- Joined
- Dec 29, 2005
- Messages
- 370
There are some great prices on these out there now. The temptation was too great. I have been an Al Mar fan and a SERE2000 and Mini SERE 2000 were my first purchases after coming here in '05. Now, all of my experience is with the Moki made knives of the Fadden era. Al Mar knives quality had always been compared to custom knives, but they must have been talking about the Sakai made knives when Al was alive.
The Moki knives were not that great. I loved them, but they had noticeably asymmetrical grinds/swedges and the radius on edges of the G10 scales was not consistent. F&F was not great for a knife that price (around $150), nor was the VG10 steel. I loved it anyway and from 2005 to 2015 I owned 2 different mini and 5 different full size SERE 2000s. F&F gradually declined and price wormed it's way to outlandish (over $250 street price with something like $450 retail).
They were overpriced and I bought them anyway. They were priced like the super premium knives that Al Mar had been, but a lot of times Benchmade and Spyderco had better F&F and materials than the Moki knives. I bought the Chinese SERE2020s in both sizes, one in G10 and one in FRN. I also bought some of the Ultralights in titanium, FRN, and bone. I took a bullet for the team, and I like these knives. I'll post some thoughts on each one as I play with it.
First up is the full size SERE2020. These are $50-$60 on sale. This is a stout beefy knife. The S2K had drawn some criticism because there was material removed from the liners at the lockbar. The 2020 still has a cutout there, but is full thickness unlike the 2000.
Finish isn't bad inside, but cuts that aren't visible on the exterior are a little rough but not too bad.
Blade is not centered, but its not super obvious because there is so little clearance between liners and blade.
G10 has nice consistent radius it is much better than the Moki knives. Liners are a bit proud here and there, the Moki knives never were. It's not too noticeable. The backspacer is fit better than my Moki knives.
Primary and swedge grinds are as good or better than the Moki knives. Plunge line is much nicer.
Blade steel is an old workhorse, D2. I'll try to keep you updated on performance as I use it.
First impression is that this is a nice $50.00 knife. I would have been happy with it at $100 street price. The things I loved about the 2000 are present. Blade shape, handle ergos, heft and beefiness. Awesome pocket clip, carries much smaller than it is.
The things I don't like. I would have preferred no A/O. This is the first A/O I have owned. Lets see how it goes. Blade steel is not exciting. But, the Al Mars never were. Chinese origin? Al himself was proud of his own Chinese heritage. Both of his parents were immigrants from China. Maybe he wouldn't like this knife, but I'll bet that the quality of knives coming out of China would have been very interesting to him. Especially at the prices. Keep in mind that in the 70s, made in Japan had the stigma of poor quality cheap junk. Like the Chinese manufacturers now, they didn't really deserve that reputation anymore. They would build what you would pay for. Brilliant stuff was just starting to come from Japan like watches, optics/cameras, electronics, shotguns and of course knives.
So, are these REAL Al Mar knives? No, in the sense that they don't adhere to the original spirit of Al Mar. The original intent was to offer Al's designs with impeccable build at super premium prices. Al offered the first $100 folding production knife. Is that Sebenza money in 1979 dollars? That spirit of the company died with Al and did not continue into the Fadden/Moki era. I do like these knives though. I would love to see the current owners get some high end stuff in the lineup, especially some of the original designs. In the meantime, I'll still enjoy these because the design and build quality are really nice for the money or even a bit more. Almost as good as my Moki SEREs but way less money.
There are some really good Al Mar threads in the Bernard Levine forum. Hopefully I will come back to this thread with some of the other knives and some updates on useage.
The Moki knives were not that great. I loved them, but they had noticeably asymmetrical grinds/swedges and the radius on edges of the G10 scales was not consistent. F&F was not great for a knife that price (around $150), nor was the VG10 steel. I loved it anyway and from 2005 to 2015 I owned 2 different mini and 5 different full size SERE 2000s. F&F gradually declined and price wormed it's way to outlandish (over $250 street price with something like $450 retail).
They were overpriced and I bought them anyway. They were priced like the super premium knives that Al Mar had been, but a lot of times Benchmade and Spyderco had better F&F and materials than the Moki knives. I bought the Chinese SERE2020s in both sizes, one in G10 and one in FRN. I also bought some of the Ultralights in titanium, FRN, and bone. I took a bullet for the team, and I like these knives. I'll post some thoughts on each one as I play with it.
First up is the full size SERE2020. These are $50-$60 on sale. This is a stout beefy knife. The S2K had drawn some criticism because there was material removed from the liners at the lockbar. The 2020 still has a cutout there, but is full thickness unlike the 2000.
Finish isn't bad inside, but cuts that aren't visible on the exterior are a little rough but not too bad.
Blade is not centered, but its not super obvious because there is so little clearance between liners and blade.
G10 has nice consistent radius it is much better than the Moki knives. Liners are a bit proud here and there, the Moki knives never were. It's not too noticeable. The backspacer is fit better than my Moki knives.
Primary and swedge grinds are as good or better than the Moki knives. Plunge line is much nicer.
Blade steel is an old workhorse, D2. I'll try to keep you updated on performance as I use it.
First impression is that this is a nice $50.00 knife. I would have been happy with it at $100 street price. The things I loved about the 2000 are present. Blade shape, handle ergos, heft and beefiness. Awesome pocket clip, carries much smaller than it is.
The things I don't like. I would have preferred no A/O. This is the first A/O I have owned. Lets see how it goes. Blade steel is not exciting. But, the Al Mars never were. Chinese origin? Al himself was proud of his own Chinese heritage. Both of his parents were immigrants from China. Maybe he wouldn't like this knife, but I'll bet that the quality of knives coming out of China would have been very interesting to him. Especially at the prices. Keep in mind that in the 70s, made in Japan had the stigma of poor quality cheap junk. Like the Chinese manufacturers now, they didn't really deserve that reputation anymore. They would build what you would pay for. Brilliant stuff was just starting to come from Japan like watches, optics/cameras, electronics, shotguns and of course knives.
So, are these REAL Al Mar knives? No, in the sense that they don't adhere to the original spirit of Al Mar. The original intent was to offer Al's designs with impeccable build at super premium prices. Al offered the first $100 folding production knife. Is that Sebenza money in 1979 dollars? That spirit of the company died with Al and did not continue into the Fadden/Moki era. I do like these knives though. I would love to see the current owners get some high end stuff in the lineup, especially some of the original designs. In the meantime, I'll still enjoy these because the design and build quality are really nice for the money or even a bit more. Almost as good as my Moki SEREs but way less money.
There are some really good Al Mar threads in the Bernard Levine forum. Hopefully I will come back to this thread with some of the other knives and some updates on useage.
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