Monday I decided to take my Colonial Bushcraft Defiant Model CE400 to the woods for a little workout.  Up to this time my take-it-to-the-woods knife has been a Rough Rider RR1439 Sidewinder.  I like the RR and it has served me well.  So, even though this discussion is primarily intended to be a review of the Colonial, I took the RR along just to compare it.

Here are the two knives.

Length Overall:  Colonial-11 1/8",  RR-9 7/8"

Blade:  Colonial-5 3/4" 154CM,  RR-5 1/8" 440A

Blade Thickness:  Colonial-3/16",  RR-1/8"

Weight:  Colonial-13.3 oz.,  RR-10.1 oz.

Handle:  Colonial-G10 scales,  RR-Wood scales, nickel silver guard and pommel

Both knives full tang

Cost:  Colonial-$200,  RR-About $30

The first thing I did was chop down this tree.  The trunk at the chopping point measured 2 1/2".  It took me about 4 1/2 minutes to fell the tree.  I did not bend it over to make chopping easier.  I chopped until the tree fell of its own weight.  If I could hit the same point consistently it would have taken me less time.

I didn't repeat this test with the RR because I had previously tested it in the same way.

http://iknifecollector.com/group/roughridercollectors/forum/topics/...

The two trees were the same type and similar in size.  It took me about 12 to 15 minutes to chop the tree down with the RR.  I also had a blister on my hand when done.  The more hand filling handle, the greater weight, and the thicker blade make the Colonial much better than the RR for chopping. 

I then chopped the trunk in two about five feet further up with the Colonial.  It was about 1 1/2" thick at that point.  After that I hacked the limbs off the trunk.  At this point I also hacked some of the small limbs with the RR.  In this the RR surprised me.  It actually seemed to do a better job slicing off the smaller limbs than the Colonial.  The RR seemed sharper.  But I had used my KME sharpener on it.  The Colonial still has the factory edge.  When I received it, it would not shave hair but would slice paper.

Next I sliced thin strips off the end of the trunk with both knives.  In this the RR again surprised me doing just a little better than the Colonial.  Again I attribute this to the RR just being a little sharper.

I started off thinking I would try to whittle the end of my five foot piece of trunk down to make a spear.  However that wood was so hard and so thick, it would have taken much longer than I wanted to spend on it.  Plus it was just too heavy to make a walking staff or spear that you would want to carry any distance.

So the results of the test?  I think the Colonial Bushcraft Defiant is a good bushcratt knife.  Its weight and hand filling handle make it a good light chopper.  If it were a little sharper (and I was a more consistent chopper) I think I could have had that tree down in two to three minutes.  I was actually surprised it wasn't sharper from the factory.  When I find out what angle it is ground at I intend to use my KME to get it hair shaving sharp.  Being 154CM I expect it will hold a good edge.  It and the RR would both still slice paper after the test.

I really like the Defiant's sheath.  It can be worn vertically or horizontally.  I wear mine horizontally on my left side and draw the knife with my right hand.  You don't have to unbuckle your belt to put it on.  With that spacer in the belt loop, it can be adjusted to fit just about any size belt snugly.  You adjust it by placing the spacer in the appropriate small slot for your belt. It fits my 1 1/2" wide belt perfectly.

The RR fared better in this comparison than I expected it too.  In the lighter work it actually did a little better than the Colonial.  The more I use RR's the better I like them.  For a low cost knife they give you more than your money's worth.  I think they are equal in quality to many more expensive knives.  The Sidewinder is not comparable the the Colonial as a chopper and once both are sharpened equally sharp, I expect the Colonial would hold its edge much longer.

I did use the RR to slice through rather than chop the trunk in two at a point about 3/4" thick.

One word of caution.  The sheath is a tight fit.  After the test I was resheathing the knife.  My hand slid up the handle and my index finger slid across the blade.  Fortunately my finger only lightly touched the blade or it would have been a much worse cut.  That blade felt very sharp when it cut my finger!  Now I start the knife into the sheath and then hit the back end of the handle with the palm of my hand to seat the knife in the sheath.

Sorry about the blurry picture.  I was having to hold the camera with my left hand to take a picture of my right index finger while trying not to drip blood on my truck

I realize this was not, as they say, a scientific test.  However I think it gives an indication of what the Colonial Defiant is capable of.  As I use it and learn more of its capabilities I will update this discussion with the results.