tough and versatile

Posted by E on 22nd Oct 2010

I bought this knife last year for my father. As he participates in a variety of water sports including competitive sailing I wanted a knife that could stand up to frequent immersion in salt water and also retain the ability to efficiently cut rigging in an emergency.

Since then he has fallen in love with this knife and always takes whenever he goes sailing, kayaking, car camping, hiking or fishing. The cleverly designed kydex sheath allows line to be safely cut without withdrawing the knife and the half-serrated blade rips through everything we've thrown at it. The factory edge was sharp enough to pop hairs on my arm, but did need a little work to achieve true razor sharpness. After a year of use the blade coating is somewhat worn, but there isn't a hint of rust anywhere on the knife.

It also feels very solid in the hand, with good balance and a solid grip. I initially thought that the tip might be easily broken as the blade narrows quite a bit towards the end, but this has not been an issue.

Cosmetically, the SEAL pup has fairly aggressive styling- with the multi faceted grind, overall shape and half serrated edge it can appear 'scary' to some, which is a drawback for me, but others may prefer it that way.

I would recommend the SEAL pup to anyone needing a medium sized fixed blade knife with good edge retention and resistance to corrosion. If you're operating in and out of water, its definitely worth a look.