American Sheepdog Online CCW Resource Magazine

I have many knives for many uses. Over the years I've acquired knives of almost all shapes and sizes. I've also lost more knives than I've been able to keep through theft, misplacement and generally breaking them. Though not as expensive as gun collecting, collecting knives isn't a cheap hobby. I have a few friends that are into collecting knives and putting them up new and unused to retain or increase their value. I on the other hand, collect knives to use them. I don't keep them in the original packaging and admire them on a shelf. No offense to my collecting friends, but I must thump my chest and whip out my man card here. I use them and abuse them for possible protection and to accomplish the job at hand. I always have a knife on me. I have great affection for a good quality knife that is durable and is able to reasonably hold an edge. I say reasonably because I tend to push the limits of the things a blade can cut. Cutting steel shipping straps, copper wire, scraping off old gasket material and cutting fiberglass insulation just to name a few. You can tell from the photos, I'm not kidding. As a consumer of Copenhagen tobacco, it is nothing for me to take a $80.00 folding knife from my pocket to cut the top off of a Coke can so I can stuff in a napkin for a make shift spittoon. Yes, there is a "Bona Fide Alpha Male" seal stamped on my man card...

Here are a few of the knives I use:

Gerber-Remix
List Price $39.00
http://www.gerbergear.com/index.php/product/id/353

I'm not sure of the actual name of this knife, though the current production has the name Remix. As you can see from the picture I've provided and the photo in the link, they are different yet the same. I purchased these two knives back when they first came out 10-12 yrs ago. In fact, the first one I purchased was the smaller one for my wife. It has "First Production Run" on the blade. It appealed to me because of the finger hole design.This I thought, would make it easier for her to control in a defensive situation and make it harder to take from her. Once the finger is inserted and a firm grip is given, this knife becomes an extension of your hand. If someone tries to remove it from your hand, simply rolling your wrist can create many opportunities to slash and cut your attacker. It cannot be dropped, even if the fingers and temporarily opened to loose your grip. It fits snug on the pointer finger and once the finger is closed it effectively locks it on the hand.

I purchased a larger one for myself sometime afterward. I can't even get past the first joint of my finger with the small one, my wife can easily insert her whole finger. I once wrapped the blade in duct tape and had a friend try to get it out of my hand. They were unsuccessful to say the least. It was very easy to roll my wrist and change the blade angle for a cut or stab into the wrist, forearm and hand of my attacker. Gerber blades are legendary for retaining an edge and easily honed back to razor sharpness. You can see from the pointed look of the blade on the large one that it has been sharpened many times over the years.

Gerber-Mini Paraframe
List Price $16.26
http://www.gerbergear.com/index.php/product/id/285

I like this lightweight pocket folder. In the pocket, its easily forgotten. I can't recall the number of times it has been found in the bottom of the washing machine because I forgot to remove it from my pocket. I've used it for many things, from skinning back wire to cleaning my fingernails. Easy to sharpen and holds an edge like a Gerber should. Inexpensive and of great quality.

SOG-Flash II-Assisted opening
List Price $78.00
http://sogknives.com/store/CFSA-98.html

This is one of the three main daily carry knives I use. It is rather expensive, luckily I received this one as a prize of sorts through purchasing points at Johnstone Supply, a supply vendor I use often. (You can see their logo on the blade) The assisted opening feature makes it very easy to open one handed. This one opens very quickly and also has a lock feature that disables the assisted opening. I have on occasion, neglected to lock it and had it pop open on my belt while squeezing in between equipment or brushing against something. It is a real attention getter when you reach down to get a knife and grab it by the blade. I like to keep my knives sharp, so I check them often and sharpen as needed. Grabbing the blade usually results in a pretty good cut. Luckily I keep a supply of my daughters Spongebob Band-Aid's on hand. Ok, so they are mine, don't even try to take my man card!

Kershaw-Ken Onion-1550ST-Assisted opening
List Price $89.95
http://www.kershawknives.com/product...&brand=kershaw

This is the second of the daily carry knives I use. This one is also rather expensive but you get what you pay for right? Its my favorite and the most used. Unlike the SOG Flash II, this knife does not have the locking feature to disable the assisted opening feature. I keep it inside of my pocket and clipped on the outer opening of my pocket. I have dropped this knife a few times and it pops open and jumps across the floor. It has jumped back into my leg but luckily I haven't been hurt from it. As far as abuse, this one has about seen it all. Chemicals haven't even condemned it yet. You name it, and I've either cut it or tried to cut it with this knife. I don't know what it is, but it has an appeal that I can't let go of. This one is my best friend.

Gerber-Aluminum Presto 3.0
List Price $69.12
http://www.gerbergear.com/index.php/product/id/36

This is the third of the three daily carry knives I use. It was used a lot when I misplaced the Kershaw. I didn't find it for a couple months and this Gerber took the abuse. Its not what I would consider an expensive blade but it's not cheap either. I don't like the soft rubber side panel, it can't handle the abuse I give it. If it is going to have a rubber grip, I would prefer it to be a full grip and not the glue on side panel type. It too, has the locking feature to disable the assisted opening.

SOG-Daggert 1
List Price $165.00
http://sogknives.com/store/D25T.html

This is not a carry knife but I wanted to include it because I like it so much. This knife usually stays in my hunting pack or in my B.O.B. (Bug out bag) It is expensive but again, it's of great quality. It is very sharp and has held a good edge. I once used it to dig out a broadhead in a pine tree. The tip would have broken off of an inferior blade. If that shocks you, I must say that I was shocked too... that I missed that deer. This is the type of knife Rambo could use to take out an entire Platoon single handed. The Kydex sheath is also durable and it gives many options of strapping it on. Just holding this knife makes you want to use it...

There are others but this pretty much sums up the knives I use often. I'm always looking out for a good knife. I like knives as much as I like guns. A quality knife has many uses. Get a good quality blade and take care of it, (unlike me... do as I say, not as I do) and it will last a lifetime.

Have a good 'un...

3 Comments

Decline - 01-14-2010

That was an entertaining read! I just bought a new knife and i am enjoying it! I will post a review soon. Thanks for the great article!

UGA - 01-14-2010

Originally Posted by Decline

That was an entertaining read! I just bought a new knife and i am enjoying it! I will post a review soon. Thanks for the great article!

Thanks Decline, I really look forward to your review!

dnola - 01-14-2010

Good write UGA! I hate knives. I love knives. I just depends on who has them!

Mostly, I love them. I could easily end up in the poor house buying knives especially now that there are literally thousands of different styles out there.