greco stories?

B

bzzhewt

Joined
May 8, 2005
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Ive been wanting to get a greco companion for some time now and i was wondering if anyone could share there personal experience with Greco Knives, specifically the companions.
Thanks.
 
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The way I heard it......
...from David at CQC Tactical Knives, an owner of a Greco fulltang fixed blade clamped it up in his vise and proceded to try to bend/break it and was successful.........in pulling the workbench from the wall!! Upon reinstalling the workbench onto the wall, he kept after the Greco until he finally got it to break in two. This was told to me in good faith as true and from what I've seen of John Greco's work I, for one, wouldn't discount it's veracity!

Larry S.
 
Better get them fast, didn't Greco stop selling knives? Seems like he's selling off his stock and getting out for health reasons. I heard that a while ago though. I do own a couple of his other models and the only gripe I have is that the corners are too sharp on both knives. I still like them though. :)

later,

oil
 
I have owned/still own quite a few Grecos, and here are my 2 cents:
1) I broke the tip off a large MST-II (I think. Can't remember all the names) fairly easily. Sent it to him, and he reground the knife and recoated it at no cost expect shipping. Couldn't have been happier.
2) Grinds are pretty good, but not like what you'd call perfect. They're about the same as you'd find on a production knife, but then again, he sells the knives for ridiculous amounts, so beggars can't be choosers! I'd give the grinds a 7/10 most of the time. Doesn't bother me a bit, though.
3) Fit and finish are usually quite nice. Nice sharp edges, scales fit nicely, etc. No problems on any of mine.
4) My only real gripe is the thickness of the steel. He uses 1/4" for the majority of the big blades and 3/16" for the small ones. 1/4" is find for most of the biggies, but I'd like to see 1/8" or 5/32" for the smaller ones.

Overall, his shop (I don't think he was grinding and finishing everything himself) makes an excellent knife for the money. You really can't go wrong at his prices. FWIW, last I heard, the official word was that John was going to call it quits on the low/mid priced tactical stuff, but that he was going to continue making the higher end Scagel style stuff he's into now.
 
All Greco knife owners I know of have nothing but good things to say about the knifemaker and his knives, including me. :)
 
My first three custom knives were impulse buys at a gun show where Greco had a booth. When I got them home and tried to use them, I was very frustrated as they were relatively dull and I couldn't seem to put a good edge on them due to their thickness. I took the one I liked least back to the next big gun show I attended where he had a booth and tried to get a refund. The best he would offer was at what seemed an unreasonable discount. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't; but the experience soured me on custom knives for years - until I met a tall fellow named Danbo in a book store parking lot to look at one custom and wound up buying two (Hendrix & Dippold).

After learning more about custom knives and using them more, I have come to appreciate the positive attributes of the Greco knives. They are very sturdy, the workmanship is good for the price, and they are reasonably priced for a custom. For a hard use knife that might be used to pry by someone with a seriously limited budget, I'm not sure you can beat them. With a lot more experience under my belt and better sharpening tools / skills, I can now get them to shave.

I still tend to favor the knives of thinner stock designed more for slicing; but as one who had the tip break off a Dozier K-13 Whittler recently, I can appreciate not having to worry about that.
 
Here is John's updated website.......

http://www.grecoknives.com/

It doesn't look like he offers the Companion any longer... :(
But you can always contact him and ask.
I have 2 of his older style knives.....to me they are a true value in a very reasonably priced hard use knife.

Bill
 
greco is still making knives, he's just no longer making tacticals. he's now dedicated to classic reproductions and styles, scagel and the like
 
John will soon be bringing back a lot of the models of a tactical nature that he made before he became ill. He had a stroke and some other problems with low blood sugar but he is doing great now and will soon (six weeks or less) be posting the earlier knives on his website for sale.
 
Hallo community!

I am new in this forum. First of all I am sorry for my weak English!

Now my question. Is the Greco Companion Mark II-5 hollow ground or flat ground (saber ground)?

It seems to be a fighter, but is it also a good cutting tool. I think about a barbecue party and cutting my steak and other cutting work like for examle carving a spit. How strong ist the blade?

Thanks for your help!
 
Dito, I am also seriously considering buying one or two of his knives.

What are ups & downs to the 8670 steel which he uses on almost all blades?

Regards, vC
 
Well, I have a John Greco boot knife that I bought from Mr. Greco himself at Blade. I LOVE the knife.
 
Hallo KnifeCollector!

Which Greco knife do you have? Does it have a hollow ground or a flat ground blade?

Thanks for your answer!

Regards, JB1964
 
Most of the Greco's are flat ground. He might do some hollow grinds on some of his upper end styles.

My experience with his knives is that they are tougher than a bad cold.....and will take anything most folks can dish out. Differentially heat-treated to leave the thick spine softer and the edge a bit harder. They're not fruit and potato peelers, but a good working knife for the money.

JMO.

Bill
 
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