Well, I would think that chopping, cutting, slicing, and making fuzz sticks among other things are some of the things expected out of a field knife right?
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Green Beret and Pacific
- Thread starter silenthunterstudios
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Well, I would think that chopping, cutting, slicing, and making fuzz sticks among other things are some of the things expected out of a field knife right?
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It's a full swedge that creates a false edge. It isn't sharp, but I imagine it would tear up a baton.
I'm surprised at the negative attitude toward this knife. I think the pry bar comment is off-base, but S30V is supposed to have good lateral strength, so maybe that is accurate.
This is a pricey knife, I forget how much I paid for it, but it weren't cheap. I suppose it isn't a great 'bushcraft' knife, but I also think it's much better than 'no knife at all.' Maybe I'm more confident in my skills. I think I could use just about any knife to improve my situation, from a SAK to a machete. This knife is no exception.
I'd agree that it's designed more as a 'combat' knife than a pure 'survival' knife, but in some places it can be hard to tell the difference.
The fit and finish are good, but no better than my Koyote or Breeden. The handle is comfortable to me, but I have big hands. The handle is designed for a secure grip, even with wet gloves. That could be important.
The blade is thick, I didn't mic it, but it's a little over 3/16" (Lists as .22"). It is sharp. When I got the knife it was only sharpish, I stropped it out and it now shaves with the best of them.
Serrations. I don't like serrations on my knives. I think they were invented for people who don't know how to sharpen a knife. Please don't be offended if you like 'em, just my view. These serrations are nice because they are easy to sharpen. They probably aren't as efficient as Spyderco serrations which are among the best IMO.
The tip is pointy, as in stab you through your aorta pointy. The blade taper is really accomplished in the last inch or so. As a result the tip appears to be very strong.
Obviously a guard is a good idea on a combat knife. Not so much for a wilderness knife. However, this guard does not feel overly cumbersome and does provide a fair degree of safety. Safety is good.
In summary, I think it's a good knife, especially for it's purpose.
Having said that, I acknowledge that I haven't used it much. So I will try to do some 'bushcrafty' jobs with it and report back.
In addition, I'll also take requests. Please post up what you'd like to see me do with this knife (aside from actual combat) and I'll give it a whirl. I'm not going to do any 'desruction' testing on it, but if you have a bushcraft or survival task, I'll try it out with this knife. (Might take me a while as time is hard to come by just now.)
Brian Jones
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Point me to Noss' link with fuzz sticks, etc., in his tests...I must have missed that.
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Don, Rotte's pics and comments probably tell more than I can. I'd call that one a false edge, too, though. It's sharp enough you could use it to beat through some stuff, maybe chop commo wire or something. Tremendous penetration for a knife of its thickness. I tried one as part of a passaround, and used it next to a Becker BK7 that blew it away from all other practical perspectives.
The Becker has a swedge, and is also hard on a baton, but nothing like the CRK.
The CRK was probably the nicest fixed blade knife I've ever seen. Beautifully made, just not what I would want in the woods.
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I was just asking because a lot of people don't know that a false edge is actually a sharpened edge and a swedge is not. This (CRK) appears to be in the nether regions between the two of them. In other words, a "sharpened swedge" doesn't exist, that would be a "false edge." I think the term is misleading, when you think "false edge" you tend to think "dull" or "blunt." I didn't invent the terms, however. 
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Well, this is closer to a false edge. The two sides meet to form an 'edge', it isn't sharp in the sense that it would cut rope, but it could be used to chop bone like one might with a Bird & Trout knife. It's really shaped to stab with...but that's not a wilderness skill anymore. 
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It's really shaped to stab with...but that's not a wilderness skill anymore.
Until you have to do it.
Sure, it's a lot better than no knife at all. Of course, even a sharpened piece of stone is better than no knife at all - in those times when a knife comes in really handy. I don't think there even exists a knife so poor that it wouldn't be better than having no knife of any kind at all. From this perspective, it doesn't really matter that much what knife you have, as long as you have a knife.
But then, I suppose most guys in Bladeforums are pretty picky about their bladeware. I certainly am. There are considerations such as price and performance (in whichever tasks one finds important). For me, many knives that are cheaper than the GB perform better than the GB - so there's really not much point in using one, when others do it better. And cheaper. That's my reasoning, anyway. I'm open to trying any blade I get my hands on, but I gravitate towards carrying those that perform better.
If you want to try out the GB a little, you could try carving a spoon and fork with it. Or you could chop down some saplings or skin some game. It will do these things. But many knives will do it better, while costing less than the GB does.
silenthunterstudios
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Thanks for the review Rotte. I am interested in seeing your bushcraft tests.
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I just don't get the design at all with the GB ? When I read that through field trials a team of soldiers had come up with the Bark River Bravo 1 as their perfect knife I could understand how they arrived at that decision. When I look at the GB, however , it looks like some school kids who have watched too many Rambo type movies and have never used a knife in real before designed it !!!
If Dark Ops had made it, which I could imagine, everyone would slate it but becuse it's made by Chris Reeve most people think it's ok ?
It amuses me that most on here hate my TOPS Tracker but I would bet diamonds that my Tracker would out chop, out pry and yeah I'm gonna say it, given Horndogs grind,out cut it ! I can't really see what niche the GB fills ?
If Dark Ops had made it, which I could imagine, everyone would slate it but becuse it's made by Chris Reeve most people think it's ok ?
It amuses me that most on here hate my TOPS Tracker but I would bet diamonds that my Tracker would out chop, out pry and yeah I'm gonna say it, given Horndogs grind,out cut it ! I can't really see what niche the GB fills ?
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Bill Harsey is an extremely talented knifemaker and a designer. The CRK Green Beret knife isn't trying to be a bushcraft knife. It's a fighting knife. Pretty much every aspect of it's design tells that purpose.
The TOPS Tracker wants to be the definite bushcraft knife but isn't. It's so far off the expectations and the image that people have of the design that it creates a lot of pretty negative opinions.
Not completly relevant but pretty funny.
See bottom of the green beret page
http://www.chrisreeve.com/greenberet.htm
"Use of Special Forces insignia does not indicate endorsement by U. S. Army Special Operations Command."
See bottom of the green beret page
http://www.chrisreeve.com/greenberet.htm
"Use of Special Forces insignia does not indicate endorsement by U. S. Army Special Operations Command."
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I understand it's a fighting knife Dan but surely the main trait of a fighting knife should be it's penertration ability and I think many other knives would surpass the GB in this task also !
If, however, it's supposed to be a multi-tasker/ do it all combat knife then I still think that knives such as the Scrapyard Scrapper 6 or Swamprat Ratmandu would better fill this function and at a much lower price !
If, however, it's supposed to be a multi-tasker/ do it all combat knife then I still think that knives such as the Scrapyard Scrapper 6 or Swamprat Ratmandu would better fill this function and at a much lower price !
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Pitdog - that comment actually made me laugh given you started a thread about a Rambo vid this morning
I have to say that a few years ago I was really drooling over the the Green Beret. I really liked its raw, fighting looks without the gawdy gidgets that the mall ninja style fighting jokes that companies like Dark Ops were marketing. It looked real for its function. I also liked some of those old school, cord wrapped striders and had a great fondness for some of the Japanese styled knives like the Spyderco Kumo.
Since that time, these knives no longer really catch my eye. It was a fun time though, discovering the diversity of knives and at some point I settled into the bushcraft style. Still, I think the GB is a good looking blade, just not something I would buy.
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Pitdog - that comment actually made me laugh given you started a thread about a Rambo vid this morning
I have to say that a few years ago I was really drooling over the the Green Beret. I really liked its raw, fighting looks without the gawdy gidgets that the mall ninja style fighting jokes that companies like Dark Ops were marketing. It looked real for its function. I also liked some of those old school, cord wrapped striders and had a great fondness for some of the Japanese styled knives like the Spyderco Kumo.
Since that time, these knives no longer really catch my eye. It was a fun time though, discovering the diversity of knives and at some point I settled into the bushcraft style. Still, I think the GB is a good looking blade, just not something I would buy.
Yeah but even Rambo has broken away from those crazy tactical looking knives now LOL !!!
I know what ya mean and must admit that when I first got into knives I'd have been all over that GB like a rash ( if I could ever have afforded it ) since being on here though my ideas of what a practical knife should be have changed !:thumbup:
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I've always been a fan of CRK and still own and use my Large BG-42 Sebenza.
I've gone through a variety of the One Piece line(Project 1, Shadow III and IV, Aviator) and the Green Beret. While I liked all the knives, I especially liked the Project 1 and the Green Beret.
That being said I've sold off all of my CRK fixed blades over time, mostly due to the fact that I didn't use them much and wanted to invest in blades I would use. I'm not knocking them by any means I just know what works for me, esp after 21 years in the military and 3 combat deployments as well as numerous hours in the bush stateside.
I eventually settled on a Fehrman Last Chance and a Peacemaker. That's not to say I'm done looking though. My next goal is a Fallkniven, not sure on the model yet.
I've gone through a variety of the One Piece line(Project 1, Shadow III and IV, Aviator) and the Green Beret. While I liked all the knives, I especially liked the Project 1 and the Green Beret.
That being said I've sold off all of my CRK fixed blades over time, mostly due to the fact that I didn't use them much and wanted to invest in blades I would use. I'm not knocking them by any means I just know what works for me, esp after 21 years in the military and 3 combat deployments as well as numerous hours in the bush stateside.
I eventually settled on a Fehrman Last Chance and a Peacemaker. That's not to say I'm done looking though. My next goal is a Fallkniven, not sure on the model yet.
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On that... I fully agree.
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I think that as a fighting knife there are certainly many more throughbread more high performance designs and the GB certainly wouldn't be my first choice.
As ridiculous as it sounds what most appeals to me about the CRK GB is that it's esthetically very pleasing. It's simply a smoothlined handsome knife.
It wasn't done with the green beret but he's shaved wood with several other knives. What he did do with this particular knife was peel and slice an apple, cut webbing, chop through a 2x4, baton through a 2x4, cut a hole into a 2x4, and baton into a 2x6 with a hammer.
All of those things seem to be actions which someone would likely do in the field. Granted most folks here wouldn't use a hammer to baton, but your average soldier very well might. Grunts have a wonderful reputation of finding all sorts of creative ways to use things. Given that this knife was created for and marketed to soldiers I don't think it should be a shock that such a knife would face "creative" tasks. Again, this wasn't cutting into metal or beating on cinder blocks. It was batoning into wood.
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I don't think it's ridiculous at all. I have no idea what the percentages actually are, but a lot of "knife nuts" collect knives just for collecting, and not so much for using. For these collectors, looks may be the most important thing, along with such things as the fame and status of the maker and the rarity of the knife. CRK certainly makes knives that have great fit and finish, and there is certainly a well-known and respected name, too. In this sense, I can see the appeal of a GB.