chinook/sere 2k

Joined
Jan 17, 2002
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66
i am at the moment carrying a benchmade 550 in a pouch when hunting/walking in the hills,but would like somthing a bit heavier,dont get me wrong the 550 is a nice knife but i would like a better steel and a bit more "umph".
i have narrowed it down to either a sere 2000 or a spyderco chinook,i have looked at sebbies and striders as they seem to be made like tanks but my cash wont streech that far,so which one is the more practical for every day outdoors work.
cheers
 
Both the ones mentioned are built like tanks in their own right. The Chinook is the heavier of the two with the double steel liners and that massive steel lockbar. I've had a few of these and only one had the rock solid lockup I prefer. Other than that a great knife, and you can find them with no blade wobble. The SERE is also a heavy duty knife and even though it is a bit lighter it has thicker steel liners and an open back. The back is secured with 4 or 5 standoffs and is really solid. The lockup on the ones I've had has been fantastic. There is no wobble or wiggle at all. The liner lock is fairly stiff and that is good as it prevents the lock from moving over on its own and disengaging at a bad time. Both have great blade steel with the SERE having VG10 and the Chinook having 440V. If I had to choose it would be the SERE. The rock solid blade and easier to sharpen VG10 blade steel would be my reasoning.

Either way you have a heck of a knife!

Btw, look at a MT Lightfoot in manual action........Custom quality for a third the price!

Heck I didn't even answer your question! The SERE has a spearpoint while the Chinook has a upswept clip point. For me I prefer a straight clip point and my second choice is a spear point. I think the spearpoint would prove more versatile than the upswept clip.
 
I think Artsig1 nailed the answer. There have been many reports here that the lock on the Chinook allows the blade to wobble. At first I thought such reports would just be 'teething problems' for a new model knife. Hey, it happens. However, the last thread I saw still mentioned the wobble issue. I do not have a B&M store in my area to sample the knife to see if the problem has been fixed; to that end, I won't be buying one soon. (That severe upswept point would make field dressing, even caping, a challenge. It might have enough belly, but the point would have to catch everything, especially with cold hands or gloves.)

The SERE is a tank. I've never heard one peep about quality issues at any level.

Have you considered the Strider AR?
 
IP - let the man know where he can pick up an AR for $100.


knifelife - I personally prefer a spearpoint (maybe even dropped a little more) blade shape for general outdoor use - although I am not a hunter and have no idea about how the SERE would perform for that kind of work.

The Chinook was originally designed as a self-defense tool, so the fact that it has been found useful for general purpose work was something of a lucky shot for Spyderco. Although I have mid-lock designs that exhibit no blade play, some do. Never bothered me.

The Chinook is incredibly comfortable and hand filling. Not that the SERE is uncomfortable, but I prefer the grip on the Chinook. The big belly works very well for cutting up food in camp - although I'd be even happer if the blade steel was a tad thinner.

They are both excellent knives - maybe you could find a store and handle both of them. Or, work with an Internet dealer and tell them you want to handle both and return one. As long as you pay for the return shipping, that shouldn't be an obstacle to most.

Another suggestion (in your price range) is to look at the discontinued Spyderco Tim Wegner knife. You can stil find them around and about. Also, Tim Wegner's company, Blade-Tech is coming out with another version, not produced by Spyderco. I don't know if they are available yet, but they look to be winners.
 
For great steel and solid lock-up in a massive, practically indestructible knife, take a look at the Buck/Strider also. I have the large "spearpoint" which is really a droppoint. It takes a sharp edge and holds it through a lot of abuse.
 
Architect,

Sorry, I didn't know that price was an issue. (I checked again, and he didn't mention a specific dollar level budget, only that his budget didn't 'stretch'. I do see now that he decided against Striders.)

I thought SERE 2000's were also a pretty penny. Are they now compatible with the Chinook?

('Stretched' means different things to many people. My Harleys used to cost fully half my income. Now, 'stretched' to me means only buying two or three Striders per year, and coordinating that with my wife to minimize credit card debt. I forget that sometimes, younger guys are on the macaroni and cheese budget. No offense meant.)
 
Both knives are in the $100 - $120 price range.

Both knives are also very well made.

I would not worry about the lock on the Chinook, very slight amount of play in the ones I have owned or held but nothing terrible. Blade play is also less of an issue on a lock back than a liner lock.

I would take the SERE over the Chinook for every use other than self defense, that's what the Chinook was designed for. The thick blade and grind geometry really don't make it well suited for any real detailed cutting or slicing and as mentioned the high tip doesn't suit utility tip work.

I have had a couple of SERE's and still have the black tactical model, really like them as EDC's.
 
The wobble on the chinook is not a result of poor craftsmanship or bad quality control. Its the simple fact that a lockback works differently then a liner lock and has to be fit together under different tolerances. In order for the lug on the back bar to fit into the notch in the tang that has to be some leeway, especially since it arcs around a pivot point instead of moving straight up and down. That slight bit of play doesn't effect the lockup, its just how a lockback works.There may be some slight movement, but the lock is still engaged solidly.

That same amount of play in a linerlock is bad news, because its a totally different mechanism. It works under the principle of wedging the blade between two points. Obviously if there is wiggle room, then things aren't coming into contact properly. Linerlocks have gotten to be so popular that peoples experience with them carries over to other knives. You can't expect things to work exactly the same when they're completely different.

My choice would go to the chinook. Its big and solid, with a huge beefy blade and a solid lock.The thick handle should fill out your hand nicely and be comfortable for all kinds of cutting chores. It also has a lot of belly to the blade and a fairly fine tip making it a good skinning knife, and good for general slicing and cutting. And the thumb hole, and mid lock set up are about the best you can get for opening and closing a knife with one hand while you have gloves on.
 
This confuses me. Does the placement of the lock mid-way down on the handle make the 'wobble' different than a lock fully to the rear of the handle?

For example, none of the Buck 110's I've owned or handled wobbled at all. Some were so tight that they had to 'wear in.'
 
Ichabod - FWIW

Originally posted by Sal Glesser
Hi Zombie. The strongest type of engineering on a lockback that we have found, will have a very slight amnount of vertical play. Shouldn't be a problem. There are other ways to engineer the lock on a lockback, but we've have not found them to be as reliable or strong as the way we do it.

You can find the whole discussion in this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176728&highlight=chinook+vertical

I don't recall there being any more technically detail discussion by Sal about this issue.

The couple of Chinooks I have had had not noticeable vertical play.
 
thanks for all the great replys.i have purchased the sere 2k,the reasons for this are vg 10,i have some blades in this steel already and am very happy with its performance.
thumb studs,a hole in the blade is great i have 6 knives with this opening method but find studs easier (thats just me though,not nocking holes)
blade shape,spear point just seems more functionable(word?) for what i want from this knife.
the only downside is the lock,but i have only had one liner lock fold on me and that was a kershaw mini random task and from what i've read the sere lock is much better made.
i hope to handle a chinook later this year and if by then i have had any problems with the sere i will trade for the chinook.
again thanks for the helpfull replys
cheers
 
I think you'll be well served by the choice you have made! I assume you ordered it and have not yet seen it? I for one would like to hear your initial reactions to it.:D
 
recieved this knife on monday and i am impressed.first things i did was to remove the clip(seems a big knife for a clip)and put a landyard on.have'nt had time for a full test,but i have tried to get the knife to unlock(as lock failier was my main concern) i choked,tried differebt grips and even did some light prying,it stayed solid.
fit and finish are outstanding and all in all i can see this knife lasting a long long time.
cheers
 
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