Gerber Strongarm

 

Gerber Strongarm— that's a hell of a name, isn't it?  But yet I remember strongarm inspection.  Maybe it's not such a great name.

Despite the name, the Strongarm is a combat knife.  First, let me get this out of the way.  According to the Gerber website, they have made 'survival' knives since 1968.  Gerber released the Mark 1 and 2 back around '66 as combat knives, and they were a hit with the military.  That is to say, with the boots on the ground.  For reasons never explained, Gerber was stopped from selling these knives in PXs.  Gerber relabeled them as survival knives and PX's welcomed them with open arms.

The Gerber Strongarm

Since a survival knife can be defined as the knife you survive with, the Strongarm certainly qualifies.  But it is a combat knife.

The blade is ground from 420GHC steel, a hard martensitic steel.  With 12% chromium content, it qualifies as stainless.  Gerber gives the blade what it calls a ceramic coating for additional protection.  Washing off corrosive chemicals and wiping a blade down with oil never hurts.  The partially serrated blade at 4.8 inches long, is a useful length for many knife chores. 

Gerber describes the blade as a drop point; it is really a clip point with a false edge.  The Strongarm reminds me of a Bowie knife blade.

I see this as more of a clip point with a false edge

The full tang blade is 0.19 inches or 3/16 of an inch thick.  Gerber doesn’t say what the hardness is, but it has been suggested 420HC steel has a sweet spot for hardness around 56 to 57 RHC. 

The handle is shaped to help retain the knife in your hand.  The diamond texturing helps

I know.  Some of you are only satisfied once a blade reaches such hardness that only a monocrystalline diamond in a tungsten carbide matrix will sharpen it.  A general rule is that hard knives are brittle knives, which leads to the truism that a broken knife is junk, while a bent knife is still a knife.

The handle is a rubberized polymer with a diamond texture and striking pommel.  It also sports a guard to keep your fingers off the blade, a handy feature in working knives.

Get a grip, bunkie!  The pommel can be attached to a lanyard. 

The knife is 9.75 inches long and weighs just over 7 ounces.  The sheath is customizable, and Gerber provides adaptors so you can wear the Strongarm on your belt, as a drop leg, on a MOLLE rig, sideways, upside down, or horizontally.  The sheath can also be lashed to other items.

The sheath is very adaptable.

I like this knife a lot.  If I was heading out to hunt Dal sheep, raft the Amazon, or shipping out to active duty overseas, I'd take at least one of these with me.  Remember, one is none and a knife-less man is a life-less man.

The knife’s balance was in the handle behind the guards, where I like it, and the grip felt good in my hand.  The Strongarm clips in very securely in the sheath.  I welcome the little extra force needed to draw this knife.  I want to know my knife isn’t going to fall out if I take a spill.  The polymeric sheath looks tough enough to prevent the blade from penetrating the sheath and injuring me, another feature I’m crazy about.

The Gerber Strongarm

Does it cut?  Well, here’s where I must assume so.  It isn't my knife, but it belongs to a retired military man who wants to set up his daypack the way he carried it back in the day. 

Don't be a foolish.  Consider Gerber's Strongarm if you need a hard-working, EDC fixed blade for harsh environments.

You can find one at https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/knives/all-knives/strongarm-coyote-brown-serrated-30-001059 for $90.00.  It's a good deal for what you get.

Boker's Pocket Knife

Mickey Yurco is an interesting fellow.  He’s been making knives for a number of years and has a number of unique concepts.  His current creation is a fixed blade knife he and Boker Knife call The Pocket Knife. 

Mickey's fixed blade "The Pocket Knife"

The first thing you notice when you open the box is the graceful saber grind drop point blade tapering to a point.  The egg-shaped handle is depressed by about 26 degrees from the center blade line.  More on that later.  The handle also sports a cutout that accommodates your index finger.  The egg-shaped handle is constructed of black G-10 and has a slight palm swell making it easy to grip the knife.  The upshot of this design is a knife that locks into your hand and the allows your wrist to be at its neutral position where you have the most strength and control of the knife.

Clearly it was a designed for a purpose. 

Let’s look at the specs, shall we?

The knife is made from 440C stainless steel.  The blade is 3.3 inches long with a 0.15 inch thickness and overall length of 6.8 inches.  The finger groove acts as a stop to keep your hand off the sharp edge.  The bend also helps to keep the knife from slipping forward or backward in your hand by converting either motion to a push into your palm or a press into your closed hand.  A large lanyard hole is available, always a good idea when working over water or deep snow.  

The knife seems to want to nessle deep into the palm of my hand

440C isn’t a super steel.  But it is the best of all the 440 steels.  It is also the steel everyone compares their newest steel to.  Frankly a well-made, well-tempered knife of 440C will give you all the performance the majority of us will ever need.

No discussion of steel is complete without a formula sheet:

440C contains:

• 0.95-1.2% carbon
• 16-18% chromium, 
• 0.75 molybdenum,
• 1.0 manganese and
• 1.0 silicon.

 This formulation provides high strength, moderate corrosion resistance and good edge retention.  Some of the chromium and carbon form tiny carbides on the grain boundary.  Iron also can form carbides, but they are not as effective as chromium carbide.  These grains are very hard and resist the shear needed to displace the steel grains.  This is what gives steel its strength.

The remaining chromium forms a transparent thin film of chrome oxide that limits rust making the steel discolor or stain less.  Still an occasion drop of food grade oil is always a good idea.

The results of this chemistry and heat treatment gives The Pocket Knife a Rockwell hardness c scale of 57-58. 

The sheath is made from strong light weight kydex

The sheath is fabricated out of kydex and sports what I think is a unique attachment device, the Ulticlip.  This clip allows you to fasten a variety of holsters and sheaths to pants without a belt.  The sheath slips into your pocket and locks on to the edge and provides a secure platform to draw the knife.  The knife sheath is designed so you can set it up for left or right pocket carry.  Mine arrived set up for left side.  I may leave it that way.

The Ulticlip is relatively new but quickly becoming a go-to solution for anchoring whatnots

The way back story.

Mickey has been seriously studying martial arts since the early 70s.  By 2000 he became interested in knife combatives as taught in Martial Blade Concepts.  Despite being in law enforcement, Mickey realized that even with CCW not everyone can carry a firearm, but most of us can carry a knife.  Mike Janich has developed an evolving concept of using a small legal knife for self-defense.  These concepts were attractive to Mickey and evolved into “The Pocket Knife.”  I’ll let Mickey tell you about it.

The wrist is in the neutral position and aligned with the long bones of the arm for maximum strength. 

“It was designed to be carried to the far right (just like my politics) of the front right pocket.  A fixed blade can be drawn and deployed faster than a folding knife.  Picture a normal stance with your thumbs in your pockets.  Your hand is now on the knife handle.  It is an inconspicuous way to quickly unsheath the knife. The small egg shaped handle fills the air pocket in the palm allowing a good grip.  The small handle also stays out of the way when not in use. This little blade is also a great shape for everyday mundane tasks from opening mail to cutting a steak at the Outback.  An email I received from Boker stated that it was a popular knife at a German Knife show.  I am pleased with their interpretation of my knife.”

I thought the knife needed to be a little lower in my pocket, so I moved the clip up one notch.  I like it lower in the pocket.  Yes, I will probably scratch the G-10 handle, but as I see it as a tool, I’m okay with that.

Sharp out of the box

I also did a little cutting with mine.  Cut a little rope, reduced cardboard to smaller pieces shaved a little wood.  I think it would make a great pork chop knife.  I’d take it for a walk off the concrete, for weekend at a cabin, or just simply heading out.

I think it’s a pretty cool knife.  Spend 5 minutes with Mickey and you’ll see how dangerous a knife can be in trained hand.  But even I know, that going up against someone with a couple inches of sharpened steel in their hand makes most people think twice.

You can get one for yourself for $60.00 at Boker.  Just follow the link: https://www.bokerusa.com/pocket-knife-02bo522

You can also find the Ulticlip to modify your current holsters, sheaths and whatnots at: https://www.ulticlip.com/?v=7516fd43adaa

Marttiini – Not a Drink

Marttiini Explorer: It said so on the blade

There is a universe of quality knives that are largely unknown to the American buying public.  One such is the Marttiini brand.  So when I saw the brown leather sheath stamped ‘Marttiini’ among the rest, I knew what to grab.  Their motto is “Created by Artic Evolution” and in that harsh unforgiving environment your knife may be the difference between surviving or dying.  Pick your tools wisely young Jedi.  Marttiini knives are still manufactured at the Arctic Circle.

https://www.marttiini.fi/Products

The sheath, especial the closing flap is a little chewed up

The Marttiini Story

Janne Marttiini was born on May 2nd, 1893 in the small village of Kierinki.  It is a harsh environment of short summers and long, cold winters on mountain ranges older than life. In 1928 Janne founded J. Marttiini’s Knife Factory Ltd. on Vartiokatu Street in Rovaniemi.  With the knife user in mind, he began to create beautiful, high quality knives to exceed the harshest conditions imaginable.

He sold his knives throughout the region and their sales created prosperity and opportunity.  As demand for his knives grew Janne hired more and more people and the number of employees grew steadily.  There was worldwide demand for high quality knives, and Marttiini exports grew driven by their quality.

Janne’s son, Toivo Marttiini, led the company in the 60s. Toivo’s younger brother, Lauri Marttiini, took the reins of leadership in 1975.  In 2001 Mrs. Päivi Ohvo, was appointed to the office of CEO.  In 2005, Marttiini’s family sold the entire capital stock of Marttiini Ltd. to Rapala VMC Corporation.  And throughout that time quality knives rolled off the production lines and most of us are unaware of it.

My Marttiini

So what knife did I have?  The blade is vibro etched by hand with INOX - Explorer Knife - Made by Marttiini – Finland.  I could find images, but not much more.  Fortunately the internet came to my rescue.

Hanna Helin at Marttiini answered my e-mail and provided the information I was searching for.  Thanks Hanna!

The Explorer was a line of knives with different blade lengths, 7, 9.5 and 11.5 centimeters.  That would be about 2.75, 3.7 and 4.3 inches long.  The handle is rosewood.  The blade is simply identified as a stainless chrome steel.  The knives were manufactured from the 1980s to their demise in 1996.  Mine is the smallest blade, 2.75 inches with a rosewood handle.

All stainless steel contains chromium.  Chromium forms a semi-flexible, transparent oxide film that prevents rusting.  Excess chromium reacts with the carbon in steel to form very hard and very tiny chromium carbides.  These carbides, despite their name are closer to ceramics in structure and give steel many of its go-to properties.

The knife and its sheath have seen some rough handling.  I didn’t want to give the knife a complete make-over.  While it is a popular descriptive phrase and it makes me laugh, both the knife and sheath have a patina of use I wanted.

The leather sheath needed a cleaning so a mild hand soap and terry cloth rag cleaned the leather and I let it air dry.  I followed it by a polishing with a brown wax polish and buffed the leather.  It still has the stains and burn marks but it looks better. 

I like the pressed designs in the leather.  The sheath has a pressed composited slipped down in the blade area to keep the edge from cutting through and biting you.

I had previously purchased a sharpening gauge to determine the sharpening angle of blades and put it to work.  

And it opens beer bottles too!!

The best match, I found, was at 20 degrees.  I found an open spot on the garage work bench and set up my Ken Onion Work Sharp Sharpener.  So what grit belt should I use?

After an initial run on a worn out medium grit belt I selected three grades, coarse, medium and fine.  Then I got out my secret sharpening weapon: a black magic marker.

You can see the Explorer on newspaper next to my secret weapon, the black magic marker 

If you don’t use one I recommend it.  Just color the edge you’re sharpening and each pass will tell you if you are accomplishing what you want.  Clean the residue off the blade with a little shop acetone or nail polish remover.

It took about six passes with the coarse before I had a wire edge on one side of the knife and six on the other to remove it and create a new one.  By following with the medium and fine I walked the edge over to the sharpness I wanted.  I stropped with several sheets of newspaper on a flat surface and it was sharp!

Yes, the polished sheath does still show the patina of wear and use.  I don't know, I find it strangely honest and what I want in any knife is honesty.

I thought about using some 1000 grit wet-dry paper to knock down the rosewood handle finish and reseal with linseed oil, but I elected to stay, at least for the time being, with the original finish on the grip.

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/MN17/marttiini-bowie-fixed-plain-blade-zytel-handles-leather-sheath

The Marttiini Bowie Condor nested deep in its sheath

Unfortunately this knife isn’t available, but others are.  I like their Bowie Condor, another totally icey Marttiini knife.  The black leather sheath has a plastic liner to reduce stab through and protect you if you fall in the field.  The knife sits deep in the sheath preventing accidental pull-out by clothing or grabby summer weeds.  The belt loop sports what I think is a button slit, but I have never been able to confirm it.  I suspect a button sewn just behind your hip, so the belt passes over it would secure your knife in the same place.  The button holds the knife in the same place and the belt secures it to you.  Then when you are searching for the knife under your arctic parka or under multiple layers of wool, fleece and water-proofed canvas you know exactly where the knife is.

I've gotten some very nice reports from users in the field for ease of handling and sharpness combined with edge retention.

In any case I really like my Marttiini and recommend it. 

Drahth Knives

Recently I came upon knives from Drahth Knives Company.  I was impressed with both the beauty of the knives and their motto: “Life is too short to carry an ugly knife.”

Mini-Bowie in  Damascus

I contacted Andy the owner and asked a few questions about his knives and his company.  It’s always interesting to me to find out how small businesses get started.  I’ve already stated my belief that small businesses are the spark plug of the American economy.  Its true Ford and ATT contribute more in total dollars, but they all started with a dream to create prosperity for a small group and their families.

All of the sheaths have the same attention to detail

Andy started grinding knives for himself at a machine shop owned by his father and grandfather when he was eleven.  Of course, those were for himself and a few friends.  But other interest took Andy out of the shop and until recently in different directions.

In 2014, chance gave Andy the option to start making knives again.  Combining his and his friends experiences about blade shapes and handle lengths, Andy started making knives.  He’s partial to blades with longer handles which make for a much more controllable knife.

The long handle gives you plenty of grip and control over the blade

The blades are typically 1095 steel shaped by stock removal.  This steel has a lot to recommend it even in view of today’s world of super steels.  The 1095 blades can be hardened to Rockwell c values of 55 to 60 and still have some of the inherently flexibility an outdoor knife needs.  As noted knifemaker Ernie Emerson said of another steel, “A bent blade is still a knife, a broken blade is junk!”

1095 steel can be resharpened with ordinary stones available in just about any hardware, big box or sportsmen store.  It throws great sparks with a Ferro rod for fire making.  All the steel needs is a little coating of oil coating to prevent rust.  Use a food safe oil just to be sure.

The elliptical blade reminds me of the classic Canadian Belt knife, but this sports a thumb rest for more control.

A variety of wood handles are available ranging from walnut to exotic wenge.  Wenge is a legume tree from the Congo and Cameroon.  (Legume wood means the tree has seed pod.  Who would have guessed it?)

Are they perfect?  Why would they be?  I’m far from perfect myself, but they are pretty damn nice.  The leather sheaths are well sewn and fit the knife well.  I like how the knife sits deep the sheath where it will stay secure from grasping vegetation as you move through the fields and forests.  The logos stamped into the leather are sharp and well-defined.  The knives are easy to grasp and have an instinctual feel to them.  The full tang construction is slightly raised of the wood grips.  You can barely feel a slightly raised edge of the steel over the wood.

We’ll just have to wait to see the evolution of his knives.

Where can you get these for yourself?  I’d go to his website; https://drahthknives.com/ or contact him at knifeknapper66@yahoo.com

First Look: Shadow Tech's Trail Blazer

 Imagine a holster company designing a holster and not having a gun to fit.  Improbable?  Maybe not.  What if the company wants to start competing in a new area but needs something to fit it. 

Stoner Holster contacted one of my favorite knife companies, Shadow Tech, with a request, “Can you build us a knife to fit this sick leather sheath we want to make?”

The answer appears to be yes!

My first look at the Trail Blazer

I saw the prototype; ST calls it the Trail Blazer.  It’s mega cool. 

The saber grind blade is 5.75 inches long and a quarter inch thick at the spine and sports aggressive cross-cut saw teeth.  The full tang handle is also 5.75 inches long and features Micarta grips providing a solid and substantial grip.

The blade is 8670 steel used in the lumber industry for large circular saws because of its toughness and edge retention abilities.  The blade has a 60 Rc hardness.  The blade isn’t stainless and the powder coating helps protect the blade.  You have to do your part with a little oil on the exposed metal. 

Those are some aggressive saw teeth! 

The leather sheath can be adapted for a tactical molle system, or different width belts.  The sheath contains a small pocket and a loop for a fire starting ferro stick.  The one I got to see had a small diode light and a permanent match.

Back of Sheith showing arrangement.  Note the diode light. 

This is a prototype so expect changes.  I understand Dot Snaps will replace the current ones to give the sheath more reliability.  John tells me the grip will change slightly with a slight swelling to help grip the knife.

I don’t know if the leather and micarta will stay these colors or if options will be available.  I also don’t know how the blade cuts or will resharpen.  Will the handle fit my hand or will hotspots develop after a couple hours of work needs to be answered later.  I would not be surprised if the dimensions change a little in length.  Again, this is a prototype.

I would have liked to seen a small sharpening stone.  8670 steel may have great edge retention, but all steel loss sharpness during use.

Still this is a very cool knife and it will be available in May.  Hey, that’s next month, so if you want one, you better preorder now or expect you’ll have to wait later on.

Go to http://www.stknives.com/ to order your own Shadow Tech Trail Blazer. While you're there take a look at some of the other knives they have. You can also call them at 614-648-1297. 

Check out the Observer

I just got a knife from China.

Too bad, you respond.

Nay, nay I say.  It’s a Real Steel fixed blade called the Observer.

I've seen that blush on steel before, but the best I can find out is it's an affect from heat treating. 

Real steel is located in Hanzhou City on the east coast of China and has been making knives as a contract manufacturer for the last 15 years.  In 2013 they launched the Real Steel Company.  China doesn’t allow the sale of folding knives with locks on the mainland, so Real Steel has focused on external sales.  This, in my opinion, has made Real Steel quality conscious. (Interesting note on the sale of lock blades in China.) 

The Observer is 8.25 inches in overall length with a 440C steel blade 3.5 inches long.  The full tang knife has a grooved G-10 handle and comes with a kydex sheath and adjustable belt clip.  The blade is 0.197 inches thick.

440C was one of the standard knife steels used by the knife industry.  You’ll still find plenty of knives with this steel.  It has the highest carbon content of the 400 series family, 0.9 to 1.2% carbon.  The elevated levels of chromium, 16 to 18% provide small, hard chromium carbides that anchor and stabilize the steel grains.  This level of chromium also provides of a thin, self-forming layer of chromium oxide that makes the steel resistant to staining.  Still, a little care is required.  Remember, it’s stain-less, not rust proof.

The machined G-10 scales are removable.

440C steels can be hardened to around 58-60 RHc.  I’m good with that.  These levels of hardness allow for a little flexibility in the steel.  After all, a bent knife can be sharpened and used.  A cracked knife is just junk.

Look, it’s a basic fixed blade knife with a nice working length.  It feels good in your hand and you can resharpen it with ordinary stones.  No complicated or advanced sharpening systems are needed, always a plus in the field.  You can remove the handle for cleaning if you want.  All for under $69. 

It feels good, seems well made and looks good.  It’s for resale so I can’t test it, but reviews I have seen make this knife seem like a good deal.  If I was still camping and hiking I would carry this knife.  Let me remind you, it’s not the country of origin that establishes quality but the workmanship of the company.

Real Steel also makes some very nice folders.  You can find better for more money, but these seem to have the best value for the price.

Twitchy EOD

Another knife gun show has rolled past.  I get a lot of compliments on the quality of the knives I sell, but the sales go to the guys with the buckets of 6-dollar knives and the knock-offs.  Still, as much as it bothers me, I’d rather be true to my vision of quality and needs, than to know somewhere a knife I sold is failing someone.

The weather was beautiful, the show was slow.  I suspected something was wrong when two guys walked up to the table shorting after opening and I greeted them with, “Feel free to pickup any of the knives”.

They stood there, frozen like deer in the headlights, not even an ear twitch.

Yeah, that's what they looked like!

I looked at my wife, she looked at me, and then we looked at the two statues.  I don’t think they were breathing.  For a split second, I wondered if this was some Candid-Camera moment and then one blinked.

The two men walked off and I never saw them again.

I did see a lot of Shadow Tech.  They came up to the show from the Columbus, Ohio area.  ST is one of my favorite local knife companies.  I’ve got to admit, I’m impressed with people who start manufacturing businesses.  I’ve said it before, small self-starting businesses are the sparkplug of American well-being.

I had a chance to see their EOD.  It’s a 10.5 inch slice of 1085 steel currently being used by the EOD teams in Afghanistan.

Shadow Tech's EOD.  Note "glass breaker'" and form fitting sheath.  This is one knife that isn't popping out by accident. 

Let’s talk, shall we?

The blade is 5 inches long with a 5 inch handle and a glass breaker/skull crusher for a total of 10.5 inches.  The steel is high carbon, a 1085 and I would suspect, hardened to 56-58 Rockwell C.  That’s a good hardness for that steel and field use. 

Camera angle makes the knife look small, or I have a giant hand.

Extending outward from the top and bottom of the handle’s spine are small regular bumps.  I didn’t think I’d like them.  I thought they would distract from the feel, but despite my preconceptions, my hand liked them.  The knife sports an integral guard with sharpened ends.  I don’t know if they have a purpose, or just part of the aggressive combat nature of the knife.  Shadow Tech builds the sheath so you’re protected from the points when carrying the knife.

I had just enough time to finger it and photograph it, but I still liked it.  The knife was a little blade heavy for my taste.  I like a little more weight in my hand as it makes the blade livelier, at least in my opinion. 

It's a stout knife.  You can pry, dig, chop and slice with it and the EOD looks like it's up to it.

It might be a little big for wearing to the store for a gallon of milk, (Yes I know Soldier of Fortune says you should be able to conceal 12 inches of fighting steel under your sport coat.  They didn’t say anything about sitting in your car.)  But I’d pack it if I was heading off the paved trail any day.

I was told it was evaluated for a month in California and is now issued to Explosive Ordinance Disposal Teams in Afghanistan.

Complete honesty: I’ve bought several Shadow Techs for myself, and I’ve sold a few on my table.  They have never given me one, but for the money I’d recommend them to anyone.  Keep your eye on them.  I keep hearing rumors of collaborations and autos in the future.