Browning Crowell and Barker Competition Knife?

Good question Cliff, I will call Jimmy tonight and ask him. Jimmy is really high on this knife, he said that is a great knife for the money.
 
Just got off the phone with Jimmy. He said that the Crowell/Barker knives are all full tang. As for competition knives they can be full tang or hidden tang. He makes them both ways.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Isn't there a significant balance issue with full tang vs tapered tang?

-Cliff
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Depneds on what you mean by "issue."

As for the blance, I'll know when it arrives. Might be, depending on the blade and the tang, that Crowell and Barker not only know what they're doing but also that their wishes were followed. Can't tell from a side view.
 
Well the Browning has clearly a tapered tang. Since that is significantly more work, I doubt they would put on a tapered tang if the designers wouldn't have requested it.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Depneds on what you mean by "issue."
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It shifts the center of mass back towards the grip and the dynamic balance point as well. The blade will be heavier in hand, slower and less accurate through the point. It will also not be as responsive through rotations. Possum has described this in great detail in threads in the review forum. There is little use for a lot of steel in the handle aside from saving the maker time/money.

-Cliff
 
Cliff, you sound as if you have inspected one of these. How tapered is the tang? Are there any holes in the tang under the grips? Where is the balance point in relation to the handle?

As for shifting the balance back towards the hand, how does that make the knife "slower" and less accurate? Seems directly contary to what I thought I knew about knives, foils and sabres -- and what I surely know about baseball bats.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Cliff, you sound as if you have inspected one of these.
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No, nice looking blade, but I have no interest in slab tangs any more. I was commenting in the above about the general behavior of slab vs enclosed.

[slab]

... how does that make the knife "slower" and less accurate?
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There is less responce to rotation and the point doesn't track where you think it should be. As noted, possum has discussed this in detail, look for posts on dynamic balance.

If you want to read a much harsher viewpoint, then go on rec.knives and read what Clements has to same about slab knives after handling and using VERY high end knives for a very long time.

-Cliff
 
Cliff - How about a link. I could not find it. I would like to read what he has to say about slab handled knives. I have never liked them all that much either.
Dave.
 
Thanks for 'the rest of the story'! Sounds like "one hell of a knife for the money", like Jimmy said.

Appreciate it!

- Joe
 
It arrived.

Maximum thickness of the blade mic'd at 6mm/.236".

Balance on this one is exactly 32.5mm/1.31" in front of the handle.

Black canvas micarta handle scales.

Tang tapers to just a touch under .1250" at the butt. (ED: Actually the exposed protion of the tang at the butt is also V shaped, top to bottom, so the average tang thickness is more like .1875")

Flat gound with a convex edge.

Nice sheath.

I'll try it out this weekend in PA.
 
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=browning+crowell+barker+competition+knife

Only AG and Sportsmans' Guide seem to have them. There is a price difference.

From the illustrations I didn't appreciate how straight the spine actually is. The "drop" along the spine from handle to tip when you use a straightedge is < 1/16". I need a light to see it. Should work fine for batonning

Just a bit of a swedge on the tapering blade (disregarding the swedge, 1/8" at 1" from tip; 5/32 2" from tip; 3/16 3" from tip; pretty gradual change thereafter until it gets to .236")
 
I noted that, Ralph. I'm sure those are laser-sharp. But do they come slathered with a year's supply of silicon gerase like the factory jobs? :D

(The grinds on mine are quite even - at the plunge line, where the swedge starts, and all aspects of the convex edge. But the proof of the pudding . . . .)
 
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