- Joined
- Jan 23, 2013
- Messages
- 147
Hi all,
New post and this time I will be talking about the Kirk Rexroat designed Al Mar Knives
The reason why I am talking about this specific topic today is that I have finally completed this part of my Al Mar collection, and what a journey it has been!
As I will review each knife I will also tell you a bit more about my story of completing this collection and let me tell you, the coincidences that happened as the events unfolded are mind boggling (fortunately for you I won't bore you with the details but what I can tell you is that it's about a girl)
It all started in mid August 2017 when my collection was a Falcon, an SLB and a SERE 2000. I had recently been promoted which meant that I could start building my collection in earnest.
BACK UP MODEL 2
I was still trying to figure out which model I wanted to buy when I stumbled on a beautiful Back Up 2 for $125.00 including shipping!
Bought it on the spot and loved it as soon as I received it. It was my bedside table knife for a long time and I remember taking it out of its sheath and looking at it on a daily basis.
The Al Mar Backups were designed as a back up knife to a firearm and were therefore made with self-defense in mind.
The whole idea was a knife that was not too expensive (by Al Mar Knives standard), usable with minimal training and concealable.
As you can see the Back Up Model 2 fits this definition to a T, with a hawkbill blade that is ideal for slashes (often the most instinctive way to use a knife) and a handle and choil that locks the knife in the hand. It is soooooo well balanced! Also like that it is full tang, a simple slab of AUS-8 (to make it accessible to most) with black micarta scales.
The AUS-8 steel might cause ombrage to some but at the end of the day, it was designed as a back-up and therefore seldom used. there was precious little risk of the edge becoming dull due to repeat usage.
The sheath really conceals the shape of the knife but is fairly thick all things considered and I find that drawing the knife out of it is a bit uneasy as not much of the handle sticks out of it, the old concealability vs accessibility problem.
Overall it is one of my favorite knife in this series.
BACK UP MODEL 1
At the end of 2018 I bought the Back Up Model 1 for $165.00 including S&H.
This, was the prize. With its tanto blade I was about to have a knife that could play double duty tool/weapon.
The blade shape would also lend itself particularly well to powerful stabs, which were determined as the deadliest strikes since Roman times.
BTW, you also have to understand that by that time some Al Mar Knives had started to become much rarer and I strongly believe that I have bought the last one available online.
Unfortunately, receiving the BU-1 was a bit anticlimactic.
Where the BU-2 literally disappears in the hand and feels light,quick and balanced, the BU-1 feels tip heavy. I thought I had found my knife grail but it was not what I expected.
What a shame.
Several years went by peacefully and I kept looking left and right for other Al Mar Knives to buy with, among others, the goal of having the full Kirk Rexroat series.
Now as much as the fixed blade knives in the series were all designed as back ups with each one specialised in a specific knife strike (slash or stab), I feel (emphasis on feel) that the folders were designed as a representation of the spectrum of knife usage, from tool to weapon.
On top of that the blades on these folders are in that beautiful VG-10 with satin finish and I love it. Especially the glint and the contrast it offers with the red logo and the black G-10 handles!
The question was how to get my hands on them considering how rare and how expensive Al Mar Knives had become on the market.
In May 2021 opportunity arised! Double Strike Shrike/Payara!
PAYARA
On one hand there was a beautiful NIB Payara at $200.00 including shipping on eBay !
This one had always tickled my fancy as I just couldn't make any sense of the blade shape with its combination of tanto and recurve.
As soon as I held it I could immediately understand its purpose in life.
The Payara is a beast of knife and a weapon, plain and simple. The recurve blade would help in grabbing limbs (see my Al Mar Warrior review for my theory about on human beings being made mostly of tube shaped limbs) and the tip would stab like there is no tomorrow.
Assisting in the stabbing is the handle shape. It is broader towards the blade preventing the knife from sliding in your hand if it comes to be used this way. The massive jimping also helps greatly in that regard. The knife is thick and feels solid as hell. The blade somehow reminds me of the Spyderco Captain
SHRIKE
On the other hand, the Shrike which came to me NIB for $175.00 including S&H.
The handles are the same as the Payara but the blade profile is less thick. It is definitely a stabber but it also has a belly making it very useful for every day cutting tasks. In other words, the Shrike is the Tool/Weapon synthesis of this folder series and it does a damn great job at it!
I digress but does the handle shape of the Payara and the Shrike also remind you of old stone knives where a deer antler was used as a handle? I wonder if there is a bit of an inspiration there?
NOMAD
Last but not least, after searching high and low for it and almost pulling the trigger on knives that were not in the right condition for my collection (no box, broken clip, black coated blade or branded knife) I finally found a Nomad at the right price $185.00 including S&H which also happened to be a pre-production version (#185 of 200)!
You want to know the funny thing? I bought it 5 years almost to the day of when I bought the Back Up Model 2! How strange life is.
As you can see the Nomad is entirely different from the Payara and the Shrike. This one is all tool. It is also very tiny. It can make a great EDC but it is not perfect.
The handle is a bit small for my big hands which means you have to use the choil (duh). but the choil is very small which means I cut my finger the very first time I tried putting my index there...This being said for someone with the right sized hand, the handle is great as it locks the knife in your hand regardless of if you are pulling it or pushing it.
For someone with smaller hands, it will make and incredible EDC. For me, it is simply the wrong size.
To sum it all up, I love the BU-2 and still love it after all this years. I think it is the better self defense knife for untrained people (think Spyderco Civilian).
For the folders, I love the design philosophy behind them and I think the way I would further improve them would be to supersize the Nomad's handle and then put a Shrike's blade in it.
That, would make one hell of a knife!
New post and this time I will be talking about the Kirk Rexroat designed Al Mar Knives
The reason why I am talking about this specific topic today is that I have finally completed this part of my Al Mar collection, and what a journey it has been!
As I will review each knife I will also tell you a bit more about my story of completing this collection and let me tell you, the coincidences that happened as the events unfolded are mind boggling (fortunately for you I won't bore you with the details but what I can tell you is that it's about a girl)
It all started in mid August 2017 when my collection was a Falcon, an SLB and a SERE 2000. I had recently been promoted which meant that I could start building my collection in earnest.
BACK UP MODEL 2
I was still trying to figure out which model I wanted to buy when I stumbled on a beautiful Back Up 2 for $125.00 including shipping!
Bought it on the spot and loved it as soon as I received it. It was my bedside table knife for a long time and I remember taking it out of its sheath and looking at it on a daily basis.
The Al Mar Backups were designed as a back up knife to a firearm and were therefore made with self-defense in mind.
The whole idea was a knife that was not too expensive (by Al Mar Knives standard), usable with minimal training and concealable.
As you can see the Back Up Model 2 fits this definition to a T, with a hawkbill blade that is ideal for slashes (often the most instinctive way to use a knife) and a handle and choil that locks the knife in the hand. It is soooooo well balanced! Also like that it is full tang, a simple slab of AUS-8 (to make it accessible to most) with black micarta scales.
The AUS-8 steel might cause ombrage to some but at the end of the day, it was designed as a back-up and therefore seldom used. there was precious little risk of the edge becoming dull due to repeat usage.
The sheath really conceals the shape of the knife but is fairly thick all things considered and I find that drawing the knife out of it is a bit uneasy as not much of the handle sticks out of it, the old concealability vs accessibility problem.
Overall it is one of my favorite knife in this series.
BACK UP MODEL 1
At the end of 2018 I bought the Back Up Model 1 for $165.00 including S&H.
This, was the prize. With its tanto blade I was about to have a knife that could play double duty tool/weapon.
The blade shape would also lend itself particularly well to powerful stabs, which were determined as the deadliest strikes since Roman times.
BTW, you also have to understand that by that time some Al Mar Knives had started to become much rarer and I strongly believe that I have bought the last one available online.
Unfortunately, receiving the BU-1 was a bit anticlimactic.
Where the BU-2 literally disappears in the hand and feels light,quick and balanced, the BU-1 feels tip heavy. I thought I had found my knife grail but it was not what I expected.
What a shame.
Several years went by peacefully and I kept looking left and right for other Al Mar Knives to buy with, among others, the goal of having the full Kirk Rexroat series.
Now as much as the fixed blade knives in the series were all designed as back ups with each one specialised in a specific knife strike (slash or stab), I feel (emphasis on feel) that the folders were designed as a representation of the spectrum of knife usage, from tool to weapon.
On top of that the blades on these folders are in that beautiful VG-10 with satin finish and I love it. Especially the glint and the contrast it offers with the red logo and the black G-10 handles!
The question was how to get my hands on them considering how rare and how expensive Al Mar Knives had become on the market.
In May 2021 opportunity arised! Double Strike Shrike/Payara!
PAYARA
On one hand there was a beautiful NIB Payara at $200.00 including shipping on eBay !
This one had always tickled my fancy as I just couldn't make any sense of the blade shape with its combination of tanto and recurve.
As soon as I held it I could immediately understand its purpose in life.
The Payara is a beast of knife and a weapon, plain and simple. The recurve blade would help in grabbing limbs (see my Al Mar Warrior review for my theory about on human beings being made mostly of tube shaped limbs) and the tip would stab like there is no tomorrow.
Assisting in the stabbing is the handle shape. It is broader towards the blade preventing the knife from sliding in your hand if it comes to be used this way. The massive jimping also helps greatly in that regard. The knife is thick and feels solid as hell. The blade somehow reminds me of the Spyderco Captain
SHRIKE
On the other hand, the Shrike which came to me NIB for $175.00 including S&H.
The handles are the same as the Payara but the blade profile is less thick. It is definitely a stabber but it also has a belly making it very useful for every day cutting tasks. In other words, the Shrike is the Tool/Weapon synthesis of this folder series and it does a damn great job at it!
I digress but does the handle shape of the Payara and the Shrike also remind you of old stone knives where a deer antler was used as a handle? I wonder if there is a bit of an inspiration there?
NOMAD
Last but not least, after searching high and low for it and almost pulling the trigger on knives that were not in the right condition for my collection (no box, broken clip, black coated blade or branded knife) I finally found a Nomad at the right price $185.00 including S&H which also happened to be a pre-production version (#185 of 200)!
You want to know the funny thing? I bought it 5 years almost to the day of when I bought the Back Up Model 2! How strange life is.
As you can see the Nomad is entirely different from the Payara and the Shrike. This one is all tool. It is also very tiny. It can make a great EDC but it is not perfect.
The handle is a bit small for my big hands which means you have to use the choil (duh). but the choil is very small which means I cut my finger the very first time I tried putting my index there...This being said for someone with the right sized hand, the handle is great as it locks the knife in your hand regardless of if you are pulling it or pushing it.
For someone with smaller hands, it will make and incredible EDC. For me, it is simply the wrong size.
To sum it all up, I love the BU-2 and still love it after all this years. I think it is the better self defense knife for untrained people (think Spyderco Civilian).
For the folders, I love the design philosophy behind them and I think the way I would further improve them would be to supersize the Nomad's handle and then put a Shrike's blade in it.
That, would make one hell of a knife!
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