Mentioning the 'K' word in this forum is like putting two wire coat hangers or rabbits together. Before we hit another 100+ post count let me make a few simple observations. The cutlery industry today has a mind boggling selection of steels, treatments, handle materials, sheaths and patterns. With few exceptions they all do a decent job of what should be a very simple operation. A knife does little else than sever various fibers; cellulose in wood, cells in animals and all to often pieces of paper in our wallets. Theres a lot of effort in severing that last item. It's called marketing. Cold Steel markets some decent knives with rather indecent hype. Nothing wrong with that, even nurserymen have to hard sell steer manure sometimes. Your best served by A. making a list of what you want in a knife. B. what you don't. C. what you can afford to spend. It's always fun to invest in a knife with all the dream materials, dimensions and features we envision as 'perfect.' It's a lot more fun to have a knife that does the job with money left over to actually go where that job is waiting <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />