Chris Reeve Professional Soldier

nyefmaker

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Sep 29, 2008
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Chris Reeve Professional Soldier Review

We had a yardsale last weekend and I did pretty good selling alot of stuff I no longer need or have too much of. I kept thinking what I could do with the money or what CRK I could buy next. I have always wanted a CRK Professional Soldier but with so many other CRK I have my eye on, getting one has been put on the back burner, but when I came across one for the bargain price of $125, Now was the time to get one and with yardsale money no less made it that much sweeter !!! I went to the post office this afternoon and my new PS was there waiting for me !

Sitting here this evening and admiring my latest addition to my CRK family, I thought I would spend some time and write a review on what I think of the CRK PS. It rained all day outside, so I am confined to an indoor review, though I can update it with my thoughts putting it through use outside.

I have made it a practice to open a new CRK purchase with another Chris Reeve Knife, so my NCIS Sebenza had the honor of opening up my newest CRK.

Upon opening my new PS, I was surprised how small, thin and lightweight it is. It would serve as a excellent neck knife or backup knife for those looking for such a knife, though I can find many other uses I will mention throughout.

The overall length of the PS is 7 1/2". Blade length is 3 3/8". Weight is a mere 3oz. The Whole Knife is made from CRK's Legendary S30V Steel. I am sure it will hold an edge just as well as the sebenza. It comes with a Kydex sheath as well as a long lanyard. An amazing knife is such a small thin package, especially for a fixed blade.
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The handle of the knife fits my hand beautifully. I wear size large gloves, so my hand is on the large side and it is not too small for me, the handle design is to fit three fingers anyways and it works. The handle area is also rounded slightly on the edges so during use, it will be comfortable. I purchased a similar knife years ago and it looked like it was stamped out of a steel plate and had the sharp edges to prove it. NOT with PS, the design was very well thought out. There are several rounded grooves where you place your thumb and where your ring finger rests proving a comfortable secure grip and help keep the knife from slipping while in hand.
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The knife also has a long lanyard which you can use for many things. For me, if it was a bit longer, I could wear it as a neck knife. I held it up over my chest and it lays perfectly and due to its light weight, you would hardly know its there. I like the lanyards CRK puts on their knives, but this one seems longer than the ones on the one-piece line. After tinkering around, I found a way to tie it nice and tight around the handle which keeps it out of the way until its needed. I wrapped it around the handle several times and brought the knot through the opening in the handle and back through towards the end. Kinda like how the lanyards are tied to begin with. This worked perfectly and is very comfortable. It in No Way interfears with the sheath and looks good to boot.
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The PS comes with a slim heavy duty Kydex Sheath. The knife fits very tight in the sheath with no sliding around while in it. It also has 6 holes around it to attach it in various ways. It has a hole drilled into the area where the knife tip is to allow drainage in case the knife is submerged which will help aid in corosion resistance. I thoought that was a great idea.

The PS is coated with the very durable K G Gun-Kote. This is the same coating CRK has put on its One-Piece line for many years. It is very wear resistand and is non reflective.

I can see this knife used in the field as a hunting/fishing knife as it is so lightweight and due to its simplicity, Very Easy To Clean. It is small enough to easily fit in your fanny pack or tackle box...... It would also serve as a great hiking/outdoors knife due to these reasons as well...... Due to its easiness to clean, would serve well in the kitchen for food prep also.

I know this knife was designed as a military knife, but from my experience today, I think it would be a great EDC for those looking for a slim, lightweight fixed blade knife. Since I got it this afternoon and once I wrapped up the lanyard, I have been carrying it in my left shorts pocket ( my NCIS sebbie rides in the right pocket ). I have been running erands around town, driving, crawling around in the attic and the PS has never gotten in the way. I think I will carry it around for awhile like this and see how I like it as an EDC.

As for a side by side comparison with my other Chris Reeve EDC, a Large Regular Sebenza and a Mnandi, I find it fits somewhere right inbetween them. Its about 3/4" shorter than my large sebbie, but about 1" longer than my Mnandi. I am thinking it would be about the same size as a Small Sebenza.
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I will probably never use the handle on a shackle, but since its designed for military use, the option is there for those who need it. For me, I see the handle opening as a way of lightenig the knife, helping create balance, and a way for my tying my lanyard and keeping it out of the way, but there when I need it !!!

I am going to EDC it for awhile and see how well I like it. From what I thought about carrying it around this evening, I think it will work out Great.

I take my hat off yet another Great Chris Reeve Knife design. It was well thought out and it is made from the steel that has made the Sebenza legendary. Plus being coated with their durable KG Gun-Kote. An awsome knife. I can only imagine how well it could be put to use in the Military as thats who it was designed for. For me, I hope to make it a regular in my EDC rotation. ENJOY !!!
 
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Great post, review, and photos! :thumbup:

I have a PS as well and agree with your assessment. Regarding your lanyard wrap - did you have to untie the CRK hangman's knot or is it hidden between the wrap, inside the handle slot?
 
Great post, review, and photos! :thumbup:

I have a PS as well and agree with your assessment. Regarding your lanyard wrap - did you have to untie the CRK hangman's knot or is it hidden between the wrap, inside the handle slot?


Thanks Very Much ! As for the hangman's knot, its not untied at all, its just as it came from the factory and it is hidden in the slot in the handle, out of the way and very comfortable. I am enjoying EDCing it as well.
 
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Nice review. Din't realize the PS was smaller than a large sebenza..
 
nyefmaker, i just reread your great review and i think the P.S. is the necker for me. i was very impressed with the handguard! most of the neckers i have do not have one. at 3oz. is that just the P.S.without the sheath? :)
 
I must admit I am surprised at the size as well.........

I thought it would be bigger. Thanks for the review.
 
Thanks Guys, Your Very Welcome........ I dont have my scale handy to weight it, but the whole package is very light. I used to carry it quite often in my right front pocket, ( have been carrying my xm's lately ). Its amazing how much more grip you get by tying the lanyard the way I do and a bonus is that it does not interfear with the sheath. I have pondered buying the smamp wardens, skeleton wardens, uzula's of the world, but have come to realize without even trying them that I already have the best neck knife ever made. If someone is wanting a fixed blade EDC, this is it !!! The grip is comfortable, blade is just the right size, sheath is great and its made by CRK. What more could you ask for !!!
 
Great review nyef. I think you just sold me on a CR neckknife!
I like the rat izula very much and own a couple, small, light and strong neck knives.
The PS looks like it fits in that category very well.

again, great job and nice pics :thumbup:
 
Food for thought, or maybe just blasphemy - if I were looking at the PS, I'd take a good hard look at the Hoffman Lite Hunter. It's a shorter blade in a compact leather sheath. To me it seems a little more consistent with the general nature of the genre but there's a huge YMMV that goes with that.
 
Hi nyefemaker

Great review !! thanks for the pics, there not a lot of posts about this knife, strange no?

Have you ever worn it as a NECK knife ??
I'm a bit worried about its 7,5", my 6,25" IZULA is a real good necker.
Is the PS not a bit too long to be a necker ??

Chris
 
I never carried it as a neck knife. When I do carry it, I carry it in its kydex sheath in my right front pocket. Its an awsome knife for those that have a need for a knife of this size. I did this review well over a year ago and I love the PS just as much now as I did then. For those wanting to EDC a fixed blade descreatly, this is the one for you.
 
Great review and now I've got to add another knife to my list of "gotta haves". I'm new here and started with just two on my list and now I'm up to 4. You guys are right, this is a beautiful addiction. I'm curious about the NCIS Sebbie (A Sebenza is on my list). Did you have this etched or is it available through CRK? Thanks for the great pics also!
 
Great review and now I've got to add another knife to my list of "gotta haves". I'm new here and started with just two on my list and now I'm up to 4. You guys are right, this is a beautiful addiction. I'm curious about the NCIS Sebbie (A Sebenza is on my list). Did you have this etched or is it available through CRK? Thanks for the great pics also!

CRK can do the engraving for you (they did for neyfmaker) if I remember correctly and he will correct me, they can only do certain amount of letters and fonts? But give them an email, they were in constant contact with him with that Sebenza.
 
I absolutely LOVE that Sebenza...next on my list of CRK knives to buy. (Right after I recover from my Umnumzaan TNK purchase)
 
Thanks for the comparison pics! I've been really eyeing up one of those for a nice work fixed blade...is the swedge partially sharpened like on the umnumzaan or what you can get on a large regular?

Do you have any close up pics of the swedge?

Thanks!
 
First Off, I wanna Thank You Guys for all the positive comments, PM's, email's, since the time of this review. I am glad everyone liked it and that it has helped answer many questions people had about the CRK Professional Soldier and I am sure it has helped CRK Sell a few more as well :D

I am going to do an update to the review here and now with some pics people have asked for regarding the Professional Soldiers size when compared to the Izula and for the swedge on the Professional Soldier as well. Enjoy !

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The First picture shows the CRK PS sheathed next to the Izula.

The CRK PS Measures: 7 1/2" Sheathed
The Izula Measures: 7" Sheathed


You will see that when the knives are sheathed, the CRK PS is only 1/2" longer than the Izula. For those wanting to know if it would be too long for a Necker, this pretty much answers it. I doubt the extra 1/2" would matter much.
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The Second picture shows the CRK PS unsheathed next to the Izula.

The CRK PS Measures: 7 3/8" Unsheathed
The Izula Measures: 6 5/16" Unsheathed


You will see here that there is almost a full 1" difference in overall knife size. Most of that is in the cutting edge, which is good. What I really noticed is that when sheathed, the knives are only 1/2" difference in size. When unsheathed, you get a lot larger knife overall in the CRK PS than you do in the Izula in only a 1/2" more carry package.
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Both are Great Knives. For most, it will come down to the all mighty buck $$. You can probably buy 3 Izula's for the price of 1 CRK PS. If you look around though on the forums, you will find one a bit cheaper eventually. The CRK PS at full price is a deal as well for what you get, so its by no means a deal breaker. My CRK PS has S30V blade, while the newer versions has the S35VN Idaho Made blades, so having S35VN may make a difference for some. For me, it doesn't matter as I really like S30V and only see S35VN as an improvement on an already great knife.

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Now for the Swedge. The swedge on the CRK PS is Not Sharpened, but it does feel sharp I would say. A couple swipes on a stone or sharpmaker would sharpen the swedge if one so wanted. The swedge is kinda like the swedge found on the umnumzaan. Its sharp, but not a sharpened edge if that makes sense ?? I was able to scrape my finger nail with the swedge on the CRK PS and it did produce particulate residue on the knife, so it is sharp, just not a sharpened edge where you could cut yourself.

Here are some pics of the swedge on the CRK PS. Sorry for the poor lighting, its 3am and in the kitchen...lol. But you guys will be able to see it and get the drift.

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