Spyderco Chinook C63
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The above picture and specifications of the James A. Keating designed Chinook are taken from Spyderco’s own website.
I purchased this knife from my distributor several months ago with the idea I would use the Chinook as an EDC [every day carry] defensive knife. Having trained in defensive knife techniques over the last several years with the designer, James A. Keating of Combat Technologies, I had every expectation this knife would perform admirably in it’s intended role as a defensive knife.
When I received the Chinook, the first thing I noticed was that it felt solid and was quite hefty which isn’t surprising given it’s listed weight of 7.25 ounces. Mr. Keating’s known penchant for demanding the equipment he uses be up to the tasks that he will demand of it are well established in the knife community. This knife immediately left no questions about its inherent strength.
In Jim’s own words, he designed the knife around what he envisioned he wanted [or needed] from his own perspective as a bladesman who is enamored with the Bowie and how it may be used to perform backcuts. The upswept clip pointed blade looks like someone took the first three inches of a clip point fixed bowie knife and put a handle on it. Jim has stated that the Chinook should not be used for heavy, power-stroke type backcutting, that should be reserved for the bigger fixed bladed bowies This blade is meant to snipe, harass, and keep an opponent off their mark using the backcutting action, hence the unique design of the blade.
The design is capable of handling a plethora of strenuous cutting chores as evidenced later in this evaluation. The Chinook is a lock-back with strength beyond industry standards. Originally developed for Martial Bladecraft and tactical applications, the Chinook effortlessly transforms into a field knife, filling the varied requirements for a hard-use hunting/camp knife. The upswept modified Bowie-style blade, with substantial belly and breadth, is ideal for skinning and field dressing. Included is a substantial pocket clip for tip-down carry.
I carried the knife for several weeks as my primary defensive EDC. The knife sits very well clipped to the pocket of jeans or dockers. The textured G-10 handle material gives one a solid purchase when accessing the knife from the pocket as well as in the hand when opened for use. The Ergonomics of the handle are excellent in my opinion. The blade is extremely upswept, yet the tip is centered on the handle. It can be an illusion when looking at the knifes blade initially and one could think the knife would not be good at stabbing, yet it stabs efficiently and has a very stout and substantial tip which will not be prone to breaking if it meets with hard targets.
The knife came very sharp. I touched it up immediately on the ceramics to my own standards. The CPM440V steel takes a very nice edge. I left the edge somewhat “toothy” and aggressive for this particular knife, not wanting the fine razors edge I normally put on my defensive folders. I feel this knife’s curved belly will perform a multitude of tasks better left with this type of edge.
The Chinook exudes ruggedness to the extreme. I knew I had my work cut out for me if I were going to test its overall strength. I had my local general contractor over at the house one day five weeks ago doing some work and decided to give him this knife. George is a burly bull of a man. He puts more hard use on tools he uses than about anyone I know. He always carries a folding knife in his pocket since I gave him his first one five years ago. He has never been able to keep a knife long as he destroys them during his normal days of working as a general contractor with all types of materials. Giving him this knife to use would bring any design flaws or weaknesses to the forefront quickly, and that’s exactly what I wanted. I told him to use the knife and not baby it. Knowing how he handles tools, [a knife to him is a tool foremost] this would be interesting at the least.
I had talked with George a few times in the last five or six weeks over the phone to inquire about the Chinook and how it was holding up. Each call brought forth comments that he was amazed at how strong the knife was and how it performed. He had used the knife to cut vinyl siding while working on his own house. He mentioned that he had also used it on his new commercial garage he was building to store his equipment, to cut 4-inch thick insulation, and how he thought it sliced better than a utility knife at these tasks. He could here the knifes edge bumping up against the corrugated steel outer shell as he sliced through the insulation.
He related a story about how he was 15+ feet up a ladder in his garage and getting these steel cross beams assembled to the vertical steel posts. The drilled holes were not lining up on this one particular section he was working on and he was getting pretty aggravated about it. He took the Chinook from his pocket one handed, placed the blade tip into the drilled holes of one section and pried with the knife until the sections were aligned and he could bolt them together. He has cut 1” PVC piping with the knife on another job in lieu of going to the truck to get a hacksaw as well.
So today I called George to make an arrangements to go to his house and photograph the knife for this review. He knew when I gave it to him that I wanted him to use the knife hard with no reservations and that I would be including his results, good, bad or ugly into a review for others to see on our website.
When I got to look at the knife this afternoon, I checked lateral blade play first, based on the prying he did with it. It had a very slight wiggle to it but was still very solid and nothing that retightening the pivot didn’t solve immediately. The wiggle could have been cause by the prying or it could have been that the pivot screw had loosened a little as I had not loctited it previously, which I do with all the knives in the lineup for defensive EDC. The slight lateral blade play was resolved by retightening the pivot.
I next looked at how the blades edge had held up under the described conditions. I noticed several small chips in the edge from about 3/8 from the tip to where the blade curves. These were minor compared to what I expected and most were taken out when I re-sharpened it for him before I left.
The Chinook opened and closed as smoothly as the day it was new. There was no binding and the blade is still centered when in the closed position. The G-10 handles are looking very good with no signs of cracking or stress related issues that could be seen. With some care and cleaning, they should look as good as new very quickly.
I took some pictures of Georges home and garage that he recently sided. I also got some shots of the holes in the steel crossbeams that he had pried into position while building was in progress. I had him show me how he pried the bolt holes with the blade and took some photos of this as well to give the readers an idea of what stresses the blade and edge were subjected to.
The Chinook in this report played a major role in the siding and building of his garage. He clipped the knife back into his pocket when I was ready to leave with a smile. He had this comment for the readers here viewing this report. “Someone is going to have to purposely be determined in breaking this knife for it to fail”.
To say I’m impressed with the knife’s ability to survive in the way it was used by George [as in “By George, I think he’s got it”] is an understatement. If you are looking for a solid folder that will take more abuse than anyone should rightfully expect a knife to endure, look no further. I think the pictures speak for themselves as to the ruggedness and hard use this knife will endure should you ever find you need to use it in such a manner.
The Chinook was designed with Jim’s ideas of a defensive knife utilizing the backcutting techniques he is so well known for throughout the knife community. To that end, it will be a solid performer. The big surprises here may be that it slices extremely well with the blades belly and the tip strength will endure hard use and come through unscathed. As you can see from the photos, the CPM440V steel as used by Spyderco is pretty tough stuff and can handle about anything you can throw at it for months at a time. George mentioned he left it open on a ledge, exposed overnight to a heavy soaking rain at one point. The pictures are of the knife as it survived the rigors of George and the elements over the last 5 weeks. He has not cleaned it other than to wipe it on his pants occasionally.
The Chinook can be used in harsh environments and not only survive, but withstand the rigors of any hunting trip where you may need to chop or pry an Elk pelvis apart in the field. It will certainly skin well with the upswept blades design and most assuredly will hold an edge long enough in the wilderness for most to not have to worry about re-sharpening it until they get back to more pleasant surroundings.
If you are in need of a solid performing combat folder that doubles as an outstanding survival knife, get one from your local dealer.
Hats off to the two men directly responsible for bringing us the Chinook. James Keating of Combat Technologies [Comtech] who may be reached at http://www.jamesakeating.com and Sal Glesser of Spyderco who can be reached at http://www.spyderco.com can certainly stand tall and proud for their efforts and collaboration to bring us the Chinook.
The Chinook has withstood the test of George.
Brownie
Visitor's opinion (June 9th, 2004)
Jason, from Atlanta GA, USA, was kind enough to send us the followings, regarding this knife.
I actually just had to order one of these. I went to the recent international blade show in Atlanta and besides the not-for-sale chinook 2 at the spyderco booth I only found 1! chinook 1 for sale in the entire show! I am a lefty so the chinook 2 is the way I am going to have to go. Mine should arrive tomorrow.
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