I am a big fan of the RMD .... but comparing it to the S5LE and the Basic 5 as alternative choices .... I am still checking this out. The really good knives take a long time "use" wise to seperate. I said I would do a comparison review of my 4-5 inch knives .... I took a few out for some testing and photo's .... and the results were suprising ... overturning some previous experiences .... it made me realise that much of what we can deduce from knives in this range needs to carefully look at the level of sharpness and how we sharpen them and what level the edge is at in terms of use before "testing".

Very slight differences on the edge can make a lot of difference when looking at a test to show wear and "longevity" of the edge ...

The RMD is for me at least an easy winner over the HRLM ... it balances better and the swedge when sharpened is a VERY useful feature and the choil choke hold offers very fine carving performance .... plus when cutting the extra edge length of the RMD offers a much greater "bite" to the cut and at 5 inches it still has high precision "feel" when using the point .... all combined means it "dusts" the HRLM in my eyes but each to their own .... but the S5LE and the Basic 5 offer it a lot of competition. Of those three though ... they really ARE all good ... meanwhile I am keeping on with the re-sharpening and testing.

For those curious as to what changed when doing some recent tests ... usually the convex edges on the RMD and the S5LE easily remain sharper than the scandi edges on my 4-5 inch bushcraft knives ... with the bushcrafters starting out with and taking a higher level of sharpness. However after speaking on the phone with Gayle Bradley the knifesmith who makes a lot of the competition cutters in Bladesports as to how he sharpens such thin edges ... I tried his suggestion of taking the edge on a straight flat grind down so thin it was almost "tearing" and then strop and hone it back with a very fine micro bevel convex edge. I did it to two bushcrafters and the difference on avoiding edge roll and increasing longevity was pretty amazing compared to how they performed with a simple flat grind thin edge.

So now I am a little stumped on "conclusions" which I had hitherto felt were definately correct ... but to Ordawg1 to whom I said I would do a review ... it will happen. Some of it is written up ... but I own a lot of knives in this range and feel with the sharpening tips given I need to re-do a few edges to see what the results would be. Certainly 01 tool steel jumped quite a few "notches" ... so it is only fair to do the others the same way if possible and see what happens. It might be a little while as I have about 10-12 knives to do. But all interesting stuff ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />