>>463370welp I'm back. bit of a blizzard out today but I whacked around the bush for a little over an hour. I did in fact beat my knife and this is what I have learned.
1) the coating won't hold up if you use a metal hatchet (Estwing) to baton the spine, but the metal of the spine will be more or less unharmed.
2) the knife is very sharp but won't perform miracles, hard wood still needs some work and the thickness of the blade means you have to change your angles (I'm not used to the edge grind yet but started getting the hang of it making feather sticks).
3) the finger choil is great, I underestimated how useful this is but it really lets you choke up and control the large blade.
4) I split a piece of green oak firewood with it using a wood baton and it was no problem, little bastard will process hard wood.
5) I don't actually own a honing rod that can be used to touch up the knife, it is harder than the hone. Bear this in mind, you will need a set of stones with a diamond/ceramic stone to finish the edge.
6) chops pretty good but I can't recommend chopping when you can baton crosses and just wedge them out, it's a much more efficient use of the edge.
7) the drop sheath hangs just about right, it carries very comfortably and the clip hangs on tight. The friction grip on the knife is enough that my womanly hands have a bit of trouble pulling it and the hardness of the steel is such that the jimping will induce callouses on your thumb if you pull it frequently. that knife and sheath aren't going anywhere your belt doesn't.
That's all I got out of a short hike, I wanted to take a picture but the shitty quality of my camera cannot produce a picture which is observably different. the knife has a little dirt and a few dings in the coating but otherwise remains the same.
