#136656 - 06/18/08 09:04 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: ]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 09/01/07
Posts: 2432
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Once saw a knife test from different folk. All the knives were destroyed. except the one made out of titanium. Which was bent back and forth past ninety degrees but worked as well as it ever did once straightened. Down side to titanium is it never gets very hard so it never gets shaving sharp or holds much of an edge.
which makes it seems to be the perfect knife, except for being perpetually dull. But then again who does that to a knife. Where is that a job requiremnt.
Reminds me of the PB Blaster advertisement. They squirt it into Styrofoam cup and rejoice when the cup dissolves. The implies message is that this test proves its superiority. Well ... it does ... in a way. It proves it is superior if the job your trying to do is dissolve Styrofoam cups.
Pays to keep your eye on the ball. If your job requirements are such that you abuse your knifes in a similar way then this sort of abusive testing is going to tell you a lot and will provide you with useful information. If your requirements don't ... then that sort of abusive testing is an easily discounted curiosity.
But if you want nearly indestructible, even at the ability to hold an edge, you might want to look at one of the titanium knives.
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#136663 - 06/18/08 09:22 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: Art_in_FL]
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Hacksaw
Unregistered
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Titanium is a great choice for corrosion resistance...Titanium simply doesn't rust.
There are more than a few knives out there which are tempered for that and can hold up to the same treatment. The Cold Steel Bushman can be bent well past 90 degrees and still comes back straight. And that's a knife that can be had for less than $30 retail.
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#136664 - 06/18/08 09:23 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: ulfhedinn]
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Veteran
Registered: 08/19/03
Posts: 1371
Loc: Queens, New York City
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OK - just remember guys - Pick a steel, ANY steel - the harder you make that steel, the more likely it is to snap, the harder to sharpen, but the longer it holds an edge - make your trade as YOU see fit
Change steel - you can get tougher (less likely to snap), harder, etc - sometimes at the cost of things like rust resistance - why do you think D-2 is well loved - good tough blades, holds an edge - but it rusts if you ignore it
Now - do some research into various steels - then decide what features YOU want - and realize that steel A hardened to say Rc-58 might be a LOT tougher than steel B at RC-58, but a LOT more prone to rust or taking a permenant bend, etc
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#136675 - 06/18/08 11:21 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: Bear_Claw_Chris_Lapp]
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Old Hand
Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 707
Loc: Alamogordo, NM
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I can cave in the hood of a Porsche with a sledgehammer, does that mean it's a junk car? Why yes, I would say after a man beat it to death, it would be junk. ((( ))) Same thing for the CR.... take a $400 knife, subject it punishment it was never designed for and, when you're done, it'll be....junk. I'd hate to see what that "knife tester" would be doing to knives if he had access to nuclear explosives......
_________________________
DON'T BE SCARED -Stretch
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#136676 - 06/18/08 11:33 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: ulfhedinn]
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Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
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But the Chris Reeve is not designed as a hunting knife, it is a survival knife. A very interesting statement. Since you seem to draw a distinction between two classes of "outdoors" knives, how would you define your terms, or at least how the two differ. Particularly since you use a tanto, a blade pattern that a no small number of outdoormen would consider to be lacking in versatility.
_________________________
-IronRaven
When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.
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#136745 - 06/19/08 01:18 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: ulfhedinn]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 04/07/03
Posts: 256
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Unfortunately the test for me is useless and shows nothing more than how to break a knife. There is very little in that test that broke the knife which actually simulates anything that could happen in a survival situation, especially a wilderness situation.
First, if you were to be battoning a piece of wood I doubt you would have it clamped in a vise. Strike one
Second, I very much doubt you would have a 5# hammer to smash the spine of the knife with. Strike two.
Third, LEARN HOW TO BATTON WOOD PROPERLY. Since the technique used was as poor as it gets, the breaking of the knife in my view was intentional. Strike three.
What was proven to me was the user has no skills in handling a knife.
Adam
PS I looked at the bushman test and looks like he’s capable of breaking a $30 knife too.
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#136746 - 06/19/08 01:22 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: ulfhedinn]
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Hacksaw
Unregistered
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This is a stretch but bear with me. Last night I recieved training on how to lever and crib debris off of a trapped person using the scenario of a tornado. In that case we had a big bar to use as a fulcrum.
A lot of emphasis was put on the fact that in a disaster, you're lucky to have any equipment at all sometimes as there could be thousands of casualties which need levers, volunteers, tools ,etc...who's to say there's enough to go around? We had to improvise and make cribbing out of the debris we were removing as we removed it...it was a real problem solving experience and made all the more critical as there were bodies in the pile we couldn't neccessarily see at first.
After I got home I thought of scenarios where I might be by myself and need to do this. I don't carry a pry bar in my car and the one which comes with the jack is not suitable for prying. The only other thing I would have handy which one could pry with is a knife (assuming I had a fixed blade to use). Obviously not the best option but I could see rare situations where a knife could be your only available lever. You might not be able to lift anything very high with one but with enough suitable cribbing that's only a matter of patience.
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#136755 - 06/19/08 02:22 PM
Re: Another Chris Reeve Disappointment
[Re: ]
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Newbie
Registered: 03/15/07
Posts: 31
Loc: Guyana, South America
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Folks,
Don't argue the extremes of the usefulness of the knife tests. If there is really a need for standardized testing of knives, then we should seek to set up a body of personnel to perform these tasks. All the arguments in this forum (more specifically - this thread) point to the need for proper equipment reviews.
Now in the area of survival, there is more to the subject than just carrying the "ultimate super ultra deluxe most bestest" knife. My thoughts are outlined below:
Being prepared: -Carry the best equipment (yes - including the knife(s)) possible (within your limitations of budget, weight, situation, etc.) -Practice your skills frequently and regularly -Test your equipment and perform frequent and regular maintenance.
In an emergency, you might not have the best knife possible. What does this mean? Is it that without your fancy knife you will just roll over and die? How about trying to conserve on your resources as much as possible? How about treating your equipment with care? Is it possible to split wood by hitting it against a rock rather then battoning it?
A situation called an "emergency" usually does not have much that is regular or normal about it. The ability to make do with what is at hand is sometimes the difference between survival and failure.
Hmmm... Am having difficulty wading through my own thoughts here. Time to get some lunch - now where did I put my katana? I need to battle some calories...
_________________________
"Things to know: a trade and how to swim"
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