Exactly, but also releasing the 2020 version of the car with much inferior materials.
I was gonna make a thread about this, but does your Operator have the three holes milled out of the handle like every other one I've seen online? I ask because I my Operator I bought a decade ago has solid scales and no holes...
Yes it does, it certainly is one of the late Al Mar SERE's. I remember seeing the 'original' SERE in a book called 'Survival' (a mid 1980s compendium of articles from 'Combat and Survival' magazine) where it and other knives were compared for utility as a dedicated survival knife. I remember that it did not have the circular cut outs.
Hmmm... I wonder if that makes mine worth more... not that I would sell it, especially with the recent changes for the company. I can imagine the OG Al Mar's disappearing from the market in the next year or so.
Your's would be the one using S30V steel and zytel scales. They were part of the Al Mar catalog until 2007 for sure. I do not have a 2008 or 2009 catalog but the 2010 has the newer version in VG10, black micarta and with the three holes.
Wow. ,thanks. I guess I'm glad I got mine back in '07 then! I noticed my sheath is different than the ones that come in the post-2010 versions. I think the newer ones have an extended sweat guard. I prefer mine because of the smaller overall profile, which is especially useful for carrying in SoB position.
Mine came with a Kydex sheath with Tek-Lok but it doesn't have any rubber on it. The top of the scales lock into the kydex like a trigger guard would for a gun. The more I realize how much better my model is, the more I wish I could get another one and wonder if it may become even more valuable with time. I think when more people realize what happened with Al Mar, and the old stock dries up online, the more valuable mine will become. And I don't just mean value in $$, I mean value in having something that is a damn fine piece that represents the legacy of a company, a piece that might never be produced again in such quality. BTW, I meant to ask, what was the MSRP in that 2007 catalog? I have no idea how much I paid so many years ago.
So, I've seen that listing when I was trying to find my model online. My knife looks almost identical to the one in that link except that it has the red Al Mar stamp. And my sheath is different. It is identical to the pic from the bottom up until right where the front of the kydex edge stops and the exposed part of the knife handle starts. There is no extended portion with a rubber loop.
.So, I've seen that listing when I was trying to find my model online. My knife looks almost identical to the one in that link except that it has the red Al Mar stamp. And my sheath is different. It is identical to the pic from the bottom up until right where the front of the kydex edge stops and the exposed part of the knife handle starts. There is no extended portion with a rubber loop.
I realize that you're probably wondering why I haven't just posted a pic by now. I'm embarrassed to say that... I can't find it. I know it's around here somewhere. I just haven't had the time to look harder. But when I do find it I will post a pic
That is exactly the sheath I have and almost exactly the knife. Its red stamped logo and etched S30V on the base of the blade. I remember because it was my first knife in S30V back then and I was so excited because if you remember, S30V was the hottest supersteel back then (still is great, I don't get how an amazing steel 10 years later is talked about like a mid-grade steel by some today--its still a freaking supersteel lol).Does your knife says 154CM in S30V at the base of the blade?
The link below shows a knife with the same sheath as you seem to be describing but still no red stamp
https://nordicknives.com/collections/al-mar-knives/products/sro-sere
You are right, definitely need pictures!!!