Choose one and only ONE knife

[kannonfyre]

I looking for one last knife to round off my fixed blade collection and hopefully cure the "iwantacoolknifevirus" that has been afflicting me since March.

Two blades have been caught my eye lately and I'm having trouble deciding on one. They are the Al Mar SERE Operator and the Fallkniven A1.

Leaving price aside, which knife would y'all choose and why?

Lastly, how well does kraton, zytel, thermorun and other synthetic knife handles stand up to long term storage? I'm thinking of picking out my best knife, packing it in silica gel, sealing it in a air tight container and stowing it away as a gift for my future son when he gets drafted into the services.

 

[hso]

SERE Operator

While both knives are outstanding field knives the SERE has a little more character than the F1.

I must say that if you were to time capsul either away for an heir I'd get two. One for the future and one for you. Use yours often and imbue it with something of your character and when your son has borrowed yours a few times and wants it for his own give his to him. A piece put away has signifigance, but to receive a new in the box copy of "Dad's" knife beats anything.

I expect one day that my daughter will receive a NIB Sebenza when she's on the verge of buying one for herself.

 

[Sisco]

I want whatever this guy had to use. Seems to have performed well.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/908232.asp?0cl=cR

 

[GW]

Personally, I chose the SERE Operator I really like the design of the blade, reminiscent of my SERE VIII.
A big plus is the Very cool scabbard with multiple carry options
Very clever design

 

[Boats]

This is my son's heirloom:

A Simonich Raven. A knife worth keeping that didn't break the bank to buy.

This one is going to be my gift to myself:

 

[hksw]

Not familiar (never worked with) Mitsubishi Chemical's Thermorun® TPE but it seens to be similar to Kraton® or probably more like an AES Santoprene® TPE synthetic rubber. Zytel® from DuPont is a nylon. In any case, both the thermoplastic nylon and the cured/vulcanized synthetic rubbers should hold up pretty well. The problems that can occur to cause them, both the plastic and rubber, to deteriorate prematurely is to have the bonds between in within the molecules break apart. This will cause the materials to basically become brittle and break apart.

What would cause the degradation can be from a couple sources that you wouldn't think much about. UV from light (indoor and out) will cleeve the bonds as well as any oxidizing source like ozone. This breakdown will occur even though the materials, when made and processed, have been enforced by UV stabilizers and anti-oxidants. Those chemicals eventually leach out, evaporate/sublime, get used up combatting UV/Ox, etc. Eventually nature will have its way.

Fortunately, the degradation will take (probably tens of) years to accomplish this so you should be safe even taking moderate care of your stuff. Just keeping it in a dark dry place like a drawer will help the knives keep their handles. Sealing it away (desicated), of course is the extreme but best insurance (if stowed away from light).