Nyala blade shape decision

S

staysharp^

Joined
May 27, 2015
Messages
175
Hello everyone! I am a new member here on the forum. I currently own one CRK. It is a small plane jane sebenza 21 clip point blade. I am very happy with my knife and plan to keep and use it daily. I am in the market for a fixed blade CRK. I like the looks of the Nyala model but cant seem to decided on a insingo or drop point blade profile. I live in Pennsylvania and will be using it for field dressing game animals such as black bear, white tail deer, turkey, squirrels and so on. I hate stalling on a purchase and would appreciate your honest feedback.

Thank you!

Lance
 
Welcome to the club! I would go for the drop point blade because the insingo has a pretty pointy tip. I would be scared of poking through the hide if you're skinning with an insingo.
 
Lol opinions are awesome. I would prefer to skin with an insingo due to the nice shape of the belly. :)
 
staysharp^ said:
... will be using it for field dressing game animals such as black bear, white tail deer, turkey, squirrels and so on.
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The drop point blade shape is the (only) way to go if you plan to use it as the only knife for those tasks. With its pointy tip and wide belly it will do every task/cut that field dressing and skinning require. Just imagine yourself splitting a pelvis, reaming the anus, doing intricate work inside the belly of a deer or skinning a bear with an insingo blade and it becomes pretty obvious.

Have been using a Nyala for some years now. Would prefer a more squarish handle (somewhat like on the Umkhombe), as the round handle has a slight tendency to twist in the hand and thus tires muscles. But all in all it's a great knife.
 
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Thanks men! Seems most favor the drop point design over the insingo. I like the look of both so this decision will be based on best user design. THIS IS NOT EASY! :confused:
 
Welcome to the CRK page.........I had always wanted a Nyala since they first came out. Luck would have it that last year my girlfriend got me one for my birthday. She bought 2. A standard Nyala for herself and a Insingo Nyala for me. I used it last year in hunting season and field dressed 3 whitetails with it among other camp chores during my hunting vacations. It worked perfectly for that. I originally thought the standard would be better for the tasks of field dressing, but the insingo did a great job and I was pleasantly surprised. The blade design is more of a slicer, but when carefully used, offers pinpoint accuracy when cutting because of that blade shape. I think with this blade design, you actually get more from the cutting edge as in getting to use the Whole edge, rather than just parts of of like you can with a traditional knife design. Both are great and I hope eventually to get the standard one as well.
 
I use a drop point as my fixed blade hunting knife. I think it serves as the best multipurpose design.
 
I have decided on a drop point nyala. I just found out the new nyala knives are coated for a layer of durability. I found a new stone washed version on ebay. Do you guys prefer the coating on the blade or not?
 
Good choice going with the drop Nyala. The drop point is very good for general applications. The insingo should be used for more specialized functions.

staysharp^ said:
Do you guys prefer the coating on the blade or not?
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I like the coating. Looks nice and functions. Hope you enjoy the knife as much as I do!
 
The coating CRK uses is one of the better ones. Personally though I have a preference for a smooth stonewash finish on a hunting knife, just like on the earlier Nyalas. They are a tad easier to clean compared to the (sand- or beadblasted) blades with the coating.
Rust has never been an issue with S30v or S35VN for me. But there are some not-so-easy-to-clean spots between handle scales and blade that might benefit from a coating.
 
OK. Thanks guys! One worry, I seem to always use thin narrow knives for field dressing. Do you guys feel the belly of the knife is to wide on the Nyala for a Prime field dressing knife? I know it will excel at skinning but skinning and field dressing are fairly different. Maybe I am over thinking this......
 
I've field dressed a few deer with the drop point Nyala, you're going to be very happy with it!
I always split the rib cage when dressing them out and I've never had a fixed blade that could pull through the whole chest in one pull like the Nyala does, it's a beast!
I was also partial to high carbon steel over stainless for those chores but the Nyala totally changed my mind, it holds a keen edge for a LONG time( several deer worth of gutting ).
My only suggestion is to get some nice Kydex for it but that's a personal thing, I just don't care for the way the leather carries no matter how well the sheath is made.
 
1AbominAble1 said:
I've field dressed a few deer with the drop point Nyala, you're going to be very happy with it!
I always split the rib cage when dressing them out and I've never had a fixed blade that could pull through the whole chest in one pull like the Nyala does, it's a beast!
I was also partial to high carbon steel over stainless for those chores but the Nyala totally changed my mind, it holds a keen edge for a LONG time( several deer worth of gutting ).
My only suggestion is to get some nice Kydex for it but that's a personal thing, I just don't care for the way the leather carries no matter how well the sheath is made.
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Thank you for sharing your experience with the nyala. I will give the drop point a try. I will also be ordering a kydex sheath to go with it. Thank all of you for the kind words and input on what seems to be a great knife.
 
Happy to help.
As most of us knife nuts do, you'll probably marvel at just how perfectly even the knife is cut and ground and will see the value in that easily noticed aspect, but, once you lay that little beast to fresh meat you'll see that you've bought the last hunting knife you'll ever "need"-I say need because I've since bought another Nyala( so that both boys can inherit one of course 😉 ), and 3 Busse's. Obviously my " needs " change daily, but, that Nyala will be my go to for the foreseeable future.

I hope that you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.
Post some pics when you get it.
 
1AbominAble1 said:
Happy to help.
As most of us knife nuts do, you'll probably marvel at just how perfectly even the knife is cut and ground and will see the value in that easily noticed aspect, but, once you lay that little beast to fresh meat you'll see that you've bought the last hunting knife you'll ever "need"-I say need because I've since bought another Nyala( so that both boys can inherit one of course 😉 ), and 3 Busse's. Obviously my " needs " change daily, but, that Nyala will be my go to for the foreseeable future.

I hope that you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.
Post some pics when you get it.
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Your getting me pretty pumped about this purchase. The Nyala seems like a very simple knife but well executed. I was going to order the green beret but that is more of a tactical knife. Might feel little overpowered for field dressing game. :) I like your quote on your profile by the way. Got a good laugh out of that!
 
staysharp^ said:
Your getting me pretty pumped about this purchase. The Nyala seems like a very simple knife but well executed. I was going to order the green beret but that is more of a tactical knife. Might feel little overpowered for field dressing game. :) I like your quote on your profile by the way. Got a good laugh out of that!
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You should be pumped. Nyala is the bomb.

I firmly believe that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Chris Reeve seems to have mastered the fine art of simplicity.

Most knives named after special operations forces are tactical.
 
Fish Boy said:
You should be pumped. Nyala is the bomb.

I firmly believe that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Chris Reeve seems to have mastered the fine art of simplicity.

Most knives named after special operations forces are tactical.
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OK. I will stick with the Nyala. Do you think the insingo blade design is more for food prep type of things? I know I am beating a dead horse but want to make sure I am making right decision. I plan to order tomorrow morning or late tonight. I also think simplicity is sophistication. :)
 
staysharp^ said:
OK. I will stick with the Nyala. Do you think the insingo blade design is more for food prep type of things? I know I am beating a dead horse but want to make sure I am making right decision. I plan to order tomorrow morning or late tonight. I also think simplicity is sophistication. :)
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yeah I prefer the insingo for food prep. I've never field dressed anything, so can't comment on that part. Whatever you get though, you'll probably end up getting the other blade shape in another form of CRK knife lol.
 
staysharp^ said:
OK. I will stick with the Nyala. Do you think the insingo blade design is more for food prep type of things? I know I am beating a dead horse but want to make sure I am making right decision. I plan to order tomorrow morning or late tonight. I also think simplicity is sophistication. :)
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I'm glad that you like the signature line, I think that everybody has that occasional day where they look at everybody else and think that.

I have one Insingo and 2 Drop Point Nyala's, in my opinion the Insingo would be FAR behind many other knives in the field dressing department.
I find it just a little too pointy for that delicate work around the stuff that you don't wanna puncture, could you do it, no doubt, but would you have to be MUCH more careful than if you used the drop point blade-I think so.
I also find, that for me, the belly of the Drop Point works better skining an animal.

I've used the Insingo to fix dinner a few times and it works much better in that role, although, the blade is pretty thick and it doesn't slice as well as you'd think because of the thickness and hollow grind- it's one knife that I'd love to see CRK put the high hollow grind on.
Conversely you'd be hard pressed to find a better camp folder than a Large 21 Insingo.
 
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