Obviously I'm not a frequent poster here. Or even a frequent lurker. I don't know if I've ever posted here at all, maybe I just made an account once to use the search function, I don't remember.
I ordered a GSO 5.1 six years ago. SIX (6)!!!
I just received it yesterday. Opened the box today. It is, for me, probably the finest, highest quality object I have ever held in my hand. Every angle perfect, every seam flush. Even the little teeny angles at the very tippy tip are perfectly symmetrical. It shaves hair off my arm. Upgraded to Magnacut steel without charge, which from what I've read it maybe the best overall knife steel in history. I'm pretty sure I could run it through the middle of my refrigerator door very, very easily. Maybe a Rolex watch is finer, I don't know, I've never touched one. I don't care about such things. But this knife does feel amazing. I had to put it away before I did something stupid and hurt myself... or my refrigerator.
I ordered it, long, long ago, because I thought the picture of it looked really cool at the time and I had never had a "higher end" knife. In the meantime I still haven't become a knife guy, I mostly carry a keychain SAK classic, and occasionally a SAK compact or a 30 year old leatherman, which pretty much covers all of my carry tool needs. In the kitchen I have a 25 year old carbon Old Hickory/OKC 9" (?) I bought at WalMart 25 years ago for $5.00, I haven't found anything that I like any better, especially because I grew up with the same knife in the family kitchen.
After a year or two or so from ordering, I started to wonder if the GSO 5.1 would ever show up, and browsed through here a bit. I began to see the hate here for Survive! I understand where that hate was coming from.
But here's the thing: 90% of the time, over the course of my life, especially lately, as everyone seems to be more and more corrupt... anyway, 90% of the time, in situations like this, it seems like whatever company gets behind in its promises, it just folds up, keeps the money, and that's it. Over. People who paid get screwed. I really thought that's what would happen here too. Multiple times I considered calling them up and demanding a refund. I think a lot of people did that and I think they got their money back? Every time I was about to do the same thing, I thought "Oh what the heck, I'm not needing the money, maybe someday the knife will actually show up." And yesterday it did.
SURVIVE! DIDN'T DO WHAT I FULLY EXPECTED THEM TO DO IN THIS CORRUPT WORLD. They actually followed through. They didn't walk away and keep the money like everyone else. Damn.
That guy, whoever he is in the videos, I don't know his name. He actually followed through. He made it happen. He built out a shop, figured out how to do more or less everything himself, and kept his HONOR, didn't steal my money like so many others would have, and sent me this astonishing knife. It's completely perfect. Even the sheath is perfect, not one single flaw.
So I guess you can all just keep hating that company, and that guy, but he did follow through, and he didn't steal any money from anyone. Someone with honor is rare, so rare in this corrupt world now. I think he did a good thing. He's a good man. I'd have a beer with him and tell him that.
Also, I have no idea what to do with this knife. It's far too nice for me to ever use. I'll just keep using what I always have, for decades. They're fine. Maybe I'll put it in a glass box on the wall with a "break only in case of nuclear war!" sign on it.
