Hey everyone David C Andersen here
coming at you from the KnifeCenter and
today we're taking a look at the LT
Wright Gen 5. Let's check it out. So the
brand new Gen 5 from LT Wright knives is
a modern update of the classic Kephart
knife pattern. Much like the original
Cole Klesser made Kephart knife had a
four inch and five-inch bladed version.
This Gen 5 is a five-inch bladed version
of their original Genesis which helped
launch the LT Wright knives and has a
blade just over 4 inches. Apart from that
added blade length this is exactly the
same thing you know and love from that
Genesis. It still has that fantastic
broomstick style handle that fills the
hand very nicely and makes it very
comfortable to engage in long wood
carving and whittling sessions. The blade
steel is A2 which is a great tough
option for an outdoors field knife.
It'll initially be available in two
different grinds both a Scandi grind
which is a bushcraft classic and the
saber grind shown here that has a flat
primary bevel. I actually had a chance to
use this knife on a recent outing and I
found that extra blade lengths to be
very helpful when doing all kinds of
stuff around the camp. Even with that
extra length the balance of this knife
is fantastic and it's very controllable.
I was able to use it in a range of
different activities including some
woodworking. At one point we were making
tri-sticks and we were able to
demonstrate a bunch of the notches that
you might use in a bushcraft or survival
situation. The handle made it very easy
to bear down when doing things like stop
cuts or notching and the tip was still
close enough to the handle that I found
it very easy to control when doing
things like a box or cylinder reduction.
I was able to get my thumb right behind
the edge holding the stick in this hand
and do some very fine and very
controlled motions quite easily and when
I was doing things like this. That's
another area where this simple handle
design comes in really handy because
there's no odd shape. it's very easy to
hold this in just about any manner you
wish. We've got a nice smooth pommel
which means it's easy to stick it in
your palm right here and you can do
drilling tasks with this knife because
the point is right along the centerline.
It makes it very easy and very efficient
and it also came in handy when I was
doing that fine work with the tip these
handles are shaped by hand and you'd be
hard-pressed to find any hot spots. For
one of the nicest features I like about
this handle design are the addition of
the thumb scallops right here that gives
you a nice pinch point on
knife whether you're using it for
smaller tasks or reverse for using that
spine while you're scraping. Like all LT
right knives this was also very useful
when we were trying to get a fire going
for one thing it features a 90-degree
spine which makes it very usable for
things like scraping including when you
want to scrape the fire steel or 
faracerium rod to throw sparks and get your
flames going it was also useful earlier
in the situation when I was prepping
some tinder. I was able to use the blade
to harvest some bark from a tree and I
was then able to use the backside with
that crisp spine to run along the inside
of the bark and feather up the fibers so
that I could get a nice good tinder
bundle. Let's say for instance the good
tinder material wasn't available
and you had to get your fire going from
a single piece of wood I'd have no
qualms actually using this knife to
split that piece of wood because the
construction is top notch. In addition to
using that tough A2 steel we've got
canvas micarta handles that are very
secure on this tang. You can see these
love lists or fisheye style bolts right
here but that's not all that's keeping
these attached. The LT right team also
uses a heavy 2 ton marine grade epoxy to
hold these in place. Meaning the scales
are secured both chemically and
mechanically but even if something were
to happen these do have a lifetime
warranty. So after battoning your log down
to kindling size you're gonna want to
make some feather sticks and because of
that full grip it's very easy to bear
down and get some good pressure when
you're going through that task but if
you want a little more control and
you're the kind of person who likes to
choke up on your knife blade the front
of the scales here forms sort of a shelf
which makes a very handy place for
hooking your thumb over and getting
right up behind that blade for even
finer control. Last but not least I want
to talk about the sheath real quick.
You'll have to pardon the marks on this
one because this is a used example that
I actually put through its paces but we
get a high quality leather sheath and
it's made by JRE industries and just
like the knife itself it's made here in
America.
The sheath does come with a loop here on
the side for holding your ferro rod and
in terms of carry you've actually got a
couple different options of how you're
gonna attach this to your belt. It does
come equipped with the dangler
attachment which allows you to hook your
belt through here and if you're wearing
a pack or a longer coat it's a great way
to have this sticking out below so it's
easier to access. It's also handy when
you're getting in and out of vehicles
because you've got a little bit of
motion this way it's the
to sit down in the driver's seat without
it poking you in the side however if
you're not too keen on the dangler carry
system and prefer to carry it a little
bit higher you can simply fold this back
and there's still plenty of length right
here to thread your belt through the top.
So the Gen 5 is gonna make a fantastic
addition to the Genesis family of LT
Wright knives and it's quickly becoming
one of our favourite bushcraft knives
here at the KnifeCenter. If you want to get
your hands on one you can order now at
KnifeCenter.com using the link below
