"Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape".
SERE brings us to my creed... it is a bit like the Ranger Creed or some kind of motto, or sum of beliefs. When the big war hits Europe, I will head for the Arctic. My creed goes as follows:
Run like a rabbit,
hide like a cockroach.
Flee like a chicken
but be stealthy as a fox.
Yes, I can see myself with the SERE knife, filleting cod at the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Survival-Evasion-Resistance-Escape... bring it on, baby.
Oh crud, I will have to pay 22% value added tax too when the knife arrives...
Here's a picture of the black Mini Sere. I think it's quite elegant. As you can see, there's this downward curve at the back of the handle: it is the reason why guys with really big hands don't feel comfortable with it (I've read a lot about this knife on various forums). However I don't think I'll have a problem, I don't have huge hands and actually it's not a "real mini" knife, the blade is three inches long.
-------
Listen up people, I have been doing some thinking while waiting for the Al Mar to arrive by mail... I think we have a very nice, balanced design here. The only thing that's not balanced is the price, but Al Mar is a respected brand and I assume the fit and finish to reflect the price too.
It is a simple liner lock design, and that makes sense in a survival knife. Liner locks don't have a good reputation, they can be untrustworthy in cheapo knives. But first of all, this is NOT a cheapo knife, the liner lock should be well made. And the liner lock allows for a "flow through design".
What does a "flow through design" mean? Well, it means that the knife is open at the top. You can see through it. There are "pillars" that connect the liners together, and in between is the blade. The blade is sandwiched between the liners when the knife is closed, and it swings to the front when the blade comes to use. Simple. The "pillar construction" can be undone to completely disassemble the knife.
Now if you take the knife and stick a pig with it, there might be blood spouting all over. With the flow through design, you can later on rinse the knife, dry it, then give it a lube again. Any other sorts of dirt or foreign obstacles are easy to pry out of the knife. Sure, fine sand will ruin the smooth opening of the knife, but it won't render it useless.
Other kinds of locks are harder to maintain. It might be hard to get foodstuffs or whatever out of a lockback knife. It won't be so hygienic after a while. I don't have experience with other, more "high-tech" locks, so I don't know how easy it would be to clean an AXIS lock on a Benchmade knife; but I imagine it might be hard. There are springs in an AXIS lock. A flow-through liner lock is simpler. Now I'm not an expert... but I kind of have the feeling that an AXIS lock would not function as reliably on a survival knife. A spring falls out, you can't send the knife to Benchmade for repairs if you are trying to survive.
I love serrations, and there are no serrations on this baby... but then, you can't have everything. Just carry a multitool along and use the serrated blade on the multitool. And really, for most kinds of woodwork, a clean blade without serrations is vastly better.
Well, I am looking forward to writing more in a week's time, when the sucker arrives...
Last edited by Walker-69; 02-09-2009 at 03:49 AM.
Nice knife Walker. Anything from Al Mar is worth the money. If i was to start buying knives with liners, the SERE would be at the top of the list.
Whats the extra 22% tax for?? Import tax?
edit: My recent splurge. Best spydie IMO. Perfect size and i have become quite the fan of s30v.
Last edited by Henry's Fork; 02-06-2009 at 09:56 PM.
Can someone ID this folder please.
Thanks
Well I had to decide between the SERE and the Mini SERE, and I went for the Mini. I'm sure that it's more socially acceptable.... but nowhere near "politically correct" stillOriginally Posted by Henry's Fork
Yes, import tax. Anything above approx. $60 and I need to pay import tax.
The Paramilitary. It is lovely. I would like one too. Congrats on a good buy!
Cold Steel?
It looks a bit like a Cold Steel Ti-Lite. Check out
http://www.coldsteel.com/tilite.html
The handles seem different, but yours could be an earlier model.
Yeah, it looks like a 6" Ti-Lite with Zytel handle.
Thanks a lot Walker-69
A reminder
I will add here a picture of the original Al Mar SERE 2000. I have never seen it in real life, but it's supposed to be a big mother-F* of a folder. It looks kind of slick in a photo but it's quite weighty. The Mini SERE looks very similar but it weighs 3,5 ounces where the original weighs 6 ounces. The Mini SERE is smaller in size but maybe a bit stouter in proportion to its length. The Mini SERE has only come out in 2006, if I am correct (I am very good at googling old news etc).
Mini SERE has a three inch blade so it's pretty close to a standard knife and not at all a miniature knife. Black versions of both the original and the Mini are available. They have a ceramic coating on the blade which is supposed to be real tough.
I just got a Gerber LMFII ASEK and a Glock Field Knife.
The Gerber is very well done and made in Portland, Oregon, USA. The handle is very secure and comfortable in everything I've done with it. I was also impressed by the shaving sharpness of the straight edge and how smoothly the serrations cut. I tested the buttcap out on a glass bottle and it performed flawlessly. Some have stated that its "butt heavy" but I never got that impression and I personally like the buttcap the way it is. It chopped reasonably well for a 5inch blade and made fuzz sticks pretty well. The sheath is ingenious with its draw through sharpener, it comes with two adjustable straps for calf or or dropdown carry, MOLLE webbing, and it also has a rescue hook with its own MOLLE sheath. Unfortunately the sheath wears on the finish of the handle at the guard and it takes a little more effort to pull it out of the sheath than other knives. It is an excellent knife on the whole.
The Glock Field Knife is a real value (I got mine for $30 USD). Its made in Austria out of what I presume is a tool grade carbon steel. Its not extraordinarily sharp but it can be with some work put in to it. The narrow profile of the knife makes it better suited for combat than general utility but it hasn't failed in anything I've tested. Chopping obviously isn't its strong suit but it will do the job eventually. The root saw (optional) is best for notching and such, don't expect to go through a limb with this. It has a bottle cap lifter incorporated into the guard which provides a good thumb rest and allows one to index which way the blade is facing when it's sheathed. I sharpened the false edge on the tip, and it does pierce slightly better but it was good for that before.
Any questions just ask
More pictures:
This was done with just hand pressure, no baton:
Comparison:
Nice pics, thanks. How many inches would these blades be? I'm starting to think of blades in inches instead of metric already, because it's more usual with American knives.
The Gerber LMF II is 5inches in blade length and 11 inches overall
The Glock Field knife is about 6 and 7/8ths of inch in the blade and 12inches overall.
What neck knife is this?
A Rob Simonich(RIP) Bitter Root in s30v.
http://www.simonichknives.com/midtech.htm
christ, how did I not find this thread before?
just acquired a Spyderco Perrin Street Beat. new favorite EDC belt knife. I love Spyderco.
Gerber LMF II
Nice knives Hammer. I like the Gerber LMF. Could you tell me the blade thick. Is 6 mm?I just got a Gerber LMFII ASEK Knife.
The Gerber is very well done and made in Portland, Oregon, USA. The handle is very secure and comfortable in everything I've done with it. I was also impressed by the shaving sharpness of the straight edge and how smoothly the serrations cut. I tested the buttcap out on a glass bottle and it performed flawlessly. Some have stated that its "butt heavy" but I never got that impression and I personally like the buttcap the way it is. It chopped reasonably well for a 5inch blade and made fuzz sticks pretty well. The sheath is ingenious with its draw through sharpener, it comes with two adjustable straps for calf or or dropdown carry, MOLLE webbing, and it also has a rescue hook with its own MOLLE sheath. Unfortunately the sheath wears on the finish of the handle at the guard and it takes a little more effort to pull it out of the sheath than other knives. It is an excellent knife on the whole.
Any questions just ask
Could you take a picture of the sheath's back?
Is an expensive knife?
Thank you for your time,
Percor
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