Customer Reviews

Schrade Extream Survival Knife 12 1/4" Overall Length, Fixed Blade

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good solid knife for the price. I thought Schrade USA had gone out of business, and apparently they have. This one was made in China. I would like to have been able to find that information in the description. I guess the misspelling of extreme in the title might have been a clue, but with the state of education in the US, maybe not. I have some doubts about the usefullness of the nail puller built into the pommel, but haven't tested it yet. The knife is heavy with a thick blade; appears to be good quality (but no steel grade markings on it); and it looks like it could survive being run over by a bull dozer. The sheath is also good and has pockets for a stone and some other small gear (neither included). Overall, it compares favorably with my Gerber Mark II that cost more than twice as much when I bought it.

This knife is a work horse, I collect knives and have many in my collection. A lot of them at the price paid are "to good to use" so they live in a dedicated multi drawed toolbox with padded bottoms.......

When I head out to the woods for a walk or a campout this schrade is what is on my belt. Size is just right and I have big hands, the blade is sharp and holds a pretty good edge, the top edge has a sawback design perfect for notching tree branches to hold a cord in place, it is heavy enough to chop but still feels balanced, there is a wire cutter at the rear of the blade, and for a pommel there is a heavy steel flat head you can use to drive nails, even has a mini claw foot for prying. It is held in place by a roll pin that goes through the full tang blade so it will not fall off. For the money this knife is a workhorse that I am sure you will enjoy as much as I do, buy it with confidence.........

The first word that came to mind when I first held this knife was "wow". This thing is pretty heavy, you can tell right away that this is a very solid, heavy duty knife. If I was in a survival situation, it would give me some real peace of mind knowing I had this knife with me. The main thing I found impressive was the hammer and claw on the end (never had a knife with one of those). The sheath that comes with it is pretty impressive too, has two pockets to pack a sharpening stone or your own survival kit. This sheath seems pretty heavy duty too. I think its a pretty attractive piece of equipment, even though looks dont really matter too much. Get this knife and see for yourself.

I flip-flopped on this knife and another similarly priced knife for longer than I should've. I made a split minute decision one night and went with the schrade. I have one pocket knife made by them and have been very happy with it. Once I opened my package I knew this knife wouldn't let me down. You can't ask much from a knife, so one that is solid built (with good steel), balanced, and cuts well is an A+ in my book. Throw in the saw teeth and a well constructed sheath, and I'm a very happy customer. This is def with me in the woods.

My ONLY complaint is the handle is a little large for my liking. I have big hands, so it's not a huge deal, but for smaller framed people, this may be more of an issue to them than me.

This is a pretty well balnced knife.I like all the features of it. Yes, it is a little heavy, but that comes in handy when using it to chop with. I chopped through two 3" trees without expending too much energy. I'm sure with a lighter knife it wouldn't have gone as smoothly. The wood saw on the back of the blade is okay for making small notches on sticks, but requires a little more effort. The serrated edge on the back of the tip also comes in handy. It is just like a steak knife blade. It is about 2" in length and works fine. I don't exactly know what type of steel the blade is made of. It holds an edge very well. I took it straight out of the box, chopped down two small trees and stripped off some of the bark on one of them. The blade still had enough of an edge to slice cleanly through two sheets of paper when I got home. The pommel end works well as a hammer. I drove 12 and 16 penny nails with it. The rubber on the grip does get damaged if you mishit the nail. Of course you could just use the butt end of the grip. The claw could be a little wider on the inside in order to really grip a larger size nail. It does work okay. Longer nails will need to be bent over a little to get better leverage on them. The hammer and claw works best with the knife in the sheath. I don't know what someone else was thinking when he said you have to exert pressure on the blade side to have better leverage. Foolish. The sheath is pretty decent. The snap fastens securely and the strap is not loose. The knife is a little loose in the hard plastic lined sheath. It does make a little bit of noise.(very little) It should be nothing to really bother you. I also like the two outer pockets on it. I have a magnesium fire starter in the bottom pocket. The top pocket has a medium sized multi-tool in it. I had to put a paracord lanyard on the knife. All in all I am very satisfied with this knife and would put it up against some of my other more expensive survival type knives anytime. I would reccomend this knife.

this knife is a little large for long backpacking trips but is surprisingly well balanced for a medium quality knife. holds an edge ok so far. overall i think it was worth the cash spent.be careful with the pry end, it tends to point toward the user for best pry angle.

I got really excited when I saw this knife on sell for $20.
The reason I got really excited? Not gonna lie, it's a good looking knife!

But I ended up not buying it... Why?

Being an engineer that often deals with different alloys, I was very curious as to the material that made this blade.
After much researching, and calling the U.S. rep for Schrade Knives, I only came as close as identifying the material as one of the 400series stainless steel (ss), no one can tell me which of the dozens of possibilities of 400series ss it is. (And just for those curious, there are some that are made to be soft but corrosion resistant, and some hard but not. There are even 400series ss engineered just for welding, etc.) It would make sense if the knife was made from 420 ss. But the fact that no one can tell me for sure (short of me taking it to my lab for testing), shows me a lack of thought and design put into the making of this knife...

But, a cheap knife is a cheap knife right? And 400series ss, no matter what it is, is harder than flesh, right?

So I went to the local Big 5 Sporting Goods store to check it out.
The knife was Sharp! That's good!
The bad???
The sheath is a little loose, which make chickadee noises when you walk, that would annoy the heck out of me on a long hike.
The clip that keeps the knife in the sheath is really hard to engage, but it will get easier with usage.
The display knife's blade was not set in alignment with the handle... making it heavy on the right side... this tells me that either this knife can't handle being a display model, or the manufacturing process for this knife is shotty. Both of which should not be the case for a knife if your survival depends on it.

Bottom line...
I would not get this knife for backpacking trips due to the questionable quality.
I would not get this knife for hikes due to the weight and the annoying sounds it makes when walking fast with it.
I would not get this knife for random around the house chores due to the size.

But if you have other uses for it, it is a great looking knife!

This knife is NOT awesome. First thing i noticed was the sheath it almost 2" too long for the blade, like it wasn't made for this knife. Second, I had to try out the hammer/nail puller. Unless you plan on using the hammer end to hang pictures on drywall, your forked, and if you do just don't plan on pulling the nail back out with the inclusive puller. It won't grab anything less that 1/4" exposed, and the only way to get leverage is to push on the edge of the blade.

It does however have a nice thick blade (the sawtooth back is the entire thickness, but works better than expected) and cut a few hairs off my arm. it isn't sharp enough to shave my arm though.

Overall I will keep this knife in my box 'o' knives just so that i can loan it out and not worry about losing a "good" knife.

My P.O.U. *(purpose of use) is "keep in the trunk knife" It isn't a pry-bar but it will break a window if needed. Why would I spend $100 to for a knife to keep in my trunk? There is a line/wire cutter on the blade. The saw on the back is for real. The hollow ground 1/4" blade is thick enough to baton with.

There is a local guy in most towns that has a shingle out advertising "knife sharpening" I am gonna take this to him and get'er done. Some bead blasting would make her purty.

The warranty is good. If you brake it they will replace it. I put the receipt in the sheath with some $1's and matches(yes you can burn $, we won't tell), the cash could come in handy too.

Add some para-cord and gorilla tape and I'm prepared for anything.

If "Survivalist" is your stock and trade (a la Bear Grylls or Cody Lundin), you probably are going to spend a bit more money on a knife that your life depends on daily. But, for the recreational hiker, camper, etc. you really won't find a better knife for the money. Solid construction, sharp blade, good saw edge, plus hammerhead and nail claw make this a very versatile knife to help you with just about any task you might encounter in the outdoors. Throw in a nice sheath with pockets for flints, pocket tools, emergency fishing gear, etc. makes the package complete. It's a good deal at the MSRP, but if you can find a discount or sale it makes the Schrade Extreme Survival Knife an even more solid value. Between a sale and a coupon, I was able to score mine for $18.50 out the door! Can't beat that for this knife!!