School me on CRK Military Fixed Blades

[bvo85]

Can someone give me a primer on the CRK military fixed blades? I am thinking about it because of Harsey designing the slipjoint and I remember his name from the military fixed blades.

I briefly handled one of the military fixed blades several years ago and wasn't super impressed at the time. That was my subjective opinion at that specific point in time. I'd like to revisit it, now that I've seen CRK has been making these things for years without discontinuing them, so they must be popular in some circles.

It's possible I love the One Piece Hollow Handle CRKs so much that when I picked up the military knife, my emotions got the best of me that "they discontinued the one piece line for this? This is like every other fixed blade production knife, and the one piece line was so unique and amazing."

I like to revisit my opinions over time because I realize my emotional subjectivity can get the best of me.

A few specific questions to get the ball rolling:

1) Which are the models that existed in this military line up, and are any discontinued? I see Pacific and Green Beret on the website now, but think there was a third one at one time. I also think the Yarborough is the same as one of the existing (maybe GB) but with the added engraving?

2) Are the handle scales user removable? Or are they glued to the handle? I see hex fasteners so it makes me believe they might be user serviceable.

3) General thoughts on using this as a field knife? My initial opinion from years ago was that it seemed like a very thick blade, so possibly better for military hard use pry-bar equivalent type work.

4) What makes it special compared to something by say Busse of similar shape? I know what makes Sebenzas special compared to folders from any other manufacturer (pivot bushing on the 21s, amazing tolerances on every folder). And I know what makes the now discontinued one piece fixed blades special (no one else was making a good one from a solid stock of steel). But I don't know what makes these military knives special compared to the competition of other 5" to 7" fixed blade production knives with micarta scales?

I apologize if I come across as rude. I'm such a big CRK fan with respect to their folders and old one piece knives, that I assume there must be something I'm missing here with the military line up and the problem is me for not figuring out why they are special and I want to be better educated about them.

 

[Wavicle]

Here's a start at some answers:

1) There are actual military-issued variants of both the Pacific and Green Beret, and those continue today. There were also special editions such as the Neil Roberts Warrior that had a very limited production. The third production military knife, now discontinued, was the Impofu: A 10 inch non-serrated monster. You can catch them for sale on the Exchange in rare occasions.

2) I believe there is an adhesive attaching the Micarta to the tang, but I have not tried to disassemble one. They do not come with a hex key so that tells me it's not intended to be opened up for cleaning. However, if you have decent mechanical skills and some knowledge of adhesives, I'm sure removing handle scales is no problem.

3) It's a hard-use knife, not intended for bushcraft or general use around camp like field dressing a kill, possibly good for use on Naked and Afraid. They will pry. Still, would not stop me from general purpose use if that is what I had. Given the choils and excellent grip patterns on the Micarta (and the Pacific and Green Beret feel totally different in your hand), these knives "will keel".

4) They are special because they are made in Boise by people that pay careful attention to every minute detail. As you mentioned they are a collaborative design by two genius knife designers Reeve & Harsey. They come with a lifetime warranty. You may get some input from a real user, such as ex-military, to elaborate on the the quality and performance of them.