Survive!Knives - Is interest waning? Replacement Blades?

Hale Storm

Hale Storm

Kydex Whisperer
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
2,771
I have noticed a huge lack of GSO offerings on the big auction site. I only noticed because I'm looking for a 4.1 in 3V or 20CV.

I also noticed that the kydex benders seem to have less for sale as well.

Are these both an indication that the fervor over S!K is on the downtrend? Have people had enough of the broken promises and poor handling of the business that they have moved on?

I found the Lionsteel M4 in M390 and have been thoroughly pleased.

Has anyone else found suitable blades and if so, what are they?
 
I too have been really happy with my Lionsteel M4, great knife with a outstanding leather sheath. Still patiently waiting for my pre-order GSO 4.1 since Oct. 2015. Got the M4 to hold me over and have been impressed with the M390, not to mention the excellent fit and finish.
 
Carothers knives, Gollik knives, Busse, Bradford knives, Huntsman Knife co., and lots of custom makers. There are a ton a great knives out there!! Really love Gollik knives for the price!! All the others mentioned are top quality too.
That said, I love my Survive! knives too, but have not gotten one from the company(still waiting), I had to find some on the secondary market. Glad I did though, good knives.
 
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I think it would be hard for any sheath maker to justify keeping any sort of product in stock when the knives themselves aren't being produced or at least shipped in any sort of measurable quantities. I think I even read somewhere where Ellie had mentioned that they had some Sagewood sheaths just sitting in a bin on a shelf due to them being for Old Spec designs. The point being: Sheath/accessory makers aren't going to produce product for knives that aren't even in the customer's hands yet and potential customers generally aren't going to order a sheath that they simply do not have a knife for yet. Personally, I have never purchased a sheath for a knife I do not yet have in hand. Granted, I generally make my own, but that is beside the point.

I think SURVIVE! has made great knives, I know I enjoy the heck out of mine (acquired on secondary market), but I likely will not get another, at least not directly from them. If they can square way their business model and get back to getting knives into waiting hands, then I might be inclined to see about acquiring other knives. Until such a time occurs though, I will adopt more of a "wait and see" outlook.

In the meantime, I am a Beckerhead, so naturally I am a pretty big fan of those knives and their capabilities. Tough 1095 can take a beating and still keep an adequate edge and Mr. Becker has designed several knives to suit a variety of purposeful tasks. I am also interested in Fiddleback Forge and Carothers and though I have neither the time or patience to engage in their weekly sales, I still hold out hope that when funds allow for it I can scoop up a few on the Exchange. Perhaps when 91bravo 91bravo tires of his HDFK... :D
 
Just want to add that the 'stock' sheaths that come with S!K knives are the best I've ever seen/had! The first gen sheaths were much better than anyone's else (and I've had kydex sheaths from many well-know makers).
I'm not sure if Kiah is making the second gen. as well, but these are even better than first gen! I never felt the need to order a diff sheath (GSOs sheats were priced at $20/25) for any of the GSOs I own/owned.

Cheers,
C.
 
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Hale Storm said:
I have noticed a huge lack of GSO offerings on the big auction site. I only noticed because I'm looking for a 4.1 in 3V or 20CV.
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What gen 4.1. are you looking for, Ron? I've seen just a few Gen2 4.1 in the wild...
Cheers,
C.
 
ATJ999 said:
Carothers knives, Gollik knives, Busse, Bradford knives, Huntsman Knife co., and lots of custom makers. There are a ton a great knives out there!!
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Yep, forgot about them.....Daado as well. Just hang out in the Knifemakers Fixed Blade forum for a week or two and you'll see a good representation of knives available.

Pàdruig said:
I am also interested in Fiddleback Forge and Carothers and though I have neither the time or patience to engage in their weekly sales, I still hold out hope that when funds allow for it I can scoop up a few on the Exchange
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Exchange or specific maker sales/trade threads for both Fiddleback and Carothers. Fiddleback also has production blades, available from them or a handful of BF Sponsor Knife Retailers.
 
I am a Beckerhead first and foremost, but I do enjoy Survive, Mora, CPK, SYKCO, TM Hunt, and old school BHK to bring with me into the woods.
 
Having seen how things went before, I could not bring myself to pay for a pre-order...despite my interest in a couple of models, and the promises that things were going to be better this time around. All I'm going to say is that I'm glad I went with my gut on that one. I did end up with a 4.7 (CFV) briefly - I received it in trade - it felt good in hand, better than I expected; but I got rid of it without even taking it outside (except for a few pictures). I won't knock the quality (because I never so much as did a test cut with the one I had); but there's simply no reason for me to support a maker/company that does business the way Survive does.
I no longer have any interest in their products.
 
I've sold and bought knives on the "big auction site" and most of the transactions left a bad taste in my mouth, either due to the fees charged or there being something just a bit wrong with the blades I received. There seems to be a lot of seconds being moved when the buyer can't inspect the goods first. It was never anything I could formally complain about but I've been happier since I stopped buying blades that way.
What have I bought instead of more Survive knives?
Some really nice customs, but the wait is just as bad.... :(
 
ATJ999 said:
Carothers knives, Gollik knives, Busse, Bradford knives, Huntsman Knife co., and lots of custom makers. There are a ton a great knives out there!! Really love Gollik knives for the price!! All the others mentioned are top quality too.
That said, I love my Survive! knives too, but have not gotten one from the company(still waiting), I had to find some on the secondary market. Glad I did though, good knives.
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I have a Bradford.The "Gatsby" in M390. What a light saber slicer it is!!! Mr. Larkin makes some fine knives. I've had a few Busse's over the years and I'm just not a fan of INFI, but I know they have a rabid fan base.
I've built sheaths for a few Carothers (very nice knives IMHO). Havent seen Gollik or Huntsman so I'll look those up.
Thanks for the post.
 
CataD said:
I'm not sure if Kiah is making the second gen. as well, but these are even better than first gen! I never felt the need to order a diff sheath (GSOs sheats were priced at $20/25) for any of the GSOs I own/owned.
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Kiah built the sheaths up until the starter campaign. They began using another maker after that, and I agree about the quality on both.
 
Pàdruig said:
In the meantime, I am a Beckerhead, so naturally I am a pretty big fan of those knives and their capabilities. Tough 1095 can take a beating and still keep an adequate edge and Mr. Becker has designed several knives to suit a variety of purposeful tasks. I am also interested in Fiddleback Forge and Carothers and though I have neither the time or patience to engage in their weekly sales, I still hold out hope that when funds allow for it I can scoop up a few on the Exchange. Perhaps when 91bravo 91bravo tires of his HDFK... :D
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I agree on the sheaths. I finally reached that point of doing 90% custom sheaths and not having thousands of dollars tied up in stock knives.
I also agree on the 1095. I have an ESEE Junglas that I have absolutely beat the dog snot out of and it keeps begging for more. I did the same when I had the BK9 and would still have it if the Junglas blade wasn't larger and slightly more refined.
 
CataD said:
What gen 4.1. are you looking for, Ron? I've seen just a few Gen2 4.1 in the wild...
Cheers,
C.
Click to expand...
Gen 1 or 2, old or new, makes no difference. Thanks.
 
CataD said:
Just want to add that the 'stock' sheaths that come with S!K knives are the best I've every seen/had! The first gen sheaths were much better than anyone's else (and I've had kydex sheaths from many well-know makers).
I'm not sure if Kiah is making the second gen. as well, but these are even better than first gen! I never felt the need to order a diff sheath (GSOs sheats were priced at $20/25) for any of the GSOs I own/owned.

Cheers,
C.
Click to expand...

I wish I could get one of my sheaths in your hands!!
 
Hale Storm said:
I've had a few Busse's over the years and I'm just not a fan of INFI, but I know they have a rabid fan base.
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Yes, it is only good for larger knives, which I use a lot. Anything under 7 inches, not a fan! A little too thick behind the edge for a lot of designs too.

Gollik knives are great for the money. I have 3 Elmax and 1 Sleipner bladed knives, all have a pry tool at the end which I actually use quite a bit, as a larger screw driver and pry tool. The Sleipner knife seems to be more corrosion resistant than a couple of the other Sleipner blades I've had. A few of mine are full flat grinds, and are great slicers for being very thick stock(I like thin stock blades). For over .200" blade stock, they really slice like crazy and are thin behind the edge with a well tapered tip. Love my little 3.5 inch bladed Elmax knife from him, great EDC!

These are the two I recently got from him. After some use, I put in an order in for another small EDC blade.
4lBd5TG.jpg
 
I was all about Survive! And have/had several. Just got tired of waiting or would have bought more. Still waiting on a GSO 6. But know Carorhers gets all my attention and money.
 
I think Lon Humphry's Kephart in CPM-3V is an underrated knife. It's the reason I sold my 4.7 and am considering canceling my 4.1 order. So, yeah I've moved on from SK!
 
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