GERBER LMF II Infantry Knife - Survival Knife with Sheath, Tactical Fixed Blade Knife for Outdoor, Camping & Military Use - Green [22-01626] - Perfect for Hunting, Bushcraft & Emergency Preparedness

I got the opportunity to volunteer for a year of fun & sun in beautiful Baghdad, and decided I needed a manly-man knife to carry around with me. I call it "Plan B" because the duties I perform (gate guard) render my M-16 largely useless, as any... "interactions" would be taking place at close range. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to rack up any knife kills yet (this place is totally not at all like COD), but what I did discover is that this knife is AWESOME.First things first: This knife weighs a ton. Its blade is a full 3/16" thick. You will never snap it. It does not bend, it does not flex. It is a short, stout blade. If I had to draw an analogy, it'd be the little Scottish dwarf guy from LOTR. And his axe. One might think that this blade is too thick to be sharp, and although the knife on my Leatherman is better suited for delicate work, this blade is more than capable of taking an edge sharp enough to cut straight through a 1 liter bottle of water, of which there are billions out here. It is also hard enough to retain that edge for a good long while.The knife isn't very well balanced for throwing, but if thrown with care it will embed its blade a few inches deep into wood, concrete, solid diamond, etc. It's so heavy that even if you don't hit something with the blade, it'll still really, really hurt. Which brings me to the Skull Cr... er, "window breaker" on the butt. So far, it's been most useful for breaking up large blocks of ice, a task at which it excels. However, I have absolutely no doubt that you could crush no small number of hard objects with it. Again, its considerable heft comes into play here, and it is possible to (totally accidentally) gouge a good chunk out of a concrete T-wall with it without damaging the knife.Its handle is electrically insulated to either 600 or 6,000 volts or something like that. I know for a fact that you can cut (and by cut I mean tomahawk chop) through a fallen 400v power line safely in order to keep it from further electrocuting a vehicle. Boy, you should've seen the looks on their faces when I was about to make the first chop! I'm fairly certain I sold a few of these knives that day. In related news, 400v power lines make hella sparks when you cut through them.The sheath. Yes, well, it's rather cumbersome. And it's huge. But it's for a huge knife, so it rather comes with the territory. I don't normally wear a MOLLE vest (which is my armor) so I couldn't use that, but by cutting the top strap off, you can hook it through your favorite 2" (or larger, or smaller, whatever) belt and strap the bottom part around your leg. This has worked satisfactorily for 11 months now, and you get used to it sort of cutting circulation off of your leg. Honest. You have to strap it pretty tight in order to keep the sheath in place while inserting/removing the knife, but the knife will not accidentally come out.There is a sharpener built into the sheath. It's moderately useful. It will put a medium edge on the blade if no other sharpener is around. This would be most useful in remote situations, but using it requires removing the sheath from its strap/harness, which is somewhat annoying. Really, just get a whetstone and you'll be fine. I use a sharpening kit by Smith's:I remember the first Gerber knife I had. It was an old lock blade knife, pretty decent. After that knife, I kinda forgot about Gerber. Then, the Gerber LMF II came out. Before that, I didn't really understand Gerber's work, too artsy, too intellectual, but when the LMF II came out, I think Gerber really came into their own, commercially and artistically. Then, Gerber came out with the Bear Grylls line of knives, and I thought that Gerber was becoming too commercial, and therefore more satisfying in a narrower way. With the Gerber LMF II, they seemed to reach their summit of top of the line production. I don't think a lot of people understand the LMF II very well. People tend to think that it should be a batoning beast, and while it certainly can baton, this is a survival knife that is designed for specific situations. The rubberized grip is excellent and very ergonomic. The tang of the knife is almost full, but not quite. The pommel of the knife is akin to a glass breaker, and the tang is actually separated by a rubber spacer that limits shock and vibration to the knife.The LMF II is actually designed to be able to cut through electrical wires without being shocked. This knife actually has a military purpose and history behind it. The story goes that a soldier in Afghanistan actually cut through electrical wire to allow soldiers to proceed behind enemy lines while not getting shocked and being able to infiltrate the enemy's perimeter undetected. That is a pretty impressive story, and I can't think of many knives that can pull off such a task, but the Gerber LMF II did. I have used this knife for a variety of tasks, and I am just super impressed at its ability to chop and cut through very tough objects with ease. People complain about this steel, but if you had seen some of the things that I have cut through with this knife, I don't think many people would be complaining.Personally, I love the way this knife feels in my hand. This is just one of those knives that has incredible ergonomics, and that is extremely important. Although I am not a big fan of serrations, Gerber does a good job with this knife, and I can tolerate them. Of course, when they get blunt, that is going to be a pain to deal with, but I am not to that point yet.The sheath is a military design with internal sharpening system for field sharpening. It is a good sheath, but it's heavy, probably too heavy for belt use. It can be a chore to get the knife out of the sheath as well, but after some use, it seemed to loosen up just a bit. Personally, I would rather have a knife that has an overdone sheath retention system than one that does not, but people are going to complain about this aspect. However, I knew what I was getting into going into this purchase, and it just does not bother me. The good clearly outweighs the bad with the Gerber LMF II.If I was in a survival situation, I would be very comforted to know that I had the Gerber LMF II by my side. With that said, I would avoid heavy batoning with this knife or be very careful not to hit the handle of the knife while batoning because the knife's handle is rubberized and it will be damaged if you abuse it, but that is the design of the knife. It is not a defect or a flaw of the knife, and it certainly does not reduce the value of this great survival knife. For me, the Gerber LMF II is a great choice for a camping or survival blade. Again, I love the ergos and the grip is just awesome, it cuts and chops like a champ, and it just gives me a confident feeling when I hold it. Moreover, I really like the stainless steel blade of this knife. In a humid and moist climate, this knife is perfect because it won't rust like carbon steel blades.In short, the Gerber LMF II is a champion of a survival knife that could save your life if used correctly and not abused. People just need to understand that this knife is different than a Becker BK2 which I also love. It just depends on what you're doing. If you are going to do a lot of batoning, the LMF II may not be the best choice, but it can baton. If you are going to do a lot of chopping and utility tasks in wet conditions like I do, the Gerber LMF II is, quite frankly, very tough to beat.This is my second one, bought it for my brother in law who works construction, he loves it, he cut though wires and no issues, and mine I used camping and it’s a great knife, highly recommendedThe box it came in was crushed and shredded, but the knife and the sheath it comes with were fine. I was disappointed in the edge on the knife; I took a sharpening stone to it and things improved a little. Survival knives are not paring knives and I wasn't expecting a razor edge, but this seemed a little sub-par.It was a month late in arriving. Buyer be aware.Note this is not a lightweight knife. It's very sturdy, as a survival knife has to be, but it has heft (the instructions claim it can be used as a hammer) and the weight will discourage ultralight hikers (I'm not one.)The sheath is worthy of comment. It's rugged, not lightweight, and it takes a good firm pull to get the knife out of it - not a bad thing. It can be attached to a leg, belt or vest and I wouldn't be concerned about the knife being sideways or upside down - even without the securing strap, it's not going anywhere. The built in sharpener in the sheath requires taking the sheath out of the securing straps to use it and I don't know yet if it's a gimmick or a useful tool, but it's likely better than nothing at any rate.Half the blade is serrated; I tried it on a wet, green log and it was moderately effective. This is not a saw but the serration will let you hack through tough material in time.I like the grip; I have average sized adult male hands.Note the butt end is pointed, for use in breaking windshields. That means it's not suitable for being hammered into things (which isn't an ideal use for the knife anyway).Un cuchillo legendario en diversos usos y ámbitos, tanto en lo militar como en el campismo, de un tamaño muy bueno, con un agarre de los mejores que he visto en cuchillos, es pesado para su tamaño pero se debe al pomo que tiene que si rompe prácticamente hasta una piedra, las cosas que se deben considerar es que la hoja es parcialmente dentada de un fijo excelente, lo cual limita un poco lo que se puede hacer, por lo cual no puede darse un uso rudo a comparación de los que son de filo plano, el único punto malo de esto de lo cual muchos han señalado en foros y videos es que no es de una hoja entera, lo que reduce su resistencia en un uso extremo, lo cual esta justificado por que se supone esto es para no electrocutarte al cortar cables eléctricos. Es muy recomendable pero si debes considerar el uso que le vas a dar, si es de uso tactico o de campismo ligero, te va a servir mucho, pero si es para batonear considera mejor otra opción.I have 3 Strongarms and wanted to buy their "daddy."Well... I'm pleased that I did.The knife's "factory edge" is pretty sharp right out of the package, and the knife itself feels pretty good in the hand.Much heavier than the Strongarm, due to the heavy steel pommel.The sheath is pretty nice, too.Heavy cordua and the "plastic" of the sheath is actually rubberized.Haven't tried the built-in sharpener as this is brand new and really doesn't need sharpening for a while.I think this knife would easily serve most people quite well in an outdoors situation or an urban tactical situation.Yup.Good knife.Gerber is doing some really great stuff.Can't go wrong.Dieses Messer ist der Wahnsinn.Ich habe es mir gekauft nach dem ich ein Video zu dem Messer auf Youtube angeschaut habe, bei dem das Messer so krass getestet wurde das man da von vergewaltigung sprechen kann. Doch das Messer hat indem Video super gut abgeschnitt! Davon habe ich mich mittlerweile selbst überzeugt.Ist viel im Einsatz und macht eine super Figur. Das Messer hat gut gewicht und der Schwerpunkt liegt hinter der Angel beim Griff. Kleine Hackarbeiten gehen damit super, habe damit aber auch schon so machen großen Klötze gespalten.Ein Stern abzug da ein Druckknopf aus dem Stoff gerissen ist.Sonst einfach nur mega das gute und robuste Messer und das wir einen angemessenen günstigen Preis.Erstmal vorweg:Bin Gerber Fan und kenne das ein oder Messer. Was bei jedem Messer auffällt. Der Preis bei uns ist extrem höher als in den USA. Ein Gerber Messer, welches in den USA 50$ kostet, geht bei uns mit 200€ in den Handel und wird dann auf ca 100€ runtergesetzt. So von wegen "Ist ein Schnäppchen". Das ist von den Importeuren extrem dreist und Abzocke.ABER: Gerber Messer empfinde ich als gute Messer, die auch noch gut Aussehen.Das LMF II ist das größte Messer das ich besitze. Nicht auf die Klingenlänge bezogen sondern aufs Gesamtpaket.Es liegt sehr gut in der Hand, man kann sehr gut damit arbeiten und es ist extrem stabil. Die Beschichtung scheint dicker zu sein, da man über Kratzer nur mit Daumen drüberfahren muss und schon sind sie weg (außer vllt sehr tiefe). Der Glasbrecher ist sehr schwer und robust, der knackt mehr als nur Glas. Allerdings ist das Messer von der Balance her grifflastig. Der Mittelpunkt liegt in der Mitte des Griffs. Die Schneide ist in einem stumpfen Winkel gehalten, was zu der Arbeit des LMF II passt, denn es soll grobe Arbeit verrichten und keinen Fisch filetieren. Könnte dennoch für meinen Geschmack etwas flacher geschliffen sein. Dafür ist aber der Wellenschliff umso schärfer. Hier sollte man vorsichtig sein. Der Griff besitzt Löcher zur Befestigung des Messers z.B. an einem Ast (Speer); für Schnüre etc. Das Material ist extrem rutschfest auch bei Nässe.An sich ein sehr gutes Messer, leider zu teuer bei uns. Desweiteren hätte ich einen Full Tang einer Isolation des Griffs vorgezogen. Bei Benutzung des Klingenrückens zum schlagen kann die Klinge anfangen zu wackeln. Findet man bei YouTube, aber so sollte man wohlbemerkt nicht mit einem Messer umgehen, auch nicht mit dem LMF II welches viel verzeiht.Kurz noch zum Thema Stahl, nicht der beste tut aber seinen Job.El cuchillo viene en un blister junto con dos resortes para ajustar el cuchillo a la pierna, el cuchillo con su estuche rigido y a su vez el estuche tiene un afilador para el mismo, adicionalmente viene una herramienta para cortar cuerdas o cinturones de seguridad que viene junto a su funda.Se siente la calidad del cuchillo tanto en su peso como en sus materiales.