I haven't been very active on the forums recently. Spring is a very busy time for me as the school year ends and plants start growing in earnest. I just thought I'd take a minute to report on my ever growing respect for the Military knife and my growing dependance upon it.
I have a fully serrated model in ATS34 which goes outside with me everyday. The light duty tasks such as cutting open feed bags aren't worth mentioning except to say that in winter with heavy gloves on I never have to take a glove off to open and close the knife with one hand. During the growing season, it's the typical, almost daily cutting of Raspberry and multiflora rose shoots and especially the low hanging branches from the many trees on my property that impresses me. Along borders with my lawns and along trails cut through my little woods, I continually trim the new growth which otherwise would reach out and poke or grab me when mowing or just walking around appreciating my little "park." (You might ask why I don't use a chainsaw or a set of loppers. My response is that they don't fit in my pocket.) I cut branches up to an inch or even a little more in diameter. Recently, I trimmed all the branches that were as low as or lower than head height from a large Osage Orange tree....now that is some tough wood. An awful lot of pressure is used to accomplish cuts like this. I am amazed at the way this knife handles the strain with no reinforcing steel liners...just the G10 scales and the nested liner lock on one side. I have seen no appreciable change in the lockup position of the liner in all the months since I had it adjusted (Thanks Vince...by the way the eccentric pivot which allows for adjustment is a stroke of genius). I do get the blade incredibly "gummy" and the little serrations fill with wood but it cleans up easily with a little dish detergent and water. I regularly give the edge a few strokes on the sharpmaker to maintain the edge and a drop or two of Rem oil in the pivot. It takes only a little more attention to keep the inch long plain edge section at the tip razor sharp. It's nice to have that little bit of plainedge for fine work. The tip is also "pointy" enough to remove splinters and the overall design allows for a variety of grips which facilitate various tasks from hacking/slashing (mostly herbaceous plants and small branches) to short sawing strokes to fine work.
By nature, I'm always skeptical with something new. I'm usually looking for something better. I've been testing several 31/2"-4" folders over the past 8 or 9 months trying to find my best choice for an outdoor utility knife. I was worried, at first, by doubt about the strengh and reliability of the linerlock so I bought a BM710s axislock...which my son happily accepted as a gift when I developed more faith in the Military's lock. I've read Cliff Stamp's test and still cannot duplicate his lock failure. I've read many other posts that cast doubt on the reliability of liner locks, but my experience is telling me something else....besides having grown up using Case folders with no lock, I'm accustomed to being thoughtful about using cutting/handling techniques which unduly stress the pivot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've found in the Military a really solid folding tool that fits my hand and pocket very well and meets all the demands I put on it. No other knife I've tested has quite satisfied me as this one has. Of course, any choice is quite personal and may include many facets such as aethetics, materials used in blades, scales etc, intended use, price and so on. My choice may not be your choice. I cannot disparage the other knives I tried but I selected the Military from the company of several other fine examples of modern production including the Starmate, BM710, Bm750, Buck 110.
The initial excitment of owning the Military has long since worn off and been replaced by a great respect for and confidence in the design, materials and construction of this tool. I am more of a knife user than a knife collector and I hope to use this knife for the rest of my life....I think it just might outlast me.
I have a fully serrated model in ATS34 which goes outside with me everyday. The light duty tasks such as cutting open feed bags aren't worth mentioning except to say that in winter with heavy gloves on I never have to take a glove off to open and close the knife with one hand. During the growing season, it's the typical, almost daily cutting of Raspberry and multiflora rose shoots and especially the low hanging branches from the many trees on my property that impresses me. Along borders with my lawns and along trails cut through my little woods, I continually trim the new growth which otherwise would reach out and poke or grab me when mowing or just walking around appreciating my little "park." (You might ask why I don't use a chainsaw or a set of loppers. My response is that they don't fit in my pocket.) I cut branches up to an inch or even a little more in diameter. Recently, I trimmed all the branches that were as low as or lower than head height from a large Osage Orange tree....now that is some tough wood. An awful lot of pressure is used to accomplish cuts like this. I am amazed at the way this knife handles the strain with no reinforcing steel liners...just the G10 scales and the nested liner lock on one side. I have seen no appreciable change in the lockup position of the liner in all the months since I had it adjusted (Thanks Vince...by the way the eccentric pivot which allows for adjustment is a stroke of genius). I do get the blade incredibly "gummy" and the little serrations fill with wood but it cleans up easily with a little dish detergent and water. I regularly give the edge a few strokes on the sharpmaker to maintain the edge and a drop or two of Rem oil in the pivot. It takes only a little more attention to keep the inch long plain edge section at the tip razor sharp. It's nice to have that little bit of plainedge for fine work. The tip is also "pointy" enough to remove splinters and the overall design allows for a variety of grips which facilitate various tasks from hacking/slashing (mostly herbaceous plants and small branches) to short sawing strokes to fine work.
By nature, I'm always skeptical with something new. I'm usually looking for something better. I've been testing several 31/2"-4" folders over the past 8 or 9 months trying to find my best choice for an outdoor utility knife. I was worried, at first, by doubt about the strengh and reliability of the linerlock so I bought a BM710s axislock...which my son happily accepted as a gift when I developed more faith in the Military's lock. I've read Cliff Stamp's test and still cannot duplicate his lock failure. I've read many other posts that cast doubt on the reliability of liner locks, but my experience is telling me something else....besides having grown up using Case folders with no lock, I'm accustomed to being thoughtful about using cutting/handling techniques which unduly stress the pivot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've found in the Military a really solid folding tool that fits my hand and pocket very well and meets all the demands I put on it. No other knife I've tested has quite satisfied me as this one has. Of course, any choice is quite personal and may include many facets such as aethetics, materials used in blades, scales etc, intended use, price and so on. My choice may not be your choice. I cannot disparage the other knives I tried but I selected the Military from the company of several other fine examples of modern production including the Starmate, BM710, Bm750, Buck 110.
The initial excitment of owning the Military has long since worn off and been replaced by a great respect for and confidence in the design, materials and construction of this tool. I am more of a knife user than a knife collector and I hope to use this knife for the rest of my life....I think it just might outlast me.
