Looking for Opinions of The CR Special Forces Knife
- Thread starter JOHN O
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nyefmaker
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Which Model ??? The Green Beret, Pacific, Warrior, Professional Soldier ? Plus you have the Project I & II that are military style knives. I did a review on the Professional Soldier. Its the least expensive of all the above, but is a different style of knife ( skeleton handle ) I love the PS. Out of the others, I like the green beret in either blade length. I dont have one, but the smaller one reminds me of the shadow IV and I really like that one.
They're all good knives. To me, the main differences are the grip, the point, serrations, and blade angle, and your preferences for each.
The Neil Roberts, the Pacific, and the Professional Soldier have a more comfortable (to me) thumb forward grip, while the Green Berets have a straight up and down hilt. Bill Harsey's designs have evolved for the better in that regard. I think the Pacific has handle scales more even with the edge of the tang, while the Green Berets and Neil Roberts have their scales slightly recessed from the tang to provide another grip edge (Chris Reeve's idea), possibly beneficial when wearing gloves. I don't own a Pacific (yet), so check with Heather on that, before trusting my memory.
All of them are basically variations of a spear point, except the Pacific, which is a clip point, with a slight swedge. They are all very strong tips.
The Neil Roberts and the PS are plain edges, while the Green Berets and the Pacific have serrations at the base. I think the Pacific is basically the Green Beret with a clip point and the thumb forward hilt/grip of the Neil Roberts, at the request of the 1st Special forces group. The Pacific also has the finger cutout in front of the hilt, so maybe it's really a Neil Roberts with clip point straight blade with serrations.
There's a maniac or two that has managed to break a Green Beret and a Project II(?) by beating on them with a sledgehammer. Yes, all tool steels are notch sensitive, and serrations are angled notches, but NOBODY has ever reported breaking any Chris Reeve knife with normal batoning. If you want to try batoning with a sledgehammer, use a non-serrated knife blade. I don't try to pry doors open with my knives, either. If I had to pry doors, I think I would buy a 21" Vaughan XL Superbar at Home Depot for $15 instead. Disclaimer: I don't work for Home Depot, I'm not a SF operator, and I don't pry doors open. I'd be curious to hear from from someone who is, and has had to, though.
The Neil Roberts has a slight drop angle to the blade, relative to the grip angle, while the others are in line.
I prefer plain edge, thumb forward grip, so I carry the Neil Roberts and PS more, but if you need to cut a lot of rope, the Pacific or Green Beret might be handier. If you grip knives with your thumb touching your index finger, the upright hilt on the Green Beret won't bother you at all. I do like the looks of its spear point tip more than the extended swedge on the Neil Roberts.
Or you could just decide to eventually get one of each, starting with the classic Mark VI before they quit making them this year. I guess I'm not the best person to call for Knifebuyers Anonymous. Hope you don't mine the design ramble.
The Neil Roberts, the Pacific, and the Professional Soldier have a more comfortable (to me) thumb forward grip, while the Green Berets have a straight up and down hilt. Bill Harsey's designs have evolved for the better in that regard. I think the Pacific has handle scales more even with the edge of the tang, while the Green Berets and Neil Roberts have their scales slightly recessed from the tang to provide another grip edge (Chris Reeve's idea), possibly beneficial when wearing gloves. I don't own a Pacific (yet), so check with Heather on that, before trusting my memory.
All of them are basically variations of a spear point, except the Pacific, which is a clip point, with a slight swedge. They are all very strong tips.
The Neil Roberts and the PS are plain edges, while the Green Berets and the Pacific have serrations at the base. I think the Pacific is basically the Green Beret with a clip point and the thumb forward hilt/grip of the Neil Roberts, at the request of the 1st Special forces group. The Pacific also has the finger cutout in front of the hilt, so maybe it's really a Neil Roberts with clip point straight blade with serrations.
There's a maniac or two that has managed to break a Green Beret and a Project II(?) by beating on them with a sledgehammer. Yes, all tool steels are notch sensitive, and serrations are angled notches, but NOBODY has ever reported breaking any Chris Reeve knife with normal batoning. If you want to try batoning with a sledgehammer, use a non-serrated knife blade. I don't try to pry doors open with my knives, either. If I had to pry doors, I think I would buy a 21" Vaughan XL Superbar at Home Depot for $15 instead. Disclaimer: I don't work for Home Depot, I'm not a SF operator, and I don't pry doors open. I'd be curious to hear from from someone who is, and has had to, though.
The Neil Roberts has a slight drop angle to the blade, relative to the grip angle, while the others are in line.
I prefer plain edge, thumb forward grip, so I carry the Neil Roberts and PS more, but if you need to cut a lot of rope, the Pacific or Green Beret might be handier. If you grip knives with your thumb touching your index finger, the upright hilt on the Green Beret won't bother you at all. I do like the looks of its spear point tip more than the extended swedge on the Neil Roberts.
Or you could just decide to eventually get one of each, starting with the classic Mark VI before they quit making them this year. I guess I'm not the best person to call for Knifebuyers Anonymous. Hope you don't mine the design ramble.
I LOVE my Pacific. It is big enough for any utility tasks you could throw at a knife, yet small and light enough for long-term carry and is easy to sharpen in the field. It also has a fantastic sheath that has a pouch that will fit the Spyderco Double Stuff sharpener which has both a fine and medium surface as well as a magnesium fire starter. Finally, the Pacific is a great knife for defense. It does not rattle in the sheath, has a very secure means of retaining the knife, and has a non reflective coating. The CPM-S30V used on the CRK S30V fixed blades are hardened to 55-57 as opposed to 58-60 for most other makers. This favors toughness and impact resistance over edge retention. The slightly softer steel allows you to hack, baton and chop without the worry of breaking the blade. It also is MUCH easier to sharpen with plain stones. This is critical for a survival knife because let's face it; you CANNOT take your Edge Pro or other fine sharpener out with you wherever you go and consequently, if you have a survival knife that is exceptionally hard, you may not be able to sharpen it once it wears (not to mention you are more likely to break it). Additionally, the Micarta handles used on the S30V fixed blades greatly improves upon the handle used on the hollow handle knives which have often been criticized for hurting hands, excessive shock and inability to grip it with bare hands in cold and sub-freezing temperatures. These problems are common with most knives with non-insulated metal handles. Just two small pieces of grooved Micarta makes an incredible difference. Micarta is unaffected by temperature and the thick handle absorbs a HUGE amount of the shock when hacking. While it looks large, the handle is extremely ergonomic and will fit almost all sized hands and is very, very comfortable. With the handle design on the Pacific, it is damned near impossible to lose this knife.
The blade shape also has great defensive properties which can slice, stab, and even back-cut. With that said, there is NO sacrifice in terms of its usability for utility purposes whatsoever and because of this, you can carry this knife for BOTH purposes. While this is somewhat repetitive, the Pacific's Micarta handle is ergonomic, works for all hand sizes, grips well when dry and even better when wet or bloody, and requires virtually no maintenance. For a survival/combat/self defense knife, the most basic property is the grip. If you cannot HOLD onto the knife while using it, you might as well not have a knife as it is less than worthless and sometimes counterproductive and even dangerous. I do not think anyone can lose grip on these things making them a grade A choice.
Go hold any of the S30V CRKs and you will fall in LOVE with them.
The blade shape also has great defensive properties which can slice, stab, and even back-cut. With that said, there is NO sacrifice in terms of its usability for utility purposes whatsoever and because of this, you can carry this knife for BOTH purposes. While this is somewhat repetitive, the Pacific's Micarta handle is ergonomic, works for all hand sizes, grips well when dry and even better when wet or bloody, and requires virtually no maintenance. For a survival/combat/self defense knife, the most basic property is the grip. If you cannot HOLD onto the knife while using it, you might as well not have a knife as it is less than worthless and sometimes counterproductive and even dangerous. I do not think anyone can lose grip on these things making them a grade A choice.
Go hold any of the S30V CRKs and you will fall in LOVE with them.
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I just wish all those knives didn't come with serrations.
nyefmaker
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I know, I am not a fan of serrated blades, even partially I dont care for. I green beret with no serrations would be cool.
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I took a dremel tool to mine, and chamfered the edges to be consistent with the rest of the handle. Feels great!
I have had my Green beret 5.5 for several years and i love it. I bought it to use in Iraq. It is the perfect size for most tasks. I rebeveled the edge to make it scary sharp, but other than that, all I have done it use it. I have cleaned fish with it, pounded it through wood blocks for fire wood, opened pachages, and all sorts of stuff. I recommend it highly. The KG gun coat that comes as the finish is amazing. Its the best coating I have ever found. The guy who breaks good knives at knifetests.com didn't think much of it. But as he states, his are destruction tests, not so much for overall usability. It can stab, slice, cut, baton, hack, pound, whatever. And it comes in a great sheath. Spec ops combat master is an awsome rig. All the grommets and a little 550 cord make it possible to be attached in a number of ways to a variety of gear.
I hope you get one.
JT
I hope you get one.
JT