Posted: 8/25/2010 11:20:41 AM EDT
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Any one tried one of these? I did a lot of research on them and seemed quit good for the money so I ordered on up.
Linky |
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http://www.lapolicegear.com/gerber-fixed-blade-knives.html
Here it is for 59.99. Thats cheap. It is a good knife for the money. Gerber makes a good product. I am about to get one for myself. |
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I'd take the Prodigy (7Cr17 SS, aka 440A) over the LMFII (5Cr15, aka 420HC). Cheaper too. For value from Gerber, I'd look at the Big Rock blade. With the money saved, you can get a real sheath because the Big Rock's sheath sux!  with the little extra you spend on the LMF, you don't need to upgrade sheaths due to the fact it's badassed from word go. Built in sharpener as well as seat belt cutter, drop thigh setup etc LMF is the best value in fix blade knives IMHO |
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I'd take the Prodigy (7Cr17 SS, aka 440A) over the LMFII (5Cr15, aka 420HC). Cheaper too. For value from Gerber, I'd look at the Big Rock blade. With the money saved, you can get a real sheath because the Big Rock's sheath sux! with the little extra you spend on the LMF, you don't need to upgrade sheaths due to the fact it's badassed from word go. Built in sharpener as well as seat belt cutter, drop thigh setup etc LMF is the best value in fix blade knives IMHO Your opinion is noted. I do not buy knives because they look badass and neither should you. The built in sharpener is needed because of the shit steel they use. The drop thigh setup is ho-hum. We will have to agree to disagree. The seat belt cutter is nice, but you can buy those separately. |
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I'd take the Prodigy (7Cr17 SS, aka 440A) over the LMFII (5Cr15, aka 420HC). Cheaper too. For value from Gerber, I'd look at the Big Rock blade. With the money saved, you can get a real sheath because the Big Rock's sheath sux! with the little extra you spend on the LMF, you don't need to upgrade sheaths due to the fact it's badassed from word go. Built in sharpener as well as seat belt cutter, drop thigh setup etc LMF is the best value in fix blade knives IMHO Your opinion is noted. I do not buy knives because they look badass and neither should you. The built in sharpener is needed because of the shit steel they use. The drop thigh setup is ho-hum. We will have to agree to disagree. The seat belt cutter is nice, but you can buy those separately. I thought the OP asked specifically about the LMF II? Yep, I went back and re-read the original post and nowhere did he ask for advice an alternative choice. 
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I'd take the Prodigy (7Cr17 SS, aka 440A) over the LMFII (5Cr15, aka 420HC). Cheaper too. For value from Gerber, I'd look at the Big Rock blade. With the money saved, you can get a real sheath because the Big Rock's sheath sux! with the little extra you spend on the LMF, you don't need to upgrade sheaths due to the fact it's badassed from word go. Built in sharpener as well as seat belt cutter, drop thigh setup etc LMF is the best value in fix blade knives IMHO Your opinion is noted. I do not buy knives because they look badass and neither should you. The built in sharpener is needed because of the shit steel they use. The drop thigh setup is ho-hum. We will have to agree to disagree. The seat belt cutter is nice, but you can buy those separately. I thought the OP asked specifically about the LMF II? Yep, I went back and re-read the original post and nowhere did he ask for advice an alternative choice. He asked if anyone has used the LMF II. I have. I gave my opinion of it. |
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I'd take the Prodigy (7Cr17 SS, aka 440A) over the LMFII (5Cr15, aka 420HC). Cheaper too. For value from Gerber, I'd look at the Big Rock blade. With the money saved, you can get a real sheath because the Big Rock's sheath sux! with the little extra you spend on the LMF, you don't need to upgrade sheaths due to the fact it's badassed from word go. Built in sharpener as well as seat belt cutter, drop thigh setup etc LMF is the best value in fix blade knives IMHO Your opinion is noted. I do not buy knives because they look badass and neither should you. The built in sharpener is needed because of the shit steel they use. The drop thigh setup is ho-hum. We will have to agree to disagree. The seat belt cutter is nice, but you can buy those separately. nowhere in my post did I say I bought the LMF because it "looked" badassed (it looks very close to the prodigy you like), I said the sheath didn't need upgrading as IT was badassed, but thanks for the knife buying advice and for your opinion. |
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There're nice. I hope you didn't pay $140 for it though? I picked mine up from LA Policegear for around $45 using a coupon and their discontinued price back about 16 months ago. I paid $61 but LAPG didn't some of the other stuff I ordered at as good a price so the shipping savings made up for it cause I didn't order from 2 places. |
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I bought one before I knew much about knives and I really wish I had never bought it. It is not a good knife. The steel is crap, it is not very ergonomic, it is heavy for the blade length and the sheath is annoying. It also has a combination serrated/plain edge, which limits your useful blade length by a good bit. Waste of $65. For the cost of the LMF you can buy a much better outdoor/survival knife. Skip the Gerber, there are much better choices out there.
I used mine to set up camp one night and the steel dulled quickly after cutting a few branches, it was not sharp enough to cut good fuzz sticks to get the fire going and the sheaths sharpener did not help that situation. It did not take long for me to ditch the LMF in favor of a better knife. |
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make sure you check amazon before you drop any coin. There are three different models as people have already noted, they all look somewhat similar but have a few differences some matter some dont. What matters is the price however and on Amazon I paid entry level price and ended up wth the true ASEK model. Basically the model titled the ASEK is exactly that, it has a NSN and is an issued replacement to earlier ASEK's (Airman survival knives) by Ontario (read piece of sht) and others. They all look the same, the ASEK will only come in green due to a ir dampening coating for counter NV/ir camo, thats the easiest way to tell. The difference is that is also comes with a ton of extras that add up to a pretty good chunk of coin if bought extra, I think the upgrade in steel was across the board but it has a seperate cordura rope cutter, a full drop leg setup, a stiff sheath that is molle adaptable, a built in sharperner, etc. It is a true ASEK (survival) design for the military so dont expect it to be on par with a RC5. but for a survival setup made for the military it its is very well made piece of kit. Part hammer, part lever, part spear tip, its has good usable serrations, the sheath is very solid, and it has a very unique parital tange which allow it to be used to safely cut through live 240v. electrical wires without injury (they show you pics) I assume this is for when HMMWV gunners were getting snagged by insurgent power lines that were stretched across the roads . |
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make sure you check amazon before you drop any coin. There are three different models as people have already noted, they all look somewhat similar but have a few differences some matter some dont. What matters is the price however and on Amazon I paid entry level price and ended up wth the true ASEK model. Basically the model titled the ASEK is exactly that, it has a NSN and is an issued replacement to earlier ASEK's (Airman survival knives) by Ontario (read piece of sht) and others. They all look the same, the ASEK will only come in green due to a ir dampening coating for counter NV/ir camo, thats the easiest way to tell. The difference is that is also comes with a ton of extras that add up to a pretty good chunk of coin if bought extra, I think the upgrade in steel was across the board but it has a seperate cordura rope cutter, a full drop leg setup, a stiff sheath that is molle adaptable, a built in sharperner, etc. It is a true ASEK (survival) design for the military so dont expect it to be on par with a RC5. but for a survival setup made for the military it its is very well made piece of kit. Part hammer, part lever, part spear tip, its has good usable serrations, the sheath is very solid, and it has a very unique parital tange which allow it to be used to safely cut through live 240v. electrical wires without injury (they show you pics) I assume this is for when HMMWV gunners were getting snagged by insurgent power lines that were stretched across the roads . I could be wrong, but the ASEK was originally offered in coyote brown. Could be that it was subsequently offered in OD, but so was the later "Infantry" version of the knife. It would not surprise me if some vendor either intentionally or unintentionally conflated the two, just coincidentally allowing a higher price to be charged for the "Infantry" knife. Mine is about 3 or so years old, and the steel seems to hold a good edge, and not too difficult to sharpen. The sharpener in the sheath is useful for dressing a slightly worn blade, but a real sharpening of the knife is best done using other means. |
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Quoted: Quoted: make sure you check amazon before you drop any coin. There are three different models as people have already noted, they all look somewhat similar but have a few differences some matter some dont. What matters is the price however and on Amazon I paid entry level price and ended up wth the true ASEK model. Basically the model titled the ASEK is exactly that, it has a NSN and is an issued replacement to earlier ASEK's (Airman survival knives) by Ontario (read piece of sht) and others. They all look the same, the ASEK will only come in green due to a ir dampening coating for counter NV/ir camo, thats the easiest way to tell. The difference is that is also comes with a ton of extras that add up to a pretty good chunk of coin if bought extra, I think the upgrade in steel was across the board but it has a seperate cordura rope cutter, a full drop leg setup, a stiff sheath that is molle adaptable, a built in sharperner, etc. It is a true ASEK (survival) design for the military so dont expect it to be on par with a RC5. but for a survival setup made for the military it its is very well made piece of kit. Part hammer, part lever, part spear tip, its has good usable serrations, the sheath is very solid, and it has a very unique parital tange which allow it to be used to safely cut through live 240v. electrical wires without injury (they show you pics) I assume this is for when HMMWV gunners were getting snagged by insurgent power lines that were stretched across the roads . I could be wrong, but the ASEK was originally offered in coyote brown. Could be that it was subsequently offered in OD, but so was the later "Infantry" version of the knife. It would not surprise me if some vendor either intentionally or unintentionally conflated the two, just coincidentally allowing a higher price to be charged for the "Infantry" knife. Mine is about 3 or so years old, and the steel seems to hold a good edge, and not too difficult to sharpen. The sharpener in the sheath is useful for dressing a slightly worn blade, but a real sharpening of the knife is best done using other means. no you are correct it comes in a variety of colors coy brown od tan and black I think. I dont know the exact history of whether they submitted a bid for the ASEK contract to start or not, but my point is that the actual knife is exxactly the same in all three varients, the reason for the huge price spread is that the millitary model comes with a bunch of extras including a whole second knife, that sells for 30, a sheath that also costs at least another 30, plus a very high quality drop leg setup, a sharpner, etc etc, plus all the stuff that was required for the contract, the grip coating or whatever. my point was that if you remember when you bought yours it probably just came in a tall thin plastic box.. well someoen tipped me off that amazon for whatever reason was pricing them all at the same mark because they only appear to differ in color, all the goodies are stuffed pretty good inside that thin little box. so thats why I bought the knife, and why its a good idea to check amazon and the big retailers to see if they are pricing them all the same as well. |
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make sure you check amazon before you drop any coin. There are three different models as people have already noted, they all look somewhat similar but have a few differences some matter some dont. What matters is the price however and on Amazon I paid entry level price and ended up wth the true ASEK model. Basically the model titled the ASEK is exactly that, it has a NSN and is an issued replacement to earlier ASEK's (Airman survival knives) by Ontario (read piece of sht) and others. They all look the same, the ASEK will only come in green due to a ir dampening coating for counter NV/ir camo, thats the easiest way to tell. The difference is that is also comes with a ton of extras that add up to a pretty good chunk of coin if bought extra, I think the upgrade in steel was across the board but it has a seperate cordura rope cutter, a full drop leg setup, a stiff sheath that is molle adaptable, a built in sharperner, etc. It is a true ASEK (survival) design for the military so dont expect it to be on par with a RC5. but for a survival setup made for the military it its is very well made piece of kit. Part hammer, part lever, part spear tip, its has good usable serrations, the sheath is very solid, and it has a very unique parital tange which allow it to be used to safely cut through live 240v. electrical wires without injury (they show you pics) I assume this is for when HMMWV gunners were getting snagged by insurgent power lines that were stretched across the roads . I could be wrong, but the ASEK was originally offered in coyote brown. Could be that it was subsequently offered in OD, but so was the later "Infantry" version of the knife. It would not surprise me if some vendor either intentionally or unintentionally conflated the two, just coincidentally allowing a higher price to be charged for the "Infantry" knife. Mine is about 3 or so years old, and the steel seems to hold a good edge, and not too difficult to sharpen. The sharpener in the sheath is useful for dressing a slightly worn blade, but a real sharpening of the knife is best done using other means. no you are correct it comes in a variety of colors coy brown od tan and black I think. I dont know the exact history of whether they submitted a bid for the ASEK contract to start or not, but my point is that the actual knife is exxactly the same in all three varients, the reason for the huge price spread is that the millitary model comes with a bunch of extras including a whole second knife, that sells for 30, a sheath that also costs at least another 30, plus a very high quality drop leg setup, a sharpner, etc etc, plus all the stuff that was required for the contract, the grip coating or whatever. my point was that if you remember when you bought yours it probably just came in a tall thin plastic box.. well someoen tipped me off that amazon for whatever reason was pricing them all at the same mark because they only appear to differ in color, all the goodies are stuffed pretty good inside that thin little box. so thats why I bought the knife, and why its a good idea to check amazon and the big retailers to see if they are pricing them all the same as well. If this website is correct, it explains the differences. Mine is coyote tan (or camel brown), has 2 leg straps, so I believe it is the survival version. I didn't keep the packaging but don't remember seeing any NSN. I have seen this same info on some other websites... I know that still does not make it accurate. |
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Interesting... on the Prodigy, LA Police Gear and Gerber Knives Direct list a Sandvik 12C27 blade, Gerber Tools lists a U.S. 420HC Stainless Steel blade... Gerber changed the steel to 420HC, but most sites did not update their description. I wonder when the change happened. |
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Interesting... on the Prodigy, LA Police Gear and Gerber Knives Direct list a Sandvik 12C27 blade, Gerber Tools lists a U.S. 420HC Stainless Steel blade... Gerber changed the steel to 420HC, but most sites did not update their description. I wonder when the change happened. This guy got a letter from Gerber: Hi Caddotx, Thank you for contacting Gerber Blades. ***NOTE*** January 2006 – December 2007 this steel type was comprised of Sandvik 12C27 SS. ***NOTE*** January 2008 – April 2008 the steel type was temporarily changed from the Sandvik 12C27 SS to 440A U.S. SS. ***NOTE*** May 2008 – current: Production had not resumed with the Sandvik 12C27 SS due to complications with material availability, but switched to a more closely matching steel, the US 420HC. |
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Interesting... on the Prodigy, LA Police Gear and Gerber Knives Direct list a Sandvik 12C27 blade, Gerber Tools lists a U.S. 420HC Stainless Steel blade... Gerber changed the steel to 420HC, but most sites did not update their description. I wonder when the change happened. This guy got a letter from Gerber: Hi Caddotx, Thank you for contacting Gerber Blades. ***NOTE*** January 2006 – December 2007 this steel type was comprised of Sandvik 12C27 SS. ***NOTE*** January 2008 – April 2008 the steel type was temporarily changed from the Sandvik 12C27 SS to 440A U.S. SS. ***NOTE*** May 2008 – current: Production had not resumed with the Sandvik 12C27 SS due to complications with material availability, but switched to a more closely matching steel, the US 420HC. I am Sandvik! |
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I am Sandvik! Me too, however, I am not sure if that is good or bad...... Go here and be happy: http://www.zknives.com/knives/articles/knifesteelfaq.shtml |
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It is a GREAT knife. I have had one for over a year and I have tried in vain to ruin and estroy it to no avail. I would buy another but there is no need. I have pried apart cracked 2 foot rocks with it, batonned a ton of wood, bushcraft etc. I sharpen it on an Arkansas stone and a strop and it is one of the sharpest knives I own. Its a heavy knife so dont plan on doing a nice trout filet with it but you can definitely dress game with it ( I have). I never used the sharpener on the sheath but I have the sheath mounted via molle on my b.o.b. On par (just about) with my $140 RAT ESEE 5. For $60.
I say get one and be done. |
| Received mine yesterday and if it performs half as well as it look and feels it will be a great tool. The thing is built like a pry bar with a sharp edge. It has the thickest blade of any knife I have ever owned. I see what some mean about it being hard to remove from the sheath but that's by design so it can be used as a hammer or to break glass without it moving. I am not even sure the snaps over the handle are even needed unless your going to mount it upside down on MOLLE vest or something. Very Pleased and have not even used it yet. |
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I love mine, it is attached to my lbv. However, it is the worst throwing knife I have ever put my hands on and I am deadly with most knives and screwdrivers.  I suck at throwing anyway. I would never thow a knife as a weapon I would just be giving it to the other guy. |
| I just ordered one of these knives (because of this thread and the survival knife thread) and then had buyers remorse before the knife even arrived. I found this review on knifetest.com, and I felt much better. If zombie cinder blocks decide to attack, I'm set! |