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Choppin' Glad

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Sheath

What I Would Change

Bottom Line

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I received the Crowell/Barker Competition Knife from Browning and figured it was just another big knife until I showed it to my buddy, Gary Wheeler. At the 2008 BLADE Show, Gary tested for and received his ABS journeyman smith rating. He also had a chance to handle the original knife designed by ABS master smith Jim Crowell and ABS journeyman smith Reggie Barker on which the Browning piece is based, so I decided to let the new journeyman smith do the testing and I would shoot the photos. For safety’s sake, we used the competition knife’s forward lanyard.

Choppin’ Glad

First off, Gary locked a 2x4 in a leg vise and chopped away. As he worked on perfecting his swing, the first 2x4 took him six chops, the second one only four. The knife bit very deep into the fir 2x4 and was strong enough to twist out large chunks of wood. We did encounter a slight problem of splitting the 2x4 on the first whack but corrected it by padding the jaws of the leg vise.

  Gary noticed two grip differences between the original Crowell/Barker design and Browning’s reproduction. The handle swell was more pronounced in the original, providing a better feel, and the radius of the handle spine was altered.

To see how the changes affected the knife’s performance, I pointed to a dead pine tree behind the shop. The tree had a diameter of 7 inches and was about 15 feet tall. Gary was feeling frisky that morning so off he went. Like a true Oregon lumberjack, he used the knife to take big bites from the tree.

I was busy moving around getting different pictures with my eye glued to the camera’s view finder. The next thing I knew dead branches raked me as the tree fell at my feet. “Is that close enough?” Gary said, grinning. Man, is it hard to find good help! To get even, I told him that the camera malfunctioned when the branches hit it and I missed some chopping shots.

While I pretended to take photographs, he started chopping off branches and quartering the tree. As he wiped the sweat from his brow, I couldn’t help but smile remembering what my dad had told me: “Never mess with an older guy; he just might be smarter than you.” Gary finally saw my smile and, after some choice words, we headed back to the shop laughing.

He showed me a hot spot on his little finger caused by the curve of the handle spine. A few strokes with some sandpaper and the sharp edge was gone.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

I gave Gary a break before we started cutting rope. I wanted him well rested for a surprise I had in store. We started out with 1-inch hemp rope. He swung and the knife cut the rope, but the strands were not severed cleanly. Since he had cut a lot of wood, I told him to refresh the edge. Again, he had some colorful metaphors to share with me. With a fresh edge, the knife cleanly cut the rope.

It was time for my “surprise”—a length of 3-inch hemp rope I had retrieved from one of the local river barges. The thicker rope demands good technique. I knew Gary had less experience than me. I cut two rolls of multiple-strand 1-inch rope taped together for the late, great ABS master smith, Al Barton. He had a knife with a different grind but cancer had made him too weak to test it out. It was a while ago but I cannot forget five days of cutting rope with Al’s knife.

Gary did great—two cuts to get his swing down and then separation. He finished off the length of 3-inch rope. In the end, we had a nice pile of chopped-up hemp. (Gary did state that next time I would have to do the cutting and chopping and he would take the pictures.) The knife had some rope scratches and only a few wood smears after the test. The edge was in great shape with no dings or chips.

Sheath

The frog-style leather sheath has a very useful belt-loop addition that provides several carry options. It is a very good idea.

What I Would Change

I would alter the radius of the back of the handle to make it more receptive to the pinkie finger during chopping.

Bottom Line

The Browning Crowell/Barker Competition Knife is a lot of fun to use. It is an excellent camp knife that will handle most of your cutting chores.

For more information contact Browning, attn: Paul Thompson or Diane Carver, Dept. BL2, One Browning Pl., Morgan, UT 84050 801.876.2711 fax 801.876.3331 www.browning.com.