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KNIVES
KNIVES: Forget any popular hollow handled survival knife. Hollow handles mean weak handles. Full tang handles mean strong handles. Chisel points are the strongest tips, drop points are second best, and clip points are only for looks, unless they are very shallow. Double ground edges are stronger edges and won't chip as easily, but single ground edges are easier to sharpen and keep sharp. I prefer double ground. I like tanto blades, which are much thicker and stronger, and have an exaggerated narrowing nearer to the point. Partially serrated blades are the best of both worlds, combinging the utility and fine control of a straight edge with the raw cutting power and speed of a serrated edge. Chisel point tanto blades will have an especially strong tip. I use the tip all the time, not just the cutting edge, so I like strong tips. A good knife with a strong tip can even be used to split wood. When shopping, take a GOOD, LONG look at the sheaths. This is how you are going to be carrying your knife. Kydex is wonderful, but does the sheath shed water if submerged? Try to find one with drain holes so your knife doesn't rest in standing water. If it has a clip instead of a loop, test the clip. Will it hold the sheath in place when it catches on something? Will it hold it equally sturdy when clipped upside down or horizontally? Are there extra eyelets for securing the sheath so that it doesn't bounce around when you are running or jumping? Will the edges of the sheath cut into anything? Does it ride to high or too low? In general, sheaths are poorly designed, so check them out before you buy a particular knife. If you really found a knife that you have fallen in love with but the sheath sucks, you can always spend an extra $30, or so, to have a Kydex sheath custom molded to your knife. This will, of course, require you to mail away you precious baby for a few weeks so the sheath maker can mold a nice sheath exactly to your very own personal knife. Whatever you do, don't get a leather sheath. It looks all nice and pretty, but it will fal apart if it gets too wet. My rating system will be for BLADE, HANDLE, and SHEATH. They will all be rated in QUALITY, which includes sharpness and strength, and UTILITY, which includes versatility of design and comfort. A Rating of 1 means keep looking, 2 is average, 3 is above average, and 4 is excellent. BUCK NIGHTHAWK TANTO
BENCHMADE 140S NIMRAVUS
CRKT 2107K SEALTAC II
SOG SEAL 2000
ONTARIO KNIVES ON-SP6S FIGHTING KNIFE
KABAR NEXT GENERATION USMC FIGHTING KNIFE
BLADE QUALITY: 3.5 KNIFE BLADE QUALITY:
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I was excited when I picked this
one up, because I immediately liked the heft. It isn't
everyone's knife; it is noticeably heavy and the blade is
very thick. The blade is just over
5" long, and has a conventional tanto point. The
factory edge was a little under what I would expect from
Buck, but a few patient minutes with a sharpening stone
solved that problem. The blade has a double taper, the
straight edge a double grind. Half of the blade length is
serrated with a steep single grind triple-peak style. As
far as the strength of the knife itself, I have had no
problems with either the tip or the edge, which isn't
surprising considering the knife's quarter inch blade
thickness. The thickness of the blade does offer some
resistance when stabbing deep, though, to the point of
being a problem, sometimes. I haven't gotten a quote from
Buck Knives, yet, but if the straight edge clip point
Nighthawk has a similar blade thickness, I'd like to get
one for review. The handle is one of the overall best
designs I have ever held in my hands. It is by
far the most comfortable I have ever used, and
it's design is such that your hand naturally grips in
line with the blade. The thumb rest on the spine is
perfectly positioned (which is rare), and the handle
material remains extremely comfortable in high and low
temperature extremes; it warms and cools easily when
gripped. It accompanied me comfortably in triple digit
Farenheit and was still grippable, and again in low 40's,
and warmed quickly at my touch. It works well in humid
climates. The handle becomes tacky in damp weather. It
does not, though, work well in the
rain. Even the soft rubberized handle does not grip well
when wet. The rubberized inserts also absorb vibration
when you are doing heavy chopping, which makes it one of
the more comfortable knives for really heavy work. My one
and only complaint for this handle would be that it
should have a hard pommel. When you're cutting into your
kill and you need some extra force, you should be able to
take a rock and pound it further in, but with the plastic
handles you would easily damage this one. Overall, they
are a nice size: big enough to be heavy and strong, but
not stupidly big like those dumb Rambo knives. It could
probably stand an extra inch or so, though. The sheath is
padded cordura with a plastic removeable insert. It holds
the knife snugly, maybe a little too snug. Mine has
started to wear the black oxidation away at the creases.
In my opinion, the knife rides a little too high with
this sheath design, which actually holds the pommel above
the belt line. I would highly recommend investing in a
well made Kydex sheath. They retail for about $60.
I have not yet recieved any word
back from Benchmade regarding a review, but having
handled one, I will tell you what I know. This knife is
remarkably useful for its size (4" blade). The one I
handled was partially serrated over the first inch of
edge, and had what could very nearly pass as a single
edged spear point. The factory edge was very
sharp, though I would like a sharper tip. I pulled it
from the sheath and tested the straight edge on my arm,
and shaved a clean patch in a single stroke with little
pressure or resistance. I have not yet carried one of
these into the wilderness, but the sheath looked like it
could use some work. It was forged of Kydex, and held the
knife securely enough, but had no provisions for carrying
the knife in any other way that wiht the spring clip.
They insist that the clip is strong enough to hold the
sheath wherever you put it, but I am skeptical about
that. No belt loop, no frog, no strap slots, no leg ties
. . . nothing. The sheath didn't have a snap loop for the
handle, either. They claim the Kydex will hold the knife
securely in place, but I'd still like to have some extra
security. It also comes with a warning that it is not
intended for shoulder carry. Probably because of the lack
of actual carrying safety. For hip mount, which is really
your only option for the sheath provided, it rides well.
Because of the very thin profile, it rides easily and
does not get in the way, unlike most fixed blade knives.
It is also made to ride rather high on the hip, the belt
clip being halfway into the sheath. The sheath itself
holds only the blade, very little of the handle, so the
knife will ride about halfway down the blade at your belt
level. The handle scales are made of G-10, which is
supposed to be pretty amazing. It doesn't, at first
glance, appear to be very comfortable, but it rests
easily in the hand, and fits the inline grip comfortably.
The thumb rest is well positioned. One problem that I
foresee is that the entire length of the over tang blade
is exposed, sandwiched between the scales. Therefore,
while the G-10 plastic may be comfortable enough at high
or low temperatures, the exposed tang will be extremely
uncomfortable, burning or chilling your palm. The over
tang has a nice sized lanyard hole punched in it. It
retails for $140.
REVIEW COMING!
REVIEW COMING!
This was a surprise. Ontario
Knives has a whole line called Spec Plus that should be
taken much more seriously than it is. They are what I
call "sleepers." In this lineup is the ON-SP6S
Fighting Knife. It has a partially serrated edge, an
8" blade, and a leather/cordura sheath. The whole
Spec Plus line has surprisingly sturdy sheaths (even
though they are leather). The handle on this one is made
of rubberized Kraton, and it holds very well in cold or
hot weather, completely surrounding the blade. By virtue
of the grip guard at the pommel, the blade is relatively
easy to use when wet. It didn't slip out of my hand as
easily as other knives do, but it is still difficult to
control the twist of the blade. It does, though, orient
instantly in complete darkness. The blade itself is
extremely thick, and sports a false edge which gives the
tip tremendous sharpness for penetration while still
offering a fair amount of strength. The factory edge is
just short of outstanding; you can shave with it, but it
takes a little bit of pressure to do so. The serrated
part is of fair quality, but isn't anything to jump up
and down like an organ grinder monkey about. The sheath
is of good design, complete with heavy duty leather frog
and leg ties. It is a side opening sheath, which is a
really nice feature because you don't have to pull all
the way up to get the knife out. This feature, though,
wouldn't work on a kydex sheath, or anything else that
would offer the jump configuration with strap slots.
Overall, this is an excellent knife for the price, though
I wouldn't recommend it as a dive knife unless you plan
on spending an extra $40 on a custom Kydex sheath. These
retail for about $55.
This blade from the start was
an amazing inprovement over the original Ka-Bar. The
factory edge on the Next Generation is razor.
I had no problems at all shaving entire patches of hair
clean. The blade has significant heft, giving it great
blade-heavy balance for heavy chopping uses. The handle
is a softer rubberized material that is much more
comfortable than leather, and certainly would last longer
in adverse weather conditions. The serration was strange;
instead of three-peak serration, it has three-valley
serration. The one problem that I thought could come up
under really heavy use was that the serration went a
little too deep into the blade for my taste, and if used
in harsh conditions continually, it might yield a stress
fracture right at the base of the blade. The sheath is a VAST
improvement over the original
leather pocket. It is made of Kydex, and holds the knife
securely in any position that I tried it in. A piece of
the lip folds over the guard, holding it in place, and a
rubber ring slips over the pommel to give it extra
security. The one problem that I saw was that the belt
loop on the sheath was sunken by several centimeters,
apparently for wearing around the waist so that the knife
would not angle over your hips. This became a problem,
though, when mounted either in a tactical thigh position,
or shoulder quick-draw. This makes it much better for hip
carry, but makes it more awkward for any other option,
though it does have band slots for extra mounting
options. Overall a much better knife and especially
sheath than the original. 
MACHETES: I have used many different
models of hatchets, cam axes, and machetes, and there is
a single one that sticks out in my mind as the handiest
of them all: the SP-8 Survival Machete. It is
manufactured by Ontario Knives, Spec Plus division. It
has a squared blade about 10 inches long, and the factory
edge is razor sharp. The spine has a
triple tooth saw. It is short, for a machete, and you may
find yourself sometimes irritated by its short length,
but by virtue of its fine edge and quarter-inch blade
thickness, it is extremely heavy and can still be used
for the hardiest chores. The sheath in which it comes is
one of the finest sheath designs I have ever encountered.
The designers clearly put as much thought into the sheath
as they did into the machete. Most knives (including the
Nighthawk seen above) are great knives, but to cut on the
price the sheaths are cheap. Not this one. For anyone who
camps in wooded areas, this tool comes HIGHLY
recommended by me. The handles are even rubberized to
absorb impact vibration. It'll run around $70, but it is
well worth it. A word of caution: it is
quite a bit on the heavy side for hard backpacking, so if
you like to travel light, then this probably is not the
tool for you. If you don't mind the extra couple of
pounds, though, check it out. Another interesting note is
the sheath material. Leather. I usually hate leather, but
this little piece has held up quite nicely so far. Heavy
construction has given it a longer life than any other
leather sheath I have seen.