Greco Knives-Opinions?

larry1096

larry1096

Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
181
I've only seen John Greco's work in photos, so I'm curious...
Why so cheap?
There's a site (CQC something?) that's selling his knives for $75 each, including a new frame lock folder. I've always thought his stuff looked good (in a really 'straightforward' kind of way) but the low prices have me worried.

Has anyone here handled a Greco who'd be willing to give an opinion of the quality? I'm interested in several of his knives, but particularly the folder.

Thanks,
Larry
 
I haven't seen the folder, but the small Companion that I have is a tough little knife. John uses standardized simple designs and makes the knives in quantity. They aren't really "custom" just hand made. The knife I have is made with a 3.5" A2 alloy blade that is 3/16" thick. I would have preferred to have it made out of 1/8" stock so I called to see if that could be done. The answer was that it couldn't. They already had all the 3/16" cut out and it wasn't practical to do a single 1/8" thick piece.

So if a Greco design fits your purpose it is a steal. If it doesn't fit you're out of luck. I ended up reprofiling my blade to make it fit my standards. I reprofile almost every knife I get, so that was no big deal. If I was buying custom I would have had the maker finish the blade to my preference.
 
Larry,

Mr. Greco's knives are very well built and one of the best values out there. The designs are very practical and useful and, in my opinion, look really cool. I don't have any experience with the folder your talking about but I do have a small friction folder of his that is built like a tank. I was able to meet him at a show and can say he's a great guy too. Hope this helps.
-Lev
 
I have a couple of them. They are stout knives and offer great bang for the buck IMHO. You might want to check out the selection at BladeArt. I bought a Companion from them-priced right, prompt delivery.
Jim
 
larry1096: I have a Cub Companion that I bought through BladeArt. It is very nice and strong. Check out BladeArt under the "Clearance" section. They have a 4.75" blade Greco tanto they are selling for $45.00. That is an unbelievable value.

I cannot offer any info on his folders, however. The blade is made of 3/16" steel which is really thick for a 3" folding blade. $75.00 sure does seem inexpensive for a good folder. On the other hand John Greco has a great reputation.

The other day I ordered one of those very odd looking Greco knifes offered by CQC. It is called Greco 2FPC Knife. Looks very dangerous (but kind of bizarre looking) and I have nothing like that. I should have it Saturday. I have no idea what to do with it, but the price was right and I wanted something different and easy to conceal.

Greco's knives are very very strong and stout. I don't know how he is able to sell them so inexpensively either.
 
I handled several of Mr. Greco's knives at the Tulsa gun show. They seemed to me to be well built, but I was underwhelmed by square-cornered handles that were not shaped in a way that was comfortable for me.
 
Ok, I'll be honest here. Greco knives are not the best ground knives in the world as far as even grind lines and plunge cuts are concerned. In fact, some are kind of sloppily ground. Also, they tend to be a little too thick for most people; especially in the edge. What Greco knives are, however, are a lot of knife for the money. I have bought a couple at the last two shows I went to(Little Rock and Janesville, WI), and John was selling them for $50 apiece. Kind of hard to pass that kind of deal up. If you dont mind doing a little reprofiling, you get a good knife made out of good carbon steels for a bargain price. Frankly, I dont see how he can sell these knives this cheap. I know that I couldnt make a knife and sell it for this price.
 
Greco makes a truely hand made knife. It is hard to find two of them that actually match, and the grind lines can off a little on some of them. Nothing serious, but just enough to let you know that the knife was made by hand rather than stamped out of a machine.

What you get is a reliable carbon steel blade, made from very good quality steel, that is over built for thoughness, and an edge that is profiled and ground correctly to provide excellent cutting ability. They also come with good sturdy sheaths either made from a plastic lined cordura, or plastic lined heavy leather.

I have found that his handles tend to fit my hand very well. They are always solidly pinned on and excellently fitted. He usually works in Micarta although you can find older examples with wood, or stag, handles. They are excellent knives available at incredable prices.

John's knives sell at low prices for one reason, and one reason only, he does not invest in the kind of hype many other makers put out. You seldom see a story in the knife magazines, his ads are always modest, he doesn't claim an association with trendy military units, and his knives are always sold as knives rather than the latest weapon of choice for the would be mall ninja. John didn't even have a telephone until the late 1990s, and he doesn't have his own website or participate in these forums today.

But, don't be fooled, his knives are some of the best knife values out there, and they can probably outperform most of the knives out there irrespective of what you paid for them. About the only problem I have had with them is a slight discoloration on one of my older knives.

Try it you will like it. :)

n2s
 
not2sharp: Do you have any first hand info on Greco's folders.

Larry1096 got me interested in them now. I checked the CQC web site and they certiainly do look great for the money ($75.00 ????).
 
Jay,

I have plenty of Fixed bladed Grecos but I haven't played with folders. But what can you get for $70.00 these days. Whatever John has going has to be better than the stuff at the local dime store.

n2s
 
Holy crap! I just went to cqcknives.com and checked out the folders. I am SO getting the "coming soon" Greco Raptor, but hell for another $75(?!?!) I'd be an idiot not to get the Falcon model as well. Aw man I just looked at the "Special Projects" section and now it looks like I need the $35 2FPC too. How can he offer these blades at those prices and still turn a profit? Not that I'm complaining or anything... :)

PM
 
greco knives are a great value

i agree that they do not have precise lines but the ones i have seen have been sharp.

have owened a few but gave/sold them away becaues the stock is a tad on the thick side as well as being a bit heavy for my uses.

john and/or his ex wife set up at local shows and i was able to cherry pick ones i liked. they are nice folks. his ex wife was making his sheathes as of last summer and they are nice
 
They are great knives! I really beat the crap out of the one I own and it holds an edge for a VERY long time. I don't think you could buy another knife in the same price range that could hope to compete with them.

I bought my Companion from bandaidman (thanks for the deal!) and it has truly been my companion! I don't have to baby this thing at all. It takes everything I can dish out and then some. The A-2 it is made of is great stuff!

You won't be disappointed with a Greco... go for it!
 
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