The AMK Operator is now available. This is the first fixed blade AMK has released since Al's untimely passing and new ownership of the company was undertaken by Gary Fadden, formally of Beretta USA / Knives.
I haven't yet handled the new knife but am told it is very light and nicely made. In looking at the photo provided in Cutlery Shoppe's latest mailing I am reminded of the Al Mar SHIVA fixed blade of many years ago. This was a special custom order and made by Oregon knifemaker William Harsey. I evaluated a SHIVA many years ago and was greatly impressed by its robust fighting knife attributes and quality.
The Operator has the classic SHIVA lines and the traditional SERE fixed blade sturdiness considered an absolute design "must" by Al. The SERE fixed blade line was an off-shoot of the Rowe/Mar SERE folder, the birthstone of the entire SERE family and the forerunner of the official tactical fixed blade catagory of modern U.S. fighting and combat knives.
The Operator sheath system is a joint venture between Tim Wegner at BladeTech and AMK. I was pleased to introduce Gary to Tim when Fadden first came out to Oregon from Maryland, and their meeting at Tim's production center in Washington has produced a lasting and respectful friendship. Tim, of course, is known for his excellent design and refinement work on the KA-BAR 21st Century Fighting Knife project. His latest innovation, the TecLok, acts as the attachment point between sheath and user. This is a strong feature and quite sturdy + easy to use. As noted on this forum earlier, ALWAYS lok-tite the TecLok screws once you've found the correct fitting for your needs. They will loosen and rotate out if you don't.
The blade is ground in the United States (my understanding) and is 154-CM stain resistant steel. Al was a fan of 154 and only admonished that as with all quality knife steels it only needed to be properly heat-treated to be as rugged as most other "super steels". Working knives from 154-CM have long been with us and have performed excellently over the years. It's nice to see AMK returning to this steel for such a blade.
Prylon is used for both the handle grips and sheath. Very light, and considered to be very durable. Wegner's choice of using Prylon speaks for itself. Tim knows his synthetic plastics and would not have advocated this route unless he was assured it would meet the needs demanded of a stout sheath and equally stout grips.
Fadden has long been known for his love of making knives lighter and tougher. The Operator is said to reflect this thought process.
Realistic evalutions have not been done to date - from what I have been told - but the knife magazines are standing in line to be the first ones out to feature the Operator's introduction. It seems to me that I've seen at least one eval advertised and that was in Tactical Knives, but I can't recall this for certain. Anyone out there know if TK has done their bit on this blade as of yet?
The 5 1/8" blade length is nicely sized for everyday carry and use. Jeff Conte makes a 5" blade in "A Soldier's Knife" which I've found to be very handy as well as easy to manipulate for both utility and CQB purposes.
Should the AMK Operator live up to the early rave observations made about it there is little doubt the knife will find many a happy home with the troops as well as specialized law enforcement units. Utility wise although there are many fine mid-sized fixed blades out there of comparable quality, having one from AMK is a boon to anyone who has wished for years that the firm would reenter the fixed knife specialty market. Fadden has solidly redesigned the folding SERE for 21st Century users, and the Operator is clearly his follow-on where an Al Mar inspired fixed blade of medium size and at an affordable price is concerned.
I'm looking forward to putting an Operator through its paces as a fighting knife in the hopefully near future. In the meantime, check Cutlery Shoppe out for ordering information. Jeff is offering the Operator at $113.75 per unit which is a darned fine price for the latest AMK fixed blade to become available. Contact Cutlery Shoppe at 1-800-231-1272 and tell 'em the "Battle Blades" forum sent ya!
Postscript - I called an spoke with Jeff about the Operator due to his impressive accolade on this knife as published in the latest CS flyer. He told me he stands by his professional observations and first-hand experience with the Operator and if he didn't, well, he wouldn't offer it regardless of whether or not it was an AMK product or not. 'Nuff said
I haven't yet handled the new knife but am told it is very light and nicely made. In looking at the photo provided in Cutlery Shoppe's latest mailing I am reminded of the Al Mar SHIVA fixed blade of many years ago. This was a special custom order and made by Oregon knifemaker William Harsey. I evaluated a SHIVA many years ago and was greatly impressed by its robust fighting knife attributes and quality.
The Operator has the classic SHIVA lines and the traditional SERE fixed blade sturdiness considered an absolute design "must" by Al. The SERE fixed blade line was an off-shoot of the Rowe/Mar SERE folder, the birthstone of the entire SERE family and the forerunner of the official tactical fixed blade catagory of modern U.S. fighting and combat knives.
The Operator sheath system is a joint venture between Tim Wegner at BladeTech and AMK. I was pleased to introduce Gary to Tim when Fadden first came out to Oregon from Maryland, and their meeting at Tim's production center in Washington has produced a lasting and respectful friendship. Tim, of course, is known for his excellent design and refinement work on the KA-BAR 21st Century Fighting Knife project. His latest innovation, the TecLok, acts as the attachment point between sheath and user. This is a strong feature and quite sturdy + easy to use. As noted on this forum earlier, ALWAYS lok-tite the TecLok screws once you've found the correct fitting for your needs. They will loosen and rotate out if you don't.
The blade is ground in the United States (my understanding) and is 154-CM stain resistant steel. Al was a fan of 154 and only admonished that as with all quality knife steels it only needed to be properly heat-treated to be as rugged as most other "super steels". Working knives from 154-CM have long been with us and have performed excellently over the years. It's nice to see AMK returning to this steel for such a blade.
Prylon is used for both the handle grips and sheath. Very light, and considered to be very durable. Wegner's choice of using Prylon speaks for itself. Tim knows his synthetic plastics and would not have advocated this route unless he was assured it would meet the needs demanded of a stout sheath and equally stout grips.
Fadden has long been known for his love of making knives lighter and tougher. The Operator is said to reflect this thought process.
Realistic evalutions have not been done to date - from what I have been told - but the knife magazines are standing in line to be the first ones out to feature the Operator's introduction. It seems to me that I've seen at least one eval advertised and that was in Tactical Knives, but I can't recall this for certain. Anyone out there know if TK has done their bit on this blade as of yet?
The 5 1/8" blade length is nicely sized for everyday carry and use. Jeff Conte makes a 5" blade in "A Soldier's Knife" which I've found to be very handy as well as easy to manipulate for both utility and CQB purposes.
Should the AMK Operator live up to the early rave observations made about it there is little doubt the knife will find many a happy home with the troops as well as specialized law enforcement units. Utility wise although there are many fine mid-sized fixed blades out there of comparable quality, having one from AMK is a boon to anyone who has wished for years that the firm would reenter the fixed knife specialty market. Fadden has solidly redesigned the folding SERE for 21st Century users, and the Operator is clearly his follow-on where an Al Mar inspired fixed blade of medium size and at an affordable price is concerned.
I'm looking forward to putting an Operator through its paces as a fighting knife in the hopefully near future. In the meantime, check Cutlery Shoppe out for ordering information. Jeff is offering the Operator at $113.75 per unit which is a darned fine price for the latest AMK fixed blade to become available. Contact Cutlery Shoppe at 1-800-231-1272 and tell 'em the "Battle Blades" forum sent ya!
Postscript - I called an spoke with Jeff about the Operator due to his impressive accolade on this knife as published in the latest CS flyer. He told me he stands by his professional observations and first-hand experience with the Operator and if he didn't, well, he wouldn't offer it regardless of whether or not it was an AMK product or not. 'Nuff said
