Bradford Guardian 3 vs. CRK Nyala for EDC?

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chrispy513

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So I recently got the itch for a nicer EDC fixed blade to supplement my folder. Probably not really necessary, but I carried an izula for a little bit and liked having a fixed blade to do certain jobs.

Anyway, I've been looking into some of the nicer production fixed blades within EDC range around the forum, and it seems like the guardian 3 has gotten really popular lately. I've also seen a few Nyalas and really like the looks of them as well. I've also never had a CRK of any kind before, and hear the QC is really impeccable.

So my question is, which of these do you all feel works better for you as far as an EDC blade that might get beaten on a little here and there, but will probably just be my makeshift steak knife when I'm eaten somewhere and the plastic knives just don't cut it? haha

I've never really tried M390, but have wanted to for quite some time now because I've heard excellent things about it. Only knife I've ever had in S35VN was a 0550BLK and the steel was fine for my purposes in a folder. I have read around here before that CRK runs their S35VN on the softer side, so not sure how it compares.

Anyway, I guess all of that was to say, how do these two blades compare?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
I have never had either one of these knives so take what I say with a grain of salt. There is no comparison between M390 and S35N.
 
I assume you are talking about a Guardian 4, not that it matters. I own neither knife.

A Guardian has been on my 'next list' for some time. It does have a higher Rockwell. Personally I prefer the look of the Guardian. I think the Ayala somehow looks a little awkward. The Guardian sheath is much more to my liking as well. I hear the knife belt carries very well.

I would buy the Guardian. Not only do Iike it better but the savings will be a bonus.
 
No, I'm aware of the guardian 4 as well but the guardian 3 is what I've seen a lot of recently. The guardian 3 uses M390, but it doesn't look like the guardian 4 is offered in M390. Anyway, the guardian 3 is what I was leaning toward anyway mostly because of the cost savings, but I'm not opposed to the extra cost if it's truly worth it for the Nyala.
 
I have a guardian 3 and it's pretty fantastic. About the same size as my small sebenza but obviously feels much better in the hand. Steel is good and the grip is very nice. Brad is also really nice with pretty good CS.
 
Having owned all of the above the best of the bunch is the bradford guardian 3. Followed by the guardian 4. Crk does beautiful work but the bradford has an awesome heat treat that flat out out does that from crk.
 
I have 3 Nyala's, two with the standard blade profile and one with the Insingo blade profile, I don't have a Bradford but have been researching them for a few weeks.

The Nyala (standard profile) has become my main woods blade, I absolutely love it and don't see ever replacing it out of necessity; the only way it'll get beat out of that spot will be pure curiosity about another design.

With that said, I'd suggest the Bradford for around town use or to pull out in the steakhouse because their knives are inferior. The Nyala is by no means a small knife and will get the attention of those around you but the Bradford guardian 3 seems to be a very good size to do that job and most any other job that most people will run into on a daily basis.

The Nyala will be perfect in construction with perfect grinds, the handle looks odd but feels perfect to me, and the S35VN has held an edge field dressing deer as well as my 1095 ESEE's have( and they have a perfect heat treat ). The size is the only con for your uses.

The Bradford seems well thought out and has a following to prove it. M390 is REALLY GOOD STUFF, I have no doubt that it'll hold a keen edge for a long time, could possibly chip in extremely cold weather before the softer S35 but doubt that most people would find that out.

The Bradford will save you a few bucks but I'd put that money towards a nice sheath as the one that it comes with looks less than impressive- just my opinion though, I'm a Kydex kind of guy and purchased Kydex for my Nyala's. The Nyala's come with very nice leather, it's just not for me.

I hope my rambling helped a little, and I think that you'll be happy no matter which one you pick.

If you get the Bradford please let us know what you think, I'm thinking hard about picking one up to add to the collection.
 
Yea, I think you make a good point about the size difference. As for the sheath, no matter what I do I'll bend my own kydex sheath for it. I too greatly prefer kydex to leather or anything else for that matter, and I have a setup that's capable of getting results that are acceptable for my uses, though I'm not confident enough to sell anything yet. Just lets me make it ride how I want it to ride and everything.

I also think I may be underestimating the size of the Nyala by some margin based on the pictures I've seen. I'd love to see some comparison shots either of these two knives or of these knives with other common models if anyone has any.

Thanks for the help so far everyone. I really appreciate the input.
 
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