survive gso d3v 4.1 ugly betty

Status
Not open for further replies.
jharpphoto

jharpphoto

Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
284
I found the Survive knives thread in the archives with some info pertinent to my question but I'm interested in your feedback on this knife. I have a Winkler Belt knife that I've had listed here for a while with the hope of a trade for a Busse but so far no real interest. Someone from the forum has offered the ugly betty 4.1 in D3v for trade and I'm not sure this is a good trade. Any of you have feedback on this knife and trade offer?
 
You will want clear photos of the Betty. Some of them are very clean, others have visible blemishes (unfinished surface texture, mostly, that I've seen).

The D3v is an extraordinary steel and if you want a rugged steel, it's great. If you want a looker, the Betties can be ugly.

Undoubtedly this thread will now be filled with folk saying to stay away from the deal, explaining that S!K as a company is the root of all evil.
 
jharpphoto said:
I found the Survive knives thread in the archives with some info pertinent to my question but I'm interested in your feedback on this knife. I have a Winkler Belt knife that I've had listed here for a while with the hope of a trade for a Busse but so far no real interest. Someone from the forum has offered the ugly betty 4.1 in D3v for trade and I'm not sure this is a good trade. Any of you have feedback on this knife and trade offer?
Click to expand...
Start here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/survive-deserves-a-permanent-post-in-the-hall-of-shame.1613748/
 
TRfromMT said:
You will want clear photos of the Betty. Some of them are very clean, others have visible blemishes (unfinished surface texture, mostly, that I've seen).

The D3v is an extraordinary steel and if you want a rugged steel, it's great. If you want a looker, the Betties can be ugly.

Undoubtedly this thread will now be filled with folk saying to stay away from the deal, explaining that S!K as a company is the root of all evil.
Click to expand...
Is S!K a great company?
 
TRfromMT said:
You will want clear photos of the Betty. Some of them are very clean, others have visible blemishes (unfinished surface texture, mostly, that I've seen).

The D3v is an extraordinary steel and if you want a rugged steel, it's great. If you want a looker, the Betties can be ugly.

Undoubtedly this thread will now be filled with folk saying to stay away from the deal, explaining that S!K as a company is the root of all evil.
Click to expand...

D3V IS a fantastic steel...in a Carothers. Don't waste your time on a S?K blade. OP, the thing to understand here is that Guy is a scumbag scammer. Period. Now, sure, the knives aren't terrible, but here's the thing to keep in mind: if you have any issues with it...forget ever getting any redress from the guy. He'd probably ask you to send it in along with a check for $200, and when you got it back, you'd discover he'd kept a percentage of the money for his time. Heh, just kidding.

He'd keep all of it.
 
Last edited:
TRfromMT said:
You will want clear photos of the Betty. Some of them are very clean, others have visible blemishes (unfinished surface texture, mostly, that I've seen).

The D3v is an extraordinary steel and if you want a rugged steel, it's great. If you want a looker, the Betties can be ugly.

Undoubtedly this thread will now be filled with folk saying to stay away from the deal, explaining that S!K as a company is the root of all evil.
Click to expand...

Survive! the company will always elicit very high emotions on BF.com and also elsewhere on social media if true user comments were allowed to be stated and not removed. There are plenty of others who will bring up the rear on the ways and practices of S!K, so no point in repetitious blurbs from me.

This is what I will add to Tony's opinion:

D3V HT is a proprietary process which was being shared between, Dan Keffeler, Carothers Performance Knives and Survive! Knives. Per Nathan who I believe is the main wizard putting together the magic HT sauce, the sharpening process is quite nuanced and if not followed in a strict manner, the edge can become susceptible to heat spot defects negating the advantages of their dialed up HT vis a vis D3V. Ever since when SHTF with Survive! Knives, we have no idea as to whether they are following the exact protocols in finishing off their D3Vs or what not specially because they are still so far behind. I have even noticed that the very most recent products out of S!K & Millit's shops are just stamped 3V instead of D3V. I don't know as to why or the potential politics of this so I will not speculate.

TL; DR: if you want a spot on D3V HT for a production knife, best to stick with CPK (Carothers). If you don't mind the older but still tweaked HT 3V, I guess that S!K while perhaps not as optimal, can be a decent buy.
 
danbot said:
Is S!K a great company?
Click to expand...

Define "great"....

My point was that this thread would rapidly become about the company and the OP's question about a specific knife would get lost in the noise. Through no fault of his own, the OP poked the hornet's nest.

I happen to have had a good number of 'betties come through my little shop for handles. The are a great value, speaking of the knife on it's own merits. They do come in a range of ugly - from not too bad at all, to straight up user grade. Compared to the normal production run of a knife, the range of visible blemishes is noteworthy. But that doesn't change the base utility of the knife. My personal experience with 5 or 6 of them was that they ware all perfectly serviceable knives, and some of them were actually pretty darn nice in spite of the Ugly Betty designation.

Edit to add... they make a great platform for personalizing and customization if you are so inclined. For example (this started out as a 'betty):

20190925_122323~01.jpg
 
Last edited:
TRfromMT said:
Define "great"....

My point was that this thread would rapidly become about the company and the OP's question about a specific knife would get lost in the noise. Through know fault of his own, the OP poked the hornet's nest.

I happen to have had a good number of 'betties come through my little shop for handles. The are a great value, speaking of the knife on it's own merits. They do come in a range of ugly - from not too bad at all, to straight up user grade. Compared to the normal production run of a knife, the range of visible blemishes is noteworthy. But that doesn't change the base utility of the knife. My personal experience with 5 or 6 of them was that they ware all perfectly serviceable knives, and some of them were actually pretty darn nice in spite of the Ugly Betty designation.

Edit to add... they make a great platform for personalizing and customization if you are so inclined. For example (this started out as a 'betty):

View attachment 1213830
Click to expand...


That swedge looks great. I might need to have this done to my ugly 4.7
 
craytab said:
This.

Unless you don't mind owning a knife from a scumbag scamming company. Some people care about such things...
Click to expand...

This kind of statement implies an ethical, can't have it both ways, kind of dilemma for the OP.

If person A owns a GSO he'd like to trade away he's taking the high road by not owning it any longer due to conscience, at the expense of person B's conscience. If person A keeps the GSO he remains in league with scumbags?!

You are suggesting the OP steer clear of the deal to avoid association with S!K. What are owners of S!K supposed to do?
 
Last edited:
TRfromMT said:
This kind of statement implies an ethical, can't have it both ways, kind of dilemma for the OP.

If person A owns a GSO he'd like to trade away he's taking the high road by not owning it any longer due to conscience, at the expense of person B's conscience. If person A keeps the GSO he remains in league with scumbags?!

You are suggesting the P.O. steer clear of the deal to avoid association with S!K. What are owners of S!K supposed to do?
Click to expand...
Survive owners should do what they want with their knives.

But, when someone asks for an opinion on getting a survive knife, the members here will respond with their opinions. The OP can take them for what they are. Many here don't separate a knife from the maker. The forum has spoken on how survive operates. Their forum was shut down because they are a company with a long history of scamming. Folks should know that before they take the plunge. Folks should also know of better options.
 
jharpphoto said:
I found the Survive knives thread in the archives with some info pertinent to my question but I'm interested in your feedback on this knife. I have a Winkler Belt knife that I've had listed here for a while with the hope of a trade for a Busse but so far no real interest. Someone from the forum has offered the ugly betty 4.1 in D3v for trade and I'm not sure this is a good trade. Any of you have feedback on this knife and trade offer?
Click to expand...

Company aside, from the posts I have read, the knives themselves are solid. Mind you that comes from reading a LOT of posts, rather than from personally handling them.

The answers need to be about the question, not what you want the question to be.
Is the knife reasonably well made or is it junk?
The poster is not "supporting Survive" by buying a used knife. So belay all the responses about what a scumbag company the outfit is.
 
Not sure what D3v is but my Ivan Campos-made American Standard Tanto in D3 -- 1/4" thick awesome chisel grind -- is an unbelievably tough steel. Chopped through a 2x4 and it would still shave. I keep it handy in case I ever need to cut/chop/pry into a vault (and then shave).
 
I have a couple Survive knives (purchased on their first test run for a low price and delivered within a couple weeks). The knives themselves are quality, I wouldn't try to buy one now, nor would I expect to be able to use their lifetime warranty unfortunately. So, I'd say if you liked the knife and don't care about not having a warranty to back it up go for it, if you like the Busse better and/or warranty coverage matters wait for the Busse.
 
jharpphoto said:
I found the Survive knives thread in the archives with some info pertinent to my question but I'm interested in your feedback on this knife. I have a Winkler Belt knife that I've had listed here for a while with the hope of a trade for a Busse but so far no real interest. Someone from the forum has offered the ugly betty 4.1 in D3v for trade and I'm not sure this is a good trade. Any of you have feedback on this knife and trade offer?
Click to expand...
What Busse were you looking for?
 
Survive! knives, the tools themselves, are excellent. The materials are top notch, the designs are excellent, the sheaths are high quality, the ergos are the best I have handled, the edge geometry - honestly, this is where the knives shine - is fantastic, and the prices have been much lower than expected for such quality, 100% USA made.

Literally the ONLY downside has been the company's repeated failure to meet delivery deadlines after requiring full payment for each knife in advance. That last part was killer. They have models sold that have been years in the making, paid for but not yet made much less delivered. This is why their forum got axed. Lots of folk demanded refunds because of this, and my understanding is that all received them. Lots of other folk are still receiving knives from them and waiting for others and paying for new ones as they are released. I have seen customers show off their warranted knives, so that isn't an issue either.

Trading for a knife, you don't have to worry about any of the downsides associated with buying from S!K directly, which is the preferred way to go for many. You get a high quality tool without any hassle. As mentioned, ask for pics first to see what the blemishes are.

If owning a S!K would bother you, knowing it came through the hands of a company that has struggled and made a bunch of bad choices but is still fulfilling its orders to customers even years after taking their money (haven't cut and run, on evidently good personal terms with a bunch of well-respected makers and innovators, currently partnered with Millit), then skip it, lots of other good knives from other companies out there. SOOOO MANY. There are some I'd advise against, like bark river and benchmade, but we all have our reasons for patronizing some companies and not others.

TL/DR the GSO 4.1 is excellent, a great knife. I don't have a Winkler so cannot compare the 2. My favorite bussekin is an RMD, noticeably larger than a 4.1.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top