cKc Slipjoint vs Opinel #8

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Chum
... what do you want for the cKc slip joint?

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chad234
Challenged issued: It's yours. I'll send you the cKc and an Opinel. Carry and use both very day for a year (every day that's practical) and give us a report. Keep them both of course.

Challenge? Chad is a sneaky one.

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cKc
Chad is a very generous guy.. I really enjoyed using my slipjoints when I had one

Look forward to the report Chum I think Opinels are great knives. the only downside in my humid environment is that often they are too hard to open from swelling.. Plastic ones they have now cure that issue.

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chad234
Thanks for the complimet, but from my perspective the value of the potential knowledge the community can gain from a solid one year comparative review far exceeds the value of the knives themselves.

And I have a great solution to the present shortage of ckc knives available....you just need some more free time

And here we are

I actually considered not accepting Chad's extremely gracious offer. I am very particular about what I carry on my person. The lighter the better and the less complicated the better, as far as I am concerned. I have a pocket devoted for carrying a knife, and that pocket is designed for using a pocket clip, as it is very narrow. Without a clip the knife will be difficult to extract, and without a clip it is likely the knife would simply fall out of the pocket in various instances (ie. sitting down, running <--- it happens ) I've tried carrying slipjoints in said knife pocket before. It just doesn't work.

So, now I am carrying two knives, both without clips. At this point I am putting them in one of my front pockets. I don't like this set up however, and I will be searching for better ways to carry the cKc Slipjoint and the Opinel #8.

Some pics...

cKc Slipjoint on the right and Opinel on the left (in case anyone stumbles upon this post who isn't a regular on this forum)



For a size comparison (from left to right)...
Gerber EAB
cKc Mini Hiker
Cold Steel Tuff Lite
Spyderco Delica
Opinel #8
cKc Slipjoint
Cold Steel American Lawman
cKc Victorious


My cKc products (pales in comparison to Bruce Rugg's collection, unfortunately)...
* The third knife down is actually a Victorinox Paring Knife, but Kyley made the sheath for it, which works well.


Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the cKc Slipjoint is made of O1 steel, with a G10 handle. The Opinel #8, I believe, has an XC90 steel blade with a wood handle.

Here is a video Kyley made on this particular Slipjoint...




Instead of doing a singular comparison review of these two knives I will instead do an ongoing review over the course of a year. As something of interest happens, I will report on it in this thread.

At this point I haven't used the knives much. This could be an issue as I no longer work at the plant nursery, so my knife use has dwindled considerably. Regardless, this should be fun, and I will no doubt find many uses for these two blades.

Finally, for now... Thank you Chad!


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

A few things to note...

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Chum
Did you sharpen both the cKc and the Opinel?

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chad234
Actually I didn't sharpen either before I sent them off. I touched up the edge on the ckc in the past, but recently. I pulled the opinel out of a drawer with a couple others and that one looked the newest. I don't know if I ever used or sharpened that particular one... I tend to think not as I have a couple that get regular use...

Before I asked Chad this my hunch was that the Opinel had a factory edge. It has an extremely shallow edge bevel and there are some inconsistencies there. It is hair scrapping sharp.

The cKc Slipjoint is hair shaving sharp.

I opened a couple of plastic blister packs with the knives, and the cKc cut through the plastic easily. I had to struggle with the Opinel. I will attempt to get both knives to roughly the same level of sharpness before I do any serious testing with them.

I don't want to say too much regarding handle comfort at this point. I like to do some wood whittling to get a sense of hotspots and such. I do want to say that the Opinel handle is... um, odd to me. It is round near the blade and then has a nice taper at the back of the handle. I think this will translate to using my pinkie quite a bit to prevent the knife from torquing out of position. For light cutting this shouldn't be an issue, but for woodwork... I'm skeptical on liking this handle.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2017 02:53PM by Chum.

Man that slipjoint is the bee's knees.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Always in search of a good choppa'

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C Amber
Man that slipjoint is the bee's knees.

I remember wanting it when Kyley posted that video.

A question for Kyley...

If I take it apart do I need to loktite the pivot screws?


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Looking forward to this for sure. For the opinels I use, I always doing out the handle and drop the tip. Part of the reason I like the. So much is how easy they are to modify and sharpen.

Nice Chum, I look forward to following this thread. Any initial thoughts on the spring tension on the Slipjoint?

Also, I can solve you carry conundrum in two words: fanny pack.

-Nate

Nice work on those handles Chad.

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Nate T
Nice Chum, I look forward to following this thread. Any initial thoughts on the spring tension on the Slipjoint?

I was going to mention this eventually. The spring tension is very heavy. For a slip joint designed for heavy use I think this is the way to go. It also has a stop about half way through. The two combined makes the knife "feel" secure. I don't want to say too much about it until I have used it more, but my initial thought is that is preferable to have a heavy spring tension. Oh, and it is very smooth. It is satisfying to click it open and closed.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

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Nate T
Also, I can solve you carry conundrum in two words: fanny pack.

lol... I have been meaning to get one, but the dork factor is so high. I guess that has never stopped me before

At the risk of being labeled a super-creep who checks out old dudes, I actually took a picture of an old dude wearing a fanny pack, right after I received the knives from Chad. The way he wore it didn't look so bad. I don't know, maybe because it is worn on the side. His hand falls naturally to the fanny pack. If you could make it so it doesn't slide around your belt it might be a good way to draw a knife quickly and easily.





Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

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Chum
A question for Kyley...

If I take it apart do I need to loktite the pivot screws?

I would not recommend taking it apart just for the sake of it.

Most slipjoints are just pinned and not able to be pulled apart by the avg person.. there are some good reasons for this. getting the spring action correct is a lot of fine tuning, and once set, you dont want to mess with it.
another reason is that its under a lot of tension, if you don't know how to take it apart, you could end up damaging part of it, or worse damaging your hand with a serious cut. (this is far more a concern when trying to reassemble)

the reason I made it a screw wasn't with the intent of being pulled apart for maintenance by the user. its more a design thought (i design everything in a way that could be taken to mass production) so this would allow an easy blade or spring replacement for a warranty issue (which I can't do because I've stopped and sold everything anyways).

But yes, the screw has to be adjusted to the exact balance of tension and tightness to get the action to work.. too tight and it just wont open and close well. too loose and there is side loads on the spring etc with can make the parts gouge a little and let dirt in bad places.

if you really do feel like pulling it apart for some reason, tape up the blade before trying to insert it back (you cant do it by hand without tools because of the tension). And yes.. locktight that holds firm, but can still be taken off.

if worst comes to it if you pull it apart. Jeremy M made one of my folders with the parts I sent, so would be more than familiar enough to put it all back for you

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Chum: Old dude probably has a .38 in that fanny pack.

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Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

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cKc
I would not recommend taking it apart just for the sake of it.

OK, thanks for the info. Kyley.

There is no need to take it apart, at this point anyway. Everything is tight on the knife. No play of any kind. I was thinking ahead to cleaning the knife, and possibly polishing the metal. You did use 01 steel on this knife, correct?

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Bugout Bill
Old dude probably has a .38 in that fanny pack.

I was thinking the same thing Bill.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Wow...This should be an awesome test....two great knives!

Chum,
I think on the package of the Opinel no8 I bought recently it said 12C27 of 12C27M for the stainless...is the knife you have stainless or carbon?

"I am still discussing issues of steels and performance at this stage."
--Cliff Stamp

"Cause geometry cuts, .....steel determines the level and the duration"
--Roman Landes

"But in general, I'm all about high performance, Ergos, safety. That's why I've been accused of 'designing in the dark' "
--Sal Glesser

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jasonstone20
I think on the package of the Opinel no8 I bought recently it said 12C27 of 12C27M for the stainless...is the knife you have stainless or carbon?

It says "au carbone" on the handle. It also has a bit of discoloration on the spine. So, assuming the cKc is O1, both should be fairly susceptible to corrosion.

btw, I haven't forgot about you Jason


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

A general statement, there ain't enough custom makers making slip joints.

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Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

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Bugout Bill
A general statement, there ain't enough custom makers making slip joints.

Agreed, although there are very nice slip joints made by small companies such as GEC and Queen Cutlery. That being said, those are all traditional slip joints. Kyley went New Wave with his


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

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Chum
I was going to mention this eventually. The spring tension is very heavy. For a slip joint designed for heavy use I think this is the way to go. It also has a stop about half way through. The two combined makes the knife "feel" secure. I don't want to say too much about it until I have used it more, but my initial thought is that is preferable to have a heavy spring tension. Oh, and it is very smooth. It is satisfying to click it open and closed.

Thanks, it looked like a very heavy pull in the video. I've been thinking about slipjoints more recently since I've been carrying the Spyderco Urban and UKPK models a lot. I think they did a really nice job with the tension on the current models. It seems maybe not so easy to have that strong self close and stiffness to resist folding when open, but also easy to operate one-handed at the same time. With a two handed opener, there is probably room to make the spring even stronger without much downside.

Speaking of Queen, I have a couple of their "Country Cousin" sodbusters in yellow delrin and D2. I like the model in theory, but unfortunately they both have significant f&f issues. I found one at my lks for like $15 and thought maybe is was a fluky one and discounted for that reason. I rolled the dice on another one online and it was the same lol. Fool me once...

-Nate

Nate: Queen makes pretty stuff, but the

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Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

Definately some nice custom makers out there if you are going to look for them. I like these ones



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KnivesAndStuff (YoutTube)

cKc: Those are all gawgeous, hopefully they ain't priced like Bose's work.

Nate: It occurred to me I didn't finish my sentence. I have a Queen that is pretty, but ground uselessly thick and had to be sent back for a back-spring issue. I wouldn't buy another one.

That being said, Case does still make some gems. The Jumbo Stockman I have was ground sensibly and is every bit as nice as a Queen or GEC.

Chum: How does it compare in daily use to a Delica?

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Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2017 09:21AM by Bugout Bill.

Bill, I've only had one Case, but it was much nicer than either of my Queen examples. It was the blue "American Workman" sodbuster. I sort of miss it sometimes, but it was fairly large and I never really carried it once I started buying Spydercos. I gifted it to a friend.

-Nate

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Bugout Bill
Chum: How does it compare in daily use to a Delica?

I'm not there yet Bill. I'll be carrying it and using it for a year. I don't want to jump to any false conclusions.

However, the Delica is about perfect (for me) in terms of withdrawing/opening/closing/putting-back. There is no way the cKc Slipjoint, or Opinel is going to match up against the Delica in that regard.

The ckc Slipjoint does remind me a bit of the CS American Lawman, except that it is a little smaller and less bulky, which I like. I prefer the blade shape of the CS Lawman to the Delica.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

10 pounds of Taters Test...


My girls requested mashed potatoes. I saw it as a good opportunity to compare the cKc Slipjoint to the Opinel #8.

I sharpened both knives on the King 220/1000 that C Amber sent me. I brought both knives up to hair shaving sharpness quickly and easily. Hair shaving sharpness is my standard for being done with sharpening a knife.

I used my standard (weird) method of potato peeling. Cut the tater in half, flat side down, cut skin off down the side, cut the remainder into pieces...


I recruited a couple of testers. That's me in the hat pretending to be the executive chef at Chez Chum's...


This tester was having fun cutting up spuds. She kept on requesting more test potatoes...



This tester is "almost a teenager" and "loved" having her picture taken... not!


You can feel the "almost a teenager" sarcasm in that smile


She was a good sport though.


My instructions to the testers were... "Cut up a bunch of potatoes with each knife and let me know which you preferred." I did not show any favoritism to either knife.

The results were unanimous. Both testers and I preferred the cKc Slipjoint for this task. The handle was more comfortable, and despite having a thicker blade, the cKc Slipjoint cut through the potatoes with greater ease and it had less potato stickage to the side of the blade, compared to the Opinel #8.

I was a little surprised by the results. I had thought that the thinner blade of the Opinel would give it an advantage. My guess as to why the cKc performed better is that it has a more pronounced convex grind than does the Opinel. Actually, I didn't know that Opinels had a convex grind. DK informed me that they do.

The cKc Slipjoint also has a noticeably heavier blade. Perhaps that helped as well.

Winner of the 10 pounds of Taters Test... cKc Slipjoint!



Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Excellent. Loved the test report. Beautiful testers. Keep it up.
I, too, am a little surprised at the results. Looking forward to the next installment.

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curmudgeon
Excellent. Loved the test report. Beautiful testers. Keep it up.
I, too, am a little surprised at the results. Looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks curmudgeon.

This comparison test will be on-going for a year, so I plan to do many kitchen prep-work tests. The sample size is too small for me to think that this test couldn't have gone the other way for some reason or another.

Maybe it was just the cool looks of the cKc Slipjoint that swayed us all

I still haven't done any hardwood whittling, but so far the handle on the cKc is very comfortable. The handle on the Opinel is decently comfortable. It doesn't have any pointy or sharp areas on the handle except for the blade notch, but even that isn't bad. I think it is too round for my liking.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

That cKc must be some knife! An Opinel is hard to beat for cutting and handle comfort. I guess that's what you get when you compare a custom made folder to a mass production model, especially when the custom is designed for performance.

"I am still discussing issues of steels and performance at this stage."
--Cliff Stamp

"Cause geometry cuts, .....steel determines the level and the duration"
--Roman Landes

"But in general, I'm all about high performance, Ergos, safety. That's why I've been accused of 'designing in the dark' "
--Sal Glesser

Great update, thanks!

A little off topic and at the risk of losing knife knut points: We don't often peel potatoes at all, but when we do, a vegetable peeler is generally used. Is there a preference around here for using a paring knife or similar instead? Is it done purely for evaluation/enjoyment? It seems like using a knife would be slower and generate more waste.

-Nate

Get 'em started young!

Not being critical at all of your paring technique, but I learned different peeling a lot of potatoes for our large family as a child until today. The blade is locked in place and the spud is rotated around. Extra points for peeling in one long peel and taking the minimum potato off with the skin. When thin skinned Yukon gold potatoes became popular, it made my peeling am lot simpler!

Do you plan to keep the Opinel handle stock, or sand it down some?

It's just the way I peel potatoes. I'm not sure how or when I started doing it this way. I have used a peeler and I have rotated the potatoes while using a paring knife. I prefer it my way, and yes it does create more waste... and it doesn't bother me since the waste is still minimal.

I do have a habit of buying potatoes and keeping them too long before processing. This can lead to a lot of green potato. My method makes it easy to gauge and get rid of the green, or deeply indented eyes.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

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chad234
Do you plan to keep the Opinel handle stock, or sand it down some?

I hadn't considered sanding down the stock until I took a look at your Opinel pics. I think I will wait awhile before trying that. I would imagine that Opinel has a good reason for giving their stocks the geometry that they do. Perhaps it is for ease of manufacturing, but I don't think so. I'd like to discovery the reasoning behind the handle geometry via usage... at least I hope to.

Also, Nate... I have, in the past used the thickly cut potato skins. I would just bake them in a cooking sheet for awhile, take them out and fry them in some butter. Good stuff. It has been awhile since I have done this however.

Using my "peeling" method along with the cKc Victorious, I could peel the skin off a potato with nearly no waste. I don't think I can do that with the cKc Slipjoint, because the blade is too thick. I didn't try this time, but I might the next potato test go around.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Nate- a good vegetable peeler is a very useful tool. More efficient than a paring knife usually. But a paring knife is just more fun.

Chum- I use your technique for pineapple and squash. In the end, whatever works