BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

Workhorse Knives
2 July 2007

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Over the course of the past few years I've evaluated plenty of knives. I found myself recently going through my inventory as I put together a revamped Bugout Bag and prepared hiking belts for my family. I was also searching through some lockblade folders to put into bike bags as my family as all of a sudden started bicycling much more. As I considered options I realized that there are just a few knives I have that I consider reliable and valuable - and it's those that I would like to have anytime there is an emergency at hand requiring an edged tool or weapon. Below is my list of knives that I'd feel confident and comfortable with out in the field. The Nightwing is first on my list and it's the knife I carried throughout my time down in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Masters of Defense NightWing:
The NightWing is a fixed blade knife that has a similar visual flavor to the Yarborough and Neil Roberts knives, but unique at the same time. Designed by Allen Elishewitz, the blade sports three options for the spine and a softly curved handle that feels ergonomically perfect in my hands. Not as big as those knives designed to honor Special Forces / Naval Special Warfare operators, the NightWing sports a 5.9" blade with an additional 5.0" of handle for a total length of 10.9". The knife is constructed from S30V high-carbon stainless steel alloy, and then as strong as that is, MOD applies a Diamond Black DLC Coating for the finish. At the butt end of the knife there is a lanyard hole - that and the two lashing holes at the front of the grip would serve well to attach this knife on a pole if necessary (550 cord fits through all these holes quite well). The handles are made of fiberglass-reinforced nylon with MOD's wingwalk inserts. The shape and contours of the handles make the knife easy to hold on to, even in wet / slippery conditions. My MOD NightWing served me well while I was working in New Orleans after Katrina blew through.

Blackwater Gear Knife:
When "Blackwater Gear" was born, it was the partnership of Blackwater, Michaels of Oregon, and Crye Precision. As other items have been added, new partners have been found to provide the gear. Typically, the new partners are leaders in their individual fields. Benchmade makes the Blackwater Gear knives. For the fixed blade, the Blackwater Gear knife is a Benchmade Nimravus. The Nimravus steel itself can be one of two materials: 154CM or M2. The 154CM sports a hardness of 58-60HRC while the M2 is rated at 60-62HRC. The grips are made of G10 and formed to function with the shape of the steel. With the 4.5" blade length, I'd consider this a little short to be a combat knife, but it is certainly more than sufficient for use in the law enforcement environment as a utility blade or in any camp/field situation.

KaBar D2:
With a 7" blade, the Ka-Bar D2 Extreme is one of the longer knives included here. About 1.5" of serrations make up the blade on my test knife and the rest is all sharp edge. Added to the overall size of the knife is the handle of just under five inches making the knife just under a foot long total. It weighs in (sans sheath) at 0.78 pounds. The blade is made of D2 steel with a hardness rating of 59-60 HRC. My D2 has been on several camping trips with me and uncounted backpacking / hiking adventures. I've hammered with it; pried with it; cut and chopped with it. It's pretty light for chopping work, but it's put up with all the abuse I've heaped on over the course of the last four years. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good field (or fighting) knife.

Buck Knives Nighthawk:
Buck Knives is a name more than well known by all Americans who have next to anything to do with the great outdoors. The first knife I ever went out and purchased with my own money was a Buck Folding Hunter 110. I still have that knife. When I went looking for knives for my family - so that each of us could have a decent one on our belt when we went hiking / camping, Buck was one of the manufacturers I "pre-approved". My wife picked out the Buck NightHawk with a tanto blade "because it feels good" in her hand. I didn't argue because I felt it was big enough to handle most of the required chores, but not so large as to be ungainly or uncomfortable to carry around. Almost five years later that knife has seen quite a bit of use (and abuse) in my wife's hands and I've had my fair share of using it as well. This week's review is about the knife and how well it's performed on various camping trips across those years.

Those are the top four currently in my collection that I'd lean on most. Certainly I have some new additions, such as the offerings from Grayman Knives, that I think are great blades. That said, I'll have as much confidence in them as I have in these four after a few years has gone by and I've used and abused them as much with the same great results.

As a general rule, if I'm going into what I consider harsher circumstances I tend toward the Nightwing and the KaBar D2. The Blackwater Gear Knives are great for general field use - although I should mention that there are probably plenty of them in use in Iraq as I type this. The Buck Nighthawk is my second choice for general field use. I guess I'd put the Nightwing and D2 on my "survival" list while the Nighthawk and the Blackater Gear knives on my "camping" list.

No matter which one you choose, you'll be well served for cutting chores during any camping, hiking or backpacking trip you may take on. Remember, take care of the blades, and they'll take care of you.

BE SAFE!

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Don't forget to check out our Tactical Equipment Review about the resurgence in popularity of the snubnose revolver and the utility purpose it serves.

This week's Training Article, a discussion about what each of us teaches, how and why.

For a listing of all reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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