(
Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Solid fixed blade
This knife passes my most important test for a knife. It cuts plastic trimmer line for a weed eater. Most survival and tactical fixed blade knives sacrifice cutting efficiency for strength. They are too thick to cut well. Plastic trimmer line is difficult to cut. A knife that cuts it will generally cut about anything that a knife can cut. I love my Tops Prarger war bowie, but it will not cut trimmer line. My Fallknivens will all cut trimmer line, thanks to their convex grind. This hogue cuts trimmer line. It hesitates a little, as is pretty common for a survival knife with a fairly thick blade. It doesn't glide through like a mora, but it will cut. It has enough thickness to have strength with which a mora can't compete. The handle feels good. It's a hard plastic with a soft rubber insert. I haven't done a lot of cutting with it, but there are no obvious hot spots. It offers enough traction to protect the hand from slipping onto the blade. I haven't tried it with wet hands though. The handle has two holes in the end. One is for a lanyard, presumably, and the other.... ? Anyway, it has two lanyard holes. There is also a mystery hole in the base of the blade. Are these for lashing the knife onto a pole to make a spear? No idea. The handle is short. I have large hands, and when I hold the knife with my thumb on the jimping of the handle, the butt of the handle doesn't clear the edge of my palm. The flesh of my palm sort of wraps around the butt of the knife. Not a problem. It's just shorter than I'm used to. When I choke up a little and put my thumb on the jimping of the blade, the butt sits in a more natural position at the very edge of my palm. The hard plastic sheath has attached Cordura nylon straps, held with a combination of metal snaps and velcro. I imagine you could attach it to your gear 100 different ways. The sheath has a drain hole. It also features an unusual retention system. A big plastic spring loaded lever sticks out on either side of the sheath. That lever must be pressed firmly from either one side or the other in order to draw the knife. This knife is simple. It's capable. I bought mine at about $98 during a sale, and I consider it a very good value. The knife is similar to an SOG seal pup elite, but is made of better steel, has a better sheath, in my humble opinion, and is backed by a far better warranty. It performs much like a Fallkniven F1 or S1, but for less money, and still with a better sheath. If you want a stainless steel survival or tactical knife, this one is hard to beat for the money. Even when you start comparing it to the Chinese knives available now, like a Kizer or Steel Will, this thing offers a LOT of value for the money. Comparing it to a carbon steel knife.... well, that isn't an entirely fair comparison. The guys who like 1095 never clicked on this link to begin with. :) But if you like stainless, this knife is hard to beat. I wish they offered it with a blade coating to eliminate glare, but I guess nothing is perfect.
