Thanks to Sal Glesser, Joyce Laituri and Dave H. for this and all of the other Spyderco pass arounds!
DETAILS The Chinook II is the latest (2004) version of the Chinook. The Chinooks where designed by James A. Keating. Additional information can be found on Spydercos site -
http://www.spyderco.com/online_prod...+C63&mscssid=VCBXT4XJTGSJ8G1NLMA7S04MFXRS5P04
The pass around Chinook II has the 50/50 partially serrated edge.
OUT OF THE BOX - The Chinook II fills the hand comfortably and opens smoothly. Everything about the Chinook II is solid and substantial. Fit and finish are quite good and the blade seems to be a little more polished than the pass around ATR.
The pass arounds pocket clip appears to have been bent outward somewhere along the line, and dose not grip the pocket as tightly as it should.
LOCK The Chinook II is a heavy duty MBC rated lockback. Lock up is quite smooth and solid. The relief in the scales for the lock release is a bit smaller than most lockbacks; but the fact that the exposed area of the release lever is small probably makes the Chinook more difficult to release accidentally I certainly could not induce an accidental release in any practical grip that I tried.
BLADE Spyderco describes the Chinooks blade as a modified Bowie. The point is upswept, leaving the hollow/sabre ground blade with a pronounced belly.
The plain edge measured .018 thick behind the edge bevel and the SpyderEdged portion came in at .040. The blade stock thickness is .154.
The Spyderhole is .56 in diameter.
STEEL The blade steel is S30V stainless, which is fast becoming my favorite steel for knives not intended for chopping or prying and the like. S30V is very fine grained steel with excellent edge holding ability.
HANDLES - The Chinook IIs handles are textured G-10, and are shaped to comfortably lock the hand firmly in place. I found that they were comfortable and secure in the basic sabre, hammer and reverse grips. The blade has a choil for chocking up for detailed work, and there are 5 traction lugs on the blade spine hump behind the hole which give some added control and security when choking up on the blade as well as in the normal sabre grip.
The Chinook is also equipped with an unlined lanyard hole.
LINERS & BACK SPACER - The Chinook II has a full length stainless steel back spacer and dual stainless steel liners, which contribute to its solid construction. The Chinook IIs liners have each have two circular and one oval cut outs these cut outs are part of the reason that the Chinook II weighs over an ounce less than the original Chinook (6 oz/ 172 g vs. 7.25 oz/ 205 g nominal).
POCKET CLIP - The pocket clip is simple blackened stainless steel with a stamped in Spyderco bug logo. The clip can be positioned for tip up or tip down carry on either the right or left side so you can always have it your way!
The Chinook II rides fairly high in clipped in a pocket, making it easy to grasp and also easy for people to see that you are carrying a knife.
The pass around knife was set up for tip up right hand carry, and I left it that way while I had it.
OPERATION- I found that the pass around Chinook II, as adjusted, opens smoothly but could not be easily flicked open - which may be a good thing considering that knives that can be easily flicked open are being treated as gravity knives in many jurisdictions lately.
Since the Chinook had its clip mounted for tip up carry, I tried it with a cable tie through the hole to form an improvised Wave feature of sorts, which opens the blade as it is pulled from the pocket. This set up worked well opening from the pocket, and the cable tie reminded me a little of the Cobra Hood when opening with the thumb hole.
Although I did not try it, it appears that the Chinook II is designed to allow adjustments of both the blade and the lock bar pivots.
CUTTING PERFORMANCE - I used the Chinook II for cutting cardboard and for ordinary EDC tasks such as opening boxes, cutting paper and tape and sharpening pencils; the Chinook handled all of this with ease.
I think that I would rather have the serrations on the front half of the blade instead of the back half, since the heavily curved front part of the blade was a bit awkward for fine work better suited to a plain edge. I also think that the serrations would be more useful on the front half of the blade.
For Self defense, the sharply upswept tip allows for efficient back cutting certainly an unusual capability for a folding knife.
SHARPENING After using the Chinook II, I attempted to sharpen it free hand using the DMT hones that I use for most sharpening, but I had a lot of trouble keeping the angle consistent, probably because I am not used to edges with as much curve as the Chinook. Every time it started to get sharp, I managed to mess it up and make it duller.
I decided to give Spydercos 204 Tri-Angle Sharpmaker a try, and even though it was my first time using the Sharpmaker, I managed to put a halfway decent edge on the Chinook II in sort order. I used the Sharpmakers gray and white stones set at 30 degrees for the plain edged portion of the blade and the corners of the white stones at 40 degrees for the serrated portion. The Chinook is still not as sharp as I would like, but I decided to quit while I was ahead.
It will take me a little practice to get the most out of the Sharpmaker, but so far Im impressed!
CUT TO THE CHASE - The Chinook II a sturdy, well made, ergonomic self defense oriented EDC. It is evident that James Keating and Spyderco have thoroughly thought out the details of the Chinook IIs design and construction.
Thanks again to Sal, Joyce and Dave H. for the pass around.
- Frank
Here are some links to other Spyderco pass around reviews -
Jester & Ladybug with Photons
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2499036#post2499036
ATR C70
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270638
Temperance & Impala
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=263754
Native Lightweight C41BK
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=268455
Lil Temperance C69
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270637
