- Joined
- Feb 28, 2002
- Messages
- 13,348
Greetings gents,
While I have never been one to wax poetic about Micarta handles, it has always made sense to me in the context of a knife intended for military use. And Burt Foster's military knives have always made abundant sense to me, in terms of design, materials, execution and pricing.
Burt's basic approach to the genre is succinctly summarized on his web site:
A soldier, airman or Marine needs a knife to do what a knife was meant to do; that is to cut things. It needs to be strong enough to withstand a measure of abuse, it needs to be easy to sharpen and maintain, and the sheath should allow for flexible but secure mounting on anything from a belt to web gear.
Having just missed out on a posted available military model, I learned from Burt that he had a couple more nearing completion and asked him to give me a heads-up when they were done. He did, and this one went north:
This knife is a somewhat less common "camp" model within the military line-up, and features a stout re-curved blade of O1, 7 1/8" in length, with an overall length of 12".
Regarding the different models, Burt adds the following:
"I've also found that active duty military are as diverse as the rest of us, and there's no "one knife" that serves all their wants or needs. I have made a lot of small damascus personals for active military (usually Marines), as well as the more typical 5"-6" fixed blades. The camp version I made just because I figured that because there's no one knife design that serves all the needs of military personnel, and because these things are hand made, there's no reason to make them all the same. The camp version is still a rather compact package for what we'd call a camp knife, but it would do a lot of chopping. I have a customer who's been deployed to a lot of places that are heavily wooded or jungle and a heavier camp type knife as what he really needed."
Burt makes a point of leaving some texture on the ricasso and along the spine as a visual hallmark indicating that this a one-of-a-kind forged blade. The satin-finished double guard is 416 stainless, as is the lanyard tube. The satin-finished micarta handle completes the subdued, all-business look and from a functional standpoint, offeres excellent grip in the wet. As always, a quality sheath by the maker completes the package.
Overall, the fit and finish of this piece is very much the equal of any knife Burt makes - which is to say, superb. It has a solid, near-indestructible feel to it - a knife meant to take VERY hard use very much in stride. Here is a pic of the pair that I had the luxury to choose between - my camp model on top with a combat model below:
I have to confess that I have come to regret my choice - I should have taken BOTH! One of the very attractive features of the military line is that Burt has priced them in such as way as to make them affordable as possible. Even for civilians like me who don't qualify for the active duty discount (and priority delivery), these knives are a raging bargain in the context of a superbly finished high-performance mid-sized Master Smith knife.
Thanks very much Burt - well done as always.
Roger
PS - here are a few other military pieces for your viewing pleasure.
While I have never been one to wax poetic about Micarta handles, it has always made sense to me in the context of a knife intended for military use. And Burt Foster's military knives have always made abundant sense to me, in terms of design, materials, execution and pricing.
Burt's basic approach to the genre is succinctly summarized on his web site:
A soldier, airman or Marine needs a knife to do what a knife was meant to do; that is to cut things. It needs to be strong enough to withstand a measure of abuse, it needs to be easy to sharpen and maintain, and the sheath should allow for flexible but secure mounting on anything from a belt to web gear.
Having just missed out on a posted available military model, I learned from Burt that he had a couple more nearing completion and asked him to give me a heads-up when they were done. He did, and this one went north:
This knife is a somewhat less common "camp" model within the military line-up, and features a stout re-curved blade of O1, 7 1/8" in length, with an overall length of 12".
Regarding the different models, Burt adds the following:
"I've also found that active duty military are as diverse as the rest of us, and there's no "one knife" that serves all their wants or needs. I have made a lot of small damascus personals for active military (usually Marines), as well as the more typical 5"-6" fixed blades. The camp version I made just because I figured that because there's no one knife design that serves all the needs of military personnel, and because these things are hand made, there's no reason to make them all the same. The camp version is still a rather compact package for what we'd call a camp knife, but it would do a lot of chopping. I have a customer who's been deployed to a lot of places that are heavily wooded or jungle and a heavier camp type knife as what he really needed."
Burt makes a point of leaving some texture on the ricasso and along the spine as a visual hallmark indicating that this a one-of-a-kind forged blade. The satin-finished double guard is 416 stainless, as is the lanyard tube. The satin-finished micarta handle completes the subdued, all-business look and from a functional standpoint, offeres excellent grip in the wet. As always, a quality sheath by the maker completes the package.
Overall, the fit and finish of this piece is very much the equal of any knife Burt makes - which is to say, superb. It has a solid, near-indestructible feel to it - a knife meant to take VERY hard use very much in stride. Here is a pic of the pair that I had the luxury to choose between - my camp model on top with a combat model below:
I have to confess that I have come to regret my choice - I should have taken BOTH! One of the very attractive features of the military line is that Burt has priced them in such as way as to make them affordable as possible. Even for civilians like me who don't qualify for the active duty discount (and priority delivery), these knives are a raging bargain in the context of a superbly finished high-performance mid-sized Master Smith knife.
Thanks very much Burt - well done as always.
Roger
PS - here are a few other military pieces for your viewing pleasure.
)
