benjammin,

When Cold Steel comes to town they sell their seconds. You can get an SRK for about $35.00. Last year I got a Master Hunter for $20.00. You can make the Carbon-V steel very sharp. I'm going to be bad and put a Scandi (Mora) edge on the SRK.

I'm lucky in one sense that my elderly parents give all of the children money to buy our own Christmas presents because they can't get out to shop. I've already ordered some ColdGear (based on reviews here and other forums). I will have to wrap it myself though.

Wow, that's pretty much how I get my presents anymore. I take the money out of my pocket, give a small amount to my wife and kids for them to buy me worthless junk with, then go to the sporting goods store the day after and buy what I want.

Nothing wrong with a Cold Steel SRK. Like I said, I got two of them and they work just fine and are plenty sharp enough. I just wanted something more. Those two SRKs of mine put the hurt on a few insurgent palm trees back in the compound, and garnered some wry looks from some of the other residents when thrown with force into the nefarious tree trunks. Watch the tang to blade junction, though. There's a stresspoint at that spot due to the squared cut made to reduce the tang width. Not so much a weak spot to sideways prying, but vertical shear has caused that point to fail more than a few times. Check Bladeforums.com.