spyderco chinook question

B

bill_G

Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
694
some dealers have chinooks in 440v and others have it in s30v.....why?

is one steel preferable to the other?

is ithe chinook really as strong as some members say it is?

thanks............Bill
 
The Chinook I was 440v, the II is S30V. I have the II and it's plenty strong. I have not tested it to failure. I like S30v but I have no experience with 440v.
 
The Chinook I and Chinook II both have locks ranked as being very heavy duty(over 200 lbs.), I believe.

Here is a quote from Sal Glesser, CEO and owner of Spyderco, in regards to the Spyderco in house lock rating system;

"There is no governing body that sets rating. Spyderco employs our own in-house rating system in the construction of our designs. We set the desired standard when we design the model and build to that standard. We test (break) the models in development and continue to test (break) the models to ensure that our standards have not changed.

In-house Lock strength standards

Light Duty = over 25 inch/lbs of lock strength per inch of blade length.
Medium Duty = over 50 inch/lbs per inch of blade length.
Heavy Duty = over 100 inch/lbs per inch of blade length.
Very Heavy Duty (MBC) = over 200 inch/lbs of lock strength per inch of blade length."
 
The last runs of the Chinook I were S30V as well I think. Well I don't know what exactly you picture but it has a 4 mm blade, a massive back lock which is rated by Spyderco to withstand over 200 lbs per inch blade length against collapse (which comes out to about 900 lbs one inch from the pivot). It has pretty thick full length SS liners and a massive backspacer and the pin around which the lock bar pivots is over sized (same size as the pivot) and the entire knife is almost exactly 1/2 inches thick. You decide if it is really that strong, it is definitely plenty strong for me.
 
HoB said:
The last runs of the Chinook I were S30V as well I think..
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Yep, S30V on the last run of them.

The Chinook I is my all time favorite Spyderco. I managed to snag on of the last in S30V and it'll be with me a long time.

I tried the Chinook II but did not like it nearly as well as the I, it's quite a bit less "overbuilt" but has better edge geometry.

If you're looking for very good cutting qualities look to the II, or something else all together. But if you're looking for a rock solid bullet proof folder the Chinook I is the ticket.

I've owned them all and doubt seriously if there are many stronger folders going, and I don't say that lightly. I would also put the Extrema Ratio folders right there but they have worse cutting qualities than the Chinook. Followed by the AR/GB's.
 
I have a Chinook I in 440V and a Chinook II in S30V. I greatly prefer the design of the Chinook II, and have found S30V much easier to sharpen.
 
ElectricZombie wrote:
I have a Chinook I in 440V and a Chinook II in S30V. I greatly prefer the design of the Chinook II, and have found S30V much easier to sharpen.
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What he said. 100%.

If I were put into EOTWAWKI scenario and could only take one folder with me, the Chinook II would be that folder. I've been very happy with this folder's performance and strength. The overbuilt construction of it exudes confidence in it's ability as a survival tool. The edge on mine could shave paper off a magazine page and not break through the other side. :eek: It's very easy to maintain that edge with the Sharpmaker and a strop too. :D
 
thanks for all the replys.....i think i'll get the chinook II

on a side note......are there any other MBC rated knives out there?

and what does "MBC rated" mean?


thanks.............Bill
 
MBC is a Spyderco internal standard for lock strength. MBC stands for Martial Blade Craft, however, the designation is slowly changing to very heavy duty. It implies a lock strength of 200+ lbs per inch blade length (multiply by blade length to figure out what the lock will withstand if loaded 1 inch from the pivot. The other internal standards are "heavy duty" (100+ lbs), "medium duty" (50+ lbs) and "light duty" (25+ lbs).

Other MBC or very heavy duty rated knives from Spyderco are: Dodo, Yojimbo, Gunting, Lil'T, Manix, ATR and I believe that's it. Hope that helps.

:footinmou Well, never mind. What shadow said!
 
Does anyone have both a Chinook II and a Manix - and would care to compare them? thx!
 
Here's my input on the chinook II:

it's my favorite folder based purely on performance. I wasn't convinced of this knife until I tried to destroy it. Took it to a tree with frozen branches, and I tried to hack 1/2"-3/4" diameter frozen branches with full power swings (as in winding up and swinging full force!). I did this for about 3 minutes of full power swings.

not only did the lock not fail, but the blade was still sharp! It didn't chip or roll, nothing. It didn't shave hair, but easily sliced paper smoothly and without a hitch.

Aside from the fact that it's my ideal tactical, it's a really tough knife, and I'm more impressed with it than ever.
 
edb: I copied that from my review of the Chinook II from the Chinook II passaround hope that helps:

HoB said:
To start with the bottom line: I really liked the Chinook II, more so than I expected. Initially I signed up to get a feeling of its sturdyness, because I was interested in the Manix, which is based on the design of the Chinook and didn't really consider the Chinook because of its strongly curved blade. But by the time the Chinook reached me, I had already pulled the trigger and had bought the Manix and so could compare them side by side. The sturdyness therefore came as no surprise. However, purely from the feel of it, neither the Chinook nor the Manix hold the price for Spyderco's hardest use folder. The Lil'T does. But this is not to say that the Chinook is lacking in anyway in that regard. Comparing the Manix with the Chinook II, I will have to agree that the leaf shaped blade is probably more useful for EDC than the "scimitar" blade of the Chinook, but really I didn't found the Chinook blade all that unuseful. Its a different type of cutting, while on the leaf shape blade the first 0.5 in from the tip probably do most of the work, the Chinook cuts more with its enormous belly and in many cases makes actually a cleaner cut, as you stay away from the tip and don't initiate the cut with the tip. I found that I had to "re-learn" the cutting with my Mini-Canadian, which has a very pronounced skinner blade. The Chinook compares to that. At the same time I will say that I absolutely hated the combo edge. The CE starts right were you would do the most cutting and you lose the benefits of the clean cut due to the serrations. All in all I don't really see a problem to carry the Chinook II as EDC. I would give the Manix still the nod for pure functionality though. Where the Chinook II pulled clearly ahead was the looks. Its really hard to explain, the Chinook didn't really appeal to me on pictures, but when I had it in my hand I really liked it, the handle and blade a very balanced and the wicked curvature together with the hollow grid and the champfer on the spine give it much more appeal than the Manix has. Also the very pronounced "hump" over the hole make it a very "typical" Spyderco, which is a look that I have come to get used to and like. It's a very un-generic knife. It just takes one look and you know what knife it is and who made it. Finally, I really enjoyed that fact that this was a refurbished knife. It clearly went through a few hands before me, but it "aged very gracefully". The G-10 was just a tad softer and "hand polished" than those of my new Manix and it gave it the "well loved" look. Since holding the Chinook II am really looking forward to wearing in my Manix. It seems it will just get better with age (just like me ). Lock up, lock strength, heft etc. I am not going to talk about, those are all things that the Chinook II has made a name for itself by now. Despite the weight and size of the Chinook (which really isn't all that bad IMO) it carries very well. I know that many have complained about the high ride with the pocked clip, I really like it as it carrys very comfortable because of it.

In the end I would have a hard time choosing between the Chinook II and the Manix if it were not for the handle shape. Even though the handle of the Chinook II is a bit shorter and seems a little more balanced with the blade (even though the Manix probably maintains the balance as the blade is also heavier, but it doesn't quite look as balanced), the refinements that Eric Glesser made on the handle really take the ball out of the park IMO. The ergos on the Chinook are not bad....quite good actually, but they don't compare to those on the Manix. The Chinook feels good but the Manix really locks in my hand as if it was made for me.

The plastic sheaths are well made for sure but really not my cup of tea. I can see that some people would really appreciate the sheath to carry the Chinook II open. I know that there was a request not too long ago for a fixed blade Chinook and this Sheath would satisfy that demand to extend. Especially since the Chinook is famous for its lock strength which makes it almost a fixed blade (ok, a lot of fixed blade lovers will complain now, and I know, no folder will compare in lateral strength to a fixed blade, but the Chinook comes als close as a folder will get). The sheath for the neck carry I really don't get. Even though I just said, that it carries well and doesn't feel as heavy as you might expect, I wouldn't want to carry it around my neck for an extended period of time. Finally, the leather Vess (?) sheath really blew me away! I just GOT to get myself one of those. I have a thing for leather sheaths and prefer them over plasic, not really for practical but more for tactile reasons, and the leather sheath that jhillas sent with the Chinook is as good as you could possible dream up. I am definitly going to have one made for my Lil'T.
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