Survival Knife Tests Series 2: Part 2, Equip 2 Endure

June 19th, 2010
by urban


Series 2 of our Knife Test Series. This is the second part of our knife test focusing on the splitting test with our, Gerber LMF 2, Becker BK-2, Tops Fire Strike, Benchmade Persidio. See which blade had a critical failure, and make sure you know what you want to take into the woods on your next trek.

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Posted in Survivial Tips and Techniques | Comments (25)

25 Responses to “Survival Knife Tests Series 2: Part 2, Equip 2 Endure”

  1. tekknorat Says:

    Maybe it bends back, but like reeeeeaaaaallly slowly, LOL

  2. giutoniolo Says:

    Thank you so much for this useful post! I like the bk2!

  3. FatDaddy4Fun Says:

    That Fire Strike is $179.00 at TOPS! I was considering the Condor Alert too. I am glad I watched your vid so I didn’t waste $229.00 on another disaster. I’m waiting on my BK-2 to arrive. I carry the BK-9 on my gater (Daniel Boone style) and I have an RTAK2 in the pack for, uh….for weight I guess! Hahahaa! Thanks for the vid. Thumbs up dude!

  4. Equip2Endure Says:

    @DonPedroEscobar can’t go wrong with a Ka-Bar, this knife is a combat blade, not for bushcrafting. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.
    - Adam

  5. DonPedroEscobar Says:

    Great videos, Adam. I guess that rules out the Firestrike from my shoping list. I wanted to buy this blade but TOPS knives are kind of expensive in my country and I won’t pay 200 $ for a bad camping knife. I’ll stick with my Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie and CS Trailmaster.

  6. Equip2Endure Says:

    @SValkHMcD, Just MechaniX Gear gloves. You can get them at the hardware store very relatively cheap. As for the FireStrike, TOPS is a good company. Just make sure you are getting the right knife for the job. Thanks for watching! Take care and hope to hear from you soon.
    - Adam

  7. SValkHMcD Says:

    Hi Adam, I was actually looking at buying the Tops Firestrike so I looked up some reviews and ended up finding your videos. Great job on the testing I must say, I have seen many tests and some of them are hard to believe. Your test are very helpful. I am glad I found you and will most likely ask you questions about knives in the future. First question is, what gloves do you use? I’ve gone through many pairs of gloves and none of them are durable enough. Thanks.

    - Stephen

  8. Equip2Endure Says:

    Thanks Kyle! The TOPS thing was a let down, I still like a lot of there products. I don’t want the video to be a bash on TOPS, but like you said; use each for their respective job. Thanks for the comment and welcome to Equip 2 Endure!
    - Adam

  9. BCKyle1 Says:

    I’ve seen a battery of tests on Tops knives (some similar to what you did) and I still trust Tops for just about everything (i.e. camping, hunting) but, like you said, it is foremost a combat knife. Idealy everyone would follow the three knife rule. Carry three knives (combat knife, general purpose knife, and a back up; using each for their respective job to keep them lasting) along with a machete for hard work. Even though I am shocked by the condition of that Tops knife, I like your reviews.

  10. Equip2Endure Says:

    Yeah, that’s the theory.
    - Adam

  11. jeepnicc Says:

    That’s unreal! Must have been a poor temper on the Firestrike.

  12. vercygentix Says:

    I like the LMF because of how sturdy the blade is

  13. Equip2Endure Says:

    Well, one good thing is it did not break, so you could still use it in a survival situation. TOPS is a quality knife maker, I think this one fell through the cracks which was a disappointment. But it does go to show; have the right tool for the right job, fighting knives don’t do that well for bush craft in general.
    - Adam

  14. HomoGnosticus Says:

    I never saw something like with the TOPS happening before, lol, I always thought either a knife goes through the wood or it breaks at some point.

  15. leakystarfish Says:

    Fuckin junk.

  16. Equip2Endure Says:

    Thanks for the comment. I don’t believe I ruled out two of the knives with the test. The only one that bent was the Fire Strike, and after taking it to a knife maker I believe it had a bad temper which I explained in the video responses. Take care,
    - Adam

  17. Kothogaful Says:

    This is part of the problem with youtube knife reviewers today. You ruled out two knives after beating the snot out of them through wood and breaking them, not yourself.
    A.You werent reading the grain at all. You just stuck knife in and beat.
    B.Your orientation while holding the baton was all wrong

  18. daddad77 Says:

    wow…. the way they heat treat their 1095 must be pretty shitty then because ive had countless 1095 knives and mine have always bent back straight after something like that :- that just kinda changed my opinion of TOPS…

  19. Equip2Endure Says:

    Yep, 1095!

  20. trapach Says:

    keep in mind that that bk9 was a camillus, this is a Kabar, different steel, different heat treat, and also, different thickness.

  21. Equip2Endure Says:

    I have a few TOPS knives and this has never happened, I believe it was a lemon. My friend and I tried to re-heat treat and temper the blade and there were still issues some cracks in the steel. But a great lesson learned! Thanks and take care,
    - Adam

  22. Equip2Endure Says:

    Thanks, let me know if you have any suggestions or questions, take care
    - Adam

  23. louieiglesias Says:

    nu to your channel. dig the reviews man! keep up the good work!

  24. S4SORT Says:

    What a junk knife! I would call TOPS, that bull-crap!

  25. Equip2Endure Says:

    I believe the BK-2 is the thickest of that series, but I will look at getting those to test. Any knife can break, I will have to check out his video to see what stress the knife was placed under. Take care,
    - Adam