Outdoor Life Knives?

B

BrianB

Joined
Sep 29, 2007
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159
I came across some Outdoor Life branded knives when I was in K-mart the other day wasting time. One of these was a Sharpfinger clone, claiming "Made in the USA" of "HC" (no numbers) steel on the packaging.

The best my Google-fu could come up with was that Kissing Crane may be the manufacturer.

I'm wondering what the quality of these knives is? Better than the Chinese-made Schrade Sharpfingers? (Which I've heard are pretty much the same quality as the original, so comments there welcome.)

I'm not sure I even have a use for a Sharpfinger pattern knife, but I've just been obsessing on picking one up lately for no particular reason. :D
 
I like the sharpfinger pattern. A real comfortable knife to handle . They are good for fishing ,cleaning small and large game. Mine gets used a lot, hiking , camping... Bear and sons make a sharpfinger clone made in the USA. ,might be from them.
 
The best my Google-fu could come up with was that Kissing Crane may be the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

I saw them as well.

Since they are in a clam pack I couldn't fondle it but, I am thinking Bear & Sons as a possible maker. Since Taylor Brands has used them as a maker for some USA made "Schrade marked" knives.

(Which I've heard are pretty much the same quality as the original, so comments there welcome.)
Click to expand...

I am a die hard "real Schrade" guy.So I won't be replacing my SC205 with a Taylor "Schrade" anytime soon.;)
 
United Cutlery did a bunch in the late 90's.
Both the US and China made versions look nice.
For the prices they are going for I don't believe country of origin would play a factor for some people.
I doubt K-Mart would have something on the shelf that old though.

Or would they?
2bkcsale152.jpg

uc152.jpg
 
My local K-Mart still has several.

They are mostly clones of Schrade patterns with a few other styles.

Some say "Made in USA", but if you read the fine print on the back, you usually find "Made in the USA, from foreign and domestic materials"
 
Was at my K-Mart yesterday....current sale was 50% off on all "Outdoor Life" knives.
 
That does not look like the Bear and Sons. If it is United cutlery I wonder what the quality is. I know nothing about United Cutlery.
 
Thanks to all for the replies. I may have to stop by my K-mart if they've gone on sale. I think they were $19.99 the other day. For ten bucks, I could give one a try.
 
Ok, I picked up the Sharpfinger clone at K-mart the other day for just under ten bucks. The fit and finish aren't terrible. The sheath is OK for the most part. The edge grind is slightly irregular, with a small "hump" near the point where the upsweep angle starts.

Sharpness out of the packaging wasn't too impressive, capable of cutting printer paper with a little catching. I was able to get it up to (barely) shaving sharp with my Lansky pocket hone and a little stropping on my belt. (I've just gotten done moving, and haven't unpacked yet. =P) I haven't really tested edge retention, other than putting it to work on some cardboard boxes. It seemed OK, a bit softer than 440C, but not by much. No idea what the steel is, as the blade has no markings that shed any light on it. The package says "HC Stainless," but that's probably playing off of Buck's 420HC for marketing purposes. It's definitely not 420HC. It's not as mushy as 420J, though. If I took a guess, I'd say 440A, maybe. Been a while since I've handled a 440A blade though.

For ten bucks, it's not half bad, and a good chance to play around with a different knife design. One of these days, I'll have to pick up a Sharpfinger to compare it to. I may send it to someone who can fix up the edge a bit better, though that'd probably cost more than the knife. =D I like the design of the blade shape and the handle. It lends itself well to a variety of grips for detail work.
 
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