Review: Browning Crowell and Barker Competition Knife (w/ Pics)

M

msiley

Joined
Aug 19, 2006
Messages
542
I just received the Browning Crowell and Barker Competition Knife
in the mail today and was pretty impressed.

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All Images Here:
http://www.matrixwebdev.com/crowellbarker/CrowellBarker.html

Here are the stats:
Overall Length: 15"
Handle: 5"
Blade: 10"
Weight: 17.4 oz.
Steel: 1085
Rockwell: 57-59
Handle: Micarta

w/ Leather Sheath
More details on AG's site:
http://www.agrussell.com/knives/by_type/straight/browning_crowell_and_barker_competition_knife.html

It came shaving sharp with a convex edge
and a full flattish grind. I say flatissh because
there is a very shallow concaveness to the grind.
I wouldn't call it hollow and I wouldn't call it flat.


This is my first big chopper. My other 'big' knife is a BK7
that I cherish and love. Last time I went camping I was
using the BK7 to chop with and thought I might want either
an ax or a chopping blade for improved efficiency.

I chose a big knife since well.... I'm a knife knut and
they seem rather verstatile.... anywho back to the knife.

This knife has great balance! If you notice the tapered tang
it allows for more weight toward the blade when chopping
but also if you choke up on the blade it gives you great
control. Even better control then I have with my BK7.
It's kinda like a big knife but feels like a medium sized
knife when needed.

I performed some mild tests just to get a feel for it.
In the pics above you'll notice a chopped piece of wood.
It's some sort of tempered wood handle that I found
in my garage. I use it to test chopping ability since
it's probably the hardest wood you'll come up against.
The BK7 can go through it in a few dozen chops, a BM 710
can go through with it in 30-50 chops and the Crowell-Barker
goes through it in about 5-6 chops. These weren't even
full arm swing chops but medium sized chops. This
knife can definitly chop.

At the other end of the spectrum I needed to open up some mail.
Out comes the Crowell-Barker and it has such fine control
that you can easily open mail with the contents unharmed.

I also chopped up the box it came in. It will slice through
cardboard with very little effort. I also took four pieces of
cardboard held together and it sliced through them like butter.

Overall this is a very impressive knife. I thought I was
just getting a big heavy chopper but what I recieved was a blade that
can field a wider variety of tasks then just chopping.
It could definitly be used as your only knife and you
wouldn't be missing your smaller fixed blade or folder.
(ok maybe a little... but not too much) ;)
 
I too was impressed with the performance of this knife. One of the best production knives I own.
Scott
 
WOW..thanks alot...thats all I -we need...another knife to buy..:D
That looks like one heck of a deal for the money...I would love a big chopper that doesnt cost as much as rent money...cool, thanks for the pics, Gene
 
Got mine a couple of months ago. A bargain for the price - no doubt!

(And enough petroleum jelly on the blade to supply a federal pen for a long weekend! :eek: Doh!)
 
I'll throw in my two cents even though it doesn't seem to be a popular one.

Mine didn't come shaving sharp and the bevels were uneven. After reprofiling even convexes on both sides and some decent amount of sharpening it would push shave easily. I spent a week delimbing with it and it's performance was on par with my reworked Tramontina bolo. It's edge holding was better than the machete but far under my HI Kurki or my battle rat/Heavy Heart. I found myself touching up the edge so much that I finally put it away and just used my Kurki/battle rat. The wood that I was delimbing was around 1-4 inches in diameter and was very hard (Mesquite, Palo Verde).

Since it cost twice what my HI did and 20 times what my Machete did I just can't find a place in my heart for it. The handle was very comfortable though and it's balence was excellent. The sheath was well fit and worked well.

Just my .02
 
hmmmm. I hope mine fares better. It's 1085 so the edge retention should
be slight less then 1095 given the same heat treatment. But is should also
be tougher then the 1095. So I'm guessing that's one of the reasons
they chose it. (or maybe it was just cheaper ;-)

I'm going out into the wilderness in a few weeks and I should be
able to find some work for it.
 
"On paper," 1085 should be better for an impact tool than 1095 and should hold an edge better than 5160.

FTN, was the edge turning or micro-chipping or simply wering away ("edge holding")?



misley, mine is flat ground with a convex edge. Nothing concave I can find with a steel ruler.
 
I also recieved my Crowell/Barker and I have simply amazed by it. I recieved my knife from Jim Crowell who admittedly recountured the handle and reprofiled the blade edge. It came from Jim hair popping sharp...it is like holding the world biggest scalpel.

The thing that really stands out for me with this blade is how well it balances in the hand. Many big knives feel BIG and clunky. But this knife feels active in the hand. I have cut through 1 inch rpoe a few times with no problem...both hanging and just push cutting. Went through 2 2x4's with no real effort. Still sharp after that little outing. I have not done hours of delimbing with it, but unless the temper is poorly done I doubt that it would not be an excellent knife for its intended purpose.

I personally WOULD need a smaller knife around the camp, but a smaller knife is just not as much FUN.

I am very impressed with this knife, its fit and finish as well as its design.
 
I need suggestions...

I am not a big fan of the edge. I am thinking of reprofiling it down to 15 degrees.
I have my BK7 at that angle and it improved it's performance
considerably from the factories. I just don't think I have the skill to maintain the
convex edge and reprofile it at the same time.

Is their really a big noticable difference between having a convex
and just a regular V edge performance wise?
 
msiley said:
I need suggestions...

I am not a big fan of the edge. I am thinking of reprofiling it down to 15 degrees. I have my BK7 at that angle and it improved it's performance
considerably from the factories. I just don't think I have the skill to maintain the convex edge and reprofile it at the same time.

Is their really a big noticable difference between having a convex
and just a regular V edge performance wise?
Click to expand...
A convex edge is traditionally used on axes (except junk). This is because it can be very acute at the very edge but, moving back from the edge, quickly has more steel to support that edge than with a flat bevel. So a convex edge is a good choice for a chopping knife.

Not being any sort of expert on this stuff, I try not to out-think experts.

To thin out a convex edge, remove metal from the shoulder of the curve with coarser media, them use a mouse pad and finer media to smooth out the curve to the edge.

A convex edge naturally results from free-hand sharpening due to the accumulation of random variations of angle. So it's not hard to do; it's hard to avoid.
 
I thought of getting a couple of those knives. One to use and the other to put back either as a spare or as a momento/investment. I do like the profile of it. Thanks for the write up on it.:thumbup:
 
I have one of these and am very pleased with it. I took some limbs off of maples and oaks ( about 2" max), and did a bit of battoning with it and the edge is still nice and sharp. If you are thinking about one, You won't be disappointed, especially at this price.
 
Bringing this up from a couple months ago but Ive been sitting the fence on this knife. When I first saw it in AG's catalog I really thought it was nice looking and after reading several reports I believe it is worth the money. So, I went ahead and got off the fence and just placed my order for one. I don't have a lot of chopping to do and I have principally been a folding knife man for the past years. Recently I wanted to get a few examples of fixed blade knives, just to round out my small collection. I have a small 4" fb by Entrek called the Cobra. The Browning/Crowell will fill the gap in the 9 to 12 inch fb range, so that leaves me with deciding on a 6 to 7 inch fixed blade now.

One thing I wonder about is the sheath. From the pictures it looks like it is heavily built with thick welts. The leather has an appearance of quality from what I can tell. What can anyone tell about the sheath?
 
I've enjoyed mine, feels great in the hand - but after de-limbing a nectarine of some dead 1-2" branches I was dismayed to fine some serious chipping (!) at the sweet spot.
 
"Heavily built" might be a stretch. It is very similar to a Kenny Rowe sheath I have (pictured below) and it is not up to the same standards. That said, it ain't a bad sheath and I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

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Got my Browning yesterday and my first impressions are that I did not make a mistake. Even grinds, very sharp, just a nice looking knife. The leather sheath is not as heavy as I thought it was juding from the pictures, but for the price it is an excellent deal.
 
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