- Joined
- May 21, 2000
- Messages
- 6,241
Hi. I got my Chinook. I had one before but, traded it to someone for a Starmate since they are now discontinued. Now that I've had some time to play with this beast, I'll give my initial impressions.
The fit and finish of this knife is very good. Every thing lines up perfectly and no sharp edges. One of the grinds is off by just a tiny, tiny fraction near the tip. It's no big deal and hardly noticiable.
The knife locks up fine...really inspires confidence. This is by far the most robust lockback I've ever seen. I really don't have any doubts about the lock. The dual steel liners are a nice touch too. As expected, there is a little vertical blade play. However, the horizontal axis is fine. Since the Chinook was designed to have a little play, it dosn't bother me. The blade was razor sharp out of the box. The action is about right, although I tightened the tension to suit my preferences.
The Chinook defiently weighs more than some of my other knives but, it is not too heavy...don't let the weight concern put you off from buying this knife. It seems to be very balanced, allowing for better manipulation.
I'm familiar with James Keating's work, and understand why he designed the Chinook like this. It's sort of like a mini bowie knife, and due to the excellent lock, you could probably do back cut techniques. This knife also feels great in reverse grip. Because of the shape of the blade, the knife could sort of be used like a claw in this manner.
The Chinook is defiently and excellent tactical blade. I also think it will make a pretty good utility knife as well. The huge belly should make for easy pushcuts, and the overall construction will make it an excellent hard use folder.
All in all I'm pretty happy with the knife. It does what it was designed for and then some. I'll probably be using it for general EDC and as a backup defensive knife. I wish that about a centimeter of the false edge had been sharpened...it would really aid in backcutting. Although I understand that blade play was inevitable, I still wish it didn't have any. I would defiently recommend this knife to anyone looking for something tougher than your average folder.
The fit and finish of this knife is very good. Every thing lines up perfectly and no sharp edges. One of the grinds is off by just a tiny, tiny fraction near the tip. It's no big deal and hardly noticiable.
The knife locks up fine...really inspires confidence. This is by far the most robust lockback I've ever seen. I really don't have any doubts about the lock. The dual steel liners are a nice touch too. As expected, there is a little vertical blade play. However, the horizontal axis is fine. Since the Chinook was designed to have a little play, it dosn't bother me. The blade was razor sharp out of the box. The action is about right, although I tightened the tension to suit my preferences.
The Chinook defiently weighs more than some of my other knives but, it is not too heavy...don't let the weight concern put you off from buying this knife. It seems to be very balanced, allowing for better manipulation.
I'm familiar with James Keating's work, and understand why he designed the Chinook like this. It's sort of like a mini bowie knife, and due to the excellent lock, you could probably do back cut techniques. This knife also feels great in reverse grip. Because of the shape of the blade, the knife could sort of be used like a claw in this manner.
The Chinook is defiently and excellent tactical blade. I also think it will make a pretty good utility knife as well. The huge belly should make for easy pushcuts, and the overall construction will make it an excellent hard use folder.
All in all I'm pretty happy with the knife. It does what it was designed for and then some. I'll probably be using it for general EDC and as a backup defensive knife. I wish that about a centimeter of the false edge had been sharpened...it would really aid in backcutting. Although I understand that blade play was inevitable, I still wish it didn't have any. I would defiently recommend this knife to anyone looking for something tougher than your average folder.
