How about a Kukri. Now this one has the grip grooves,
but I still like it. This one also has a special ring when you hit wood, and chop. It may be
carbon, but it sings. The Spear 2 XXL isn’t quite as heavy as a kukri like this, but it’s close. It
has a sure heft that gives you that familiar kukri feeling. You know what I mean right?
Let’s wrap it up. When you get into knives, I don’t know how you’d just stick to the cheap
stuff. I get some people just getting a few good knives and being done. But if you’re the sort of
dude who watches the videos… spends hours looking at new knives, postings using the NKD hashtag,
says stuff like EDCing to blank stares from coworkers, at some point you’re gonna get custom
curious. Right? Of course I also understand it’s a lot of money for one thing, and not everyone can
reasonably go down that road. Luckily for me this channel and the ad revenue it generates,
allows me to go down those roads, and still allows my kids to eat. It’s a hobby that pays for itself.
And I am appreciative of my viewers for that. Anyway so if you can reasonably afford a custom,
what I look for is single maker knives or very small productions. Do they call those midtechs
any more? Does that word mean anything? I think of it as supporting a craftsman or an artist.
Mike makes very interesting designs for cold steel, and I think his custom fixed blades are
just great looking classic patterns. The Spear 2 XXL here is a bit larger than he normally makes,
but it’s so well made, and finely crafted that it is in my collection permanently. From a functional
perspective, it’s an excellent user, with awesome ergonomics, and pretty indestructible. Sure if
you just want a chopper an esee Junglas or BK-9 are excellent choices and under $200.
Although when chopping, something heavier like a Kukri or this, add more weight behind the chops.
My three Kailash kukris and this are my absolute favorite big dumb knives. However the Spear is
really so so damn beautiful and sure in the hand it’s been my favorite for a while. It’s easily my
favorite handle of my big knives, and it makes for great chopping. If you like this sort of video,
you really need to thank the Patrons. They make it possible to occasionally chase my dreams. Which is
apparently just owning a few custom knives. But standing naked and ashamed in front of
1000 people. Buy a t-shirt or sticker if you think Im worthy.
Like, subscribe, follow Mike on Instagram- can’t wait to see some knives pop up on his feed again,
and I hope he makes some kickass knives for Cold Steel. Anyway, thanks for watching.