S7 Fixed Blade : Looking To BUY!

J

JZarmyBJJ

Joined
Dec 1, 2017
Messages
6
Good evening everyone.
This is my first post so if it should be in somewhere else please just direct me there.

I am looking for a fixed blade to take with me to the army. I'm enlisting as an infantryman and I'm going for Ranger. I essentially need a sharp pry bar that can be with me always. I need impact resistance and toughness over everything else. I'll have a other blades for tasks outside of this knife's bread and butter. This will be my go-to entry/combat/utility blade.

Listed below are the only real requirements/standards I have for the blade. Anything not listed or listed with a '??' is either beyond my understanding or just reliant on what you have available.

Blade length : 5.5in-5.85in
Cutting edge : 5in.
Blade Color : Flat Dark Earth
Handle length : 5.2in
Handle scale width (each scale) : .25in
Handle Material : Micarta
Handle Color : Coyote Tan
Blade Stock Thickness : 7mm-9mm (.270-.350 inch)
Blade width (max) : 1.5in
Grind type : Saber Grind (lower bevel)
Edge Angle :??°
HRC : ??
Heat treat method : ??


Extra Features : Small finger gaurd, sub-hilt (if possible), full Tang, exposed 'glass breaker' pommel, spine jimping, functional finger choil.

Shape : This is we're I'm not particularly specific. If you know of or have a particularly strong blade shape I'm open to it. If you have a signature blade shape you use I'm open to it. Just NO CLIP POINTS!!! Remember sharp pry bar!!!

I really hope someone can help me out with this. Thank you and have a merry Christmas, happy holidays.
 
It might be a good idea to wait until you get to your first unit and see what your CO will actually let you carry. ;) But seriously, from that description, I would suggest going to Harbor Freight and buying a small prybar because a .350 blade with bevels an inch tall isn't exactly going to be a very good slicer.
 
Haha I guess I wasn't thinking about slicing too much! But there is a range of .265-.350. and maybe a high going or a full flat grind if the stock is that thick.

The only reason I was planning on taking a knife before I saw what was allowed is based on what all my friends and family have told me about being deployed and how knives are almost always allowed. But you make good points.
 
And I will contact him thank you!!!

And I have talked to a few rangers, some of which are family, and they're using Esee 5's, Ontario Afgan (which I own), the classic kabar, Bark River, and a swamp rat here and there. All of the knives they use are in the 5-6 inch range, and are using steels that are .25inch thick with a focus on toughness. All of them I've talked to said this knife idea seemed pretty solid.
 
Also I realize that .35 thickness won't work well with out the full flat grind.

And I'm a big fan of Tops for hunting and Bushcraft but their low hardness heat treat make them close to useless for prying.
 
What do you think the average hardness of a pry bar might be?
JZarmyBJJ said:
Also I realize that .35 thickness won't work well with out the full flat grind.

And I'm a big fan of Tops for hunting and Bushcraft but their low hardness heat treat make them close to useless for prying.
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Have you looked at the Winkler II blades? They are supposed to be plenty tough. FYI, the classic USMC KaBar is a hidden tang knife with a blade that is .165 thick.
 
Well I genuinely couldn't say about the pry bar but I'm sure .25 inch 1095 at like 55 hrc at the spine probably doesnt hold up quite the same. But I may be wrong. I've just heard of alot of bent Tops Knives when prying gets involved.
 
And I am a HUGE fan of the Winkler II's they seem awesome and I hear great things about their 80crv2 steel (forgive me if I mislabeled that). And you are absolutely correct, I meant more outside of what's handed out guys are using the described knives.
 
You should look at how TOPS does their super secret proprietary HT process. There is a video on Youtube. From what I can see, the spine may not be hardened at all much less to 55Rc. As for Mr. Gossman, he is one of the guys who has actually worked quite a bit with S7 in hard use knife blades. As they say in New jersey, U should axe him. :D
JZarmyBJJ said:
Well I genuinely couldn't say about the pry bar but I'm sure .25 inch 1095 at like 55 hrc at the spine probably doesnt hold up quite the same. But I may be wrong. I've just heard of alot of bent Tops Knives when prying gets involved.
Click to expand...
 
d762nato said:
Here you go Mr Gossman uses S7 quite a bit and he likes it. He's also a maker here with a forum of his own.


http://www.gossmanknives.com/
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Camber said:
Scott is another great bet. I've met a former Navy Seal at this place that carried one of his Tusker models in the Middle East, and used one of his PSK's to skin out a Kodiak bear while training in Alaska.
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Hard to go wrong with a Gossman.
https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/more-s7-testing.178865/
 
Hey, i completely understand your expectations and more or less agree with it. Thickness is good but high saber or FFG will give you cutting,slashing ability.

Im a lifer and a professional, not in the US Army tough, and i carry this on duty.
IMG_20170729_142909_zpsria3czj5.jpg


With a grind at least this high it will be a fairly good cutter for SD or utility tasks. This one is 3.8 long, and about 1.7 inch wide at the widest point.

Thickness is .25...you cant break a blade with .25 thickness, not with your hands definiately, maybe if you jumping on it, but not prying.

Steel vise, i would suggest to go with some sort of tool steel, which is easy to sharpen, but wont stain as fast as simple carbon steels.

Just my 0.02
 
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Toss in my quick .02’s worth. Have you checked into Busse Combat and Kin blades ? Your description sounds like an ASH-1 which would have to be scored 2nd hand. There’s also the Battle Grade ASH at .25 in sr101. Also check out Gravelle Knives especially his FK line in .357 A2 Steel. If youd like pics I can post some. Best of luck in your search so many great makers out there to choose from.
 
Are you absolutely set on S7? It is super tough stuff, but if you can be talked into 3V, it will open up scores of options to you and I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a real life scenario where you'd break/damage a blade made from 3v but not one made of S7.

There is a custom maker here, who's name escapes me at the moment (please someone help!) who makes very thick blades, like 3/8" or so of 3v. He uses a hollow grind, if i'm not mistaken, to help get the BTE thickness down to a reasonable level.

Either way, very tough 3v blades are going to be much much easier to find, likely cost you less, and be just as tough.

Edit to add: Another thing. As a Ranger (or any infantryman for that matter) you don't exactly get a choice of where you're going to end up. Might be a hot dry climate, or might be a wet humid jungle. In the event of the latter, it might be nice to have a blade with a little more corrosion resistance. 3v will have an advantage over S7 in that regard. You'll have enough gear to constantly maintain.
 
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JZarmyBJJ said:
And I will contact him thank you!!!

And I have talked to a few rangers, some of which are family, and they're using Esee 5's, Ontario Afgan (which I own), ...
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If you own an Afghan, you should talk to Justin Gingrich at Gingrich Tactical Innovations who designed it AND was a Ranger.

Im sure he would love to talk with you about customs (like my Afghan)

O6rPa2v.jpg


or one of his production knives.
 
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