Al Mar Al Mar Mini Sere

Uncle Timbo

Uncle Timbo

Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
5,295
Hey guys. I recently saw an Al Mar Mini Sere on the big river site for $52.
Under steel type it said carbon steel.
Now I had one back in the day and I regret getting rid of it. Mine was VG10 and it cost more than $52 bucks.
Does anybody know anything about this particular knife or Al Mar in general?
Thanks!
 
Amazon is notoriously unreliable when it comes to information on knives. They are also a source of counterfeits and cheap Pakistani junk sold as "handmade customs".

I would view any knife descriptions on that site with heavy skepticism. Buyer beware, and consider alternative, more reliable online vendors.
 
Also, the "Al Mar Knives" of today has no connection whatsoever to Al Mar or the Mar family, or the original Al Mar Knives. Al Mar died and the name was bought by someone else.
 
As K killgar said, Al Mar has changed drastically in the passed few years. I was heavy into knives until about 8 years ago when I took a long break and then came back last year. I was very saddened to see what happened to Al Mar knives. They used to be very well made Japanese knives with a rich history. Now days they are just another chinese company. This is an original SERE 2000. You can tell the difference by looking for the flipper. Chinese SERE's have a flipper, originals do not. I've never handled a new age SERE, so I can't tell you what the quality looks like. To me, the brand died when they sold the company unfortunately. However the originals are awesome knives. The handles are built like a damn brick with that huge stainless backspacer, the edges of the handles were all hand sanded and chamfered and the VG10 blade is pretty awesome. I definitely reccomend it if you can find one. I might be able to find you a brand new one from a dealer, there were a few left back a few months ago, might still be. PM me if you want me to check. However the originals sold for about $225 I think, so quite a bit more.
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There are SERE 2000s available. knif werks has some as well as some new old stock on the bay. I got mine there but you have to be cautious of course. In hindsight, I would have gone trough KW if I had known they had some.
 
I'll take any excuse to post some pics 😁 .

My Al Mar, Moki/Japan, VG10 SERE 2000 (modified). Bought it around 2004.

I removed the top "hump" at the hilt. I wanted it more streamlined for carrying tip-up in a snug belt sheath. Replaced the double-sided thumb stud with a single sided. And enlarged the lock-release/thumb stud notch a little to make it easier to access the smaller thumb stud. I carried it a few times, but despite being a quality knife I just didn't take to it. I'm kinda embarrassed to say it, but I did so little cutting with it that it still has it's shaving sharp factory edge. I bought it back when I bought knives just to have a new knife.

But I'm happy to say the SERE Operator saw a lot more carry and use. I've sharpened it several times. :)

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killgar said:
I'll take any excuse to post some pics 😁 .

My Al Mar, Moki/Japan, VG10 SERE 2000 (modified). Bought it around 2004.

I removed the top "hump" at the hilt. I wanted it more streamlined for carrying tip-up in a snug belt sheath. Replaced the double-sided thumb stud with a single sided. And enlarged the lock-release/thumb stud notch a little to make it easier to access the smaller thumb stud. I carried it a few times, but despite being a quality knife I just didn't take to it. I'm kinda embarrassed to say it, but I did so little cutting with it that it still has it's shaving sharp factory edge. I bought it back when I bought knives just to have a new knife.

But I'm happy to say the SERE Operator saw a lot more carry and use. I've sharpened it several times. :)

bk3XLoo.jpg

t6vGwDz.jpg

VxTVFv8.jpg
Click to expand...




That looks great.
 
jeepin said:
That looks great.
Click to expand...
Thanks. :)

I just wish I could have gotten more use out of it (and get my moneys worth out of it). It's one of my knives that makes me wish I had more things that needed cutting. I have two boxes of knives I never use, the "Give Away" box, and the "Hold Onto" box. I've debated giving it away, but still can't quite bring myself to do it. So for now it remains in my "Hold Onto" box.
 
killgar said:
I'll take any excuse to post some pics 😁 .

My Al Mar, Moki/Japan, VG10 SERE 2000 (modified). Bought it around 2004.

I removed the top "hump" at the hilt. I wanted it more streamlined for carrying tip-up in a snug belt sheath. Replaced the double-sided thumb stud with a single sided. And enlarged the lock-release/thumb stud notch a little to make it easier to access the smaller thumb stud. I carried it a few times, but despite being a quality knife I just didn't take to it. I'm kinda embarrassed to say it, but I did so little cutting with it that it still has it's shaving sharp factory edge. I bought it back when I bought knives just to have a new knife.

But I'm happy to say the SERE Operator saw a lot more carry and use. I've sharpened it several times. :)

bk3XLoo.jpg

t6vGwDz.jpg

VxTVFv8.jpg
Click to expand...
That things sweet, I like what you did to it! Those Operator's are sweet too, I've always wanted one of those.
 
LimpCroissant said:
That things sweet, I like what you did to it! Those Operator's are sweet too, I've always wanted one of those.
Click to expand...

Thanks. :)

My Operator is an older model, S30V blade, Prylon handles (whatever Prylon is. Feels like zytel). The next generation after that had non-removeable micarta handles. The Prylon was a bit slippery so I dipped the knife in Plastidip.

Funny thing about the Operator, it was advertised as a "fighter", but it has a thin blade, with a very thin tip, and a heavily skeletonized tang (under the handles on mine there is more hole than tang). But it's very light, has a finely ground blade, and takes a VERY sharp edge. I call it my straight-razor fixed-blade. Great for cutting/slicing, but not exactly what I would think of when I think "fighter".

It was my daily carry fixed-blade for a few years, but then I replaced it with something more robust.
 
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