Chris Reeve Nyala: Opinions needed before i pull the trigger

BePrepared

BePrepared

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
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I am looking at picking up one of these, but would like to hear from some of you guys before spending the money

I love the look of it, and it seems that Chris Reeve has a stellar reputation.

If you know anything in the same price range, that is better, please let me know.


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When it comes to CRK, you won't anything better......... Maybe as good as, or better for your needs, but CRK... is just that good.
 
I have a Nyala. Thought it was a good looking knife, really had no need for it. My feeling is that it is a jack of all trades. Adequate for most edc tasks, but never used it heavy. Loved the look of the handle, but in use, I am not crazy about the round handle. Didn't feel as much in control of the Nyala as I did with a knife like the Bark River Bravo 1. Note that the Bravo 1 is a different kind of knife.

What will you be using it for? Makes a difference. Also not a fan of the sheath. Good quality, but the handle rides high on my waist and jabs some into my side. I do have a few pounds to lose, though!
 
going to be using it for a few things. Skinning mostly.

It will also see some use as a general camping knife. Edge durability is very important to me. I need to be able to shuck at least two pigs with minimal sharpening
 
I have a CRK Mountaineer 1 and two folders. He makes great quality knives. Just strop it after every use and it should remain sharp.
 
As a general camp knife, it does fine. I use it for food prep. It has a fairly thick stock, but it is hollow ground so it slices well. I have never used it for skinning, but it should also skin well and I would expect the edge to hold fine. The s35vn is not as tough as some other steels like 3V and A2 so I would not be comfortable pounding and heavy batoning with it, but fuzz sticks, notching, and light batoning for kindling are no problem.
 
hmm... see this is why i ask these questions. I didn't realize that s35vn wasn't as tough as A2. i already have a D2 skinner, so maybe i need to keep looking. Tough is very important to me. I love the look of the Nyala, but if it's going to be less than a jack of all trades kind of knife, i might not need to invest nearly 300 in it.
 
The Nyala, is a very nice blade, I personally love the sheath, for skinning its quite excellent, I really don't think your going to break this knife unless your trying to, although the tip is finer than some blades, if you think you might be prying :confused: then maybe look for a little heavier duty, but get all the details of the other blades your comparing it to, a lot of the others have thick edge spines, which makes them 'tougher', but completely takes away from what a knife really is.
 
Exactly. All knives are compromises of some sort or another. Here, you will lose the beauty and grace of the Nyala if built for extremely hard use. Regarding toughness, however, the s35vn is inherently not as tough as 3V or A2, but you do get stainless. Again, compromises.
 
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I love CRK, best folder I've ever used, so please don't flame me for suggesting another brand lol. But if edge durability is an issue, check out ratknives.com before pulling the nyala trigger. Rodent Solution is SLIGHTLY smaller but the steel may be better suited for more abusive tasks, and price point will keep your wallet a bit heavier. Rust-prone, but care for your blade and it shouldn't be an issue; none of mine have ever rusted. Again, own and LOVE CRK, just doing my best to expand the options for our OP :) Hope you find your blade bud!
 
BePrepared,

If you pay over the Nyala's list price of $230, try another vendor. They are not discounted, but most mail order sites include free s/h at that price, too. They are in short supply right now - but hunting season is here. I wanted mine for camping uses - it was a shock of a Christmas present from my wife last year. While I haven't camped with it, I have done all of the usual such chores with it, save pounding it through hefty logs - I'll leave that for my BK-2 or Plumb camp hatchet. No skinning or fish cleaning - but home kitchen duties, some meat, mostly veggies, have been completed handily. The other knife in the picture fared quite well in the kitchen, too.

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The two knives above were both designed by South African knifemakers. Chris Reeve has lived here for quite a while - his knives are made here as well. The Arno Bernard 'Wild Dog' above was made in South Africa by Arno Bernard. It's a hand made custom knife of great quality, with a bit smaller skinner blade than the Nyala, but it is made of Bohler N690 steel - with a spalted tapered full tang handled in spalted maple, although giraffe bone, sheep horn, ebony, ironwood, etc are the same list - $189. The nice drop sheath of cape buffalo leather is included. Some mail order vendors carry older Arno Bernard knives - from before this year's switch from a Finnish steel to the Bohler steel - at a discount. You can get your choice from their Jacksonville, Florida stateside distributor - google the name for more info. If I could only keep one - it'd likely be the A-B Wild Dog - it's a looker and a user. I have other 'bushcraft' knives. For pure utility, I'd go for the Nyala. But... two earlier comparable US-made fb knives - the Gerber Freeman in S30v/stag and the Benchmade 15005-2 D2 Bone Collector - are certainly useful. The Nyala has a better fit to my medium+ sized hands - but, you could have both of these for the Nyala's cost:

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All comparison's aside, I still like the fit/feel of the Nyala marginally better than the rest of my examples.

Stainz
 
There's a comparative graph on the second page here. I would say that there's a lot more to a knife than the raw steel, and would say that the Nyala deserves a very careful look - it's a great knife overall, and would make a terrific skinner.
 
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