Fixed blade tactical knife

**Silens.Intro** · Posted On: 5/24/2006 11:09pm

What do you all think of:
http://www.almarknives.com/images/AL...#SERE_OPERATOR
http://www.agrussell.com/knives/prod..._operator.html

Im thinking of purchasing it.
Has anyone heard anything good from Al Mar Knives?
If anyone has any other recommendations that will match or beat this for the price and quality (in knife and sheath) then please post them.

Thanks.

**Armed&Hammered** · Posted On: 5/24/2006 11:53pm

Here in Boston Mass. all knives over 3" can be considered dangerous weapons under normal circumstances. And any knife can be considered a dangerous weapon during the comission of a crime. However, most cops use discression, some lenient some not at all.
Anyway, depending on the meaning of tactical, I'd reccomend the SOG seal for camping and survivalist applications. Cold Steel tanto's are great for everything except making a spear. I carry a Sog X-Ray vision which gives you the best of all worlds. It's a tactical folder but very hefty. The lock is so strong it might as well be a fixed blade when opened. I made some modifications... dissasembled and dremeled & polished the sticking point so it opens like butter; altered the blade angle for a razor honed edge. What can I say, I can shave with it, I can hunt with it and it's as fast as a switchblade. I'm a knife afficianado and while at first I wasn't blown away, after a few modifications, Iv'e come to love it above all others.

**Don Gwinn** · Posted On: 5/25/2006 7:29am

Al Mar is a good company making very good knives. The operator fixed blade you linked looks ergonomic, the size is practical and S30V is one of the best steels out there.
However, I've never handled one.

**Carpe Noctem** · Posted On: 5/25/2006 7:43am

I have the SERE 2000 folder. Very well made. The quality of the fixed blade should be no different. Al Mar is a known commodity in the knife industry.

I just wish they had the same selection they did in the '80s/'90s.

**Silens.Intro** · Posted On: 5/25/2006 4:19pm

Thanks guys, ill post up pics when I get it!

**vigilus** · Posted On: 5/29/2006 11:30pm

Has a spear point, hatchet blade, fillet blade, gut hook. Saw, wire cutter AND a lanyard.

**Don Gwinn** · Posted On: 5/30/2006 12:10am

Where are the gut hook, fillet blade, and wire cutter hiding on that monstrosity?

Also, have you tried the saw blade? Does it work? There are a lot of non-functioning "sawback" knives out there, but if it has offset teeth it should work.

I've never liked the aesthetics of TOPS, but I guess this time they blame Tom Brown. Supposed to be very tough knives, though. That one looks like a heck of a chopper, but I don't really understand his purpose with making two separate cutting edges--the bevels don't look radically different, so why would you need to offset the last couple of inches of cutting area? Just so it can be used as a draw knife? But people have been using large knives without false edges on the spine (and often with them) as drawknives for hundreds or maybe thousands of years.

Anyway, cool knife. Don't let my rambling come off as disliking the blade; it interests me.

**vigilus** · Posted On: 5/30/2006 12:27am

the bevels don't look radically different

Your bang on with this. (And again you sound much more in the know with knives than me).

The differences between the 'fillet blade' and hatchet blade don't seem much. When this knife was gifted to me I thought wow, looks cool but I'd look like a retard using it at work, it's going to collect dust. I'm pretty impressed with it though. Anytime I'm camping, hiking or in the woods (work and fun) I bring it. You can deffinatly feel the weight but it's very solid. The hatched blade works very well. Fillet blade is just a blade. The saw works well enough compared to other knives i'd tinkered around with but I wish it extended more, I find it's too short. The teeth are offset. Never tried the wire cutter at the end of the blade (which is basically just a deeper set saw groove, inset wire and twist knife). Good size handle for those of us with larger hands.

Over all I think it makes a good heavy knife. I have a feeling someone crazy into the whole survivalist i'm going into the woods with just a knife setting would appriciate all the little things on the knife much more than most people. I'd say I like the weight about it most. I'd fight a sasquatch with it.

Just a few more knives I've picked up you may like or hate :)

**Carpe Noctem** · Posted On: 5/30/2006 7:23am

The TOPS Tracker knife is ass compared to the Dave Beck custom version. The Beck is O1 steel and SHARP as hell. The sawback on the Beck works great for what it's intended for (making square notches in branches for trap-making), it's like a big-ass Swiss Army knife saw. The Beck is damn near a work of art, while the TOPS is damn near a club with an edge.

YMMV, of course. The TOPS is a hell of a lot cheaper.

**vigilus** · Posted On: 5/30/2006 8:39am

I haven't had too much difficulty keeping my tracker sharp enough for what I use it for. Do you have any links to Dave Beck's version or pictures? I did a quick google search and just got a bunch of **** about some dutch painter. The tops tracker being a hell of a lot cheaper is scarry. I almost **** my pants when I saw my wife paid $350 or something for mine.