Extrema Ratio´s
Shrapnel OG Geocamo
The Extrema Ratio Shrapnel-OG is a little tough guy. With a OAL of 8.3” (210mm) and a 4.3” (110mm) blade the Shrapnel is not a giant at all. There for the knife is rather space-saving and in some country’s with a blade-length-restriction of 4,7” (12cm), like in Germany for example, you will not get in trouble. But the weight of 7oz (200g) total and the blade, as thick as a quarter of an inch (6,3mm), are making a good case for this little fellow.
By talking about the blade, it is a spear/leaf point blade with a surface grinding on the edge. The material used for the blade is N690 steel, nicknamed „Austrian 440“. The steel has its nick from the Austrian manufacturer Bohler, who is the only company that makes this steel, worldwide. And on the other hand the N690 is closely related to 440C. The N690 is containing more cobalt and some other material then 440C. This is making the N690 more corrosion resistant and harder (58-61HRC) then the original 440C. Also Spyderco is usingN690 for its Volpe knife, which they make in Italy.
There is a full tang in the Shrapnel and at the end of the 4“ (10cm) long grip you will note a 0.3“ (8mm) strike-device with a lanyard-hole. It could rule as a window breaker or as a „less-lethal-ratio“.
The Grip is made out of the thermoplastic elastomer Forprene. Forprene is an extremely tough synthetic material which feels like hard rubber. The grip is slip resistant with or without gloves, with wet or dry hands. It will stand temperatures from -58F. (-50C.) to 260F. (125C.), it is weather-, ozone- and UV- proof, the insulating is pretty good, stands up to 10% salt-acid and it is 100% recyclable. Just a 160 hour bath in oil or gasoline will make it sweat.
In the one-third facing the blade you will feel a square pit which gives good hold for the index-finger. The handle is getting a little narrow at the rare, to grow wider again at the end. This will support the inky during a firm grip. To undo the grip-screw you will just need a regular slotted screw driver like you will find in any toolbox or even in most pocket tools. Now, with a little elbow grease, you can pull the grip of the tang. That could be useful for a survival situation, where you may need a spear with a shrapnel-warhead.
On top of the back of the blade, but still at grip-level, you will notice a 0.8” (2cm) serration for the thump. I decided myself for the OG on purpose. The OG has no upper element of the cross-guard. Personally I don´t get along with the full cross-guard on the Shrapnel since I believe that it is restricting the handling of the knife. For easy cutting tasks it’s may be enough to put the thumb on the serrations. But for hard work I need a little more than the small grip, so I place my thumb directly on the back of the blade for cutting. Some small serrations here would be great. It’s no problem to hold the Shrapnel in the traditional saber-grip, but when stabbing really hard you could slip of the serrations easily and hurt you thumb on the upper part of the cross-guard. That is why I went for the OG. It’s just more flexible for different tasks.
Like I wrote I like to put my thump on top of the back of the blade. This works just with the OG because of the lack of the upper cross-guard. The lower hand-guard is a great protection for the index-finger and it will prevent the fingers from slipping over the edge when stabbing hard or gripping fast at the handle. There is also a lanyard-hole in the lower part of the hand guard, so it´s possible to tie up your hand to the handle if you want to do so. The knife below the Shrapnel is a Cold Steel SRK.
There are right now 3 knife-sheaths out for the Shrapnel. The older version of the “kydex-style” sheath is tough, but in my own opinion limited useful. You can´t grip the handle fast and securely while the knife is in the sheath, but with a firm grip you can draw the Shrapnel very fast. Even the tough Forprene handle wear´s off from heavy use of the old sheath. It’s not very comfortable to carry nor it is somewhat concealed. The older models came with a Tek-Lock, but my version has an Extrema Ratio lock in Tek-Lok style screwed to it. The belt-loop is adjustable and the sheath can be carried in different vertical and horizontal positions. But the locking mechanism of the old sheath is rather poor. Ripping harsh on the holster and the lock will just come undone. But it´s very easy to put the blade back in its sheath.
The new sheath is rather square and slim then the old flat and wide version. The sheath itself is not deeper than the old version. But the whole setup is. That is 1.1” (28mm) for the old sheath and the new one is 1.7” (43mm) deep. So again, no concealed carry. But the new sheath is rock solid. The belt-clip got a little extra safety devise and now the belt-lock will stay put when getting ripped on it. Further, the sheath/belt-lock-system allows carrying the Shrapnel at 4 different levels. The locking mechanism that is holding the knife in the sheath is a little friendlier to the knife grip. But just a little. The notch of the sheath is flanked by two “L” shaped protectors. They prevent that the user get stabbed by himself while holstering the knife. Nothing would be worse than going out of the action unharmed and then get stabbed by oneself. A good idea. And if there would be a funnel between the “L” now, holstering the blade could be a breeze. But if you don´t aim for the narrow slot, you may end up poking the tip of your blade into the flat faces of the “L” shaped protectors. The screw-set of the older and newer sheath can be used to mount it somewhere else without the belt-clip.
The third one of the trio is the neoprene padded nylon sheath with MOLLE-System for the PALS. The sheath is open at the bottom and an unsecured plastic bar is protecting the tip of the blade. There are four loops and one nylon bar with a pushbutton at the back of the sheath. Once secured to the PALS it is like one unit.
The Shrapnel is only secured by a rubber ring since the sheath itself has no retention force. There for I can´t recommend upside down carry with the MOLLE-Sheath. To holster the knife is also with the MOLLE-Sheath not always easy. If done under speed and/or stress it could happen, that tip of the Shrapnel gets stuck in the nylon webbing at the slot of the sheath. To prevent getting stuck one has to put the knife back straight down. If the blade comes in angled a stuck blade is almost granted.
In my own opinion the Extrema Ratio Shrapnel is exactly that type of knife that it claims to be. A Back-up. No more, but no less. It can take it hard and it can give hard. Yes it is pretty heavy, but rough, tough, resistant and sharp out of the box. Here the only difference between the boy and the man is the size. The material and the craftsmanship can hold up with the big ones easily. The “OG” and that is also just my opinion, is the better Shrapnel. It is extending the tasks and in favor of that it is extending the width of the users. But the sheaths are different. You can´t carry it concealed and if you can, the lock on the belt-clip is not stabile enough. If you want it on the PALS, you can´t carry it up-side down and to reholster the knife could make you stuck. But if you plan to put the 2nd generation-sheath on your first-line and to reholster under stress is not your concern, you will be good to go.
I hope my review of the Extrema Ratio Shrapnel OG was useful for you.
Cheers,
Gunner