Field knife question

C

carpediem

Joined
Dec 11, 2000
Messages
291
How would the BG42 steel hold up in a jungle environment? I realize the leather sheath would need to be replaced by Kydex or other type. I was more interested in how the steel would handle being constantly wet, and are there any problems with the handle material and bugs or bug juice? I understand in the Amazon there is a bacteria that will eat glass........

Thanks for any info,
Tom
 
Tom,
I have no experience with Amazon jungle particularly but as to tropical jungle environment as itself:
  • Use hi grade lubricant-protector on your blade. BG-42 is stainless steel and regular use of lubricant should be enough. Take a special care to blade tang to handle scales contact area, this is the most critical point of your knife. I would advise to remove the scales before going into tropical environment and to fill this area with decent gun grease. Probably a coating what creates dry acrylic based film, something like Tuff Cloth (spelling?), would work even better but I don’t have too much experience with them. When I had to deal with tropics such products were not available yet.
  • Zytel handle scales are close to indestructible and nothing threats them in tropics.
  • Try to “soften” pretty coarse pattern in thumb placement area and – probably – on the scales. If you will make skin abrasion working hard with your knife – they could heal fairly difficult in tropical environment.
  • Leather sheath certainly is not the best choice for such occasions. It is pretty difficult to keep leather in working condition in tropics and SOG sheath can cause you to lose your knife pretty rapidly. It practically doesn’t secure the knife from falling out even being new and relatively stiff. The belt loop held on the single rivet at each end could fail pretty quickly even in temperate field conditions. Definitely replace your sheath with Kydex or Concealex custom one if you can.
  • Equip yourself with the decent fine diamond folding steel for sharpening. Field Knife has pretty noticeably recurved edge what can make it pretty hard to sharpen on flat whetstone. Eze-Lap Model 590 folding sharpener with convex sharpening surface would work much better on this blade
Have a safe trip!
 
Serg,
I believe the Field Knife now comes with, or is available with a Kydex/leather sheath. Failing that, I would think (you might know, or Ron would) that the Recondo sheath should fit as well...?
Rob
 
Rob,
Yes, Recondo sheath fits Field Knife and can be used with it.
SOG also is going to make another sheath as to my knowledge. Here is what Matthew Stutzenberger, SOG Marketing Director, said:
We will be retooling the sheath actually to a hybrid kydex/black leather sheath this fall. Hopefully this will enhance the life of the sheath.
Click to expand...
However I already ordered custom leather sheath after my own project. Not too bad but doing it again I would do it slightly another way.

I’m fairly busy at the moment with my reports from EUROSATORY’2002 (Land and Air Defense, Paris, June 17-21, 2002) for different magazines. One week or so more and I hope I will cope with this job, then I’ll take some photos of my new sheath and publish them here.

Bagging for patience
 
Hi Tom,

Some very good comments have been given here.

I might suggest Sentry's Marine Tuf-Cloth to wipe on the blade. We've found this product to be a blade's "best friend."

The X-42 Recondo's Kydex sheath will work for the X-42 Field Knife for those really "damp" enviornments."
 
Thanks for all the information. I'll probably have the blade coated and treat the whole thing with a Sentry Cloth. Also thanks for the heads up on the Recondo sheath, gives me a reason to get one of those too.

Thanks,
Tom
 
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