Tool Logic Fire SL3 Knife

TAH

TAH

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
6,135
Gimmick or respectable little backup kit? Anybody have one?

This one has knife, firesteel, and whistle.

Glam-Main-SL3.jpg
 
when i was backpacking aussie a buddy of mine had brought one along. i was carrying a sak oht, mora clipper with firesteel.


i dont see it as the be all of end all survival knives. however it is a nifty little knife to play with. personally i didnt like it but there may be others here who do.

as a back up it may be half decent.

cheers
 
You can liken it to a Rambo survival gimmick type knife. For less $$$ you could pick up a Mora, larger firesteel and a good whistle and be better off I think. It just won't be an all in one neat package.
 
KuRUpTD said:
For less $$$ you could pick up a Mora, larger firesteel and a good whistle
Click to expand...

Yep, you're right. I have all three of those. I just thought the Tool Logic was a neat little package and was looking for some feedback. :thumbup:
 
Here is the text of a review I did on them for KF in 2005.

The pictures that went with it were lost when I deleted an old photobucket account, but here is the text.

The SR3 Rescue Tool comes with the following features.

3 inch 420J2 Stainless Steel half serrated/half plain edge blade with one-hand opening thumbhole.

Zytel handle that contains an emergency whistle.

Stainless Steel pocket clip. (which holds the knife VERY securly

Firesteel from Light-My-Fire, contained in a removable storage case that attached to and becomes part of the handle and also can be used to carry a standard Mag-Lite Solitaire flashlight.


When I started the test, I wanted to evaluate the knife for several things such as:

1. Handle ergonomics under sustained use.
2. Lock strength.
3. Cutting and edge holding.
4. Blade and blade pivot strength.
5. Firestarter.
6. Rescue whistle.


The Firesteel carrier can also be used to carry a standard Mag-Lite Solitaire flashlight, by removing the Firesteel and loosening the small screw that retains the carrier a little, you can slide in the flashlight, then tighten the screw for a very secure hold on the light, it will not come out even under hard shaking.

The knife can be carried and used without it if preferred.


Handle Ergonomics: As “odd�? as the knife looks, surprisingly it is one of the most comfortable to use. All edges and corners have been rounded and contoured so that there are no “hotspots�? that show up, even under extended whittling and carving. Removing the Firesteel carrier changes that though, exposing the pointed corner seen above just behind the thumbhole on the handle. The thumbhole works perfect, the knife is very easy to open with either hand.


Lock Strength: To test the lock, I performed the good old-fashioned spine whack. I held the knife so that my fingers were clear and proceeded to smack the back of the blade on a stump 20 times and the liner lock while looking awful thin held entirely. I’m not worried about this one closing on my hand!


Cutting and Edge Holding: At the start, the factory edge was great, the knife would shave hair from my arm easily. 420J2 steel is not the greatest “wonder steel�?, but it held up well during the test. The SL3 blade is a half serrated half plain edge, with a very well done “shark’s tooth�? style tip that is full thickness all the way to the tip. Very reminiscent of the tip on a SOG pentagon Elite in profile.


The first cutting test I performed was to cut a small maple sapling down that was around 1.5 inches thick. I pushed the blade into the sapling at a downward angle, rocking back and forth to slice into the wood. I got about halfway through and repeated the same from the other side, cutting the sapling off at the base. I then spent about 10 minutes striping all the branches off and then to test the serrated part on wood, I sawed through the sapling about 12 inches up from the end. The serrated edge easily cut about halfway through then began to bind as the blade was almost all the way in. I flipped the sapling over and repeated the sawing from the other side quickly ending up with a smooth flat cut.


I then took the piece of Maple about 12 inches long and 1.5 inches around and sat whittling it down to a pile of shavings.

The next two test were to evaluate the strength of the blade and the blade tip. First I took a dried piece of Maple and starting stabbing the tip into it and prying up pieces of wood. I did this over a dozen times, and the tip did not bend or break in the slightest.

Next up I REALLY gave the tip a workout, I started twisting it into the dried Maple like a drill bit, until I had drilled about half way through, then repeated it from the other side until I had bored a hole all the way through the piece. I put a LOT of twisting motions of the blade tip and the pivot doing this, and neither showed an signs of damage.


The final cutting test was to evaluate the serrated half of the blade by cutting a small collection of various cords and ropes and some heavy duty zip-ties.

I as a rule hate serrated edges, but the serrations on the SL3 are razor sharp and with minimal effort sliced through all the test material with one push of the blade.


Firestarter: The Firesteel that comes included with the SL3 is made by Light-My-Fire, makers of the Swedish Firesteel, so no big surprise here, it worked like a charm. The SL3 blade comes with a notch at the base of the blade that acts as a scrapped for the Firesteel, and using the wood shavings from earlier and some dry grass from the yard, I quickly had a small fire going with a few minutes.

Rescue Whistle: I evaluated the whistle contained in the handle by testing it against my Jet Scream whistle and a Bison Products whistle, and found it to hold it’s own OK against the Jet Scream whistle. The Bison Products whistle won hands down against the others, it’s possible the most obnoxious whistle I own!

Overall Review: The Toollogic SL3 held very well, by the end of the test, the blade was “pulling�? hairs from my arm, but still cutting them. The tip was neither broken or bent. The only damage that showed up was 2 small nicks in the front half of the blade caused when I accidentally hit the concrete while scrapping the Firesteel during the fire building test, which easily sharpened out in no time. After all the test were done, I noticed a slight amount of blade play in the pivot that was not there at the beginning, I removed the blade to clean out the crude that accumulated from the Firesteel, and retightened it and it was back to normal.

For a knife that seems kinda “gimmicky�?, it held up well. If I could suggest to the maker any changes, it would be to possibly upgrade the steel to at least AUS8, but that said the 420J2 did everything I asked of it. Also, since this is marketed as a “Rescue Tool�?, I would change the handle color from black to blaze orange or yellow for better visibility if dropped.

Well that's it, hope folks like it, let me know what you think, I admit I am a somewhat aspiring "knife writer" so take pitty on a beginner and give me some pro/con feedback.
 
I have one and it it a solid performer. Put together with a pocket PSk and you would be more prepared than most people.
 
In the You Tube video posted above, his SL3 has a plain edge. He said that his knife came from County Comm. I don't see any Tool Logic knife on the County Comm website. Do all of your knives have the partially serrated edge? I would prefer a plain edge if possible.
 
countycomm did sell them. was on the same page as the metal match/firesteel. now it is replaced on the fire fixins...must not stock it anymore. a quick peek on the tool logic website reveals only partially serated edged knives. Try the 'bay
 
On our last trip, my buddy opened his finger up pretty good when the liner lock failed. It was quite easy to repeat the failure. I was kind of interested in one, until handling the one he has. I'll pass.
 
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