I don't think they are in production right now. At around £140 there may be some still collecting dust in the back of a shop somewhere.
I broke one by taking a huge cresent chip out of the blade. Too much damage to fix. I'm not completely sure if I hit something hard on the ground or the blade had twisted in the hard wood I was chopping at the time.
For anyone trying to produce a similar type knife there are some serious engineering problems. Al Mar was trying to produce a hard wood machete. Hard steel, hefty blade at a length that could produce real power. I don't know of any maker that has succesfully produced one yet. The Blackjack (now defunked) produced something near with its Marauder II, but used a much softer and forgiving steel. The fix has produced knives more akin to hatchets: shorter and stouter.
Even modern steels with the best heat treatment cannot handle the forces involved. That is if you want a hard keen edge.
Busse Inf steel may be up to it but Busse has stopped short of producing anything over 12 inches. If they did, even they would either beef it up or expect some to fail.
Manufactureres hate their blades to fail, to the point where even small folders tend to be over engineered. You cannot blame the manufacturers when, once a blade failes, everyone is all too quick to write off the knife and manufacturer.
I would love to see more knives fail because they were made to cut.
The Pathfinder, was never my preferred blade. There may be some out there that have given years or sterling service. As an example of Al Mars pioneering work it is a superb example of how he was trying to push the boundaries of knife making and design.
