Time to eat crow - Project I

C

Cliff Stamp

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After I first saw the one piece line from Chris Reeves I wrote them off as being nonfunctional almost immediately. My problem was with the grip. One look at a picture was all I needed to conclude that there was no way that would be usable. Basically my hand is flesh and the grip is checkered steel. I didn't thick a wood rasp would make a good knife handle and it would quickly pulp my hand.

When Murray Haday dropped me an email a few months ago asking if I had ever reviewed a Project I basically said similar to the above and gave him a few links to work others had done. When he contacted me shortly after and asked if I would want to have a look at one I thought it was a little odd but damm impressive as my remarks were less than glowing in our last exchange.

Once it arrived I took it outside with the presupposed option that it was going to be - well basically useless. They first cut had me in amazement and after working with it for a few minutes I simply could not believe what I saw. I was as wrong about the the handle as I could have possibly been. It is functional to say the least and this functionality is easily detected in many aspects of the knife design.

The knife performs very well slicing as well as chopping. It has a very high performance edge geometry out of the box and the grip is secure and no where near the hand mangler I thought it was going to be. I have to work with it more to form a complete opinion but I know enough to make this post.

Anyway Chris I wanted to post here on the forms to counteract what I have often said before. Lesson learned on my part.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 05-18-2000).]
 
This agrees with my experience with the MarkVI I own. And the handle is very secure when covered with any kind of slippery fluid. The only complain I have is that it's not immediately clear which way the blade is facing.
 
There is an index grind on the left side, just below the hilt for you thumb to feel. Once you get used to this it is simple and quick to feel which way is up on them.

------------------
Dennis Wright
Wright Knife & Sporting Goods
1-800-400-1980
("Have a knife day!")
wrightknife@ixpres.com
 
Cliff..
Wait till you get your hands on the Large Shadow I..
Take Care..

------------------
Murray Haday
ProEdge Knives www.proedgeknives.com
Tel: 905 328 8212

[This message has been edited by ProEdge (edited 05-20-2000).]
 
Ralf..
The Project I & II are the only fixed blades with the night indexing..
Even the Large Shadow I does not have the night index..
Take Care..
 
Hi Murray!


Neither my Project 1 or II show night indexing. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Eric
 
Murray, the Project 1 I got from you doesn't seem to have the night index either.

I guess it wouldn't matter because I am Left Handed and would not feel the index?

------------------
RICK - Left Handers Unite
 
Cliff, I had the same reservation in the beginning about the Randall Model 18. After a week in Vietnam this past April I change my mind also. I have a saw back version and I thought that would be useless too, but it came in pretty handy for sawing off the heavy twines along the Mekong river. There was not enought room for a swing cut. I went into the jungle near the Cambodian border to visit one of my distant cousin. The stainless steel blade and the brass handle survived the trip with no corrosion that I can see. All I did was wiping it clean when necessary. The compass in the handle saved my butt a couple of time, every direction looks the same in the jungle. I thought about bringing the Project 1 along, but went with the Randall because of the stainless blade.
 
Eric, Rick..
On the Project I & II..
With the blade facing down, the center of the 2" Cross-Guard on the left side is machined flat.
If the Project is held in the right hand, you can feel the night index with your right thumb in the center of the cross-guard..
Once you get the feel, it works great..

Any questions give me a call..
Take Care..

------------------
Murray Haday
ProEdge Knives
www.proedgeknives.com
Tel: 905 328 8212
 
Cliff et al,

I'd appreciate your comments regarding the cylindrical shape of the grip; I haven't handled one myself, but it looks less ergonomic in the hand compared to an oval or rounded rectangular shape... Comments?
 
An oval handle would be less prone to twisting than the current one and it would also probably fill out the hand better to allow for higher strength impacts. Both of these can be solved by tight grips which can be uncomfortable at first due to the aggressive nature of the handle. If your chopping technique is loose gripped in nature then you might have a bit of a problem.

Considering the size of the guards there is obviously enough metal in the original bar to allow for a wider grip, however not only is an oval harder to machine, but a larger grip would also effect the balance so you would need to alter the design to compensate.

-Cliff
 
I had a thought (everybody runs for cover
wink.gif
). I've only handled a project1 at a gun/knife show, but I thought it was pretty comfortable. Maybe not perfect, but certainly usable. I kinda like round handles. Olympic Weightlifters and Powerlifters hoist ungodly amouts of weight up and overhead with a round bar about the size if the CRK one piece line. That shape may not be the most ergonomic out there but you can definitely get a good grip on it.
 
Interesting comments on this thread and, Cliff, thanks for your post!

We have been making our fixed blade knives for over 16 years now and they have been used all over the world, by all kinds of people, in a wide variety of circumstances. The knives perform - period!

The suggestion of an oval cap is well taken - however, it requires a highly specialized lathe to make an oval cap, a lathe that is not within our capabilities at this time.

Anne

 
Anne,
Thanks for jumping in on this one. Is there any chance your current lathes would be able to machine an oval handle and then, near the very end of the handle, transition back to the round profile, thus enabling the use of a round cap?

------------------
Semper Fi
 
EIGHT YEARS ON I CANNOT FAULT THE CHRIS REEVE HANDLE.

Most knives I've used hard and for extended periods have given me blisters/callouses. The Project II the least and it is the knife I've carried and used most. It is a survival type knife with a handle which does not break, chip, snap, swell, rot, go tacky, loosen, tear, wear or deteriorate over time.

Unless you are cave diving in absolute darkness, night indexing is irrelevant. Sorry, I am not as brave as you lot; when I take out a seven inch ultra sharp knife I look at it, even though I know which way up it is, what it looks like and I have better things to do.

As for twisting, I'll drop any knife before a kickback breaks my wrist. The Chris Reeve gives good feedback of what is hapening and is just fine for my hands.

Chris, one day we will educate them! You produce one of the finest soldiering knives going, period. Thank you very much.
 
By twisting, I was referring to the handle rotating during normal work due to lateral forces across the edge, not a hard pull when the blade is lodged in something.

-Cliff
 
ProEdge, all the other great knives out there will not beat a Chris Reeve. They may suite someone better for their purpose or differ by design and intended use, BUT the Projects are, as a tool for what they are intended for, as good as a user tool gets. Anything else is playing.

Cliff Stamp, I did know what you meant. A seven inch knife is quite meaty and control is important. When chopping a loose grip gives you more whack and the Reeve grip gives you the feedback for the nessesary control. When tight gripped and twisting it in a medium such as wood it also tells you when you are overdoing it,ie: brute force crowbar work.
You can drill with this knife as it has a round handle, spinning it in the palms. You would be hard pressed to get a result with a flat sided shaped handle. If you want to make a spear ram the stick in the hollow handle and tie on. Other blades are tricky to tie on with any real confidence.
 
While everything said so far makes sense, I don’t buy into that argument with the spear. A knife is not made/suited for that type of abuse and should NEVER be used as such. A real spearhead is made out of ductile, softer steel which rather deforms than break under impact. Edge holding is not an issue here, but impact resistance. The opposite is true for a knife and that’s what the CR products are made for. They are as any knives furthermost cutting tools, even if they have decent impact resistance. Besides that, who needs a spear with a metal tip anyway? There is not much you couldn’t impale with a sharpened hardwood pole. After you did that, you can put your knife to better use by skinning and quartering what you killed. In short, anybody who ties a >$200 knife to the tip of a stick to throw it away is in need of reading up on the basics.
 
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