Need Opinions on Newt Livesay Knives

J

JMB

Joined
May 28, 1999
Messages
72
I'm looking to add a few new fixed blade knives to my collection and recently learned of Newt Livesay's products. They appear to be a good gap bridger between the plain-jane factory produced FBs and the multi-hundred dollar customs. I would just like to get some user feedback on his knives in terms of quality and cutting performance. In particular I'm looking at the Air Assault and the U.S. Marshall models, but would appreciate feedback on any and all models.

Thanks.
 
I own an ICU,a SOP, and a Woo with Micarta handles. I got a good price on them at a gun show. They are No Nonsense knives. IFor some reason I have a hard time getting the ICU sharpend to the edge I want but I do get a good utility edge on it. I used to SOP when i was working as a Narcotics officer and it got a lot of use. ( No I never stabbed anyone with it )

You get a whole lot of knive for the price you pay.
 
got a woo best necker around for the $$ imho, never heard anything bad about them, hard to sharpen some of them though, my woo is sharp enough but i wont ne shaving w/it any time soon .....


sifu
 
My collection houses one each of Newt's production knives and a number of customs. I once used an Air Assault to tear down a shed and it was none the worse for wear. This cutlery is the best bang for the buck on the market. His ex.NRGS is the best camp knife you'll ever use. Nice guy, too.
 
First, I am a fan of Newt's knives, so that is my bias. They are very solidly built. They have comfortable handles, and are well designed. They are mostly made of a steel called 1095, which is a good quality cutlery steel and has been in use as such for over 100 years. Newt's kydex sheaths are also first rate. If there is a complaint to be made, they do not come from the shop as sharp as most people would like. Many people,myself included, like knives to be razor sharp from the factory. Newt feels that a coarser edge is sufficient and more durable. The edge that comes from the factory/maker lasts only a very small fraction of the life of a working knife anyway, so I don't really see it as that much of an issue.
The Air Assault is a favorite and is great for someone with normal to large hands. The U.S. Marshall is a slightly smaller knife and is more suited to someone with smallish size hands(this is my opinion only.)Newt's knives are great bang for the buck. They are not fancy, but if you need a solid working knife, you'll love them.
 
Well Newt is obviously popular. He is very busy and has lots of orders. I have been waiting on a HKR that I thought I was gonna see about a month ago. He seems like a nice guy to do business with and answers all your questions. I look forward to this knife.
 
Can't go wrong w/ Newt's knives. Best bang for the buck out there.
Do yourself a favor & snatch up a couple.
 
I have 2 of Newt's knives. The Marshall and the Sandbar Bowie.
Great bang for the buck. These are using knives, not show pieces.
The marshall is my camping knife, used for everything but food prep. Mine is ground a little think for slicing veggies, but cuts up the cooked steak just fine ;) It has the most comfortable handle, in fact that's why I bought it. I went to the show all set to buy an RTAK and fell in love with the Marshall. It is smallish easy to carry & I've been considering an IWB sheath for it.
The Sandbar Bowie is just plain big and nasty :eek: I like that in a knife ;)
While the grinds may not be picture perfect, they work. And that's what they are meant to do.
Hope that helps.
 
Earlier I picked up a Newt Livesay Company Knife.
I had it for a little while, never used it, did carry it a couple times in an improvised shoulder rig (i.e: para-cord).
Carried nicely that way, even for such a large knife, it disappeared under a light jacket, or even an over-shirt.

Extremely comfortable, well balanced, fast in the hand.
Nice knife. Felt good in the hand altho I never got a chance to use it. Traded it off about 3 weeks after I got it....but eventually I will pick up another one.

Seem to be good knives, especially for the money.
 
Air Assault is my favorite camp knife bar none! Newt has a way with handles, they are very comfortable and utilitarian. With the A.A., he is a follower of the Dozier school (he trained under Bob D. I believe), with a relatively thick spine for indestructability and deep hollow grind for cutting performance. A superb rugged knife! You won't be disappointed with it if you're looking for a user and not a show piece.

I happen also to own his RCM (machete) and a couple of his neck knives. All no-nonsense, nothing fancy, hard working knives!
 
My ICU is one of my favorites, and unlike the other fellow's mine is RAZOR sharp, with only a little attention from the Sharpmaker 204. The multipurpose sheath was a little more than I need, so a simple Kydex one was made for me, and now I love the whole package.Talk about "bulletproof"! I also have a Woo and a G45, and they are worth more than They cost, even though the Woo is chisel ground which I really don't like. I have wrapped the handle with paracord and the whole pachage is great to wear on the neck. Also, you'll find that Newt himself is an honest guy and you will enjoy dealing with him, unless I miss my guess. :D :D
 
I have Newts Air Assault, HKR, Sniper, and the Woo and SOP neck knives. I really like Newt and his products. If he has them in stock he ships quick too. If not you wait until he has a run of that model. Newt has the heat treat for 1095 down pat. The handles and blade designs are great. The sheaths are bullet proof but a little long for each blade length due to a strap attachement point on the end of the sheath. But that gives you a lot of options on rigging it. I think most of his designs would work better with a vertical belt hanger instead of horizontal draw clip on them. Thats because their overall length makes them a hair too big for horizontal carry.

They sharpen up gangbusters, but Newt does not ship them with a razor factory edge. I work them with the sharpmaker from spyderco and while not quick task, once they are profiled the way I like they are awesome.

The air assault is a great overall design. I think its his best utility/combat/knife. Does anything short of chopping. Great knife for knife things. Prices are fair. Nice 1095 knives with a good heat treat and flair of design. I am also going to buy some mineral mountain knives in the future. As they use the same steel, different style sheaths, but some equally nice designs and hand attention. Nice mincarta handles as well.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. Looks like I'll be placing an order in the next few days.
 
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