GB Field Trials

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Rotte said:
I thought the GB and the Yarborough were the same; the Yarborough has engraving.

So imagine you are stuck out in the woods with your trusty GB and a can of peaches, but without a Victorinox SAK. (I know, it's an impossible scenario, but imagine you don't have your Vic with you. Yeah, your back-up Vic also got stolen by ambitious field mice.) Will you starve? No.

Here's another practical 'test.'

446786040_BVYRD-M.jpg


Mission accomplished:

446786170_emRGp-L.jpg


No surprise, the GB can serve as a can opener in a pinch. (The technique, for those of you who have never done this, is to place the tip of the knife on the can and use the heel of your hand to smack the butt, thereby driving the tip through the can. Rotate the can and repeat. Careful! Lots of sharp edges now.)

Zero damage to the tip. The leading edge of the knife was slighty dulled, but came right back with a few strokes of the ever present strop. The Gun-kote coating did sustain a few scratches however.

(Peach crisp for dessert tonight :))
Click to expand...

Pfft... thats no test of a Combat knife, my leek has done that.:D:thumbup:

Not kidding though, I have opened ravioly with a leek, as well as pinapple cans.
 
Good testing so far. I love this knife except for the handle. If only CRK would finish the handle slabs flush with the tang, I'd be sold. Then again, I'm not partial to serrations. Hijack over.

Keep up the good work.
 
I believe there was something said over on the Reeve forum that the GB is presented to the guys when they pass their course, this is not the same as being issued the knife. (There was some mention of this when Noss tested the blade and a thread started over on the Reeve forum)

Keep the tests up, looking good so far. Could you replace the tin of peaches with an ammo liner or oil drum? Maybe some 1'' thick plywood or such. I've had to pierce these types of containers before, not large fully cut open holes you understand but holes big enough to thread a rope through or a piece of det cord (I did this a lot for tamping charges).

You mentioned the thumb ramp being a pain and forcing you to put your thumb at the slide of the blade. Is there enough 'ramp' to allow you to grind this down carefully and still a functional ramp rather than a flat spine?

Lots of questions I know but this is a knife i've been interested in for a while.
 
According to Bill Harsey and the pictures I have there are no design differences between the GB and the Yarboroughs. Even the sheaths are the same. Only difference is the authorized engraving as far as I know.

If anyone has more information of possible differences I'd be interested to know.
 
Oh I see. Its funny how things snowball on the net. Still a cool gift at completion.:thumbup:
 
So I got a chance to get out today (see separate thread: Head for the Hills).
Before I left, I used an Arkansas stone and strop to touch up the edge. 5 minutes of drinking tea and sharpening.
Now the edge was good to start with, but got it up to hair popping pretty quickly.

447494892_cGZnp-M.jpg


Great day to be outside despite some chilly temps. After wandering about for a while I came upon the lair of Castor canadensis. A beauty.

448063936_xuZhb-L.jpg


This little guy could really chop! Downed trees everywhere. So I thought it was my cue to use the Green Beret to do a little chopping:

448063778_X65QM-M.jpg


Don't think I was as fast as Castor, but the GB got right into this seasoned pine. I didn't time myself,
but the task was completed with relative ease. I usually use an axe or hatchet for this kind of thing,
a little knife is not well suited for chopping IMHO, but the GB bit almost as hard as the home team.

448062943_eA94y-L.jpg


Further on I found a spot to relax an make a fire for some tea.

I used a Swedish folding saw to cut a log for fire wood. Baton time!
Now keep in mind that this is dried, seasoned pine that is growing
up in windy country. As the trees grow, they twist for added strength.
The fibers spiral up the trunk. It is tough to split this wood cleanly;
it's easier to split red oak or maple in my experience.

The snaps tell the tale:

448063543_HnbfZ-M.jpg


448063075_ThyBu-M.jpg


448063388_XXe9f-M.jpg


To my surprise the false edge was not too much of an issue. I thought it would make batonning inefficient, but
despite the tough nature of the wood it went fairly well. I had to really whack the knife to get this to work--that
pine didn't want to come apart!

Here is a shot of the split wood and the damaged baton:

448063202_ZsMxv-L.jpg


After splitting the wood, I used the GB to make a couple fuzz sticks and was able to make some very fine ribbons of wood.
Good thing too, it was a cold (16 deg F) and windy day. Fuzz sticks got a nice little fire going for a brew up.

In my pack I have a little homemade sharpener. On one side I have leather with stropping compound and on the
other some 1000 grit wet/dry stapled on to some thin craft foam. Used this to touch up the edge and bring it back
to shaving sharp. Not as sharp as when I went out this morning, but still cut hair well.

448061449_r57Zw-M.jpg


You can see where the knife has gotten a bit dirty from battoning and the Gun-kote has
worn off a little. Otherwise knife is in great shape.

As a bush knife, this baby is doing well; no problems with the handle or guard today. I was wearing gloves
and had a great grip. The knife did everything I needed it to and then some. I was surprised by the chopping
efficiency given the small size. Cool.

I'll work on the plywood request later. :)
(Let me know if I'm posting too many pictures.)

 
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Rotte said:
So I got a chance to get out today (see separate thread: Head for the Hills).
Before I left, I used an Arkansas stone and strop to touch up the edge. 5 minutes of drinking tea and sharpening.
Now the edge was good to start with, but got it up to hair popping pretty quickly.

447494892_cGZnp-M.jpg


Great day to be outside despite some chilly temps. After wandering about for a while I came upon the lair of Castor canadensis. A beauty.

448063936_xuZhb-L.jpg


This little guy could really chop! Downed trees everywhere. So I thought it was my cue to use the Green Beret to do a little chopping:

448063778_X65QM-M.jpg


Don't think I was as fast as Castor, but the GB got right into this seasoned pine. I didn't time myself,
but the task was completed with relative ease. I usually use an axe or hatchet for this kind of thing,
a little knife is not well suited for chopping IMHO, but the GB bit almost as hard as the home team.

448062943_eA94y-L.jpg


Further on I found a spot to relax an make a fire for some tea.

I used a Swedish folding saw to cut a log for fire wood. Baton time!
Now keep in mind that this is dried, seasoned pine that is growing
up in windy country. As the trees grow, they twist for added strength.
The fibers spiral up the trunk. It is tough to split this wood cleanly;
it's easier to split red oak or maple in my experience.

The snaps tell the tale:

448063543_HnbfZ-M.jpg


448063075_ThyBu-M.jpg


448063388_XXe9f-M.jpg


To my surprise the false edge was not too much of an issue. I thought it would make batonning inefficient, but
despite the tough nature of the wood it went fairly well. I had to really whack the knife to get this to work--that
pine didn't want to come apart!

Here is a shot of the split wood and the damaged baton:

448063202_ZsMxv-L.jpg


After splitting the wood, I used the GB to make a couple fuzz sticks and was able to make some very fine ribbons of wood.
Good thing too, it was a cold (16 deg F) and windy day. Fuzz sticks got a nice little fire going for a brew up.

In my pack I have a little homemade sharpener. On one side I have leather with stropping compound and on the
other some 1000 grit wet/dry stapled on to some thin craft foam. Used this to touch up the edge and bring it back
to shaving sharp. Not as sharp as when I went out this morning, but still cut hair well.

448061449_r57Zw-M.jpg


You can see where the knife has gotten a bit dirty from battoning and the Gun-kote has
worn off a little. Otherwise knife is in great shape.

As a bush knife, this baby is doing well; no problems with the handle or guard today. I was wearing gloves
and had a great grip. The knife did everything I needed it to and then some. I was surprised by the chopping
efficiency given the small size. Cool.

I'll work on the plywood request later. :)
(Let me know if I'm posting too many pictures.)
Click to expand...

Oh man, that looks like a lot of fun.
 
Great testing today Rotte. You are making a very strong case for the GB as a woods knife!!!

Keep em coming bro!!
 
Honestly I can't say I'm impressed.

I've seen all that done with a cold steel SRK and many other knives, even $30 Glock bayos. The fact you can do it doesn't mean it is so good at it.
 
Ravaillac said:
Honestly I can't say I'm impressed.

I've seen all that done with a cold steel SRK and many other knives, even $30 Glock bayos. The fact you can do it doesn't mean it is so good at it.
Click to expand...


Good point. I'm not actually trying to impress anyone--don't think I could. I think the SRK is a good knife.
The blade is a little shorter so it may not chop as well or baton large wood as well, but I'm not sure how
important these tasks really are.

What I am impressed with so far is the edge retention. I expected the tree chopping exercise to wear the edge
down more than it did. I also have found the ergonomics to be better than I expected. But the review ain't over
yet....

448061527_RjNUZ-M.jpg
 
Rotte said:
(Let me know if I'm posting too many pictures.)
Click to expand...

MORE MORE MORE.
I find my self checking this tread 3 per day.
This is really the kind of thing we love (Me anyway). A knife used to do stuff in the real world. I even liked that you used the fire wood to make tea, and not just to see how the knife batoned.:thumbup:

Castor canadensis is a fancy name for a beaver, right ?
 
I have this same blade and have been wondering how it would do. This review is the best I have seen in a long time. Keep it coming.
 
Last edited:
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