What is your SURVIVOR! Story

redwood22

redwood22

Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
1,554
I was thinking today, we all have stories of why we are stupid loyal to a company, or how the products we covet have really proven their metal to us (pun intended?) I wanted to start a thread where we share specific stories about using Survive! knives. For me it's extremely simple:

My friends and I were planning a particularly fun trip (for us) where we would hike over the blue ridge (perpendicular to the app trail) to an old cabin in the woods and then hike out the next day. 7 miles each day, day one being all directly uphill. Now I know longer trips have been had, but it just so happened to fall on the coldest day in VA history. The windchill during the day was around -15 F. There was also 6" of snow on the ground. Again, many crazier adventures have been had, but only 2 of us had any practical experience. For this trip i really wanted a do-all awesome knife and my research led me to survive. I was able to get a 4.1 from them right before the trip, and when it came in I was a bit disappointed. It didn't have jimping (i know some ppl prefer this, I am not one of them). I called Guy up and said I'd send it in and swap it out, he asked when the trip was (2 days from phone call). He said keep it, beat the hell out of it and send it in after....holy crap, thats customer service. Fast forward to the trip, we finally arrive at the cabin and the folks before us left 0 firewood. We scramble with the crappy tools on hand to make as much firewood as possible, and I was in charge of getting and keeping the fire going. I literally beat the crap out of that 4.1 batoning piles of wood to get it going. The knife was the most useful tool we had, and quite literally helped keep us from freezing. When the trip was over i was able to swap out the knife (granted with a bit of that sweet wait time) and in the process became a fan of the knives and what the company stands for. I had a necker before the 4.1 and have since ordered 2x3.5, another 4.1, and a 5.0.

This was the cabin: https://www.patc.net/PublicView/Custom/PATC_Cabins/Individual_Cabins/Corbin.aspx

Sorry to be long winded, but considering the cool places you guys live and the fun stuff you all do i figure i'd get it started and i've been told I'm a bit....long winded.... basically tell us why you chose survive, a fun story using them, whatever etc etc...

Cheers!!
 
These kind of stories are really the reason I love Survive! Knives.

For me it was really about reconnecting with one of my friends from high school. I did a ton of research on Survive! and somehow got lucky and bought 2 4.1's at once and just loved the way the knives worked so I decided to join their Facebook page and I stumbled across a comment my friend Josh wrote asking when the 4.1's would be released again. Come to find out he's really into camping and bushcraft and he had missed out on every production run in 2014 because money was tight or they sold out quickly. I sent him a message with my address and gave him a blue G10 handled 4.1 with no jimping.
He was shocked to the point of tearing up because it was exactly what he wanted.
Now there really isn't a day that goes by that we don't talk and BS about knives or gear.
The other reason I really like them is because of the way they treat their clients and potential clients. They're humble people that don't let their fame go to their heads.
 
Redwood this is a fantastic thread just to start off.

I wish I had an awesome story or reason, but the truth is I just stumbled on them and fell down the proverbial rabbit hole we call Survive!

I typically carried old school folders. I'm a GEC man truthfully. And I do love my case texas toothpicks. :)

I seen a knife from another BF member, while just checking out photos online. (Would love to drop his name; T.A. Davidson. He's an out standing craftsmen in traditional slip joint knives.) His use of cpm154 got me interested. The I went on an overnighter with my buddy. I watched him break his 420 ss blade. It was then I knew there had to be better steels out there. I searched. In my search of 3v I found Survive!'s you tube videos. I ended up seeing Guy jump off the side of a mountain. (And for some reason, idk why.) I asked my self, do I trust my knife.

Two weeks later the Necker II came up for sell. I jumped on it. (This was right before my wife jumped on me bout my knife addiction)

Moral of the story is: I havent look back since.
 
These are great stories! and exactly what I was talking about. Thank you guys for sharing!
 
Friend's bachelor party with about 17 other dudes. Rented a cabin by the shenendoah river for a weekend of drinking and hitting up breweries. By cabin, I mean full on house, not primitive at all. Most of the other guys are full on city folk, some of which have never camped a night in their lives. I challenged them to start a fire using only my 4.1 rig (includes firestick) and no manmade combustibles. It took about an hour until someone finally used cedar bark to get it going. After that was started, another guy tried to start one with the bow drill divot. He got some smoke, but couldn't get the full on fire started. I thought it was significant because some of the guys that had zero outdoors experience desire to get that experience got really into starting the fire, made me think a lot more of them.

It was funny watching one of them throw a large log onto leaves and pine needles thinking that it would just catch. They really had no clue, but were really determined to get that fire going, which came as a pleasant surprise.

At the end one of the other guys that has spent time in the woods (I asked him not to help) was playing with the knife. He expected the edge to be destroyed due to all the hacking it had received in making feathersticks. Imagine non-knife people using a knife and just swinging a 4" blade into wood. He was very surprised when after all said and done, it still popped every hair on his arm. This was the M390 version and he quickly ordered one for himself.
 
I always thought it was so easy to start fires. Its taken years to hone the skills I have. My camp buddy use to make fun of me till I gave him the same challenge I was faced with. Damp tender is no easy task to start. I explained that not all situations are ideal sometimes you have to intentionally put your self in a bad spot to know how to work around it. Now he starts all his fires in one or another primitive fashion. Its fun when its just you and tour buddy but if either one of us was stuck in the woods alone id like to think ive gave him a leg up.

Good story lennyo
 
Redwood - thank you for starting this fantastic thread, it allows me the proper platform to share my SK story...and why I'll always have at least one on me at all times.

Being a knife addict, like most of my brothers and sisters here on the forum (just kidding, I know it's just us dorky dudes...most of us never having even touched a real boob in our lives....well, most of us, I have 5 children, but I digress). As I was saying, for most of us, knives are our passion, so we're always searching the Interweb for new stuff. Well, luckily I found the SK line a while back and was able to get my hands on a 7/7. The timing proved to be fateful. Just as I exited the local post office with my new treasure, the local sheriff of the small mountain town I found myself in shoves me from behind. He tells me that he's been watching me for the past few days, and didn't like that I've been hanging out in his town. I have no idea why he didn't like or trust me, I did absolutely nothing to illicit such a response...esp. from a man of the law. Shocked, I turned around and asked what was the matter. His nasty deputy said something like "...you're the matter, now put your hands behind your back". They arrested me right there in the parking lot for vagrancy! So, after a short ride in the back of their cruiser, I find myself in a jail cell for the first time in my life. They of course confiscated my new knife, before I could even open it. To further taunt me, the Sheriff and his cruel deputy unboxed the GSO 7/7, without even taking the time to narrate a sweet unboxing vid for the Interweb, which I could not believe. I, of course, couldn't let that stand, so I waiting until nightfall, then used my Special Forces skills (Green Beret to be exact....though if the movie were made these days, I'd be a Navy Seal due to their current popularity) to cleverly brake myself free of the holding cell...with my shoes removed for maximum silence, I deftly slipped my 7/7 out of the deputy's greedy little hands and made a run for it into the adjacent thickly-treed forest.

Well my friends, that's when the 7/7 really shined for me. I used it to feed myself by fashioning a crude spear, jumping out of a tree onto a game animal below, using the blade itself to finish it off as quickly and humanely as possible. I thanked the animal for its sacrifice, and then used my 7/7 to start a nice little fire with which I was able to cook the meat and boil some water from a nearby stream. I wished I had seen the stream a bit sooner, as I had just finished drinking my own urine when I stumbled upon it...I recall thinking to myself, "why did I even decide to do that in the first place, I had escaped jail only 20 minutes earlier and wasn't even thirsty yet"). Well, not long after finishing my woodsy meal, I could hear dogs barking off in the distance, and I knew then...it was that damn Sheriff and all of the men, dogs, and equipment he could muster to re-capture me, and no doubt continue to torment, if not torture me as his prisoner. I hated to do it, but over the next few days, I was forced to turn my GSO 7/7 against many men who meant me great harm, as I struggled to stay one step ahead of that small town overweight Sheriff. As the bodies piled up, they began to realize that they were obviously dealing with a special man, with special fighting and surviving skills, from the Special Forces. It was my old Colonel, Colonel Trautman was his name, who met up with the Sheriff and told them exactly who they were dealing with....and exactly how this man-hunt would play out if they foolishly continued it. The Colonel grew even more desperate to stop the Sheriff when he learned that I had one item with me, aside from my extensive Special Forces training and ruggedly handsome features, I had the GSO 7/7. He knew that the Sheriff and every single one of his men would end up dead if they didn't stop chasing me.

Anyhow, I think next, I found myself back in town and blew up a bunch of stuff, and then it was just me and that jerk of a Sheriff....seconds away from driving my glistening GSO 7/7 into his portly mound of evil Sheriff belly, the Colonel burst in and talked me out of it....the 7/7 had saved my life, in more ways than one. And that is my Survive Knives story....my personal story, explaining why I'll never go anywhere without an SK blade on my person, and why I will always be loyal to the SK brand.
 
Wow VanDammet, that is quite a story, it is almost unbelievable, but I know you wouldn't fabricate any tales to your S! Brothers here :eek:

Edit to say: Now that I think of it, this story sounds like it might have a few similarities to a Sylvester Stalone movie I saw a few years ago...... Rocky maybe? Probably just coincidence..............
 
Last edited:
Silver...thanks for believing in me, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I'm not sure who this Sylvester Stallone you speak of is...but he sounds pretty awesome.

I don't have the time right now, but remind me to tell you guys what happened next to me and my GSO 7/7....I won't give it all away now, but it involves exploding arrows, sweaty biceps, and a sweet red headband!
 
Seriously though, if I may, I love these knives so much and I cannot wait for the next gen 4.1, 5.1, and 7/7 to get here. The 7/7 will be the last to arrive, but when it finally does, you better believe I'm ripping up an old red shirt, fashioning it into a bada$$ headband, and making my kids dress up as Russians and Vietcong!
 
VanDammet said:
Silver...thanks for believing in me, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I'm not sure who this Sylvester Stallone you speak of is...but he sounds pretty awesome.

I don't have the time right now, but remind me to tell you guys what happened next to me and my GSO 7/7....I won't give it all away now, but it involves exploding arrows, sweaty biceps, and a sweet red headband!
Click to expand...
The 7/7 is totally capable, but I feel like you would have had an easier time with a huge saw back blade with a hollow handle that actually contains a survival kit. No real survivalist would use the pommel of a knife to pommel things, replace it with a compass and you're good to go!

VanDammet said:
Seriously though, if I may, I love these knives so much and I cannot wait for the next gen 4.1, 5.1, and 7/7 to get here. The 7/7 will be the last to arrive, but when it finally does, you better believe I'm ripping up an old red shirt, fashioning it into a bada$$ headband, and making my kids dress up as Russians and Vietcong!
Click to expand...
LOL :thumbup:
 
VanDammet said:
Redwood - thank you for starting this fantastic thread, it allows me the proper platform to share my SK story...and why I'll always have at least one on me at all times.

Being a knife addict, like most of my brothers and sisters here on the forum (just kidding, I know it's just us dorky dudes...most of us never having even touched a real boob in our lives....well, most of us, I have 5 children, but I digress). As I was saying, for most of us, knives are our passion, so we're always searching the Interweb for new stuff. Well, luckily I found the SK line a while back and was able to get my hands on a 7/7. The timing proved to be fateful. Just as I exited the local post office with my new treasure, the local sheriff of the small mountain town I found myself in shoves me from behind. He tells me that he's been watching me for the past few days, and didn't like that I've been hanging out in his town. I have no idea why he didn't like or trust me, I did absolutely nothing to illicit such a response...esp. from a man of the law. Shocked, I turned around and asked what was the matter. His nasty deputy said something like "...you're the matter, now put your hands behind your back". They arrested me right there in the parking lot for vagrancy! So, after a short ride in the back of their cruiser, I find myself in a jail cell for the first time in my life. They of course confiscated my new knife, before I could even open it. To further taunt me, the Sheriff and his cruel deputy unboxed the GSO 7/7, without even taking the time to narrate a sweet unboxing vid for the Interweb, which I could not believe. I, of course, couldn't let that stand, so I waiting until nightfall, then used my Special Forces skills (Green Beret to be exact....though if the movie were made these days, I'd be a Navy Seal due to their current popularity) to cleverly brake myself free of the holding cell...with my shoes removed for maximum silence, I deftly slipped my 7/7 out of the deputy's greedy little hands and made a run for it into the adjacent thickly-treed forest.

Well my friends, that's when the 7/7 really shined for me. I used it to feed myself by fashioning a crude spear, jumping out of a tree onto a game animal below, using the blade itself to finish it off as quickly and humanely as possible. I thanked the animal for its sacrifice, and then used my 7/7 to start a nice little fire with which I was able to cook the meat and boil some water from a nearby stream. I wished I had seen the stream a bit sooner, as I had just finished drinking my own urine when I stumbled upon it...I recall thinking to myself, "why did I even decide to do that in the first place, I had escaped jail only 20 minutes earlier and wasn't even thirsty yet"). Well, not long after finishing my woodsy meal, I could hear dogs barking off in the distance, and I knew then...it was that damn Sheriff and all of the men, dogs, and equipment he could muster to re-capture me, and no doubt continue to torment, if not torture me as his prisoner. I hated to do it, but over the next few days, I was forced to turn my GSO 7/7 against many men who meant me great harm, as I struggled to stay one step ahead of that small town overweight Sheriff. As the bodies piled up, they began to realize that they were obviously dealing with a special man, with special fighting and surviving skills, from the Special Forces. It was my old Colonel, Colonel Trautman was his name, who met up with the Sheriff and told them exactly who they were dealing with....and exactly how this man-hunt would play out if they foolishly continued it. The Colonel grew even more desperate to stop the Sheriff when he learned that I had one item with me, aside from my extensive Special Forces training and ruggedly handsome features, I had the GSO 7/7. He knew that the Sheriff and every single one of his men would end up dead if they didn't stop chasing me.

Anyhow, I think next, I found myself back in town and blew up a bunch of stuff, and then it was just me and that jerk of a Sheriff....seconds away from driving my glistening GSO 7/7 into his portly mound of evil Sheriff belly, the Colonel burst in and talked me out of it....the 7/7 had saved my life, in more ways than one. And that is my Survive Knives story....my personal story, explaining why I'll never go anywhere without an SK blade on my person, and why I will always be loyal to the SK brand.
Click to expand...

Love it! I read this aloud to the wife and she just kept saying "i've heard this before....right???"
 
I choose Survive knives for hunting/ survival because I met Guy here on bladeforums . I like the quality of materials used and his designs. Survive produces really good quality knives.
 
Talk about a completely random coincidence,, I hiked by that cabin yesterday!!!! Didn't have a Survive! on me,, but did have my Infidu, and a GF SFA on me,, really cool spot,, unfortunately no trout to be had for me from the small creek that is next to it. That was a pain hiking back up that trail to Skyline drive,, feeling it today.
 
rcb2000 said:
Talk about a completely random coincidence,, I hiked by that cabin yesterday!!!! Didn't have a Survive! on me,, but did have my Infidu, and a GF SFA on me,, really cool spot,, unfortunately no trout to be had for me from the small creek that is next to it. That was a pain hiking back up that trail to Skyline drive,, feeling it today.
Click to expand...

Small world! I almost fell into that small creek testing some ice..haha
 
For me I wa googling survival knives, bushcraft knives and techniques respective to their use. At the time I was into more tactical fixed blades. I stumbled across youtube vids of Guy testing his knife. It looked like it performed well but i didnt like the look of it. I made a progression through Bark River and discovered that the S!K was made by Bark River at the time. So I looked and looked but couldnt find a S!K knife to try. I always loved the look of the Busse Boss Jack and the ESEE 6, so I bought an ESEE 6. I really liked that thing. I added TKC g10 grips. It was pretty damn sweet. I dont like coatings and really wished the thig was 3V steel. I had used 3V on a barkie. Then Guy released the preorder for the 5.1. It waz like he read my mind. A 3V, stonewashed ESEE 6 with a saber ground drop point. I had been through enough different knives to know greatness when I saw it. The 5.1 wasnt availible and I Preordered a 7/7 and the reat was history. I picked up a 5.1 and found that I was better balanced (for my preferences) than the 7/7 and functionally I wasnt losing anything with only 1 inch less blade. I sold the 7/7, which I regret. Got 2 x 3.5's and a necker and a necker 2 and now I am hooked. 5.1 is still my favorite though. Ordered a second 5.1 from the starter. I worried I wont like the new finish. I love stonewashed blades.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top