Re-Defining Sharp!

Lets talk about sharp for a few minutes.

I recently bought a new Matt Lamey knife. He calls it the "Urban Fighter." I had been wandering around on the web looking for a small easily carried Bowie for EDC and this fit the bill. Sure I can slip a Hells Belle or another large Bowie inside my waistband and make it work, but it is not always practical nor comfortable. Upon first opening the package I was a little disappointed. It was a small Bowie. Well that was exactly what I was looking for, and once I readjusted to that fact, I began to appreciate the details. The Urban Fighter is a very sweet piece of workmanship with a stout, flat ground blade handled with a gorgeous piece of Desert Ironwood. One of Matt’s finely shaped and fitted steel guards provides the requisite hand protection. Carefully checking the edge I was shocked by the sharpness of the blade. (By the way the false edge is also sharp.) This knife begged to do some test cutting.


One of my martial arts videos shows a Japanese swordsman cutting tatami mats from only an inch or so away and this intrigued me. I decided I wanted to try this sometime with a Bowie knife. This Urban Fighter’s razor edge induced me to try it. So, getting to the dojo early I set the blade one inch away from my trusty pool noodle target. I aligned the knife at the correct angle, and literally dropped the blade right straight through!

It cut so cleanly I thought it might be a fluke so I did it again, five times! This technique requires a well-honed edge, perfect edge geometry, and proper technique. I did not use a drawing cut, it was not a wind up and swing at the target cut, just drop right through it. As you can see by the photos the blade size is a very modest 6.5 inches. The cuts are laser clean and all at the same angle. Am I impressed? You bet I am and I was so excited that my technique produced these results that I called my daughter to tell her about the test.
A little bit about the technique I used. Dropping, is not a matter of squatting down and pulling the blade along with you, rather, you pull your feet up and simply drop, using the full force of gravity. The blade was held absolutely still and not moved as it was passing through the target. When doing this cut you must focus on your breathing, dropping as you exhale. It also helps to envision the blade passing through the target. There are other applications of this technique that will be discussed in our upcoming book, "When Two Tigers Fight."
The only other knives I own that share this degree of sharpness are my Gary Bradburn Shobu tanto and an RJ Martin "Manta Ray." Next time I go down to the dojo I am going to repeat this same experiment using the big fighter Matt Lamey custom made for me, the one recently reviewed here. It doesn't seem quite as sharp but I have a feeling it will also be up to the task as long as I do my part. In the mean time, this Lamey Urban Fighter has redefined my understanding of "sharp."