Gerber LMF II

That's kinda cool...I wonder what the steel is. :)

Edit:
Okay--
# Blade Length: 4.84"
# Closed Length: 5.75"
# Blade Material: 12C 27 Steel Black Blade
# Handle Material: Coyote brown textured Kraton handle

Could have done with carbon steel and a hard plastic vs. kraton handle. Oh well. :D
 
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There is just something freudian about the picture on the bottom right :eek: :p
 
The serations are there to allow you to cut your way through the skin of an aircraft... If that's the sort of thing that happens to you a lot. :p
It does look like a nice survival knife though.
 
They won't let me on the plane with it so I'll not get a chance to use that feature!

The nail hammer though...I'm like carrying plywood and nails on backpacking trips. ;)

Kidding aside, I have brought a few nails into the woods with me but never used a knife to hammer them. I used a rock instead. One of you will probably say you won't find a rock in the desert...well there's not many trees there so you probalby won't need to hammer a nail into one!

I like the sheath. That system would go well with the BK-10.

Collecter
 
Acolonelofcorn,

LMAO! You are absolutely correct with your comment. There is something that just seems subtly perverse about that pic. It never fails to amaze me how my 31 year old mind can revert to that of 14 year old when I see something like that.
 
Freudian indeed - LOL!!!

I like the style of the knife but I think its a bit too gimicky. Those 2 'lashing holes' near the guard seem like they would weaken the knife too IMO. And if I want a dedicated survival knife, make mine carbon steel. Still, I could live with the stainless...

They actually have an infantry version of this (LMFII) but its made from the same steel & quite frankly, I could not tell the difference between the two (?). WTF?

Anyway, the Becker Crewman or the Cold Steel SRK would be better choices for a survival knife IMO. Stronger, tougher and cheaper too...
 
While I would like to handle one, I doubt I'll buy it.
As for "spear making" with it (or ANY fixed blade knife), you better make sure it's not your only knife as there is a very good chance you will lose or destroy it.
As a kid I experimented with various blades:AFSK, CS Bushman, M7 bayonet and a WWII vintage KaBar (did I mention I weas a dumb kid?).
Anyway, I managed to snap the tip (1/4 inch or so) on all 3 GI kinives....the Bushman, however, held up very, very well due to the design and springy steel.
Also, when you actually start affixing a knife to a pole, you realize how much cord/wire/etc it takes to make it really secure.
 
I just bought one. Ebay $75.00 inc shipping. It should arrive in a few days and I will post my findings. I also purchased a Silver Trident from the same guy for $155.00 and as the name suggest these knives are made of evil steel. (so sayeth the establishment) and I can't collect enough of them. I don't collect for value only for personal satifaction! :o When I'm dead it won't matter how much they sell em for.
 
Evil Steel....

Have you had a chance to test the Gerber LMF knife yet? Would like to hear about it. Am thinking of purchasing one in near future.

Thanks,

Alan
 
AlHersch,
I bought one of those last spring, right after the online stores first started carrying them, and I love it. It's a great size and weight, not quite neutrally balanced, handle heavy slightly, but makes an excellent mid-size field knife IMHO. I too, was curious about 12C27 and posted questions about it here. What I learned was that it's a swedish cutlery steel, often used in kitchen knives IIRC. Anyway, takes a decent edge, and seems to hold it relatively well. Amazingly, when I field tested the built in sharpener, which seems a little gimmicky, it actually worked pretty well. I conducted some chopping tests, and the knife went through green branches about 1" in diameter in 3-4 strokes. I also used it to peel and slice an apple, which it did well. I don't hunt, so I haven't tried to skin anything with it, but I think it could do the task if it had to. Also, I have large hands, and found this to be a very comfortable handle size.

Negative points IMO, are the serrations. Normally I like a combo edge, but on a blade this size, I don't think that they should take up almost 50% of the edge. That's just personal preference though. I also don't like the way the sheath binds to the polymer handle, causing it to wear down a little bit, at least the first few times you remove it/replace it in the sheath, but again that's more of a personal preference thing. The sheath does reatain the knife well. I wish the weight were centered farther forwards on the blade, making it a more efficient chopper, but again that's more preference than anything, and I think it does well for what it is. Lastly, I'd recommend picking up the Infantry model, unless you're a LEO or in the military and have an everyday use for the rescue knife/seatbelt cutter deal. I bought the ASEK just for the novelty of it, but the seatbelt cutter really isn't something I'll ever use, and it comes in a seperate sheath. There may be some way to connect the two, but I haven't figured out what it is yet. Overall though, I personally think you won't be disappointed if you pick one up and use it within it's intended design parameters. (It's not a shovel, and makes a poor prybar, etc....)

Sorry for the long post, but I hope that helps you make your decision.

edited to add this link. Here's the thread I started in the Knife Review and Testing forum when I first got my LMF II. In case the link doesn't work I just Btt'd it from the archives.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352854

Lagarto
 
I am very interested in buying one. If they made one with no serrations and a flat buttcap I would buy it with a quickness.
 
LSkylizard,
I haven't really beat on it yet, but so far it's doing well. I did do some more light chopping with it after I wrote my last reply here and it did fine. I managed to shave a few slices off a piece of seasoned oak which I keep around for that and sawtooth testing and the knife did well. Haven't tried making fuzzsticks, but I expect it could do that fine. I am finding more and more that I dislike the amount of space that the serrations take up, this knife blade is just too short for them to take up that much space. I haven't done any rope cutting tests, which I'm sure the serrated portion would be great for though. I think if they ever made an all plain edge model I'd grab it in a minute. The sheath wear seems to not be an issue once the contact point has been "rubbed down" a little after repeated extractions. I do find the handle to be pretty grippy which is handy. Overall I think it's a good value for the money. Are there better survival knives out there-for sure. I think my RD 7 is probably a lot better in some ways, and even my CRKT M60 tanto could out-perform the Gerber in a lot of instances. I'm definately not a mouthpiece for Gerber, I realize they have gone downhill in recent years and am saddened by their current trend of "borrowing" other companies designs and using low quality materials in many of their products, but in this particular instance I do think they've done well. Just my opinion though. Sorry for the long post.

Lagarto
 
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