Some of you may have read my 'suggestions for a HARD use folder' thread in the Blade Discussion Forum, well in the end i decided on the Spyderco Chinook, which arrived this morning, so do bear in mind that i write this with only a day of experience with the knife.
The first thing i noticed was the weight, it wasn't as heavy as i thought it would be, i've heard a few comments about not being able to carry this folder in your pocket due to its weight, this may be true for trousers, but the Chinook is quite at home in a pair of levi's, in fact, i've had to pat my pocket once or twice to make sure it was there, and have experienced no discomfort whilst carrying this knife today
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The knife is very sturdy, comes sharp out of the box, and has the most comfortable handle on a folder i've come across so far. Another thing i've got to mention is fit and finish, there is not a single flaw anywhere on this folder, everything is flush, well-fitted, no scratches or scuff marks, absolutely perfect . Liners are of normal size with thick G10 slabs. Bowie style blade is thick (maybe 4mm, retains good thickness all the way to the tip, very little chance of the tip breaking). When the knife is open, there is a sort of curved portion (finger choil?)where the front of the blade and handle meet, for enhanced control during precise cuts i presume, there are also traction grooves at this point on the back of the blade, both features work effectively. It took a few mins opening and closing to get used to the knife, the thickness of the CPM440V steel is noticeable when engaging the Spyderco round-hole and the knife is slow to close with one hand (a female friend was unable to close it using both hands) due to the lock strength and size of the knife, though i don't think that's a disadvantage given the purpose of the Chinook. The knife overall has a very menacing look and if any folder with a sub 4 inch blade will send a bad guy running home to his mommy, this is it .
Conclusion- it seems that this knife is very well suited to hard-use applications (what i bought it for) but isn't a great cutter when it come to thin, deep slice-type cuts, for this reason i don't think it's suitable as an EDC utility knife by itself, personally i'm going to carry it in my right front pocket until either i get my Benchmade 710 back from repair, or get impatient and buy a new primary EDC, then transfer it to my back pocket (where my delica (which another friend exclaimed looks like a toy next to the Chinook) is now) to rest until its brute strength is needed. I'm very happy with this knife and it definately won't be the last Spyderco i buy this year. I hope you have found my initial impressions interesting, please correct me if you think i made any mistakes.I intend to post another review after i've gained more experience with the Chinook.
The first thing i noticed was the weight, it wasn't as heavy as i thought it would be, i've heard a few comments about not being able to carry this folder in your pocket due to its weight, this may be true for trousers, but the Chinook is quite at home in a pair of levi's, in fact, i've had to pat my pocket once or twice to make sure it was there, and have experienced no discomfort whilst carrying this knife today
. The knife is very sturdy, comes sharp out of the box, and has the most comfortable handle on a folder i've come across so far. Another thing i've got to mention is fit and finish, there is not a single flaw anywhere on this folder, everything is flush, well-fitted, no scratches or scuff marks, absolutely perfect
. Liners are of normal size with thick G10 slabs. Bowie style blade is thick (maybe 4mm, retains good thickness all the way to the tip, very little chance of the tip breaking). When the knife is open, there is a sort of curved portion (finger choil?)where the front of the blade and handle meet, for enhanced control during precise cuts i presume, there are also traction grooves at this point on the back of the blade, both features work effectively. It took a few mins opening and closing to get used to the knife, the thickness of the CPM440V steel is noticeable when engaging the Spyderco round-hole and the knife is slow to close with one hand (a female friend was unable to close it using both hands) due to the lock strength and size of the knife, though i don't think that's a disadvantage given the purpose of the Chinook. The knife overall has a very menacing look and if any folder with a sub 4 inch blade will send a bad guy running home to his mommy, this is it . Conclusion- it seems that this knife is very well suited to hard-use applications (what i bought it for) but isn't a great cutter when it come to thin, deep slice-type cuts, for this reason i don't think it's suitable as an EDC utility knife by itself, personally i'm going to carry it in my right front pocket until either i get my Benchmade 710 back from repair, or get impatient
and buy a new primary EDC, then transfer it to my back pocket (where my delica (which another friend exclaimed looks like a toy next to the Chinook) is now) to rest until its brute strength is needed. I'm very happy with this knife and it definately won't be the last Spyderco i buy this year. I hope you have found my initial impressions interesting, please correct me if you think i made any mistakes.I intend to post another review after i've gained more experience with the Chinook.