sk series

T

Texas_toothpick

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OK, I hadn't noticed this thread but if its here I apologize for repeating something. I know were all very found of our GSO knives, but i wanna know about the SK series. I'm hoping to get some feed back from someone with one of these masterpieces. I've never had my paws on any S7 steel. So any feedback is welcome, within good taste of course. But most of all what people think of the SK series. (Also ready for it to come out again so I can grab one myself)
 
Texas_toothpick said:
OK, I hadn't noticed this thread but if its here I apologize for repeating something. I know were all very found of our GSO knives, but i wanna know about the SK series. I'm hoping to get some feed back from someone with one of these masterpieces. I've never had my paws on any S7 steel. So any feedback is welcome, within good taste of course. But most of all what people think of the SK series. (Also ready for it to come out again so I can grab one myself)
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You've probably already seen my SK-4 video, but here it is again:

[video=youtube;hj_1lrnQIkA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj_1lrnQIkA[/video]

S!K had a clearance sale on these a while back. They had the same handle-scales as the GSO-4.1, same sheath, tang unskeletonized (unlike previous GSO-4.1) which makes them a full ounce heavier and messes the balance slightly, i think the rest of the geometry specs are the same, the spine is sharp since these weren't stone-washed, and the steel is of course S7 with the FDE (DLC?) coating. The knives came razor sharp and screws aligned :cool:

New:

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UVNG6zuqVnoRXVZsexpngKVFX1v1JWwVkorS3HKkE3E=w2048-h1536-no

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D2Cc2CFVBou81y9wSkzJo4aHneayMPQDRQ9SbqH_onw=w2048-h1536-no



Now:
r4lgjckDGLAuG0VscTg1yboEBufMF1c0WZ_l73ErKt4=w2048-h1536-no
yslDIcMENcxvrULizbRfOixFVLMwdVkEVp7YY7d_8Ow=w1536-h2048-no

_wKTEVTCdM_dl9VFenA5Iuyfdseddw3DOWdPSZmCcXY=w1536-h2048-no



The coating has held well in my use on wood/weeds/packaging/rope (so far no sheet-metal or cans but that may happen in the future) and does not seem to impede cutting-performance like the "traction" coating of ESEE/Busse/Tops. There is no sign of rusting but I'm not leaving it wet/damp as I did my GSO-10 on occasion. I ground away the flare on the heel of the handle, it's more comfortable now. The most damage the edge has seen was when i dropped it on the concrete while recording that video - the edge took a couple of dents that steeled-out and the apex restored easily on a DMT hone. It holds its edge quite well in my use so far. I used it to split apart sections of spine butchering a goat, no problem. The sharp spine is good for scraping tinder and a firesteel but not as comfortable on the thumb as the rounded spines of the GSO-4.1. I guess the new 4.1's will have sharp spines, so I see a bit of sanding in my future ;)

I think CPM-3V is the better steel for nearly every task you'd put a knife to, but this S7 is no slouch, I'd take it over softer 1095 any day.
 
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Chiral knows his stuff! Brian also had some nice pics of a SK that he sanded the coating off of.

Not having an SK myself, I can't say a lot from personal experience, but I've read the S7 is a very good and strong steel and I swear I read someplace that Guy said it will start to corrode if you breathe on it. With that said I haven't heard of BrianT having issues with his SK 4 being stripped.

I'd love to see the SK line come back. I wonder what models Guy will have eventually!

I think the big selling point for this line is that there would be fewer choices in handle and sheaths and they'd be prebuilt and ready to roll when ordered. With this and the S7 steel this is supposed to be the more economic line of SURVIVE!
 
Yes chiral this is actually one of the first S! videos. I guess I can say thanks cause it is one of the videos that turned me on to S!

So it sounds like your steering me toward the GSO instead or is my mind just on the straight and narrow path.

And I'm with you silver I wanna see it come back too.

Nice photos too BTW
 
I'm just curious if the SK line will be modeled after the first generation or the second generation knives.
That's a great photo of the black 4.1 with your cat chiral.grolim! Every orange cat I've met has always had a cool personality.
 
Texas_toothpick said:
So it sounds like your steering me toward the GSO instead or is my mind just on the straight and narrow path.
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It's not that, it's a price : performance thing.
I owned two of the original GSO-4.1, both pre-order in M390, and sold both to raise funds for projects on the homestead (I think that was why). I bought the SK-4s as less expensive replacements in a clearance sale but ended up selling one of those as well. The one I kept was most aesthetically appealing to me. The skeletonized 4.1 had better steel and better balance and lighter weight, I don't know how the weight and balance will be on the new ones. I compromised on those things with the SK-4 but found it more than sufficient in my use and still preferable to something a bit less expensive like a Becker or ESEE. But if price isn't a factor, or if the SK series isn't that much cheaper than the GSO, why not choose 3V or 20CV over S7? Higher wear-resistance, corrosion-resistance, rockwell hardness ...
What I'm saying is, it's up to you. The SK-4 has suited my needs just fine, even helped butcher a couple goats (cutting through the spine between ribs). And the cost savings helped me invest in Guy's starter program ;)

Standard78 said:
I'm just curious if the SK line will be modeled after the first generation or the second generation knives.
That's a great photo of the black 4.1 with your cat chiral.grolim! Every orange cat I've met has always had a cool personality.
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Good question about the modelling.

My daughters named the cat "Thor", he shows up in a couple of my Chamdar17 videos, as does his little black sister "Freja". He's a great cat, loyal and friendly but shy of strangers. He's been to the vet twice with injured limbs, once almost lost a leg, from fighting the racoons that live in the woods behind our house. I wish we could heal as fast! Great cat :thumbup:
 
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Silver Needle said:
...I haven't heard of Brian_T having issues with his SK 4 being stripped.
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Still going strong. There may be a few spots from where I left the blade dirty when I put it away but nothing terrible for sure.

The SK-4 has been taking a break while I use my GSO-4 and 5.1 the past couple of months though.

I'll try and snap a pic or two today so you can see how it looks today.

B
 
Revolverrodger said:
Are they still make new sk models ?
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Yep! We just have a couple small R&D experiments going on before we will be ready to start production on those again. Having Christian around again will give us even more incentive to get those moving. Building SK Series knives is a great down time task, but Guy and I haven't had any down time.

Standard78 said:
I'm just curious if the SK line will be modeled after the first generation or the second generation knives.
That's a great photo of the black 4.1 with your cat chiral.grolim! Every orange cat I've met has always had a cool personality.
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Second generation. Utilizing some of the same materials as the GSOs will help with keeping costs down.

chiral.grolim said:
... the steel is of course S7 with the FDE (DLC?) coating.
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The SK knives were Cerakoted.

chiral.grolim said:
The coating has held well in my use on wood/weeds/packaging/rope (so far no sheet-metal or cans but that may happen in the future) and does not seem to impede cutting-performance like the "traction" coating of ESEE/Busse/Tops. There is no sign of rusting but I'm not leaving it wet/damp as I did my GSO-10 on occasion.
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This is great information to have, it means we found a good Cerakote Company. We have definitely found that not all Cerakote applicators are equal.

chiral.grolim said:
The sharp spine is good for scraping tinder and a firesteel but not as comfortable on the thumb as the rounded spines of the GSO-4.1. I guess the new 4.1's will have sharp spines, so I see a bit of sanding in my future ;)
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I am looking forward to seeing what you think of the new models.
 
All of this Cerakote talk has my wheels turning. I've been really wanting a SK-4 in black but I think I might get a new 3.5 sprayed instead. I'm also thinking about getting the 4.7 done in bright orange because it'll be my go-to camp knife. Plus it'll look killer with the black scales.
 
Standard78 said:
All of this Cerakote talk has my wheels turning. I've been really wanting a SK-4 in black but I think I might get a new 3.5 sprayed instead. I'm also thinking about getting the 4.7 done in bright orange because it'll be my go-to camp knife. Plus it'll look killer with the black scales.
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Where is this magical place that has a rainbow of cerakote?

Texas_toothpick said:
So what was the difference in the old coatings and cerakote?
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I'm curious as well.
 
I believe the SK line where Cerakoted. It's a ridiculously strong ceramic base coating used on a lot of guns and there's a good selection of colors.
The other coating they used was a DLC coating. It's still pretty tough but it doesn't seal the surface like Cerakote does.
 
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