Work Tuff Gear ATAYAL
Work Tuff Gear have released yet another super star in the big utility camp knife domain, the ATAYAL, made with 日本語 (That's Japanese) SK85 High Carbon tool steel. The name of this knife comes directly from an Indigenous Taiwanese tribe, see here for more information:
The Work Tuff Gear Atayal embraces all of the functionality of this indispensable tool of the Atayal people however, now made with modern materials such as G10 composite for the handle scales and a quality Japanese high carbon tool steel, SK85 and Kydex for the no nonsense all weather sheath.
Work Tuff Gear have double tempered this blade and if their double tempering is anything like the same for the amazing Work Tuff Gear Lanzeta then, look out because it's a great temper treatment. (just watch that blade flex like a sword in my video field review of the Lanzeta for a honest view of the tempering process at Work Tuff Gear!).
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| Work Tuff Gear Atayal with Kydex sheath (Static line author's), cord on the lanyard provided by WTG. Rugged high denier Nylon belt loop, with velcro and press stud for quick release, no need to remove one's belt. |
The Atayal features an absolutely deadly sharp convex grind, and I mean deadly scary sharp. There's been a lot of love gone into the production of this model (well, just like his others!)
The WTG Atayal blade has been acid washed to provide a low sheen/low reflective surface treatment. The grind is basically a sabre if you like. The Work Tuff Gear Atayal is no small knife, at a manufacturer's length of 8.8" blade with 8.2" of cutting power! The blade has been hardened to 56/58 HRC.
The spine thickness is 5mm (0.196") or so and the Atayal, although a big knife is not too heavy in the hand due to some milling within the grip. I measured a tang thickness of 5.99mm, in other words a 6mm thick tang. This tang thickness tapers down to 4.86mm at the very top of the spine, that is 5mm in reality. This is one sturdy knife. The overall curvature of the Work Tuff Gear ATAYAL suggests good usage from butchering meat to slicing through jungle vegetation and food preparation, fishing and hunting. WTG haven't reinvented the wheel here, they have taken a traditional tool design from people who have been using such shaped blades in their daily lives for many years; and produced something modern for the outdoors persons.
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| The Work Tuff Gear ATAYAL features a generous lanyard hole and the butt extends slightly above the scales so if anything was struck here one wouldn't damage the scales. (red cord came with my knife). |
The G10 grip is well contoured and feels very comfortable in the hand but enough grip to enable one to securely hold onto such a large knife without fear of letting go accidentally.
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| The Work Tuff Gear Atayal grip features a very comfortable, yet grippy handle with a good palm swell, not too thick there and can easily accommodate a hand size from 8 upwards! |
Fit and finish are great as usual from this manufacturer. Just look at those funky fluoro green scale liners that just match the scale colour without being gaudy at all. But don't freak out, there are many other handle color variations available at the time of writing this article; AND as I said, the attention to detail such as the excellent convex grind on the ATAYAL makes for great cutting power.
Field review to follow!
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