Don't want to be a bore but another Chris Reeve knife "went" at knifetests. com: Project I. Even Noss seems to be "shattered" . Since this is a different kind of steel than the last one now the Reeve factory seems to have a real problem.

ehhh.... that's a bummer - I have a Project I!

I suppose I'll have to check out the gory details...

The fall-out after the Green Beret test was bad enough, I guess the knives will really be out now (scuse the pun).

EDIT: I took a quick look... don't know what to think about that. On the one hand I would never purposely try to break a knife by hammering on it. On the other hand there have been other knives costing far less that have endured more punishment in these tests.

Perhaps it has something to do with the lateral strength of certain steels? Or perhaps the serrations are to blame?

I would still be happy to take my Project I on a trip and I'm sure it would do everything I asked of it. I have batoned the crap out of mine and all it did was lose a bit of coating.

It does give one pause for thought however. But are these tests now to be the ultimate decider on what makes a good knife or not?

I don't expect my knives to perform like crowbars, I just want them to cut well.

These guys are the Beavis and Butthead of knife testing. Sure, you MIGHT be able to argue that their *cough* methodology has a minor degree of validity, but the same logic says you could evaluate a car by pushing it over a cliff. Some of what they do has a place, but if you beat on ANYTHING hard enough and it will break.

I'd be interested to know if these knives would stand up to the Mors Kochanski test. Will the handle hold your weight when driven laterally into a tree 4cm.

I suspect they would but if here are any knives on the knifetests.com page that might fail that one it would be the Reeve knives.

Look, I do understand that these test are extreme. But knowing what we know know... I mean, you are going to be stranded in the wilderness or you are going on a military mission... Is Chris Reeve your first choise when you just can take one piece of steel? And more: why has a knife got to be this big and heavy when you are just using it for fine cutting?

I do think this testing thing is getting a bit out of hand...

Personally I like knives that slice well.

IMO in a camp-out scenario, knives are used for food prep more than anything. So a good slicer is what I want.

If I'm camping out, I will take my axe with me to do any chopping work. Why? Because its the most efficient tool for the job. And I do enjoy a good axe work-out.

The problem arises when people say: "what if you can only take one tool to do everything?".

So now a knife has to be a slicer, a chopper AND a prybar.

Personally I think 99% of jobs can be handled by a SAK and a small axe or hatchet.

The military scenario is another ballgame. I guess if I was in the military I would be looking at knives other than Chris Reeve right now. There are plenty of options to choose from.

If I was forced to take just one knife that I might have to trust my life on, I would have to think long and hard about my choice.

In terms of size, weight, cutting ability and all round efficiency, I would probably still take a OH Trekker. Why chop when it has one of the best small saws around?

I hate to say it, but the most useful and practical knife in my collection is also the cheapest.

Boy, I hope my wife never reads this! LOL

I can cave in the hood of a Porsche with a sledgehammer, does that mean it's a junk car?

To each his own. I'm sure any Sami outdoorsman worth his bologna would beg to differ as he pulls out his Leuku to take appart a reindeer. I sometimes carry a big fixed blade but I always have a small fixed blade in an outdoors setting...that's the one tool which is indespensible to me. It's not always practical to carry an axe but I usually try to carry the classic bushcraft combo of a good fixed blade knife, a saw, and a small axe.

I don't care what they cost as long as it's quality. I know many of you feel otherwise but you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to get quality if you're patient,watch for deals, and do your homework.

Buying a name (like Chris Reeve for example) isn't a good criteria in my books. Most knife makers (custom and otherwise) make good knives and also make not to good knives. Price isn't always a good indicator of 'goodness' either.

I believe the fault lies w/ the user it's pretty clear to me the knife failed due to improper technique. Battoning is a skill and knives can break quite easily if you are not careful.

Battoning steel to steel is recipe for disaster even using a stone for a batton is unwise.

Adam

PS - I’m astonished at the ability to destroy a $350 knife and not understand why it happened.

Again, I do edmit these tests seem very hard and not to the point:
a knife is used for cutting is it not? But doesn't Cody Lundin say that multi-use is a good thing?
Then I want to ad an example. Say you are making a new BOB and are looking for a good axe. Say there is this website called axetests.com. They test axes by crushing stones with the back of the axe. Everybody knows this is not what an axe is made for and it is going to destroy your axe.
First axe, 350 dollar, breaks and is unusable
Second axe, 50 dollar, no damage that limits usability
What axe are you going to buy? I know!