Green Beret : Chris Reeve Knives

Any updates? It was actually partially because of your review that I went and bought this knife. You put knives though a pretty tough review and I think that after all is said and done, if the blade has not broken in two it is a pretty durable knife.

I'm a little curious though. You reviewed the project 1 and gave it pretty good marks for chopping and the serrations cutting. Arent the GB and Project 1 the same blade profile with the only difference being in blade steel?
 
Exactly. I'll join to ask one more question:
Is CPM S30V so much more vulnerable to chipping and denting damage than A2?
 
Sgt.KillJoy said:
You reviewed the project 1 and gave it pretty good marks for chopping and the serrations cutting. Arent the GB and Project 1 the same blade profile with the only difference being in blade steel?
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No there are large differences. The serrations were changed making them much less fluid and far less versatile. The balance point was also changed ging it a far more neutral balance, the edge also has a thicker profile which lowers cutting ability. Plus my perspective has changed since I looked at the Project. I have used many more knives since then and would now demand much more out of a knife. For blades of that syle you get a lot more cutting ability out of a high flat profile, more chopping ability as well and more fluid in the wood.

As for A2 and S30V. I have never in general been that impressed with A2 in any case. I have used it from Mission, Reeve and Black Jack and in each case found it to be on the brittle side. A lot of the knife makers I respect though have high praise for it, so i still hold out that it could be tough in the right heat treatment. Back to S30V, its a quality stainless, up there with most of the other currently. Does it set some new fantastic benchmark for toughness, not that I have seen.

-Cliff
 
My experience with S30V leads me to believe it is marginally tougher than ATS-34, 440C, AUS-8A, 154CM, and about the same as BG-42. I have several knives in S30V, including two custom blades. I would say they hold an edge equal to or better than most steels, stainless or non stainless. My S30V blades have not chipped despite some pretty agressive use around sand and rocks. I have noticed more blunting than chipping. I would not use any of my stainless knives for prying, unless I found myself in a dire situation and had no choice.

Other than INFI, my current favorite steel is CPM3V as done by Fuhrman Knives. This is pretty good stuff.
 
Steelhed
Would you mind commenting a bit more one the performance of Busse INFI and Fehrman 3V? Sharpenability, edge retention, toughness? Could you compare and contrast the edge geomtery of the factory edge on the Fehrman and on a Busse of a similar side. I have had extensive experience with the BM-e and found that it is a very good knife(my bme is on Cliffs page, great job btw Cliff) I am thinking the Final Judgement would have a very similar level of performance as the Bm-e, if nothing else thinner edge geometry.
In regards to the P1, I agree with Cliff on all points. I found the edge geomtry to be very difficult to utilize for chopping, and cutting cardboard. While the f&f is awesome and the knife is just perfect in regards to symetry and asthetics, it comes up short for actual use. To be it is an expensive version of the USMC knife, but thicker and prettier. I sold mine and eventually plan on buying a new one in the future, but for a knife I actually use in the yard, farm or woods, it doesn't do the best.
 
Lukers - The differences and similarities between various Busse blades and Fehrman blades is something I am checking out as I write. So far I only own a Peacemaker and a Shadow Scout from the Fehrman line, but I own a couple of dozen Busses. I have a First Strike on order, and once it gets here I will match it head to head with a Steelheart E, and Fusion Steelheart I also have on order. So far the comparisons between the Peacemaker and my smaller Busses (Active Duty, Lean Mean Street, Badger Attack III) have been favorable. The CPM3V compares to INFI in several categories, including edge retention and chip resistance. I have placed all in a vice and bent them to about 30 degrees, and all have returned to zero without harm. I didn't bend them any further because I am not Cliff Stamp and I do not want to test them to destruction.

Ergonomically, I like the Fehrman Peacemaker very much. The handle is well suited to the blade length. Since the Shadow Scout has a longer blade (which I like), the handle seems a bit small at first, but with use it works fine for hands of my size (medium). Larger hands may find the Fehrmans on the smallish side. The Busse Badger Attack III is a fine knife, especially in its thinner incarnations. The Active Duty simply has excellent ergonomics for a blade that size. I will say this, I find myself picking up the Fehrman Peacemaker more and more. It fits my hand well, the blade profile and grind geometry work perfectly together and the fit and finish is flawless.

As for CPM3V compared to INFI. I doubt the way I really use knives will ever reveal a significant difference between the two, except in rust resistance. INFI is almost like stainless in that regard. As Cliff has said on several occasions, INFI does many things well. Other steels may beat it in some categories, but overall its quite good stuff. So far my experience with CPM3V has been encouraging, and I would rank it a close second to INFI overall. I am looking forward to the First Strike/Steelheart comparison. One of my very favorite knives is a Busse ZT Steelheat E. Any knife that size will have to kick ass to compare, much less best, the Steelheart.
 
Thanks for the extram S30V info. A lot will be in the heat treatment. I am interested to see how it behaves in the Swamp Rat folder, not for prying, but mainly for harder cutting.

-Cliff
 
Still have not got around to bending mine yet but did exchange emails with another user who did and saw a break at 10-15 degrees and edge chipping readily on light metals and even micarta which corrosponds well with what I saw. I intend to break this one shortly and confirm the flexibility.

-Cliff
 
I have to chime in here. I have been unimpressed thus far with S30V. I have several folders in this steel, and will not be buying any more knives with S30V as there are too many other good steels in designs that I like. Specifically, I have found the edge retention to be on par with 1095 or AUS 8, which is to say good, but not great. Being stainless, I'm not going to be chopping with it, but for as much as this steel costs, I was really hoping for better. For me, I'm sticking with D2 for smaller folders.

As for the INFI v.s. CPM 3V, I have found 3V to be about the same as D2 in edge retention, which is to say, great. I have a Peacemaker and a First Strike, and am amazed at how well they hold their edges in cutting abrasive mediums. I think the Peacemaker is one of the best designed small fixed blades that I have ever held, both in steel, geometry, and ergonomics. I have medium sized hands. I haven't done any toughness tests, nor am I going to bend them, although I appreciate others posting their results. I know INFI is extremely impact resistant, and has very good edge retention in cutting, although so far not quite as good as CPM 3V for me.

For my favorite outdoor blades, for small the Fehrman Peacemaker is always on my belt, and for a camp knife, either my Steelheart E or my First Strike serve my needs very well. As does my Camp Tramp, but that's a different thread....
 
[S30V]

sodak said:
Specifically, I have found the edge retention to be on par with 1095 or AUS 8, which is to say good, but not great.
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There are a lot of knives being made out of this which are really unsuitable for the steel leaving the edges thick and obtuse, or leaving it really soft like Reeve. In those cases the performane can easily be exceeded by a well ground AUS-8A blade. The S30V blades don't cut well, are hard to resharpen and dent easily.

However there are a number of people running it in highly efficient cutting profiles with a decent hardness. Spyderco does an excellent job, comes blazing sharp, with an acute and thin edge profile which allows a trivial resharpening. Swamp Rat is solid on the Rat Trap as well. As for customs, Phil Wilson will define edge retention by pushing it over 60 HRC.

All of that being said, I would not get that jazzed over it compared to well done ATS-34.

-Cliff
 
I don't know a whole lot about Chris Reeve's knives. I seen your sight where you reviewed the green beret with a Buck 119? I did see this line: (The Buck 119 was used for comparison as it is a classic version of the same basic type of blade, while the Camp Tramp provides a reference to a more utility based design.) and (In regards to other blades, the Buck 119 basically stood alongside the Green Beret in most aspects except for lower lateral strength as its much thinner, it also has less chopping ability as its a lot lighter.) It seems to me (and maybe it's just me) that your review paints a bad picture of the Green Beret. I've seen the Buck 119 at Wallys for $34.95 I know where there's a CRK green beret knife on an auction website for $280. I wanna write more, but I just don't get it. :(
 
Yes the price is lopsided, this in general isn't an indicator of performance, more of popularity than anything else. Cutting ability is mainly geometry, so two knives ground very similar, regardless of what they are made out of, will cut very similar. Edge retention in general is also highly linked to hardness, and Reeve drops the hardness on his S30V in the Beret's so much that it is readily matched by the often classified "lower end" steels.

-Cliff
 
So, you couldn't find a knife close to the same price range with the same geometry? IMO comparing a CRK to a $34.95 Buck 119 is an indirect insult. I think you could have found a better comparison or at least should have used a better one. I also understand if you're trying to make a legitimate point. But, being a CRK fan, I was slightly offended even if it was unintentional. I also thank you for posting free reviews, that is dedication. I've saved your site on my favorites list. I'm not trying to attack your credibilty, but this one really left me scratching my head. :)
 
And you may be right. Not kidding :) Just don't see why people would pay $280 for them. Are you just buying a name or what?
 
BenchMyke said:
IMO comparing a CRK to a $34.95 Buck 119 is an indirect insult. I think you could have found a better comparison or at least should have used a better one.
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It's a useful comparison exactly because the Buck 119 is a knife that many people have had experience with. Somebody who owns one or has used one and can recall what they liked or didn't like about it, can read the review and say, "Okay, then the CRK did x, y, z better/worse."
 
There is a valid point in that some of the comparisons in the reviews are less than ideal, this is often simply because I make do with what I have on hand. Ideally for comparisons I would do a trifold contrast, for example for a large utility/camp knife ($150 range) I would ideally compare it to :

-ontario survival/marine raider bowie
-trailmaster

and this :

http://www.dfoggknives.com/images/FikesCamp640.jpg

The Ontario provides the low end point of view, it shows how much you can get for an introduction piece, the Trailmaster in price and thus shows where the knife fits in its class and the Fikes is used as a high end cutting benchmark to show just how far you can go.

Unfortunately I don't have a magic genie and an endless supply of reference blades so I use what I have at hand, sometimes this is decent, some times it is just better than nothing, and most reviews, even the ones which are heavily a versus review tend to have a lot of external reference links as well to stock cutting against a massive variety of blades.

In the above case I think it is valid as a low end comparison, it would have been additionally useful to have something like a Simonich Raven on hand at the time as well.

-Cliff
 
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