You'll notice in the below picture that there is a screw missing from the one knife. The thumb studs on the blade started to loosen up as well but I noticed them before I lost them. So, I'd suggest checking the screws/thumb stud regularly and apply loctite to be sure they don't come loose.
****UPDATE (07/29/14): I spoke with the company regarding this issue and they did not have any replacement screws on hand so were able to send me a replacement knife. They indicated that they plan on having loctite placed on the screws during production to help solve this problem.
Here is a picture of me trying to cut some paracord with the seatbelt cutter. Not happening no matter how I tried.
A couple of years ago I was reading in a magazine about a custom knife maker named "Mike". His company is Grayman Knives. The magazine described a knife maker who made knives for hard military, law enforcement and civilian use. I contacted Mike and discussed with him a knife to use for a review. Mike responded and we decided to get a Suenami made for the review.
A little background about Grayman knives before we get into the review... Mike is experienced in combat and has worked around the world with combat personnel both foreign and US military, contractors, and indigenous personnel . When Mike first started making knives he never felt they'd be good enough to sell. Eventually his designs were sold to and marketed by Mercworx. Not completely satisfied with the knives being made by Mercworx, Mike created Grayman knives.
Grayman knives are not pretty knives. They aren't for display and aren't going to win any beauty contests. Grayman knives are tools meant to be used. They're meant not only for cutting, but for digging, chopping, prying, or any other tough task thrown at them. They are functional handmade pieces. No two Grayman knives are exactly the same. Some don't like Grayman knives because they "look" handmade and you can even see some slight flaws where the grinder slipped, two pieces of handle that aren't exact on each side, etc, etc. Those that use Grayman knives as tools however have nothing but good things to say about them.
When I first got the Suenami I was very impressed. On the spine you could see some imperfections from when the knife blank was cut out. I actually like this. It gives the knife that handmade look and you know this is a tool that was made by a person that put effort into it, not some automated machine.
The Suenami was chosen for the review because it was a knife that I felt I could best review due to it being a mid-sized knife.
First I'll talk about the sheath, then get into the knife itself. The knife comes with a nylon handmade sheath. The sheath has a MOLLE strap on the back for use on PALS as well as on the belt. There are also 2 rows of PALS webbing on the front of the sheath to attach additional pouches. The Kydex insert keeps the knife from cutting into the nylon. There are lanyard holes at the top and bottom. The bottom ones double as drain holes as well, which came in handy this past fall when I took a spill in some pretty mucky water. I expected the cutting edge of the blade to rust a little too, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. The only thing I'd change on the sheath would be 2 straps on the back. INitially I also thought having the kydex fit to the blade shape as opposed to a generic rectangular shape would be a good improvement at well (for better fit), but then I got thinking that if this was done the blade could only be inserted into the sheath in one direction. the way it is now it doesn't matter which way the blade is inserted.
The Suenami (and all other Grayman knives/tools) is made of 1/4 inch thick 1095 high carbon steel. This steel is chosen for it's strength. With this steel you will want to keep the exposed cutting edge oiled, or at least oil it when moisture is expected. The thickness of the blade really works well in combination with this steel as it makes this knife an extremely tough tool for more than just cutting tasks.
The edge on the knife is the only part exposed, the rest is coated in a black TAC coating that prevents rusting and gives the blade a more tactical look. The edge is double bevel ground and works great. When I got the knife the tip of the blade wasn't as sharp as the rest of the blade and almost seemed dull. At first I was find of disappointed that this area had been overlooked, but when I got thinking of what this blade was meant for I get thinking differently. this blade isn't made for precise cuts using the tip...it's more of a tool, and by leaving the tip with less of a grind on it it makes the tip less prone to chipping and breaking. I'm not sure I'd call the entire blade "razor" sharp, but it's pretty darn close.
For a handle there are different options; a smooth Micarta handle, a checkered G10 handle or a alligator skinned texture like the one here. This, again, was hand made and feels awesome in the hand, a perfect fit and a good grip. You'll notice that the new Suenami knives have a lanyard hole for retention.
With the blade of the Suenami 4 being 4 1/2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick it's been perfect for digging, bayoneting smaller pieces of wood and general cutting tasks. It's even small enough for some closer work with the tip, but again, the tip is left slightly thicker (therefor not as sharp) for strength, so for real fine tasks you may leave them for a pocket knife. I've used this knife while camping, hiking and as a backup weapon on my military gear. No, this may not be a perfect fighting knife, due to it's shorter length...but I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one. As a general purpose knife for military or camping/survival....I think it's great. It's strong, durable and since it's not a display piece...you don't mind being rough with it.
In addition, personalized engraving is available and you can always email Mike to request customized features.
When ordering, keep in mind that Grayman knives ships to our military and law enforcement first. They have priority over "civilian" orders, as they should. The men and women who defend our nation, and each other deserve priority! So keep this in mind when ordering.
Grayman knives will also resharpen the knife for you for free...just send it to him, he'll resharpen it for you and send it back.
The warranty - Break it, he'll fix or replace it, don't like it when you get it, send it back for refund...the warranty is on the knife and no matter who it may get passed on to, they can always ship it back to get sharpened or fixed. Pretty good warranty in my opinion!!
Grayman knives have been used all over the world and they're definitely a knife that I like. Again, nothing fancy, but something that is built like a tank!!
The SEAL Pup Elite, created by SOG knives, is an absolutely excellent knife. I've used this knife for a little over a year and it hasn't let me down at all. In fact I haven't sharpened it yet and it's still cutting like it was new. I've used this knife during training and while camping and hiking. While camping I've split tons of logs with this knife...making tinder from logs was super easy. The features on this knife are very thought out and useful, whether using it for camping, hiking, utility use or for military use as it was intended.
For features I'll start out with the knife itself.
Knife
- Blade length of 4.85 inches. Excellent for utility purposes and just as good for fighting. Some argue on the length of the blade for fighting, but I think this blade is fine.
- Overall length of 9.5 inches. This seems to be a great length. Good for it's intended purpose, but not too long to be bulky.
- Weight 5.4 oz.
- Partially serrated blade. I love the partial serrations for use in cutting rope and cord. This saves on the blades edge.
- AUS8 Steel blade. AUS8 is a medium-carbon, high chromium stainless steel, which offers a good balance of toughness, edge sharpness and corrosion resistance. I've had this knife in the water and wet environments a lot and it's still had no rust buildup, keeping in line with it's SEAL name!!
- Black TiNi tiger striping.
- Blade spine rasp for notching, filing, and thumb placement. This is a great feature for striking a flint as well!!
- Injection molded, glass reinforced Zytel handle feels great in the hand. The perfect size with deep finger grooves. The handle is scored for a sure grip in all conditions. Lanyard hole.
- MOLLE attachment system. This system can also be used to attach it to the belt. The loops for the MOLLE system are a little tight on this sheath. The snap tends to get caught up on the loops especially when removing the sheath. If you remove the knife from the sheath when attaching and removing the sheath it helps a little with this.
- Kydex inner to protect the sheath from the blade.
- Strap holding the knife in the sheath has a snap and also velcro to help in case the snap doesn't catch.
- Cord holes in bottom of sheath for tying around the leg or as additional mounting option.
- Front pocket is great for a multi tool, firesteel, extra magazine, etc, etc.
I love this sheath because it offers great versatility. It allows you several mounting options and also the ability to hold extra tools in the front pouch.
Kydex Sheath (additional option)
- This sheath has a cool attachment system. It attaches to the belt with a sliding belt loop. To open the belt loop you squeeze 2 tabs at the bottom and half of the loops slides up. To put it on your belt just slide the sliding portion under your belt until it clicks. The only thing I don't like is that it digs into your side when worn under an untucked shirt.
- The sheath has a notch cut out of the blade portion for cutting cord without taking the knife out of the sheath. This is so when using it in a maritime environment on a boat such as a RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) the knife won't puncture the RHIB if cutting cord. It also makes it safer to cut cord and webbing.not bad....my birthday today so I guess I'm good.
- Drain hole in the bottom.
- One other thing you'll see in the video is that if you don't put the knife in in the right manner the shape of the blade can cause it to get caught up on the Kydex. Not a huge issue, but something to be aware of. Watch the video to see what I'm talking about.
Overall this is an excellent knife. As I said before.. I've used this knife for over a year and I've not babied it....and it's still in excellent condition. I had never used SOG brand knives in the past and had no clue of the high quality of their knives. I can see this as an excellent hard use knife, for military or otherwise. The only thing I would change would be to make the back of the belt loop portion of the kydex sheath a little less abrasive on the skin. Otherwise, everything on this knife is perfect!
I've been using this Smith & Wesson knife now for a couple years for a duty knife. It doesn't get a ton of use, but it's on my gear every day and gets exposed to the elements and banged around quite a bit. I've used Smith & Wesson knives quite a bit and they're great value. For the price they are very good quality!!
This knife is one of S&Ws automatic folders that utilizes a button on the side of the knife to spring the blade open. The blade opens fairly smoothly. On occasion it'll stick a little, but for the most part it opens smoothly. This is a very convenient and fast way of opening a knife. The knife features a lock to prevent accidental opening of the blade, but it seems to be the one weak point with this knife. The lock is made of a plastic that has held up for me so far, but I've heard of it breaking off. To lock the blade you slide the lock toward the blade. This puts the lock under the release button, blocking it from being able to release the blade. One problem with this lock is that it's very loose. It easily slips back and forth so when you lock it it easily unlocks by itself. After about a year of using this knife I figured out that if you lock the lock, then push the release button it puts a little bit of pressure on the lock and holds it in place a little better.
With the blade being made of 440C steel it is easy to sharpen in the field. It will dull quicker than other blades, but it's very easily resharpened and easy to work with.
This knife is lightweight with it's aircraft aluminum handle. The handle has grooves in it to help give it grip and is comfortable in the hand. For sizing, this isn't the largest version of this knife. I believe this one is the small version.
The pocket clip is removable but can only be placed in the one position.
This knife is pretty durable, but when carried in the pocket in hot and humid environments you will get some surface rust. Keeping an eye on this and cleaning it off will keep it looking pretty good.
This knife comes in at least 2 different sizes, black or gray, plain or serrated blade, tanto or regular clip blade.
I was lucky enough the past few months to try out a couple of CRKT’s (Columbia River Knife & Tool) awesome folders (folding knife). One of the folders that I’ve been using is the M21-14 version. It is a full sized folder which has properties and features that make it not only a good utility knife but also a good fighting knife. I’ll get to those features in a bit.
I’ll talk about one of the more important parts of the knife first. The blade. The blade of this knife has a recurved blade with a spear-point shape and a deep belly, which promotes good cutting ability. It has a Triple-Point™ Serrated area back toward the handle. The blade features a non-reflective frosted finish and is made of AUS-8 stainless steel. The AUS-8 steel has excellent edge holding capabilities and is stronger than some other steels used in folding blades. There is a slight trade off in sharpening ability. With the AUS-8 steel field sharpening takes a little more effort due to the hardness of the steel. However, if you sharpen your blade before you go into the field, the AUS-8 steel should hold enough of an edge to get you by until you can spend more time on sharpening the blade.
One feature that makes this knife a good fighting knife as well as a safer utility knife is it’s unique locking mechanism. This knife along with many other CRKT folders uses the auto LAWKS locking mechanisms, which automatically engage upon opening the knife. This system is named after Knifemaker’s Guild members Ron Lake and Michael Walker (Lake And Walker Knife Safety - LAWKS). It uses a liner lock, which on it’s own is a reliable and strong lock that is easy to manipulate with one hand. The only problem with this locking mechanism is that it has the potential to be released when over gripping or twisting the knife in the hand. A second locking mechanism is added that prevents the liner lock from being unlocked without first disengaging the second lock. This dual locking system makes this knife a virtual fixed blade knife when opened. With just a little practice this locking system is extremely easy to unlock with one hand, just as easy as the liner only knives, but adds more safety to the knife. It’s so easy to unlock the knife one handed that I don’t have to think about it anymore…it comes as second nature once you get used to doing it. Just disengage the locking lever on the back of the knife and while that’s disengaged the liner lock can be disengaged. This locking system is really nice and gives you a good sense of safety.
Opening this knife is very quick and easy as well. There are two ways to open this knife one handed. The first is the ambidextrous thumb studs that utilize the thumb to “flick” the blade open. Being that this is a larger knife and my hands are not I like to use the Carson flipper to open the knife. The Carson flipper is an addition to the blade that sticks out the back of the handle when the knife is closed. By simply flicking this “knob” the knife blade pivots open. I’ve found this just as quick as my auto knives, yet more reliable and safe. This knife uses Teflon bearings to make for smooth opening.
The contoured handles are made of 6061 T6 aluminum and are hard anodized charcoal gray. The handle has holes in it (skeletonized) to reduce weight. This knife is very comfortable in the hand and has a pommel which can be used as a striking area for self defense or as a window break as well. I’m not sure if it was designed this way, but it would work well for this. On the handle is a sturdy, removable, Teflon coated pocket clip which is fastened on with Torx screws. A couple other safety features are the Carson flipper, when open, helps as a blade guard. The spine of the blade and the bottom of the liner lock both have grooves to help prevent the hand from slipping toward the blade.
I’ve been using this knife for daily tasks both on and off duty and it’s been an excellent knife. At one point it got accidentally dropped from about chest height to the floor. It landed right on the tip on the cement floor. I winced when I saw this but was impressed when I picked the knife up and there was absolutely no damage. The knife has held a good edge and I was able to give it an even better edge with a decent knife sharpening kit and just a little bit of effort. You can definitely tell when you sharpen it that the blade material is much harder than something like a 440 SS blade.
The only problem I had with this knife was actually a very small problem and not any fault of the manufacturer really. I got a small amount of rust on the blade a couple times during the summer when it was very hot and humid. The knife was being carried in my pocket and the humidity along with sweat caused a small amount of surface rust. It was very little and in fact I was able to rub it off with my finger nail. I’ve been using Otis dry lubricant, which is also a rust inhibitor, on the knife and haven’t had any further problems.
I’ve been very impressed with this knife. It’s a larger knife which, along with the LAWKS system, makes it a good fighting knife. Yet, it’s small enough for daily carry as a utility knife. It makes a great knife for military, law enforcement, and outdoorsmen as well. One thing to note, however, is blade length. Some laws limit the length of blade that can be carried as a common pocket knife. If this is a problem, then there is a smaller version of this knife available as well.
I received this Hissatsu knife from Colombia River Knife & Tool company recently and right away I liked it. I am biased as I have always been interested in the samurai and ninja of ancient Japan and was a martial artist for a little over 5 years. This blade was designed by James Williams, former Army Officer and practicing martial artist (45 years experience) for one purpose...for fighting. It could be used for utility purposes, but it's not intended for this purpose and I really suggest a different knife if this is your intent. The knife was designed after the Japanese tanto blade.
The blade of the knife itself is made of 440A stainless steel with a highly polished finish. The edge is extremely sharp and the blade comes to a nice point that provides excellent penetration. I have taken this knife with me while hiking in a very wet gully area, and the knife itself got wet but resulted in no rusting.
The handle is high-impact polypropylene core, butt and hilt, and a non-slip Kraton handle surface. One unique feature this knife has that shows the attention to detail in the authenticity of this knife is what is called the Oyatsubo, ot the emperor node. This is used so that, by feel, you can tell which way the cutting edge of the blade is facing. For instance when I use the knife in my right hand I know that if I feel the Oyatsubo on my finger tips I know that the blade is facing out away from my knuckles (saber grip). The handle makes the knife very controllable and easy to grip.
The Zytel sheath holds the knife in using friction. If you really put a good shaking on the sheathed knife while upside down it will eventually fall out. However, under normal, and even active use it will not fall out easily when worn upside down. The sheath can be attached in countless ways, either belt worn horizontally or vertically, or strapped to gear using the slits on the side of the sheath for straps or with 550 cord through the eyelets on the sheath. One thing to note when attaching the Zytel belt loop to the sheath...snug the screws down, but do not over tighten them or you'll crack the sheath around the screw hole. I cracked it a little bit by doing this because I wanted to be sure the screws didn't come loose. Use loctite instead of over tightening.
The feel of this knife in your hand is nice. It's very light and ergonomic. Drawing it from it's sheath is smooth and flawless. If you want a knife that is to be used as a backup for your primary weapon I really recommend this knife.
Available Colors: Black handle/high satin finish, black handle/Black EDP finish, Desert tan handle/Desert Tan titanium nitride blade finish
MSRP: $109.99
** Since I will hopefully not have to use this for it's intended purpose of inflicting harm to others, if anyone has any suggestions on ways of testing this knife's fighting abilities please email me! **
If you're a gear manufacturer or retailer and would like me to do a review of your gear feel free to email me and we can set something up. I will give and honest review and not only include it on the site but also email results and suggestions back.
