The Al Mar website has been updated!!

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bouddha0357

Joined
Jan 23, 2013
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145
Hi all,

The Al Mar website has been updated:

almarknives.com

They do not seem to have fully updated the fixed blade category which is the one I am the most curious about

I will definitely buy an AMK7006 - 4" Honey Jigged Bone as I am not sure that flippers are legal where I live.
 
Definitely too bad they ruined that ultralight line with that stupid "talon" blade grind. Why they couldn't stick to the full flat ground blades that worked so well on the Eagle/Hawk/Falcon line they're based on is beyond me.

And the atrocious clip design that leaves almost a third of the knife sticking out of the pocket. And add to that the continuing use of budgety sub-par steel. What a poorly-executed miss.

It's clear they're trying to catch up to modern folding knifemaking, but are still way, way behind. I kinda don't see that really changing. Too bad, because there are some good design features hidden in those old Al Mar designs.
 
I am not too big on the flipper either
Seeing the mechanism and the steel used being the same as the Kershaw/Al Mar collab' I think they might have been testing the water before putting it to market

In saying this, the Titanium line, the black handled SERE 2020 and the Quicksilver have a D2 blade.

I'm really more waiting for the fixed blade knives than the folders as flippers might be illegal for me to buy where I live
 
I'm rather disappointed to see Al mar Knives go the way of other 1990s giants in the knife world....taken over by an owner that has no interest in knives, priority on immediate, as opposed to long term, profitability so it shows in materials and country of manufacture. Good luck to them.
 
I dont see how anyone can be disappointed in al mar for changing. They havent kept up with the times or attempted to innovate since ive been familiar with the brand. They seem to have a mostly nostalgic following, which i understand, but if theybwant to keep up they need to offer more variety. Quite frankly, throwing a flipper on their knives isnt going tonchange everything, but its a start. I hate it on the sere, but like it on the eagle variants. I'll probably get one of the 8cr eagles with a flipper. Dont mind the budget steel, and would love a flipper on my eagle.
 
I guess the folks in charge are arrogant and believe they could sell anyone a bag of poop if it said AlMar on it. :(
 
Why is the ricasso area so large on the SERE knives? Looks weird and you lose blade length
 
The clip is more or less positioned the same way / distance they have been on the Moki models, so you'll either be ok with it or not. The biggest disappointment is that giant flipper on the SERE models. It already has a big self bolster, then you add a big angled flipper on it? Aesthetically, it's very ugly. Handling wise, I'll concede you'll need it in hand, but I bet it throws off the egros, which was a major selling point on that model.

While flippers and AO are sellers, they should've at least offered some in a regular stud or disk configuration.

Also, that price point is interesting. I'm willing to allow that they probably need to be a little more expensive because they are a smaller company, but you got the Spyderco cheaper line, Kershaw Emerson, Cold Steel, and various smaller Chinese brands all offering similar features and quality for $20 - 60 cheaper, you've got to wonder how these will sell.
 
Went to the website. Wow, you guys had me thinking there was going to be something horrible wrong with the new designs. They aren't the old Japanese patterns but I think for the most part they are improvements. The Japanese knives never had high speed latest fad steels either. I would have put a clip on those honey bone models though. And for the record, the guy in charge of the new Al Mar line is a knife guy from way back.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
Went to the website. Wow, you guys had me thinking there was going to be something horrible wrong with the new designs. They aren't the old Japanese patterns but I think for the most part they are improvements. The Japanese knives never had high speed latest fad steels either. I would have put a clip on those honey bone models though. And for the record, the guy in charge of the new Al Mar line is a knife guy from way back.
Click to expand...
Id be in the market for a honeybone model if it had a clip. I specifically looked hoping I'd see one. But thats the same thing keeping a lot of traditionals out of my pocket.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
Went to the website. Wow, you guys had me thinking there was going to be something horrible wrong with the new designs. They aren't the old Japanese patterns but I think for the most part they are improvements. The Japanese knives never had high speed latest fad steels either. I would have put a clip on those honey bone models though. And for the record, the guy in charge of the new Al Mar line is a knife guy from way back.
Click to expand...

The Sere 2K at least had VG10. I don’t mess with 8Cr. Add in the goofy flipper and assisted opening, and :thumbsdown:.

I never, ever thought I’d see the day when I saw that kind of junk on an Al Mar knife.
 
I don't know how to feel about this. I've never handled an Al Mar but I've been fascinated with the SERE 2000 for quite some time. Unfortunately I just found the price a little prohibitive for me. I'm assuming that since it's now made in China and 8Cr13MoV it will be extremely cheap...But because of that plus the assisted I'm not really interested at all with the knife.
 
AntDog said:
The Sere 2K at least had VG10. I don’t mess with 8Cr. Add in the goofy flipper and assisted opening, and :thumbsdown:.

I never, ever thought I’d see the day when I saw that kind of junk on an Al Mar knife.
Click to expand...

What about the D2 versions?

A few comments regarding the current range of products, with the following perspective: not having to use my Seki made Al Mars

- Wouldn't mind the Ultralight Titanium range as blade is in D2 steel and the weight makes it equivalent to my Eagle Heavy Duty in VG10. Within the confines of this design the flipper looks ok and blends with the handle quite well. Unfortunately AO knives might be illegal where I live.

- The 4" Honey Jigged Bone could be good although the AUS8 blade looks a bit rough around the edges but it is the one that could most directly be compared with the Seki production and likely the first I would acquire from the new range.

- The Quicksilver looks beautiful and I may put my hands on it although I have no idea what use I could make of it. I do like that it weights 3.7oz for a 5" D2 steel blade. Reminds me of the Cold Steel Ti-Lite but it is actually an evolution of the Al Mar Quicksilver Jumbo from the 80's-90's.

- The SERE 2020 and 2020G looks ugly except for the Night series where the flipper being black blends quite well with the black handle. The other ones don't do it too well for me.

I am not against D2 steel as a replacement of VG-10 (I have a Szabohawk in D2 and it's awesome!) the new prices compare favourably with what we used to have but the production being moved to China is heartbreaking for me even though the brand remains American.

I would not buy the 8Cr13MoV but if the quality, and the Al Mar F&F are there it would allow people who couldn't afford an Al Mar before to buy one.

The good thing is that we have both steels available for both main folder range (Ultralight and SERE 2020).

What I am definitely anticipating is the return of fixed blades. This is what will make it or break it for me.
 
I see the new 2020 is going to be $112 us for the D2, and $72 for the 8cr13.

I'm sorry but I just bought a Artisan Cutlery Tradition: D2, G-10, and on bearings. And it was only $50. So with the Al-mar your paying a huge premium for the name.

Al-mar collectors are not gonna like it for all the obvious reasons already stated. It's just not an Al-mar. And the younger generation that don't remember the 80's are not gonna like as much as other knives like civivi, spyderco, cold steel etc.

What Al-mar should have been doing is figuring out how to lower the cost of their knives while keeping the quality up.
 
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