OPK questions

F

flannel man

Joined
Apr 4, 2015
Messages
59
Last week I was in Edgeworks in Frederick, MD, and I came across a CRK Aviator. I had only ever seen the OPK knives online, and while the photos made me drool, I always talked myself out of purchases. I went into the store to buy an axe but asked to handle the knife anyway. If I were going to buy a knife, well, this one was too short a blade; I didn't want a saw-back; I didn't want a clip point; I didn't want to spend that much money.... I turned it over and over in my hands.... I couldn't look away.... I got the shakes.... I got woozy.... "I'LL TAKE IT!!!" It was like it cast a hypnotic spell on me.

Now I'm hooked. I love this Aviator. I keep staring at it and fondling and admiring it. Now I would like another CRK OPK, but I'd like one a little more suited for my woods-crafting needs. I've investigated the threads and the stickies here, and I can't figure out exactly which one I'm seeking.


The one I'd like would be 5.5", a spear-point, no top cross guard, and possibly would have a saw-back. Did they make one exactly like this? Something like a Shadow IV with no top guard...? Or a Mountaineer II with a spear-point?


And how did one get a camouflage finish on an OPK?


Thank you, folks, for any help you can give. I'm grateful.
 
There's no one piece that match perfectly to your requests, unfortunately.. The models with single guard have just clip point blade.. The spearpoint models have always the double guard.. In addition, the sawback models always have the clip point blade. If you want ABSOLUTELY the model that you want, you have to buy a Shadow IV, and give it to a good maker that removes the upper guard. But for me it would be a shame.. But... But... Sometimes I saw some slightly different models, such as a Project I and a Shadow III (Spearpoint) with a single guard. I believe that when one piece were in production, by ordering directly from them, you could ask for minor changes, such as the single guard. So, (maybe), around the world there is a Shadow IV single guard..
 
Thank you, Jackal87! I appreciate the response. I think I'm going to pursue a Shadow IV and see how I like it. From there, I'll keep my eyes open for any oddities floating around out there. Maybe I'll find one that someone special-ordered once upon a time. I'm looking forward to exploring these.

I agree with you. I wouldn't feel right about removing a top guard from a knife which was manufactured with one. I'll give it a go with the guard and see if I can work around it. I mean, it's not a huge guard anyway.

Does anyone have any idea how one would have received a camo color scheme?

And, is it safe to baton the larger models of the OPKs? I'm not trying to start a fire-fight here...I usually carry a hatchet with me, but if one needed to make one or two precise cuts by batoning, could one feel assured that the knife would be okay? Or would that be too risky for this kind of knife?
 
Absolutely no!!! These knives are designed to be used! You ever watched the video "The exquisite blade"? Is a documentary of the Chris Reeve knives, the factory, the life of Chris Reeve, and at some point you see mr. Chris goes into the woods, and starts to cut a bit of wood with his Shadow I.. Are robust knives, there is no danger to break them!
For the camo color, so far I have seen several models with this coloration, it was made directly from CRK only in the USA models, and in fact on birthcard is always reported the name of the knife and "camo".
Until now I have seen in "camo": Shadow I, Project I, Nkonka 3V, Aviator, Tanto I
 
Nice man! Edgeworks is my main CRK provider as well as everything else. Not to many people know about it so you can usually score some pretty nice blade.
 
flannel man said:
And, is it safe to baton the larger models of the OPKs? I'm not trying to start a fire-fight here...I usually carry a hatchet with me, but if one needed to make one or two precise cuts by batoning, could one feel assured that the knife would be okay? Or would that be too risky for this kind of knife?
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I've batoned hard (with wood) with my Shadow IV, as well as my Neil Roberts Warrior and Pacific. They stand up to such use easily.
 
There was a single guard Shadow III, as I owned one. To the best of my knowledge, that was the only spearpoint single guard. The others were the mountaineer I & II, but they were clip points. They did make a sawback Shadow IV, it has a double guard though. That one I still have. ( it's not for sale ).

 
As I known only the Shadow IV with 5.5" blade and spear point, there are very few Shadow IV with sawback and single guard, I ever saw some pics about them, it's hard to buy one of them. If you want a OPK to suited for woods-crafting needs, I recommend Mountaineer II but with clip point, I have never seen a Mountaineer with spear point. CRK did camo finish as a customer service, I remember it was $15 for the camo finish.

nyefmaker said:
There was a single guard Shadow III, as I owned one. To the best of my knowledge, that was the only spearpoint single guard. The others were the mountaineer I & II, but they were clip points. They did make a sawback Shadow IV, it has a double guard though. That one I still have. ( it's not for sale ).
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There was a South Africa model named Phantom with single guard and spear point as I known.
 
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Fooj said:
I've batoned hard (with wood) with my Shadow IV, as well as my Neil Roberts Warrior and Pacific. They stand up to such use easily.
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You suddenly have some time on your hands Fooj? ;)

Nice to have you back!
 
nyefmaker said:
There was a single guard Shadow III, as I owned one. To the best of my knowledge, that was the only spearpoint single guard. The others were the mountaineer I & II, but they were clip points. They did make a sawback Shadow IV, it has a double guard though. That one I still have. ( it's not for sale ).

Click to expand...

The Shadow is not the only spearpoint with single guard, there is also the Project I


 
Jackal87 said:
The Shadow is not the only spearpoint with single guard, there is also the Project I


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Indeed, in the early days of CRK, they would entertain customizations like top guard removal on Shadow and Project I models. I have a couple of these special order knives, and really like them.
 
nyefmaker said:
There was a single guard Shadow III, as I owned one. To the best of my knowledge, that was the only spearpoint single guard. The others were the mountaineer I & II, but they were clip points. They did make a sawback Shadow IV, it has a double guard though. That one I still have. ( it's not for sale ).

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Very interesting bit of CRK trivia, regarding that sawback Shadow IV. The naming convention of the OPR models is complex, and there are back-stories with every discontinuity. My understanding is that the only OPR models with the sawback standard were the Aviator (basically, a Mountaineer I with sawback and top guard), the Jereboam Mk I (a Jereboam Mk II with sawback), and the Jereboam Mk IV (a Jereboam Mk V with sawback). Is yours one of those models, is it a special order Shadow IV with the sawback added, or other?
 
It's a shadow IV with sawback. I know of the others. Will take a pic and add it tonight.
 
nyefmaker said:
It's a shadow IV with sawback. I know of the others. Will take a pic and add it tonight.
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Cool! Was it a custom order, or are you saying that CRK made this model as standard product?


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Fooj said:
Cool! Was it a custom order, or are you saying that CRK made this model as standard product?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I don't think it was full production, but we all know CRK did 10 here and 10 there for certain dealers as an exclusive. Way back in the day this was not noticed as much as recent years. I have mine and I believe I have seen 1 more out there over the years.
 
Here ya go Fooj....!!! Both USA Made. Sawback is one of the older ones when CRK first came to the USA and still used some of the Hex caps. Both are among my favorites of the OPK. Pancake Sheath is El Paso while other is Gfeller.







 
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