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| The Carothers Performance Knives Medium Chopper (.190-.200 thickness prototype) with Ebonite handles. |
Introduction:
A year ago I
reviewed the Carothers Performance Knives (CPK) Light Chopper, today I get to
review the successor to that knife, the CPK Medium Chopper (MC). The particular MC that I reviewed is a
prototype of slightly thinner stock than the production MC. This knife also had handles of a material
that I had no prior experience with, Ebonite.
As it turns out, I think Ebonite is my new favorite material for chopper
handles, but we will get to that later.
As the
successor to the now-discontinued Light Chopper (LC), the MC had big shoes to
fill. I absolutely adore my Light
Chopper. I cannot say that the MC made
me want to get rid of my LC, but I do think that for many people's uses, the MC
is probably a better fit. While the
differences are subtle, they are significant, and the MC is a very different
knife in use than the LC. Once or twice
a week I clear brush as a part time job.
My main uses for a chopper are trimming up branches for burn piles, or
clearing out light undergrowth. When I
use a chopper it is usually either one or two chops, or sustained chopping for
hours. When it comes to single chops,
the MC is absolutely the superior knife, but when it comes to swinging the
knife for hours, the added couple ounces (3.5 oz for the production model,
though probably more like 2.5 oz for my prototype) really makes itself
felt. The MC bites deeper on most every
given swing, and the handle ergonomics are definitely improved (something I
would not have thought possible), but the extra weight (slight though it is)
contributes to muscle fatigue over time.
(Edit/Correction: it was pointed out to me that technically there are no true "production MC's" in the wild yet. To this point they have all been prototypes, but it does seem that CPK has settled down on something fairly close to their more regular prototypes, but that could change. As of the writing of this review, the regular production MC's have not been released, so treat future references to production MC's as referring to the expected future model.)
To summarize
my comparative impression between the MC and the LC: if you have 50 chopping
tasks, the MC is absolutely going to be your better choice; if you have 200
chopping tasks, the extra weight is really going to tell and you'd probably be
better off with the LC.
The knife is
made by Carothers Performance Knives, which is headed by Nathan Carothers (and
his wife Jo). Nathan Carothers is a very
experienced machinist, with a vast materials knowledge, as well as a truly
impressive capability at using CNC machining.
He is also very willing to share his knowledge, I have learned a lot
over the few years paying attention to Carothers (Here is a BladeForums thread
of people asking Nathan questions and him answering, it is educational and up
to 93 pages long as of the writing of this post). CPK is an exciting brand to pay attention to,
but at the current time demand is far exceeding their production capability
which makes it hard to get a lot of CPK knives.
Sales for many of the models literally sell out in under 5 seconds,
which means that buying a CPK knife can be tricky and leave you with no option
but heading to the secondary market where prices can vary. However, CPK has been working hard at upping
their production capacity, and recently there were some sales of their HDFK
model (I've also reviewed that one, you can read it here) that lasted for multiple minutes. That might not seem like much, but it is a
good sign for people wanting to get their hands on one of these knives.
Personally, I
can't complain, since the high demand for these knives is a big part of the
reason that I can afford to buy, try, and then sell these knives without too
much loss on my part. I buy almost all
of the knives that I review for this blog, and I have not monetized this blog,
so this is really a hobby for me. As a
hobby, I can't afford unlimited knives, so the high demand for CPK's
outstanding knives means that I can test and experience some of the finest
cutlery on the market.
The knife was
designed in cooperation with Lorien Arnold, a talented knife designer from
British Columbia, Canada. Lorien
cooperates with numerous knife makers, but has been partnering extensively with
CPK recently. Sadly I can't afford the
custom knives he designs, but I am a fan nonetheless. Just to give an example, here is a thread on the Dragon Boat knife that Lorien designed a while back. I think it is one of the most amazing knife
designs I have ever seen, so I thought I would give it a plug.
The TL;DR
review summary:
The CPK Medium
Chopper is a worthy successor to the Light Chopper. The knife bites deeper on every chop, and the
handle feels better and more secure in the hand during every type of use I put
the knife to. My only complaint is that
the extra weight of the MC increases fatigue during sustained use, as compared
with the LC.
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| Lorien Arnold's design logo |
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| The Carothers Performance Knives logo |
Let's Start
With the Specs:
Specs:
- CPM 3V, Delta heat treat, tested 60-61 HRC, .180 - .215" thick at ricasso
- Total length 15.950"
- Blade length 10.0"
- Weight varies in the prototypes. Standard weight is 20.6 oz
- Grippy 3D machined scales in micarta and Terotuf.
- Black oxide treated 18-8 stainless steel fasteners
- Ebonite scales with oversize natural color titanium fasteners
The
"Medium" in Medium Chopper refers to the knife being intermediate in
weight between the CPK Light Chopper and the CPK Heavy Chopper. There is also a CPK Behemoth Chopper (review
forthcoming), but that knife doesn't factor into the MC's name. Of course, at this point, the Light Chopper
is discontinued, and the Heavy Chopper has not been produced in large numbers
to my knowledge, so the name Medium Chopper might seem odd if you aren't familiar
with the other models. The MC, while
heavier than the LC, still weighs in at well under a pound and a half, which
keeps it packable and light enough for sustained use.
The handle
material for this prototype is Ebonite.
Ebonite is a highly vulcanized hard natural rubber. The hardness is more like what one would
expect from a modern composite, rather than feeling superficially rubbery. Ebonite was developed as a replacement for
natural ebony wood in the 1830's. The
original idea was that it would be useful for making musical instruments, and
indeed it is still used in some instruments.
In the early 20th century Ebonite was commonly used in bowling
balls. Today a lot of the uses that
Ebonite used to be used for have been superseded by modern plastics and
composites (Ebonite is the reason why black is the common default for auto
battery exteriors). As a natural rubber,
Ebonite has a very slight odor. Also,
Ebonite is susceptible to degradation from light over time. Ebonite is also more brittle than materials
like TeroTuf or Micarta. In general,
Ebonite is a more demanding and less forgiving material than other potential
handle materials. But in this reviewer's
opinion, those qualities are more than made up for by the feeling of the
material in hand, the performance of the material in use, and the
appearance. Ebonite was not made for use
with chopping knives, but it is truly excellent for that purpose.
The blade
material on this knife is CPK's proprietary heat treat of CPM 3V, known as
Delta 3V (D3V).
Regarding 3V
in general, CPM 3V is a particle super steel, it is made with science
magic. I'm not going to try to explain
all of the specifics because I am not a metallurgist and blade steel is a
surprisingly complicated topic. There is
no one perfect steel for every knife.
Each steel type has its own set of properties, and the choice of which
properties are important to a knife is a key decision for knife makers. Additionally, the properties of various
steels are affected by heat treatment (the ways that the metal is heated and
cooled to control hardness) and heat treatment can even affect the crystalline
structure of the steel and the ways that the compounds in the steel
combine. So for the purposes of my
reviews, science magic.
That said, I
think it is worthwhile to discuss the characteristics of CPM 3V a little. CPM 3V is not a stainless steel, though it
does contain 7.5% chromium, which provides more stain resistance than one might
expect from a carbon steel. In terms of
edge holding properties at the hardness used for most knives, CPM 3V is very
comparable to CPM S35VN (which is the stainless particle steel the Difensa is
made of). The biggest difference between
3V and S35VN (besides rust resistance) is toughness. 3V is roughly 3 times as impact resistant as
S35VN. It is a very tough steel,
appropriate for a knife intended for rough applications. CPM 3V is very, very tough, not stainless,
and holds an edge well.
D3V is really
an exceptional heat treat of an already outstanding steel. Nathan Carothers (AKA Nathan The Machinist on
BladeForums) developed his proprietary heat treat of 3V that provides a pretty
unbeatable combination of hardness, toughness, lateral strength, resilience,
edge retention, and as an added bonus the heat treat leaves a higher percentage
of free chromium in the steel matrix which makes D3V
almost-but-not-quite-stainless. Standard
3V is an excellent steel, D3V elevates that steel to a level that is unmatchedin my experience for a heavy use knife (Busse knives uses a proprietary steelcalled INFI which is generally considered the industry standard for heavy use
knives, but I have never used an INFI knife myself).
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| LC on the left, MC on the Right. The MC is longer and the stock is noticeably thicker on the MC. This view particularly shows the increased length thanks to the subtle differences in blade and handle shape. |
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| When you view the LC and MC in this view the differences seem much less pronounced, and the common design heritage is more apparent. |
A Note on the Sheath:
This knife did
not come with a sheath. As a prototype
of a non-standard thickness the standard kydex sheaths that CPK sells with the
knives do not fit properly. I chose not
to commission a custom sheath for the two weeks I spent with this knife. Fortunately I did have a large Pakistani made
Bowie knife whose sheath turned out to work quite well. The sheath was of a drop loop design, and in
person I have to say that the black leather really worked well with the Ebonite
handle. If you are looking for a sheath
for an Ebonite handled knife, I recommend black leather.
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| I am awfully glad that I had a sheath that worked for this knife. An LC sheath absolutely does not fit the MC. |
Review:
Steel:
What else can
I say about this steel? In the past I have simply referred to CPM (Crucible
Particle Metallurgy) steels "science magic steels." The steel is literally made by turning the
molten metal into powder and squishing it back together (if you want more info
you can find it here). I would call D3V
an enhanced science magic steel. The CPM
magic is enhanced with Nathan Carothers' metallurgical knowledge and
experimentation. I have a hard time
imagining a better metal for this knife.
I have used a
number of knives with D3V steel at this point, and the material has proven to
be frankly unmatched in my experience.
For certain uses I would still prefer a truly stainless steel, but I
have had zero trouble with rust or corrosion on my LC over the past year. For a high impact, rough use steel, D3V just
flat out performs. My LC has
(accidentally) gone through a few nails over the past year, and has seen many
hours of work. The edge could still be
mostly brought back to shaving sharpness with just a butcher's steel. In fact, it was only for this review that I
actually sharpened the LC again for the first time since I bought it. And even then I only refined the edge with an
Arkansas Stone to make sure the comparisons with the MC were good. I did not need to do a major resharpening
even after a year of significant use.
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| The CPK MC, as reviewed, is certainly a lovely knife. The design is truly impressive from both an aesthetic and performance perspective, and the materials are just outstanding. |
Blade Finish:
The blade
finish for this knife was an acid etched stonewash. I have written before about how much I like
stonewashed finishes in general, but this was actually my first time ever using
a knife with an acid etched finish.
While the initial appearance was lovely, I was not a fan. The acid etch looks lovely as long as you
don't use it, but the etch is a result of the reactivity of the metal. That means that it is very easy to take off
that very thin layer of etched metal.
Even trying to completely avoid abrasive cleaning supplies, this finish
was impossible to avoid negatively affecting during use. This wouldn't be a big issue on a knife that
I was going to keep and use long term, but considering that I was looking to
turn around and sell the knife after my review it caused me a bit of extra
stress.
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| The finish may be delicate, but it sure is lovely when new. |
Blade:
The blade on
the MC is very purposefully designed.
The blade is 10 inches long, so this is a big knife. The blade is not designed for stabbing or to
be a kitchen knife, it is designed for chopping, and it excels at the intended
function.
Despite the
large blade, the weight distribution is well balanced toward the handle. This is a result of careful weight
distribution between the ways that the handle is partially skeletonized and the
blade is fullered. Choppers are usually
more blade heavy. The MC certainly feels
less nimble in the hand than the LC, but it is still no wrist breaking brute
force cleaver. The MC is an agile knife
that uses carefully balance weight and geometry to allow the user to create
significant tip speed while maintaining control.
Handle:
The handle on
this knife was utterly magnificent. As
mush as I love my LC, the MC handle is definitely improved. The slightly more pronounced swell at the
butt of the handle provided a noticeably more secure grip without forcing my
hand. There were other very subtle
tweaks as well. The sum total was a new
handle design that took a handle design I had considered perfect, and made it
better.
But even more
than the handle design, I want to talk about the material. First off, the Ebonite material is lovely,
aesthetically speaking. The black is
rich and glossy, but even with a fairly shiny finish, the material is not
slippery. The Ebonite was less grippy
than Micarta or TeroTuf, but still satisfyingly secure in the hand. The hardness feels very similar to wood. Wood is my favorite handle material in terms
of tactile sensation, but typically I opt for man-made materials when looking
for optimal performance. Ebonite offers
a similar feel to wood, but with many of the advantages of more modern
materials (Ebonite, as discussed earlier, also has more weaknesses than Micarta
or TeroTuf, but in this application I think those weaknesses are
pardonable).
But the
biggest thing about the Ebonite is the performance during sustained use. When I started using the MC, I didn't feel
any difference at first. Nathan had
stated that the material lessened vibration, but I couldn't feel it. After a few hours of use I could feel the
difference. Typically during sustained
use of the LC it is my grip and hand/wrist joints that give out first. With the MC, even after hours of use and
shoulder/arm muscles that were mightily fatigued, my wrist, hand, and elbow
joints all felt surprisingly good. The
Ebonite significantly reduced the joint pain I typically experience after a day
of intense chopping.
In the future,
whenever CPK offers Ebonite as an option on a chopper, I will take the
Ebonite. I am a big fan.
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| This is a big and lovely knife. |
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| Just remember, I have big (extra-large, size 10 1/2-11) hands. This knife has a generous handle, and the angle makes the blade look shorter. Objects in my hand are generally larger than they appear. |
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| The MC really bites deep. |
Fit and Finish:
As with every
CPK knife I have ever held or observed in person, the fit and finish was
second-to-none. CPK uses more extensive
CNC milling and programmed manufacturing techniques than most knife makers, and
the result is a precision that meets the kind of robotic flawlessness that one
would imagine comes from such an approach.
As I have learned over the years, even very competent machinists using
computer drafting methods and CNC milling have a hard time actually producing
knives that feel flawless. Nathan has a
great deal of experience and expertise as a machinist, and it really shows in
the products that CPK sells.
Use Review:
For my use
review of the MC I focused mainly on chopping tasks. For the most part, the blade geometries and
handle rake are similar enough to the LC that you can pretty much take it as a
given that anything the LC did well, the MC does at least as well. Much like the LC, I am not really sold on it
as an all around camp knife. It can cut
vegetables and such, but that isn't really where it shines.
The first (and
most surprising thing to me) note I want to point out is that I found the extra
weight to be a complete non-issue for carrying it. I guess it really is only a few ounces, but I
expected the MC to pull my pants down more.
As someone with a more than ample belly, I really don't like things that
pull down my pants any more than they have to.
I expected the MC to annoy me during sustained carry while working and
moving about. It proved to feel no
different or more clunky than the LC. I
would be perfectly happy to carry the MC on a hike, hunt, or at work.
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| Both the LC and the MC bit about the same depth, but as you can see the MC bit a much longer bite. The total amount of the knife buried in the round was significantly greater. |
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| I really enjoyed this shot, even if it isn't terribly clear. Each knife is sequentially a more effective chopper. The Spartan Harsey Difensa, the Spartan Harsey Model 1, the CPK LC, and the CPK MC. Each knife bites deeper and more effectively than the last. Since I compare pretty much everything to the Difensa (and the Difensa is the knife that convinced me that a knife that can do some chopping is worth carrying), I wanted to get a graduated comparison. When I first started really being sold on the idea of carrying a lightweight smaller chopper for work I decided to graduate from the Difensa to the Spartan Harsey Model I (it is an inch longer and much more capable chopper). I enjoyed the Model I, but then I managed to land my LC just a few months later, and since that time the LC has been the only belt knife I've carried at work. I appreciated that each knife, with as close to equal force as I could manage, out-performed the previous knife as a chopper. |
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| I really don't have any practical use for stabbing things, but I figure it is worth checking out anyway, just for reference. The MC's tip shape seemed to keep it from penetrating quite as deep as the LC, but neither one is a stabbing tool. Both the Spartan knives stabbed deeper, but they are designed to. I didn't stab any of them hard into the wood. |
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| With a pretty casual swing it is fairly easy to almost sink the blade up to the edge of the main bevel. |
I decided to try something new for this review, so I made some videos of myself actually using the MC to chop down some small trees. I also used the LC to chop one down as a comparison. I feel very self conscious posting videos of myself. I want to excuse my chopping by pointing out that these trees were standing dry and I had split logs for an hour and a half before I filmed these, but honestly, I had plenty of rest between activities, and this is just my chopping for whatever it's worth.
Chopping down
trees is not my normal use for a belt carried chopper, but it is FUN! And more to the point, I have a very hard
time filming myself using the chopper normally with my cell phone. Tree chopping is stationary work. The trees I chopped down here are basically
dead saplings in a wood lot. They are
just dry fuel where they were, so taking them out just clears up the
understory. As you can see, the trees
are tightly packed enough that none of them actually fall when I cut them down,
they all catch in the branches of their neighbors.
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| The MC in the stump of the first tree. |
My first try
at filming myself chopping a tree with the MC.
Please excuse the quality, and the fact that I spend most of the video
chopping on the opposite side of the viewer.
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| The MC in the stump of the second tree. |
Second try,
better angle, worse lighting.
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| The LC in the stump of the tree. |
And finally,
for comparison, the LC. This video is
probably the clearest. It should be
pretty clear that the the LC does not bite as deep on a given swing as the MC. The direct comparison felt pretty pronounced
to me.
I did not
bother doing much in the way of edge retention tests (like cutting ropes or
cardboard boxes). I have a great deal of
experience with this steel, with this heat treatment, with similar edge
geometry, from the same manufacturer.
The performance of D3V has been outstanding in my experience. I did not need to have D3V prove itself to me
yet again considering that I was mostly just concerned with performance during
chopping tasks. At the end of the review
the blade was still shaving sharp.
Of course, I
did have to do some kitchen work. The
knife worked like you would expect a well made and extremely sharp chopper to
work. It cut things fine, but I am not
going to replace any of my kitchen knives with it.
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| Is it a review of a "camp knife" if you don't do food prep? I don't think so. This was the only picture I remembered to snap though. |
Summary:
I personally
wish that CPK had opted to keep producing a model closer to the LC, but I have
to acknowledge that for most people's uses, the MC is going to perform better
for almost every task. It is a more
effective chopper. But for my purposes
(mostly chopping thin branches and undergrowth), the MC feels more akin to
using a framing hammer for building bird houses. Sure, the framing hammer hits the nails
harder, but if you are swinging it all day those extra ounces add up.
But that said,
my chopper needs are not likely to be the average chopper buyer's needs. For most people who buy a high end chopper
like one of these, it is not for truly practical needs, it is to have a fun high
performance specialty tool. It is about
having fun chopping things. And for that
sort of use, the MC is an improvement on the LC. Like I said in the introduction, if you need
to cut 50 things, the Medium Chopper is the way to go, if you need to chop 200
things, the Light Chopper is going to be your friend. If you are in the enviable position where you
can pick and choose between the choppers, you might have some thinking to
do. My heart still lies with the LC, but
that is both a product of my particular needs and a long time spent with that
tool. But regardless of your choice,
these knives are sheer pleasure to use.
The Medium
Chopper is another excellent collaboration between Carothers Performance Knives
and Lorien Arnold. In pretty much every
measurable way (other than weight) it is an improvement on the Light
Chopper. It bites deeper. The grip is improved and more secure in the
hand. The changed blade shape gives you
more edge where the swing is most powerful.
The increased length gives you a little more tip speed. If you can get one, I recommend it... with
Ebonite if you can swing it.
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For now I will
leave you with a little sneak peak of an upcoming review:
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| Here is a nice Carothers Performance Knives family picture. From top to bottom: The Behemoth Chopper, the Medium Chopper, and the Light Chopper. |
