huntingandtacticalknives.com

I had a reader submit this question to my blog.

“Hey there. I am trying to learn about their origins. your page shows them made in u.s. and Japan.

MANY other pages, i think including SOG lists the SE 37 as being made in Taiwan. Can you help me sort this out. The older Seal knife 2000 (S37 )was made of AU6 steel, but i wonder if it would be more desirable than the current SE37 if it is made in Taiwan.”

So I sent this question to my contact over at SOG and this was the response I got.

“Our older version of the Seal 2000 Knife (SE-37) was made in Japan, with
AUS6 steel.  The newer version is made in Taiwan, using AUS8 steel,
which is better quality steel and more durable.  Some people consider
the Japanese version “more desirable” simply because it is made in
Japan, and they have a reputation for higher quality.  However the
improvements that were made when we transitioned to Taiwanese
manufacture, I think, supersede the innate quality that is given to the
Japanese version - this is why we made the changes in the first place.”

I was very happy I got this question because I wasn’t aware that SOG had changed the origin of these knives and it allowed me to update my SOG Seal Knives squidoo page.

I followed that up with another question on when this change was made and got this response.

“The change from Japan to Taiwan was at the beginning of the 2008 manufacturing year.
The knives are virtually the same from Japan to Taiwan.  There is rasping on the spine of the Taiwanese blades that was not on the Japanese ones, and the earlier version of the Taiwan blades did not have a diamond pattern at the top of the handle near the bolster, but that has been adapted recently to match.
I do not have a country of origin list that I can give to you, but to answer your more specific question: all of our Seal knife series is manufactured in Taiwan as of 2008.”

SO, if you’re in the market for one of these knives be aware that they are now being made in Taiwan,  not the US, or Japan no matter what you see on other sites.  I personally prefer knives made in the U.S.A. but that’s my personal preference, it doesn’t have anything to do with quality.  I believe these foreign manufacturers quality standards must live up to SOG’s company standards so I think these are still excellent knives. In other words, if I had decided that the SOG Seal Pup Elite knife was for me, then I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase it just because it was made in Taiwan.

I’m going to use a little bit of space here to do a BIG Thank You to Donda Burnett over in the Gerber Consumer Affairs Department.  She always goes above and beyond for me whenever I send her questions.

I had some questions from a few people on the Gerber LMF II knives such as “Was there ever an LMF I?” , “What is the Infra-Red resistance for?” and “What was the BMF knife?”  Here’s the reply I got from Donda and the great pic she found for me out of an old catalog. It’s a PDF file so you will need Adobe to see it.

bmf-lmf-1991

I’ve had several people that have had questions on the actual size of the Gerber LMF II series of knives.  I found this video that shows a guy holding the knife so you can get a feel for the size before you order one.  Enjoy!

Ok, here we go again, if you didn’t get it last time don’t wait too long.  They got a limited number in again.  Last time they were sold out in about 10 days.

I just received an email from one of the companies I deal with and they said they got an early shipment of the Gerber ASEK knives that had previously been out of stock.  If you’ve been looking for this knife and having trouble finding the correct one you can follow this link Foliage Green Gerber ASEK LMF II. But I wouldn’t wait long, in the email they said they didn’t get very many of them. Happy Knife Hunting!

UPDATE!! 01/23/09 I’m changing the link for this because they rarely have this in stock. You can find the following Gerber LMF II knives by following these links.

Gerber 22-01627 KNIFE, LMF II ASEK GREEN, S/E - BOX

Gerber 22-01400 LMF II Survival Knife - Coyote Brown]

Gerber 22-01629 LMF II Black Infantry Knife- 4.8 inch blade

I contacted Gerber again with a question concerning the infra-red resistance on the Gerber LMF II ASEK knife. In a nutshell ONLY the green foliage knife comes with the infra-red resistance, and it is on the knife handle and the sheath. Here is Gerber’s reply below:

The Foliage Green LMF II Knife Handle and Sheath are both IR Resistant no matter if it is for ASEK or Infantry as long as the color is Foliage Green. However, the Black and Camel Brown are standard product and are not IR Resistant in any circumstance.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Consumer Affairs

I added the Buck 119 knife to my squidoo lens. This is reported as the knife Les Stroud “Survivorman” carries. I also finished building my Ka-Bar lens, I’ll be adding the links to all of them to this blog soon.

I contacted Gerber in hopes of clearing up the confusion on the different types of LMF knives. I got a very detailed response from one of their Consumer Affairs personnel. I found the note at the bottom particularly interesting. Here it is:

Thank you for contacting Gerber Blades and your interest in the LMF II (Lightweight Multi-Functional) Tactical Knife Series, made in the U.S.A.

The LMF II Infantry version of the knife includes the initial sheath, knife and one leg strap. The Infantry version is available in Camel Brown, Black and Foliage Green.

The ASEK version (Aviation Support Element, Kaneohe) of the same knife is the identical product but does include the initial sheath, knife, TWO leg straps, Safety Knife and Safety Knife Sheath (extra blades are found inside the handle of the safety knife itself.) The ASEK is available in the Foliage Green color and has Infra Red resistance.

The SURVIVAL version is much like the ASEK in that it includes the Knife, Initial Sheath, TWO leg straps, Safety Knife and Safety Knife Sheath (extra blades are found inside the handle of the safety Knife itself.) The SURVIVAL is available in Camel Brown only.

All versions include the following specifications:
Overall Length: 10.59”
Blade Length: 4.84”
Blade Steel: 12C27 Stainless Steel (Swedish)
Blade Style: Drop Point
Blade Thickness: .185”
Rockwell: Rc 55-57
Handle: Glass-Filled Nylon with TPV Overmold
Weight: 11.4 oz
Origin Portland, OR, USA

Inserted in the primary sheath is a knife sharpener for on the spot sharpening set at a 35 degree inclusive angle. Please note that this sharpener will not sharpen your serrations but only the fine edge of your blade.

Model #’s Available:
22-01627 Foliage Green LMFII ASEK (IR)
22-01626 Foliage Green LMF II Infantry
22-01117 Foliage Green LMFII Knife only (no sheath included)
22-01118 Foliage Green LMFII Sheath only (no knife included)
22-01400 Camel Brown LMFII Survival
22-01463 Camel Brown LMF II Infantry
22-01629 Black LMF II Infantry

***NOTE*** January 2008 – April 2008 the steel type was temporarily changed from the Sandvik 12C27 SS to 440A US SS. As of May 2008 production has resumed with the Sandvik 12C27 SS. The temporary change was due to material unavailability and the 440A US SS was most closely matched to that of the 12C27 SS.

Sincerely,
Consumer Affairs

I updated my squidoo lens today to include a knife that I DON’T recommend, the Rambo knife. These may be fine as a collectible but as a survival or hunting knife they are seriously lacking.