Foster Knives Survival Knife by Wayne Fears

Anyone heard anything about this new survival knife?

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=FOSFSK425

I definitely like the orange handle

http://www.ragweedforge.com/760-o-o.jpg 4 1/8" blade. .079 thick @ $11.00 vs $129.00 Fears is a decent gunwriter. Last time I was in the Central African Republic, the bored customs agent ( imagine actor John Rys-David with tribal facial scars and a gold tooth) asked me " and how is the honourable internationally known survival expert Wayne Fears? We were all impressed when he saved those two Mormon missionaries by pouring Hoppes #9 into their snakebites during the last monsoon season." I should have kept my mouth shut at the Tujunga shooting range when the Guns And Ammo staff were there brainstorming new articles to cover their truck payments <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I take it then that Wayne Fears is not regarded as a 'survival expert'. I have never heard of him till I saw this knife.

Seems like a practical design for it's intended purpose and I have no doubt it will get the job done, however, IMHO I want better than 440c on anything I pay over $100 for. That's just me though. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

J. Wayne Fears wrote a pretty good book called The Complete Book of Outdoor Survival. Although the title is a bit exagerated, it is still a helpful book covering a broad range of survival topics. I found particularly illuminating his discussion and depiction of snakes. Although the sketches and pictures seemed a little dark, they still helped me a lot in distinguishing snakes. Anyway, the more good books you read on any subject, the more you will glean useful tidbits that further clarify and inform your understanding. Obviously I liked the book. YMMV.

The knife looks OK for the purpose, but pricey. In short I agree with Brian's assessment.

John

The knife shown has some design flaws, IMHO. Either the choil should be increased to be of useable size, or it should be eliminated to bring the cutting edge back to the guard. Also, 440C performs a lot better at higher RC 58-59 range.

Personally, I think Chris's link to the Mora is a far better choice over this one - especially if you use some of the money saved for an Allan Blade or On/Scene Tactical kydex multicarry sheath...



M

I love those sheaths. I must have one! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I love 'em, too, Brian. They lend a whole new perspective on the usefulness of these fine, inexpensive knives...

I don't have a link for Allan Blade, but On/Scene Tactical can be found here: http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/

M

I don't think it's just you... I think it's a lot of us... why pay Cadillac prices for a Chevy with earrings??? Alas... it would appear that common sense has gone out of fashion.

Troy

SgtMike,
By "usable size" do you mean the choil should be big enough for a finger? I agree with the second part "or it should be eliminated"

Is there another use for the ricasso area besides advertising for the maker? It always seemed like wasted space to me. You can't hold it and you can't cut with it.

Alwayslost,

That's exactly what I meant. If there's going to be a choil, it should be big enough to allow for it to be used to choke up on the blade. If it can't be done, eliminate the choil and bring the cutting edge back as far as safely possible. That rearward area of the blade offers a lot of cutting power - think about it, when you make a really tough cut, which portion of the blade do you use?

Use for the ricasso? Other than safe transition from handle to blade, I really don't know. It certainly would seem that a lot of manufacturers overdo the ricasso, wouldn't it?

M

For me it's important that the butt end of the edge not run right into the ricasso, and that's where I like the choil to work. This makes it possible to sharpen right to the end of the blade without interference from the ricasso.

As a "sharpening notch" the choil doesn't have to be very big. But a notch like that one on this knife, that's too small for a finger and doesn't terminate the edge seems useless. Maybe for a firesteel striker, but that's probably not a designed feature.

In general, a ricasso can help when sharpening, if one uses a jig or table system (like Lansky and EdgePro, respectively). It provides a flat reference plane for clamping or establishing a fixed angle.

Bear

Fears is a firearms writer. His book is decent. Wayne is just making a living like everyone else. If somebody likes his gun articles they are likely to buy his book and knife. If they get in a wreck and those two items untangle the user fine. I'm just a little jaded with the all to easily applied appelation of 'expert' I recently watched a gun 'expert' fail to withdraw the bolt from a Moisin-Nagant rifle at a sporting goods store. The more he tried, the more he sweated in his Orvis tweed ,leatherpatched shooting jacket ( in California June weather!). The teenage clerk was worried he'd break it, I'm standing there taking sinfull pleasure in both their discomfort. Anything Russian is usually 'robust and simple' to a fault:translation being a illitearte serf can operate and not break the people's property . I finally volunteered to strip the rifle and did so. I was the expert. I walked ouside and my friend's new BMW wouldn't start. We've both pushed wrenches on various cars. But this one was towed- to an expert. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />