Ok, it's old news for you blokes, but after what seems like the longest wait, Gronk and my S5s finally arrived here in the "Land Down Under".

Haven't had an opportunity to try them apart from to cut a sandwich (see below) and won't have a chance for a decent field test, probably for a couple of months.

Having said that, I'm really pleased with these babies.

Size:
From some of the photo's I've seen over the last week I thought they might be bigger than I was hoping for. But when they arrived they were pretty much exactly what I was after and what I was hoping for when I ordered them.
A medum/small-ish knife for round the camp day to day, carving, notching and the like.
An adjunct to a larger chopper for small/delicate-ish tasks or an absolute minimum solo bush blade. Some thing unobtrusive, but still a "real knife" (you could cut/split firewood, build a shelter with it at a pinch) that can go into a smallish survival pouch or a day pack.
A bit like what the bushcraft crowd call a bushcraft knife.
Can't over emphasise how happy I am with the size. Exactly what I was hoping for, despite my second guessing since ordering.
Perfect.

Colours:
After seeing some of the photos over the last week I was beginning to second guess some of my colour choices. But again now they are here in the flesh so to speak, the problem is which I will keep for me and which I will give away.
At this point I'm thinking sage/green as my keeper.
But that could easy change. I like the sage/brown. And the black/black.
Gorgeous.

Mudder Handle:
My first mudder handle.
What can I say? It feels great.
At first impressions I suspect it will give great control for fine work and a good grip for coarser work, but I really need an opportunity to try her out properly to know.

Steel:
And the edge out of the box - well they took hair off my arm and sliced paper.
No complaints there.
I don't think you can reasonably ask for more.

This is the first SR101 I've owned, though Gronk has some other Rats.
I've got some INFI and some SR77, so I am looking forward to giving these a bit of a work out, next time I get a chance and interested in seeing what sort of edge I can get on them, though I have a pretty good idea of what sort of edge SR101 is capable of from Gronk's excursions on the Apex Pro.

All in all I'm very happy, and they were well worth the (seemingly agonising) wait.

I think it is pretty safe to say that Gronk, the world's quietest lurker (who also happens to be my housemate and the pusher responsible for my Bussekin addiction), seems to be similarly pleased. Some of the knives pictured are his, as we combined our order to save shipping.

And finally, Thanks:
Thanks Dan for a great knife at a great price.
Thanks Renee for your patience in dealing with an impatient, worrier of a customer.










Now they're here I can "...just smile and have a..."

Good deal. I love the pics of the S5's on the jelly bean camo!

Awesome! I'm glad they FINALLY arrived!

Nice pics! I'm glad to hear that you're happy with your knives. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

That sage w/ green handle combo looks good -- I didn't expect to like the green handles with anything (and I'm not a huge sage fan, although they look great with brown handles), but I'd buy a couple of those if they were still taking orders.

Yeah I dig the sage with the brown handle - I had to pull mine off the exchange because I liked it more the more I handled it.

Fireball - Congrats on your S-5's!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> I'm glad that you are happy with them - my wife and I sure like ours! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think Vegemite may be the only thing that voids the Scrap Yard warranty...

...Marmite is okay with SR-101 though :-P

it definitely makes me void the contents of my stomach <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

+1... or should I say "-1" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

Nice knives, though! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

vegemite, good stuff!