Air Force Survival Knife - Opinions?

[ibear]

Like I said... Knowing my luck, i'd be flossing my teeth with the blade via the forhead!

That is one way to clean your teeth. However, I don't recommend that method.
Smile,
iBear

 

[elvenbladesmith07]

im telling ya a custom maker could fallow the same blue prints for it and make a great wilderness knife, but the government gives the contract to the cheapest manufacturer, including your gun and your gear! unless your a specialized soldier, like snipers or green berets, you get ****** stuff. yes you knife is probably 1095 which can be a little difficult for the mexicans ,who got the contract, to HT!
your right though there are much better knives out there, but its a cheap classic that everyone has owned at one time and loved.

 

[x39]

Like I said earlier,, this one is the biggest POS I've ever had or seen...I'm not sure what it's intended purpose is, as it's not fit to spread icing on a girl scout's easy bake oven cake...

Hey my friend, if it works some people, why fight it?

 

[pict]

The Air Force Survival Knife really only starts to make sense once you wrap yourself in twisted aluminum. It is designed to aid in the extraction of self or another crew member from a downed aircraft. Once that is accomplished it goes on to be a passable wilderness knife until said crew is extracted.

If you doubt the saw-backs ability to cut sheet metal then... cut some sheet metal with it. It actually does work.

There are much better wilderness knives out there, even "for the money". The AFSK can be modified to make it a better wilderness cutter. I doubt many wilderness knives could be modified to make them better wreckage cutters. The AFSK is a special purpose aircraft crash survival knife not a general purpose lost in the wilderness knife. Mac

 

[longbow50]

It's a passable working blade that I have absolutely no qualms about using to the point of abuse. Not to mention that it makes me use my head a little more and works my body a little harder. I like it! :footinmou

 

[James Green Dragon]

According to Harry Constance, former SEAL Team 2 member from the Vietnam conflict, his unit switched to the AFSK from the Kabar due to the shorter length (they had some 'overpenetration' problems...).

So, while not a purpose built fighter, it would do in a pinch in that role as well - or at least it did for Mr. Constance...

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Plus, you can hammer tent pegs without worry. Try that with a Randall...

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/Randall/randall_5_hole.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/Randall/randall_1_hole.jpg

Hammering a few pegs would not be a concern. You don't buy higher quality knives to get a smaller scope of work, it increases not decreases. That is a #1 in O1 and a #5 in 440B for those curious.

Light edge impaction, no chipping on of the better results seen, knives sharpened up fine, 1-2 minutes with SiC to reset edges, hone with waterstones, shaving sharp in less than five minutes each.

-Cliff

 

[elvenbladesmith07]

those saw teeth really go through the lexan windshields best, i believe the point was designed to be able to easily pierce lexan and aluminum easily, while still having a strong point.

 

[pict]

The AFSK is built like a tank. In the wilderness you don't really need a tank, thinner, lighter, better cutters do the job easier.

Prying twisted metal, cutting aircraft skin, or smashing a canopy would destroy a lighter, better cutter blade and not get the pilot out. Therefore the AIR FORCE survival knife is built like it is. Mac

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Prying twisted metal, cutting aircraft skin, or smashing a canopy would destroy a lighter, better cutter blade and not get the pilot out.

Which knives have you broken doing that?

those saw teeth really go through the lexan windshields best

How thick is the lexan and how long does it take to make a cut big enough for you to crawl through?

-Cliff

 

[pict]

Cliff,

I haven't. My point being that the AFSK is a chubby little brute of a knife for a reason. I wouldn't want to attempt egress with my SWAK and if the Air Force issued me one I'd look for something stronger. The features of the AFSK that lend it to cutting and prying wreckage reduce its effectiveness as a wilderness knife. Most wilderness survival devotees that use the AFSK don't arrive there in a mangled aircraft. The AFSK is still workable as a wilderness knife, especially if the blade is reprofiled to be a better cutter.

I'm sure you've broken a few blades so please elaborate. Based on your experience, given that the first mission of the knife is to cut a crashed aircraft what knife would you issue to pilots? Mac

 

[Cliff Stamp]

That is a really short blade, it doesn't need to be sabre ground for the necessary strength to hold up to even vigerous prying. Cutting sheet metals also can be done with really thin blades.

Metal cutting is all edge geometry, just leave it 0.025"+, 20+ degrees per side and you won't have any problems. The tip on that one is rather thin actually and would be broken rather easily due to the sweeping clip.

The reason that one is ground as it is isn't because that makes it more optimal, it is just much cheaper to make. You could easily make it cut much better and still have the necessary durability.

Plus it just looks cooler for a lot of people that way. Glesser remarked awhile ago that they have found that a lot of their customers just like the look of the sabre hollow ground models vs the flat ground ones.

Finally when you really overbuild a knife you leave yourself a lot of room to get sloppy on the heat treat and not have the knife fail.

As for lexan, for anyone who hasn't used it or experienced it, it is like plexiglass on steroids. I have seen lexan windows beat out of their frames with a sledge and the window won't crack.

Good luck trying to cut it with a knife and I would really like to see you somehow get the knife into it to start the saw cut. If you do saw it, you tend to friction burn and melt it through all the heat.

You would likely kick/beat out a window before you would cut a hole out.

-Cliff

 

[x39]

As for lexan, for anyone who hasn't used it or experienced it, it is like plexiglass on steroids. I have seen lexan windows beat out of their frames with a sledge and the window won't crack.

Good luck trying to cut it with a knife and I would really like to see you somehow get the knife into it to start the saw cut. If you do saw it, you tend to friction burn and melt it through all the heat.
/QUOTE]
Lexan is very impact resistant. I have worked with it quite a bit, my experience has been that it cuts (saws, drills, machines) very nicely. Having never sawn Lexan with a AFSK, I can't speak to it's effectiveness in this capacity, but assuming the saw tooth geometry is correct, it should be fairly easy. Piercing Lexan with the point of the knife would be a near impossibility however.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

...it cuts (saws, drills, machines) very nicely.

With power tools yeah, you can rip a skillsaw through it readily, but hand sawing is different. It is also gummy, if your tooth pattern is a little fine it just smears into the teeth. Most knife saws are really inefficient in general and can be outperformed many times over by even a SAK saw.

-Cliff

 

[pict]

I don't know, but was lexan even around when the AFSK was designed? From the sound of it any impact that would shatter the lexan windshield would most likely result in a fairly mangled pilot as well. If that's not the case then maybe sawing at the stuff holding the lexan in place would be a better bet. Mac

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I don't know, but was lexan even around when the AFSK was designed?

Lexan was discovered/invented in 1953. Many knives are designed/promoted for things and are never actually used to check and see if they can do it.

-Cliff

 

[will62]

The AFSK is a basic knife issued to be used when your aircraft decides to drop from the sky for whatever reason. There are better knives out there but the knife you have when the brown stuff hits the fan is better than the knife you left behind.

I have heard of the handle being improved by shaping with a file and dipping in melted parrafin, this also will work for the sheath. I have no idea how it will hold up in high temps in a desert enviroment.

 

[skammer]

I will weigh in again.

The AirForce survival knife is not designed to cut your way out of anything, even a downed stealth fighter.

I know its romantic and you want to belive but alas it is not so.

It is meant to be a stout cheaply made by mass production small as to not impeed the pilot sitting down issue survival knife. Nothing more.

If it were an escape tool it would be maditory issue/carry for pilots and it is NOT they can replace it with whatever blade they want.

My cousin flys A-10 Warthogs so this is first hand info. He straps a Busse blade on his G suit.

Skam

 

[will62]

Has anyone used an AFSK to cut Lexan and how much work was it? I have tried cutting Plexiglass with one and nearly cut myself in the process when I tried to stab a hole in it. I was under the impression that Lexan was a stronger version of Plexiglass or are they the same product from different manufacturers?

Also if you need to cut through Lexan or Plexiglass what is the best tool to use short of power saws? Odds are you won't have a power saw with you in a survival situation.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I was under the impression that Lexan was a stronger version of Plexiglass or are they the same product from different manufacturers?

Lexan is much tougher than Plexiglass.

Also if you need to cut through Lexan or Plexiglass what is the best tool to use short of power saws?

You can cut through either with a decent saw like on a SAK, it will just take you awhile. Good luck trying to cut / chop either with a knife.

-Cliff