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I've long been a fan of spyderco, benchmade and emerson knives (among others) and used/abused them all fairly hard on board ships and in ship yards as a merchant seaman. For cutting through 4 inch three strand mooring lines, towing hawsers and the myriad other things that need slicing on board ships, they all worked well. Inevitably though, in spite of loving care, the blades would chip and break. Why must we hurt that which we love? Ah, but such is the nature of working in a steel world.

I recently purchased a Gerber Firestorm serrated folder on impulse (my most recent spyderco was showing its age) and so far I'm pretty well satisfied. It's a bit larger and heavier than my spydercos with a thick, solid blade and tanto tip. As with pretty much all Gerber products, this one came shaving sharp. The handle is large enough to use while wearing work gloves and the design includes a finger guard for added safety. The best part though, is that I paid about $40 USD for it at the PX. For once, I really felt that I got a quality knife that didn't break my bank. Oh, yeah, and it's made in Taiwan.

I no longer work on ships, but feel that this knife would have served me well at sea. It certainly works well in the woods. . . worth IMHO a look.

Cheers,

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