Overlander survival knife
by Stephen Swem
(Idaho)
I have been in combat and am an avid sportsman. The best survival knife I have used is not any of those Rambo knives but a knive made by TOPS called the overlander.
Tops makes many specialty knives for the military. The overlander is a 4" 1095 carbon steel blade that is 3/16" thick. It has a full tang that is exposed on the edges of the fabric phenolic handles.
The blade is more of kitchen utility style blade that is ideal for cooking chores (slicing procured food and skinning game) or equally ideal for intricate detail work ( such as carving wood tools and implements). The edge retention of this knife is really amazing.
I have baton chopped wood ( placing knife edge on wood and then striking the spine of the blade with another piece of wood) with no ill effect on the blade or the sharpness. It comes with a heat molded kydex sheath that really holds the knife securely. The belt clip is a little cheesy looking but functional as it swivels for various mounting variations.
I will also state that initially it was very hard to sharpen. At first I changed the grind angle on the blade to be compatible with my sharpener but once done, this knife has not been sharpened extensively. Go to topsknives.com for more details.
Do you want to safely enjoy the wilderness?
