I recently purchased a Strongarm. Very pleased with it so far. First day I had it, I took it out in the woods and was playing with it. It was shaving sharp out of the box, blade was straight, bevels are grinded almost perfect. I questioned it for being 420HC, but so far it has held its edge well. I feathered some seasoned cedar, batoned through cedar wood that was at least 3" in diameter and very knotty. Crossed batoned as well. Seasoned Cedar is very hard on blades. After a day of working with cedar, using my Tops knife, which is differently heat treated 1095 and are known to hold an edge for a long time, would need to be honed to achieve that razor edge. After using the Strongarm for a few hours, the blade was still shaving sharp, no nicks, rolls, or any apparent damage on the edge. Looks like Gerber knows how to treat their 420HC. The only other stainless steel knives I have are either AUS-8 or 440C. So far the edge retention seems to be on par with the others I mentioned. Pair this knife with my CRKT chogan woods hawk and Im good to go. I also plan to use this as my main edc. Granted, Im not playing commando on the streets or using it to pry open car doors or anything crazy. I figured with Gerber's warranty Im not concerned. Also for $50, if it gets stolen or I lose it some how, Im only out on a $50 knife, not a $150-300 knife. The Strongarm felt to me as a good edc for the edge retention, blade length, and the fact it actually has a decent production sheath. I did modify my sheath to carry it dangler style along with a strap on the bottom around my thigh, which is very secure and my preferred method. I detached the large portion of the nylon belt loop. The thin strap has two snaps that align with the snaps on the large belt loop but both are facing away from the body and when pulled on will cause them.to.unshaken and the knife will fall off. I made a cut in the webbing the same width as the small webbing strap. I seared the webbing with a butane torch lighter so it doesn't fray. I made this cut about a 1/4" under the 2 snaps on the large belt loop on the lower hanging portion that rests against your hips when its on your belt. I ran the small strap through the slit I made and then secured the two snaps. Doing this sutures the small strap in such a way that no matter how it moves or gets pulled, its supported by the webbing of the larger belt loop, the snaps will not come undone. I would post pictures but I cannot since I dont have a paid membership. I realize there is another member who posted here about producing add one for the sheath for carry options, the little mod I made is sufficient should you want to do a dangler style carry until your accessories come in. But doing this mod, you cannot just unsnap the belt loop to and remove with out removing your belt. You will have to undo your belt with this mod or undo the snaps and pull the small strap out through the slit then undo the snaps on the large belt loop to completely remove while leaving your belt on. If anyone is curious as to how this looks or how I did it, just message me and I can send a pic through email .
