Spyderco James Keating Chinook 3 Knife
If there’s one thing James Keating knows, its knives. And when you take a guy like Keating and put him in a room with the crazy guys at Spyderco, you’re going to come out with an amazing knife. Now, let them revise the knife three times to perfection, and you have the Keating Chinook 3.
When I cracked this one open, I was totally blown away by the bank vault lockup and huge clack sound that the lockback made when it engaged. It was no surprise to me that this is a MBC-rated lock. Without a doubt the Chinook 3 has the beefiest lockup of any Spyderco folder I’ve handled.
Other great features of the Chinook 3 are the CPM S30V blade, and Golden, Colorado factory pedigree. The big beefy 3 3/4″ blade has been flat ground for the third iteration of this fantastic blade from Spyderco. Previous generations were hollow ground.
I’ve owned one of the Generation 2 models, and this new full flat grind is much nicer in my opinion. I think it suits the knife better, and has a cleaner look than the hollow grind version. Since this was purchased as a gift for my uncle, I was unable to test cut anything besides some arm hair to make sure Spyderco is still keeping their blades hair-popping sharp out of the box – and they are!
The new Generation 3 Chinook is also much lighter than previous ones having shaved almost 1.5oz of weight, possibly due to additional skeletoniztion of the steel liners and the refined handle profile.
The Chinook 3 is a fairly large knife, but I found the handle to be okay in my hands. It has lots of nice comfortable cuves that nestle it nicely in the palm, and also allow for easy grip changes. James A. Keating was not messing around with this one!
Overall its a killer knife with an insanely strong lock-up, and would make a great Hard-Use EDC for anyone that can handle carrying something this large. The upswept blade is great for a number of tasks such as slicing and skinning, and the point is stong enough for penetration. For more information on the knife’s uses you can see James A. Keatings website.
Specs:
Overall Length: 8 9/16″
Blade Length: 3 3/4″
Blade Steel: CPM-S30V
Handle Material: G-10
Liners: Stainless Steel
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January 27th, 2011 at 1:08 am
How MUCH did you pay for it Back then when you bought it? Its Now JAN 26, 2010!! I can get one from my local Sports store Brand new for $167.97 plus tax! I do know the manger so I can probably Haggle the price down maybe!!! Im a welder and love the outdoors, I love s30v!!
January 27th, 2011 at 1:09 am
Its Jan 2011 Not 2010 LOL
January 27th, 2011 at 11:19 am
I paid $189 including taxes… I’m glad you are able to pay less for it. Good for you.
January 28th, 2011 at 4:32 am
wow buddy Thanks Ill make sure to let u know when i pick it up!!! Let me Know if you are looking for any kind of spyderco, Bench-made, Kershaw, knives that are no longer On Retail stores, This store has many old knives there, They dont sell cause they are 109- too 300 ranged and they dont know what they year is on them, usally are well priced and lower than most stores most of them are mark down cause they been there so long!! So let me know!!
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Great factor; lightweight and comfortable, nice belly and solid lock.
while I wouldn’t call it a fighter, I will give it a EDC status.
A good fighter would be a Spyderco/ Bagwell collab.
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:17 pm
A Billy Bags Bowie would be a cool collab with Spyderco, but he’s already collaborating with Ontario Knives, which seems a better fit anyway. His collab deal might not be exclusive though.