Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!spool.mu.edu!rex!ames!dftsrv!mimsy!Eng.Sun.COM From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Email Mujahideen) Newsgroups: rec.guns Subject: Re: Best Knife for a LRRP? Message-ID: <35289@mimsy.umd.edu> Date: 6 Jun 91 03:41:07 GMT Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu Lines: 49 Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu In an earlier article joelm@microsoft.UUCP writes: + Stephen Northcutt discussed the BuckMaster as a survival + knife. + + It's my understanding the BuckMaster was originally designed + for Naval Special Warfare Units (SEALs) but never got into + general issue. This is interesting, considering the bad + reputation the early knives had (brittle blades). Anybody + have any more info on the Navy's experience with this knife? There is an extensive article on the B.M. and Phrobis SEAL knife (which looks similar to the M-9 bayonet) in the latest Fighting Knives magazine on the stands now. As I recall from reading the story, the BuckMaster was designed by Buck, and then they got the SEALs to order some, at which time the knife became "the knife issued to the SEALs). In reality the SEALs supposedly have seldom/never used it for anything except trading material with other units. It is considered to be too heavy, and too breakage-prone. According to the article in question, any knife the SEALs buy on a requisition sheet is "SEAL issue", so this monicker doesn't mean much. What I've heard from George Lainhart is that many SEALs are buying his "SEAL knife", which is a stock removal bowie design in ATS-34 stainless, with rope cutting serrations on the concave clip point. It looks like a good dive knife overall, but costs $350.00 each and a wait of 6 months or so. + + BTW - I also heard the SEAL issue Mk. III knife is being + replaced by a new Phrobis design. Interesting, in that Phrobis + came out with a replacement slide for the Beretta 92 that + solves the cracking problem SEALs encountered with the stock + slide. It's supposed to be commercially available, priced + somewhere between $150 to $175. Based on what the article said, the Mk. 3 knife is back in with the SEALs, and the phrobis knife is out. SEALs reportedly broke MANY (one or more boxloads) of the Phrobis replacement during use. The knife tends to break where the threaded tang rod attaches to the stub tang in the handle, and at the middle of the blade as well. The Mk. 3 reportedly has a breakage prone tip (which doesn't surprise me given the way it looks in photos), but the reast of the full-tang knife is supposedly rugged enough to be used. The Mk. 3 is also 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of the less adequate Phrobis design.