The SOG Fusion Fixation Bowie knife achieves quite a lot for its reasonable price and will connect with a lot of knife enthuisasts. SOG has wisely answered the trend of high value, high quality blades with their Chinese-produced “Fusion” line of blades. The Fixation Bowie is a favorite of mine in the series. Measuring out at the same as a KaBar Combat knife (7″ blade), the Fixation looks to be a good choice as a deployment, light survival, or all-around outdoor blade. The 8Cr13Mov steel, similar to AUS-8, should hold an edge adequately (like the Spyderco “Byrd” models do), be easy to sharpen, and offer some rust resistance. Other upsides include: a hammer-capable pommel (love those!), nice long handle, excellent jimping on the thumb ramp, good quality Cordura nylon sheath with a sharpener pocket, and excellent fit and finish throughout. All this weighs in at a very packable 12.8 ounces… great job SOG! Downsides might include a delicate tip, less-than-sharp factory edge, and a handle material that is reminiscent of vinyl (but has sharp checkering). Nevertheless, the SOG Fixations -ish pricetag makes it a steal and it will attract cash-strapped knife addicts like Rosie ODonnel to free donuts. ////////////////////Nutnfancy Likeability Scale: 9 out of 10 (price considered)

Here’s my knife collection. It includes: Gerber Paraframe Camillus 499 Pilot Survival Knife SOG SEAL Pup Cold Steel Recon Scout Wolverine Custom Machete Tremontina Machete I just sold my Camillus 499 to survival instructor Paul Tarsitano of www.savealifeca.com. I’ll miss it, but I know Paul will put it to good use. After all, how many knives do I really need? As usual, leave feedback and comments.

The excellent SOG Gov-Tac steps into to fill the void left by the loss SOG Government Agent in the SOG lineup. Like the Agent, the Gov-Tac makes a smart deployment knife choice, that is a knife thats well suited to LBE use by soldiers. A medium sized blade tactical and survival blade, the Gov-Tac offers a several advantages. At 13.4 oz carry weight, it is around 2.0 ounces lighter than most KaBars while still serving up a 6 blade. Made of AUS8 steel, this 6 inch blade offers excellent …

The little Benchmade Nimravus Cub II (LIte) is impressive. The entire loadout weight on this diminutive blade is just 5.4 oz. The blade itself is only 3.5 ounces! Nevertheless the BM Nim Cub II gives us a perfectly sized 3.5 inch 154CM stainless blade that holds much utility and maybe a little tactical capability as well. The sharp jimping, deep fingerguard, and perfect balance help to solidly lock the Nim Cub in hand. The sheath is a homerun: super light, nylon so as not to absorb water …