CS GI Tanto Yet Another Chris Reeve Video Response Test

[Noss]

Okay so here we go again. I have been following the thread on blade forums. Since my test was mentioned by the tester this is a fair response on my part.

Chris Reeve Green Beret field trials.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608769&page=3


The tester has started to move into other things now like driving the knife into some sheet metal and cutting open a can of food. The people there are now like " what a great knife" The testing the tester is showing is very simple stuff most any fixed blade can do. Since he has moved into these type of things I felt it was time for a response. :thumb:

So I duplicated his very easy tests using a 15 dollar GI tanto, And wouldn't you know it, it passed. :D

In the video I duplicate his tests with the 15 dollar CS GI tanto. In the end I do something I would not do with the CRK Green Beret. I baton all the way through a 2x4
using the now famous 3lb hammer. Demonstrating the toughness of the GI tanto, a property the Green Beret (a combat knife) lacks.

So keeping it on a performance level the GI tanto can do everything the 300 dollar Green Beret can do plus a hell of a lot more because of the high level of toughness it possesses.


The videos are in 2 parts. Enjoy the videos. They were made for you. :thumb:

Part 1
M7et-FPby5k

Part 2
cpn9LQLxeA4

[kurodrago]

You know this guy is making sandwiches with that knife:rockon: I will buy Chris Reeve Green Beret . IF and only it's made in China, No teeth in the blade and made of 1055:D

[Noss]

Yeah it's a bloody combat knife or at least it is supposed to be one. When a knife is sold as a combat knife this says to many people that it is tough and and can perform beyond the call of duty. In my view when a knife is sold as a "combat" knife it's anything goes so it better be a tough one.


Schrade makes a copy of the CRK Project. The SCHF1 Extreme Survival knife. It's all one piece of 1070 carbon steel. I have been told it's pretty good and it only costs about 50 bucks compared to the CRK asking price of 350.

Here is a review on it. http://www.hkweaponsystems.com/cgi-bin/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=14&t=000054

[lafayette]

Very informative test, Noss. You know, many people say it is stupid to break a knife to see if it is tough or not. Then, why do we make car crash tests? Your test are the only one which give accurate pieces of information about knives'toughness.
About Shrade, it is the first time I see what looks like counterfeits better than the original brand....

[culpeper]

Ouch! The inexpensive combat knife outperformed the overrated "Yarborough" presentation, ooops, "combat" knife?

[culpeper]

Wow, do the math. You can get 20+ of these GI Tanto blades for the cost of one Green Beret blade. You can equip a small platoon.


How was the corn?

[Man of Iron]

Kurodrago: lovely kid:thumbup:

Noss: any thought on auctioning that notorious mallet? Some manufacturers are in dire need to make mince out of it... With their knives:D

[kiah]

I'll say one thing in regards to this and the tester it refutes. Neither one of you can make fuzz sticks worth a shit. :D;)

[culpeper]

http://www.myculpeper.com/photos/gitanta1.jpg
Is that a GI Tanto in your pocket or you just glad to see me?

[culpeper]

I'll say one thing in regards to this and the tester it refutes. Neither one of you can make fuzz sticks worth a shit. :D;)

Yeah, but Noss was using heart 100 year old red oak. Tell 'em Noss!:rockon:

[shmoopiebear]

Great tests! Not only does the G.I. Tanto excel at hard use but it can perform as well as tests challenged and proven on other more expensive knives. I would think that for most people, if it came down to plunking down $15 or $300 for comparable performance, they would go with the more economical option. The logic for the testing is conclusive and sound.

[Noss]

lafayette: yeah some people just don't get d-testing and they never will I suppose.
You can't just evaluate a knife by looking at it other then saying it looks nice or ugly but many will say because it looks nice it must be good but just does not work. D-testing sets out to find strengths and weaknesses that will only be discovered during this process. Field testing will reveal if the knife meets your needs for general use but is limited in the amount of info that you can obtain about it's other hidden properties.


culpeper: Yeah it's a lot of knives for the money.


Man of Iron: LOL :D I'm sure many would love to get their hands on my hammer. :mad::p I wounder what I could get for it on the bay ? :D

kiahs: Funny. :D My best knife I have for making fuzz sticks is my Mora 2000. It's a razor but yeah like culpeper said it was 100 year old red oak. Tough stuff. :eek::D ( joking )

shmoopiebear: Yeah if people are just looking for a knife based on price and performance combo. There are many great bangs for the buck on the knife market today.

[G. Scott H.]

Man of Iron: LOL :D I'm sure many would love to get their hands on my hammer. :mad::p I wounder what I could get for it on the bay ? :D

Don't even think about it! That hammer is destined for the Noss Museum one day. :D

I'm not knocking the dude's tests in that thread, but the responses to them are just what I'd expect. People who knock the knifetests.com tests because their pet knife fails them are praising this guy's tests, because their pet knife is doing well. :rolleyes: People can't get it through their noggins that you (Noss) go out and pick up a knife, submit it to the tests, and let the chips fall where they may. I haven't seen a single instance of you giving any unfair advantage/disadvantage to any particular brand of knife EVER. :rockon:

Anyhow, phuck it! Just keep testing those knives, man! :thumb:

[Izan]

I am so sick of BF now. What the hell is wrong with these people? Cutting a fkin can of peaches is making the knife look good? I could cut 100 cans with this dull ass butter knife sitting next to me.

Matter of fact, I think I might just make a video of it :)

[Man of Iron]

Izan: don't forget batoning through some 2x4 with your butter knife.

Noss- be happy those guys ain't interested in your fuzzy stick, if they follow Scott's way of thinking:eek:

[halo23pa]

:thumbdwn:Well they didn't take too kindly to my remarks over on the other forum. I guess you need a high post count to have a valid opinion. BJ's version of the "real world" and mine differ greatly. I guess I'd be a jerk too if I blew hundreds of bucks on a sub par peach can "combat knife!

[Man of Iron]

Halo, I got 400-ish posts over there, and still being considered a troll:D jk

It's true what you state, most of the time, ie in the Kneeple(Knutsheeple) sections, you are generally considered a troll if you have yet to shower them with post daily... What an irony.

[G. Scott H.]

Halo, I got 400-ish posts over there, and still being considered a troll:D jk

It's true what you state, most of the time, ie in the Kneeple(Knutsheeple) sections, you are generally considered a troll if you have yet to shower them with post daily... What an irony.

I wouldn't call you a troll. A spammer and a hippie, maybe, but not a troll. :D

[culpeper]

Halo, I got 400-ish posts over there, and still being considered a troll:D jk

It's true what you state, most of the time, ie in the Kneeple(Knutsheeple) sections, you are generally considered a troll if you have yet to shower them with post daily... What an irony.

Replying to said troll makes one a mullet. From the looks of things I would rather be trolling than sitting in an ice chest. My they have big eyes. Lighthouse eyes to blind you with.....:eek:


http://www.raingod.com/angus/Gallery/Photos/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/images/TsukijiFish02.jpg

Knifetests.com trolling for mullets on the Elaine B

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1e/Trawer_Hauling_Nets.jpg/800px-Trawer_Hauling_Nets.jpg

[me2]

While the rebuttals may be called for since your tests are basically constantly run down, I think you may be letting yourself get drawn in to something. Every one can see that the CRK knives failed the TOUGHNESS tests earlier than most knives here. They may do other things better, but thats not why this site is here. And again, I dont really think its such a big surprise that a piece of 1055 is tougher than a piece of high wear resistance, high carbide, stainless. A much more relevant question to me is why did the GB fail so early when the Strider did fairly well. If I'm not mistaken, both are S30V. Also, up until these videos, you have avoided saying xxx is not a good knife. To say that it is a fragile knife, based on your work, is all but unavoidable, but to say its not a good knife goes beyond the scope of your testing, which is toughness and ability to withstand abuse. However, the CSK II from Benchmade failed a much easier test and there are many people saying its not a good knife, so who am I to judge. I'm a fan of Benchmade (just folders now) and was disappointed, but if it didnt make it, it didnt make it.

[Noss]

me2: Fair enough. I don't like disputing other peoples tests and I do my best to stay clear of this but this time I felt it necessary when the tester started to get into other
things similar to things I do here. I still don't think it's a good knife because it's fragile and because it's a touted as a hard use combat knife. I have other knives in my collection as we all do I'm sure that I will easily say that are not good knives based on using them. During the tests I say knives are good sometimes so I should be able to say they are bad sometimes also.

I have no agenda against Chris Reeve knives. They just didn't fair well. If I do some more work at a later date with them and the work turns out positive. Then I will change my opinion of the Green Beret and the Project. These are the only two knives I am referring to not the whole CRK line. I have no experience with any other CRK blades just these two.

[me2]

I would tend to agree that the CRK fixed blades are not good knives. The handle on the GB looks very uncomfortable. The hardness indicates that they will not hold an edge very well, and overtempering to bring the hardness down just to try to use a fad steel seem to be the definition of couter productive. But the army issues (awards) them so they must be good (adequate). Nearly anyone can make a knife themselves that will do the things people apparently think knives should do. Buy some air hardening steel, grind a 7" scandi blade (aka very short machete) with a 10 degree/side bevel and send it off to Texas Knifemaker Supply for heat treating. It will be a shit load cheaper, will fit your hand better after applying a full tang handle yourself, and do all the things the GB will do. If you take your time and choose steels wisely, it will look just as good and do much more. Give me a few weeks and I may have a surprise for you Noss.

[Noss]

Cool I look forward to the surprise. :thumb:

Some of the things you noted I discovered in the test as well and noted them during testing the handle is not comfortable on the GB. The exposed tang around the scales impacts hard on your hands during chopping or impact work.

I really want to get my hands on a crusader forge and test it. They being made of CPM S30V.

http://www.crusaderforge.com/TESTINGCF.htm
http://www.crusaderforge.com/CPMS30VCF.htm

[culpeper]

The Army presents a "Yarborough" presentation knife to graduates of the SFQC and anyone that has graduated the course in the past. The Green Beret is a commercial version of the same knife. There is no difference other than the Yarborough is serialized. Your first indication, with the limited amount of information provided by the maker is that this knife is not official gear as stated in a disclaimer on the CR web page for the Green Beret knife. Way at the bottom in small print.

Use of Special Forces insignia does not indicate endorsement by U. S. Army Special Operations Command.

What does that mean? That means SOC isn't going to issue these knives for combat use. All SOC does is purchase x number of "Yarborough" knives to present to graduates. There is no DoD contract for these knives. A Ka-Bar fighting knife dressed up as a presentation knife would have more value based on an actual history of Ka-Bar in various theaters of war that were issued to military personnel. Hell, a single DoD purchased and issued several times Air Force survival knife has seen more military use than all "Yarborough" and Green Beret knives combined.

[kurodrago]

Kurodrago: lovely kid:thumbup:


Thanks man.

me2
, you have avoided saying xxx is not a good knife. To say that it is a fragile knife, based on your work, is all but unavoidable, but to say its not a good knife goes beyond the scope of your testing, which is toughness and ability to withstand abuse.

From my point of view, what Noss said was what I expected, completely correct.
But what you are saying sounds like a paradox.

Of any brand..
Try to imagine Noss, during the test or after test. astonish knife. Yes, it's broken easily but this knife is extremely good knife or acceptable!!??
It will become contradict paradox!!!
Besides that,if this happens, people begin to think about Noss as full of shit guy.

Noss let's call this premunition.
You know this story with Chris Reeve Green Beret is not finished yet.
I bet that some dick will make a video to replay yours and show the world that this Chris Reeve Green Beret is fantastic.

[me2]

I dont see it as a pardox. A little elaboration in his statement goes a long way as well, like "Its not a good knife for my uses." Generally speaking, knives that are fragile can still be very good, but they will excell in some other area. Noss does not test other areas, so saying it is a bad knife isnt the whole picture. If I send him a knife made from M2 tool steel, it will break before the GB and Project 1, but that doesnt make it a bad knife, it just makes it a fragile knife.

[kurodrago]

I dont see it as a pardox. A little elaboration in his statement goes a long way as well, like "Its not a good knife for my uses." Generally speaking, knives that are fragile can still be very good, but they will excell in some other area. Noss does not test other areas, so saying it is a bad knife isnt the whole picture. If I send him a knife made from M2 tool steel, it will break before the GB and Project 1, but that doesnt make it a bad knife, it just makes it a fragile knife.

I have a kichen knife made of stainless steel for almost 8 years now. And yes, I can call this knife as fragile good one. For the simple reason that if I bend this knife more than 30 degrees, it definitely breaks.
I can call my kichen knife as good fragile knife.{whole as kichen knife}
With all my respect the Green Beret combat+survival knife,should do them all with easy...
after all the fact said about green beret.
After so many fancy awards and made of super steel,
After that tag price.
I can't call this as good fragile knife.....
To me, it sounds shit insanity. If you want to, call it paradox!


However, the only good thing about GR is I like the look so much that I gona buy a copy; 1070 carbon steel at list I know price and steel.
Noss thanks for the link :p

[Noss]

kurodrago: I bought the Schrade SCHF1 Extreme Survival knife. I got it in the other day. I just had to get it and check it out. I'll post some photos here soon today. It looks good. The machining and the finish look great. I don't like the design. It's not my thing. It's more of a pig sticker but it does look nice and it only cost me 53 bucks plus shipping.

[dingyu1980]

there is no doubt, i support you !
you are on the right way!

[dingyu1980]

I dont see it as a pardox. A little elaboration in his statement goes a long way as well, like "Its not a good knife for my uses." Generally speaking, knives that are fragile can still be very good, but they will excell in some other area. Noss does not test other areas, so saying it is a bad knife isnt the whole picture. If I send him a knife made from M2 tool steel, it will break before the GB and Project 1, but that doesnt make it a bad knife, it just makes it a fragile knife.

i truely konw what your mean! but i do not agree with you!
the question that you talked is a question that chosing what as your standards!

the standard of noss is submited to the hard use, the knife can get 4 swords ,genernally,is good , there is no doubt !!!!!!

[Paul The Brit]

Sorry Noss, this particular rebuttal test has no value as it's quite obvious that the Cold Steel POS tanto would not have coped with cutting open the bread roll and applying the French dressing! :)

Personally I don't give a monkey's if you slaughter CRK, my favourite knives are my S6 (6 swords) and Basic 7 (6 swords) both bought well before you tested them! I think your style of brutal 'real world on a bad day' tests have a valid place in gaining knowledge to make informed buying decisions (or in my case being smug for picking good steel all by myself!).

Good work, seems they've locked the thread you linked to now- pity I was going to contribute to it!

Off topic when do you plan to break those Bark River knives?

[Paul The Brit]

Just followed the link you gave for the Schrade Project 'homage', going to test one mate? If that gets 4+ swords I'm getting one for entertainment value... :D

[Noss]

Paul The Brit: I d-tested it last night. It won't get a 4 but it will get at least a 3 out of 7. Overall it it does all the basic stuff just as well and as poor as the Reeve in certain areas. Impact toughness is in the medium range and and it has the edge to the Reeve in this area.

[zenlifter]

Good video. Tough knife. A knife you can have some confidence in.

[zenlifter]

The Schrade CR clone right?

Just followed the link you gave for the Schrade Project 'homage', going to test one mate? If that gets 4+ swords I'm getting one for entertainment value... :D

D-Tested. 3 out of 7. $53

LOL. Dude, you are torturing those CR fixed blade fans.

Drop the hammer. :thumb:

[Noss]

dingyu1980: Thanks for your support.


zenlifter: I'm not trying to torture CRK fans but they will see it this way I guess. So to this I say so be it.

However for those who like this design and for those who do not want to use or even scratch their 350 dollar original. They can use and abuse the 53 dollar Schrade and put the CRK in the safe if this makes them happy.


I don't like the design it does things but it does nothing very well. It does baton well more than anything but the near false edge on the tip tears up wood batons. It's a poor chopper and just feels very odd chopping with it because of it's long, narrow, straight blade and handle type. So it's not my type of knife but if other people like it then great. I have seen the design referenced as a "big nail with an edge" This is about what it feels like, to me anyways.

The Schrade also comes with a very neat handy multi tool/screwdriver set that fits in the handle. It's a really cool bonus and has plenty of uses. I tested it out some at the end of the d-test for
everyone to see.

[zenlifter]

[QUOTE=Noss;6910]dingyu1980: Thanks for your support.


zenlifter: I'm not trying to torture CRK fans but they will see it this way I guess. So to this I say so be it. QUOTE]
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................

Those two CR knives need to be exposed for what they are.

1. Not intended for hard use in the field.
2. Not intended for hard use at work.
3. If you do carry it, always have a back up. True for all, but especially this knife.
4. Overpriced.
5. Novelty handle.
6. The truth can be very painful

[Paul The Brit]

[QUOTE=Noss;6910]dingyu1980: Thanks for your support.


zenlifter: I'm not trying to torture CRK fans but they will see it this way I guess. So to this I say so be it. QUOTE]
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................

Those two CR knives need to be exposed for what they are.

1. Not intended for hard use in the field.
2. Not intended for hard use at work.
3. If you do carry it, always have a back up. True for all, but especially this knife.
4. Overpriced.
5. Novelty handle.
6. The truth can be very painful

Chris R won't be sending YOU a Christmas card! :thumb:

[culpeper]

I'm thinking of sending CR an email, introduce myself as a member of KT.com and request that he put me on his public relations account. In other words, send me knives for evaluation. After all that has happened it is so stupid it might just work.

[doubletap]

Noss have you posted the video of the Schrade SCHF1 on youtube yet? I'm dying to see it but can't find it. Thanks!

[Noss]

doubletap: No. I haven't posted it yet. It shouldn't be to much longer.

[Paul The Brit]

Can't wait for that cheapie test to hit the net- SHTF moment coming up!! :D