This is pretty much the standard USAF survival knife. It's the bolt knife all aircrews use in survival school. You learn how fragile this knife is in SERE. This one hasn't seen much 'hard use' like you would need in a survival situation, but is still pretty warn as you'll see. They're labeled date wise on the handle, and I've put a ton of 550 cord on mine.
Good things:
- Being cheap to the US Government
- Lasting a week or two in a survival situation
- Full tang
- 5" blade length
- Flat end cap for hammering on sh*t.
Things this knife fails at:
- When batoning wood (look it up), it bends SUPER easy at the tang. I'm not a block of muscle, and I bent the issued one. Badly. Wish I had pics...
- Chopping. Seriously. All the weight is in the handle. How do you chop with that ? The black finish wears off almost just by touching it.
- The handle blisters your hands (wear gloves) and rots off. I've wrapped mine in 550 cord, and am kind of scared to look at the leather after all these years...
Things that go either way:
- The blade is made with a low amount of carbon for a reason... so you can sharpen it on rocks. It dulls really easily, including the sawback on the spine. Good luck...
Things I fail at:
- Flipping these images around...
Bottom line:
- I think for the price, it's alright. I bought it before I went in the Air Force or got a chance to do much camping in the woods (I grew up in Nevada). It'll hold a special place in my heart for being my first fixed blade knife, but nothing more. I'll grab my gerber(link) or becker brute first.
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