Survive Knives ! ended my quest for hard use knives .

M

Mike-The-Knife

Joined
Dec 6, 2011
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1,301
I was looking through the threads in the "General Knife Discussion" section this morning and came across a thread about looking for a good HARD USE knife . What follows is the post I added to the thread . I thought some of you here might like to read it too . This is (as stated in the post) only my opinion , but it comes from experience . If anyone is offended ............... well you'll get over it .



I have owned and used Busse , Swamp Rat , Scrapyard , Becker , Ontario , SOG , TOPS and Survive knives . I can tell you this , Busse , Swamp Rat and Scrapyard do make tough knives and the Becker BK2 has certainly earned it's place among tough knives . TOPS make very tough knives too and have a great fit and finish as well . And although I have not owned one , I know the ESEE 5 (which is very much like the BK2) is also a very tough knife with a better warrantee .,

All that said , once I got my Survive GSO 5 I sold off basically ALL my other knives and here is why . The GOS is much less money than the comparable size Busse . It has a thinner and better cutting edge than any TOPS , Swamp Rat or Scrapyard I ever owned . And it's the same size as both the ESEE 5 and the BK2 , but much lighter as they are made of 1/4" thick stock and the GSO is 3/16" . I have used my GSO 5 hard for about a year now . Batoning , chopping , making kindling , feather sticks , shelter poles and everything else you can think of . The only sharpening it has ever needed so far is a few strokes with a little ceramic sharpener to bring it back to shaving sharp (I don't chop cinder blocks with it) .

I know this is only MY opinion , but my knives are not safe queens . I use them . I don't abuse them , but I use them hard . If anyone has actually used a Survive GSO knife for any length of time and knows of a better knife , I'd REALLY like to hear about it .
 
Very cool! You are living the dream having had real experience with all those knives. You listed all the top brands, in my opinion.

This is great to hear because I'm really hoping the GSO 5 will be my favorite knife considering size, style, materials and ergonomics.

I hope Ellie sees your post and passes it onto Guy!
 
Gee I thought some other Survive users would have dropped some of their sharp toys once they started using their GSO knives .

Oh well . On the up side I got notice today that my GSO 4.1 is on it's way in the mail :D I knew I'd brake down and buy one sooner or later , why fight it . Can't wait !
 
Haha Mike-the-knife. I actually posted three different knives on the forum just today. One is gone already. I have a GSO 5.1 on the way as well as a Big Chris custom chopper so I'm really excited and think I have all my bases covered.....for now. Enjoy the 4.1, it's a great knife.
 
Nice discussion! I agree with you the are great knives! They really do a great job. I've done A/Bs them against Busses and they do well and are about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost and ironically they are 1/3 to 1/2 the weight too!! And they are better carvers, with the exception of the limited run INFI Ratmandu, which is on par with S! but it's $100 more than a 5.1 if you can find one.

However my Busses and my INFI Ratmandus have better handles and scales. I wish Survive! would make larger handles and contour their G10 and micarta scales like Busse does.
 
OBX351 said:
Nice discussion! I agree with you the are great knives! They really do a great job. I've done A/Bs them against Busses and they do well and are about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost and ironically they are 1/3 to 1/2 the weight too!! And they are better carvers, with the exception of the limited run INFI Ratmandu, which is on par with S! but it's $100 more than a 5.1 if you can find one.

However my Busses and my INFI Ratmandus have better handles and scales. I wish Survive! would make larger handles and contour their G10 and micarta scales like Busse does.
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Guy has been making some slight modifications based on user feedback. You may be happier with the handles on some of our future production runs.
 
Mike, I too have found my hard user knife. Thanks for that AND other things. :)
 
Congrats Kootaga13 , it's great when we find what we are searching for :D

Ellie , I'm glad you enjoyed the post and hope Guy had a moment to read it too . I believe in giving credit where credit is do and I have nothing but good things to say about the knives Survive makes or about the service that I have gotten from both yourself and Guy . Keep up the good work :thumbup:
 
I love most knife brands but I have an amazing fondness for my GSO 4.1. I have cut lots of stuff with it and beat on it pretty good and it just keeps going. It is a fantastic little knife and definitely a keeper.
 
I also sold off pretty much everything else that I have that isnt a Survive! blade.

Busse, Swamp Rats, Chris Reeve, Fallkniven, Tops , ESEE and a bunch of Bark Rivers all fell to the GSO 5.1/3.5 do it all combo. Not to say the others were bad, just that the GSOs have everything I look for in a knife.
 
Yes that /\ /\ up there is what I mean . I never meant that the other brands where not good . But for ME Survive knifes fits what I think a knife should be and the ergonomics are just right for me and my hand size or fit .

The reason I had owned all the others was that search for the illusive "one" or at least one brand lol . It seems I have found it :D
 
Well...........................so it is . I'll give an update then .

My trusty GSO 5 is still shouldering all the cutting , battoning and chopping I need or want to do . Still sharp with just a ceramic rod touch up from time to time . What I find REALLY amazing with this knife is just how wickedly tough that tumbled finish is on it . If I clean the blade well , pass my Tuf-Cloth on it and wash the micarta scales the thing STILL looks like I never use it ! Every other knife I owned was scratched to rat crap by this point .

I'm thinking of tying it to the trailer hitch and letting it drag behind the truck for a week or so just to make it look like I use it !
 
Great thread. I've sold off almost every knife I've owned also. I have no need for folders anymore because the 3.5 is a small brute that will handle way more than any folder. The 4.1's replaced the ESEE's and BHK's because they were just stronger and more comfortable.
The GSO 5 and 6 are capable to do nearly everything a large size knife will do. It'll just take a bit longer. It's surprising how strong and light weight they are when you consider how heavy the competition is.
 
My quest was short. I only had esse and I thought I needed a 1/4 inch steel for hard use. (Or what I feel is hard use) Even then I was nervous prying, or batoning large pieces of wood or cross batoning.

I too have handed down most of my other knives. I still carry folders cause of ease at work. (Hint hint: I need my S! Folder) With my 3.5 here, just out of reach, I'm waiting to experience it for my EDC.

Not saying I won't buy other brands just to play with but S! will be my go to tool when I dash into the woods. Even if that's just for an afternoon, or a week long adventure. I do own the advantage!
 
Texas_toothpick said:
My quest was short. I only had esse and I thought I needed a 1/4 inch steel for hard use. (Or what I feel is hard use) Even then I was nervous prying, or batoning large pieces of wood or cross batoning.

I too have handed down most of my other knives. I still carry folders cause of ease at work. (Hint hint: I need my S! Folder) With my 3.5 here, just out of reach, I'm waiting to experience it for my EDC.

Not saying I won't buy other brands just to play with but S! will be my go to tool when I dash into the woods. Even if that's just for an afternoon, or a week long adventure. I do own the advantage!
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I hear you on that. I still want to check out what Fiddleback has to offer. I would love to own a Randall but that ain't gonna happen because the price tags scare me!
I've been eyeing a few different GEC's and Northwoods also but it's hard to choose.
 
GEC has IMHO the best quality traditional for the price. And they have so many patterns and variants of patterns it does make it difficult to chose. But that can make it difficult to find a specific pattern with specific scales. Makes for a fun hunt though. :D

I can't wait for S! to put out there folder. As of now I can't see me not carrying my GEC STR-EK but it don't mean I can't carry a modern folder too.
 
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Standard78 said:
I hear you on that. I still want to check out what Fiddleback has to offer. I would love to own a Randall but that ain't gonna happen because the price tags scare me!
I've been eyeing a few different GEC's and Northwoods also but it's hard to choose.
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Dat camp knife tho......

I'm really being sucked into Miller Bros, I can't stay away from their designs and hard use abuse vids. Their design and aesthetic philosophy is quite a bit different than Guy's. I can't imagine a more beautiful tool than a GSO 4.7, though.
 
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