Howdy Folks. Forum noob here, I posted another thread in the custom knife section that kinda went south, so I'm gonna try again:
Sitrep: Former squad mate of mine (he's still in, I got out in late 03') is deploying back to Iraq in late march/April 06. He is a SF/Ranger snake eater type, currently assigned to a task force that hunts down and catches the bad guys. We served in the same squad for a year, and got to know each other real well. In late 03, the Stop-loss ended, and I got out to get married and take a cushy Civvie job, half the squad went to the civilian world as well. We still keep in touch as much as we can, and he needs a good blade to take over there when he goes again. Myself and my 3 civilian buddies are all gonna chip in some cash and buy one for him.
He needs:
1. fixed 6-9" blade
2. Sharp, sturdy, can stand up to abuse and keep on cutting
3. Ability to perform light prying duties and general utility work
4. Sand must not affect it adversely
5. 400$ Maximum Budget
I know absolutely NOTHING about fine custom blades. I Know they can be very expensive, but usually worth it. When I had the occasion to carry a blade with my sidearm and rifle, it was almost always a M9 or M7 type bayonet..it always got the job done for me... but for real combat, they are just not good enough...a trooper from another Task Force actually snapped his bayonet when he went to stab a terrorist and it got lodged in the wooden stock of the Tango's AK..lots of other stories about the bayonets being issued failing all the time, blades wont stay sharp, the snap, etc..blades are being used more often now in clearing houses and bunkers in built up areas when and if the primary weapon fails, and the pistol is either unavailable or too slow to draw and deploy.
So, any recommendations on who to buy from, who has a good rep, good turnaround time, good product etc would be greatly appreciated. My backup plan right now is to look for the best commercial grade Knife that meets these standards and get it for him, but having one made for him would be a whole lot more hooah.
Sitrep: Former squad mate of mine (he's still in, I got out in late 03') is deploying back to Iraq in late march/April 06. He is a SF/Ranger snake eater type, currently assigned to a task force that hunts down and catches the bad guys. We served in the same squad for a year, and got to know each other real well. In late 03, the Stop-loss ended, and I got out to get married and take a cushy Civvie job, half the squad went to the civilian world as well. We still keep in touch as much as we can, and he needs a good blade to take over there when he goes again. Myself and my 3 civilian buddies are all gonna chip in some cash and buy one for him.
He needs:
1. fixed 6-9" blade
2. Sharp, sturdy, can stand up to abuse and keep on cutting
3. Ability to perform light prying duties and general utility work
4. Sand must not affect it adversely
5. 400$ Maximum Budget
I know absolutely NOTHING about fine custom blades. I Know they can be very expensive, but usually worth it. When I had the occasion to carry a blade with my sidearm and rifle, it was almost always a M9 or M7 type bayonet..it always got the job done for me... but for real combat, they are just not good enough...a trooper from another Task Force actually snapped his bayonet when he went to stab a terrorist and it got lodged in the wooden stock of the Tango's AK..lots of other stories about the bayonets being issued failing all the time, blades wont stay sharp, the snap, etc..blades are being used more often now in clearing houses and bunkers in built up areas when and if the primary weapon fails, and the pistol is either unavailable or too slow to draw and deploy.
So, any recommendations on who to buy from, who has a good rep, good turnaround time, good product etc would be greatly appreciated. My backup plan right now is to look for the best commercial grade Knife that meets these standards and get it for him, but having one made for him would be a whole lot more hooah.
