Working class knives.

[Magus]

SO ...I met this guy on Youtube, he tests everything he sells and seems like a good guy, if you need a work knife or just collect exotic stuff, give him a shot.

https://www.karatemart.com/

 

[Wingnut]

My Gerber Gator 'Serrator' was a "working class knife"---that thing would cut metal straps off pallets of freight, lol. I'd keep the blade super-sharp too, as I don't like dull knives, lol. One time a dockhand asked to borrow my knife, and when he cut some pallet strap with it, he said, "Whoa, you keep this sharp!" When I need a knife, I don't want some dull piece o' junk that ain't gonna cut melted butter, lol... I'm the same way with my hatchets & axes, I like 'em sharp so they cut for real. I use a whetstone for sharpening knives, but a sanding disc on a grinder works just fine for sharpening hatchets and axes. Don't forget to oil the sharpened blades afterward! I still have my latest Gerber Gator Serrator, for its size that knife is bulletproof in the field... and the serrated edge will cut a whole lotta tough materials, lol.

Talking about this knife reminds me of a time when a good friend and I were having fun on the 3-D archery range we built in my brother's back yard in Taos, Missouri. Beautiful yard, the home was situated on a ridge and the yard sloped down behind... there were three trees over the grass lawn, an oak, a cedar & a hickory tree. The wood line was another 10 yards beyond, and the property was magnificent. We fired our bows (and firearms) from the second-story deck behind the home: the 3-D range was laid out below this deck. Well, we went to retrieve our arrows from the targets, and for some reason I pulled my Gator and stabbed the foam buck in the head, right? Moved on to the next target, leaving my knife... we graduated to shotguns after drinking, and I wound up blasting the handle of my own Gator, lol.

Luckily, it was only some birdshot, not 00 Buck, so the handle wasn't torn up too badly... the knife worked just fine for many years after that incident, lol. When the incident occurred as I emptied the 12-gauge pump shotgun's magazine and blasted all three targets (fox, coyote & deer), my friend said, "Dude, your knife is still in the buck's head!" We went down there to inspect the damage, but it was insignificant... just a few pellet holes in the rubber grip. I told my friend that the shot holes added character, lol. Good thing we weren't firing the Marlin lever-action .44 rifle, lol, THAT would've done some REAL damage! We did that too, on occasion... graduated from an archery competition to a shooting contest, with my brother and my friend helping to shoot the tips off the buck antlers, LOL. That poor target lived a hard life!!!

 

[Magus]

I had a Gerber gator that just would not sharpen, one of the first ones. I ended up with another one in a grab bag deal and it was a straight razor.

 

[Wingnut]

Mine were all made in the U.S., dunno if that's still the case... I was so impressed by the performance of my Serrator as a utility knife, I bought one for my nephew when he came of age. Taught him to flick the blade out in a hurry, lol... the locking mechanism for the blade was solid. I'm sure he still has that knife, I taught him to always bring it to the field if he went hiking or camping. A good utility knife is a valuable tool in the wilderness. I had K-Bars and "Rambo Knives" too, but that Gerber was probably more useful than any of 'em. Now, a good sharp hatchet or ax is another proposition, since it can tackle tougher jobs that would take the Serrator a week, lol...

 

[Magus]

I just added a minty 50's era true temper to my collection, all steel, no pipe!