Chinook question

Starfish

Starfish

Joined
Jun 14, 2001
Messages
1,256
I've got a thread going on the General Discussion forum Other thread where I've solicited opinions on a folder that I can carry to complement my existing EDC setup (small classic sebenza and leatherman micra). I'm looking for something that I can use for survival and self-defense equally well. By survival, I don't mean surviving a direct attack on my person, but rather a situation where none of the conveniences I take for granted are accessible to me for a short period of time.

To make a long story short, the Chinook has come up several times as a knife that can fill both roles. So the question I would like to pose to you, fellow Spydiefans, is what is the Chinook capable of? Is it a good chopper? Good slicer? Good dicer?? :D

Ancedotes of hard usage with the Chinook would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I had a Chinook for a while and it is definately a good slicer and dicer. Nice heavy blade and locked like a vault. I think it would be a good sticker also although i never tried it like that but a very sharp upturned tip should slice in quite readily when thrust forward with any sort of force.
 
For slicing and dicing, it's a
CHAMP. I do know that.
If I had to use this beast on someone, the results....I'd rather not talk about it.

For heavier chores, like chopping, punching soup cans, car doors :eek: splitting grizzly skulls, etc., we'll see when I get to the outdoors this winter---though I have the distinct feeling my Chinook-beast will stand up well.
I recommend that you not try to chop something with Chinook. You might hurt your hand ;)

For all the criteria you listed, I don't know how you could go wrong with a Chinook purchase. That's it.

BTW, I read your very interesting thread on General Discussion.

Happy Spyder hunting.
 
Thanks bigtree & G&N!

The Chinook wasn't really at the top of my list until yesterday - the more I look at it, though, the more I like it. I know that a folder can never be a fixed blade, but I like my folders to be built near as solid. Hence the small sebbie I use for everyday utility, and now the focus on a Chinook for extreme situations. I'm pretty sure that neither would fail me if called upon...

To those who own both a Chinook and a Wegner (the other Spydie knife I'm considering for the "extreme" situation role) - how do these two knives compare? Would you rank one as more suited for hard use than the other?

Thanks,

matthew
 
I just got the Wegner yesterday so I'm completely ga-ga about it today. However, for all out hard use, I don't think you can beat the Chinook and it's pure durability. Sounds to me like it's the one that grabs you, anyway. Go buy it! You can always get a Wegner too, and I believe you should!

One thing is, apparently the Wegner will be discontinued this season so you really should get one soon if you ever wish to own one.

Jeff/1911.
 
I have both the Wegner and the Chinook. The Wegner is a great hunting folder but the Chinook is by far the heavier duty knife. Locks up like a tank, great for all round camping, but I wouldn't try to gut a deer with it. The Chinook is the closest I have seen to a "fixed blade" folder. However, like a tank, it is a weighty knife....although this has never bothered me.
 
bansidthe - I'm not a hunter, and so I'm not sure what is involved in gutting a deer, and why the Chinook would not be your first choice to do that task. Could you provide some clarification on that point?

Thanks!
 
I found this description on the Bladeart site:
Recently, James A. Keating (a master at arms) came to Spyderco with an intriguing knife design in hand. This design entered the Spyderco R&D Department where it underwent various tweaks and refinements emerging as a new CLIPIT dubbed the C63 Chinook. Keating's design is capable of handling a gamut of strenuous cutting chores. Spyderco uses a lock-back with strength beyond industry standards. Originally developed for MARTIAL BLADECRAFT AND TACTICAL APPLICATIONS, the Chinook effortlessly transforms into a field knife, filling the varied requirements for a hard-use hunting/camp knife. The upswept modified Bowie-style blade is made of CPM-440V steel and is 3 3/4 inches long with substantial belly and breadth for skinning and field dressing. Included is a substantial pocket clip for tip-down carry. Outdoor adventurers and extreme sportspeople take notice.

cool.
 
Starfish

The blade shape pf the chinook will work well in skinning a beastie since it has so much belly (like me) but you would have to take great care while opening the animal since the upswept tip could slice into the intestines. This would result in a good deal of meat contamination from the spilled intestinal contents.....not to mention the stench. The wegner has a dropped point like many fixed blade hunters which decreases the chances of intestine slicing. The chinook would certainly work alright.....you would just have tobe cautious.
 
Thanks for the info bandisthe - plus I didn't know that opening the intestines would contaminate the meat. Good info to file away if I ever need it...

Thanks again,

Matthew
 
you can also be assured that the Chinook would also be an effective self-defense choice. There was an article in Tactical Kives a while back on the Chinook that raved about it as a hunting knife and as a self-defense weapon. The author, obviously familiar with Keating's teachings, set up a dummy and tried the knife out on "back cuts", one of Keating's favorite, and trademark, Bowie moves. This is where, after you have slashed through on a forward cut, you bring your arm back , and as you do, you snap your wrist forcefully back, dragging the point of the blade across your target. It is unexpected and, apparently, dramatically effective if done right. The author shows how the Chinook's point just tore the H*ll out of the dummy! So, I would definitely consider it an effective self-defense weapon on the order of James Keating's Bowie Knife fighting system. You should buy his tapes on Bowie Knife fighting if that is one of the uses to which you intend to put your Chinook.
 
They also suggested in that article that for the knife to be truly effective as a back cutter the first 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the swedge be sharpened. If you're going to try pulling that unsharpened hook across anything with drag, you're going to wind up pulling the knife right out of your hand. They also noted that the shape of the handle would allow such sharpening without exposing any edge in the closed position.
 
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