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This Spec Sheet article originally appeared in the May 2009 issue. Click here to sign up for a subscription and never miss Kim Breed's knife tests.

A number of years ago a good friend of mine, ABS journeyman smith Perry Elder, introduced me to a friend of his from South Carolina, Thomas Kreger. Tom would stop by every now and then at Perry’s shop to harass him—all in good fun, of course. One thing led to another and Tom told me he was going to be an advisor for SARGE Knives.

As it turned out, SARGE’s knives looked good to me, so I told Tom to mail me a box of “sharp goodies.” SARGE’s Matt Morris finished the deal and even sent me a handwritten note of introduction. That impressed me a lot. I finally decided on the model SK-80BL to test.

Multi-Media Tasker

An eighth-inch thick, the blade has a nice grind. To check edge performance, I used some half-inch-thick plastic foam. During multiple passes the SK sliced cleanly through it, pulling out no pieces in the process.

The edge geometry is correct for slicing, so I changed the test medium. I grabbed a big chunk of cardboard and went to work. Zip, zip—the knife cut the cardboard as fast as I could slide the blade through it, with no hang-ups and clean, crisp cuts. The SK is one sharp knife!

No problem; I have a pile of plastic boards lying around from past-election yard signs. They make perfect target holders and most people just throw them out. The plastic’s toughness and the fact the outside temperature was 31°F should have slowed the knife down a little—or so I thought. After cutting 35 pieces of plastic board, the SK was still going strong with no let up in sharpness. The knife slices so fast it almost makes it a chore to get your fingers out of the way while cutting.



Deer Detail

I was lucky enough to harvest another whitetail buck. I have a processor cut the rack and tail off but I could at least use the SK on the animal for detail jobs.

I really like the point of the blade for fine work. Scrape-cutting the hide went fast. I was a little concerned as at the end of the cut I had to twist the tip upward to clear the base of the rack. This put a lot of stress on the tip and the lock. However, the SK handled it with ease; the lock stayed tight while twisting and the point
stayed sharp.

I used the SK to trim the excess skin and meat left on the deer tail by the processor. The knife cuts meat and skin very quickly. I usually process my own game but I wanted some summer sausage made, hence the processor. I ran out of sisal rope and had to use nylon line. After 150 cuts, the SK was still crunching through it. I doubled, tripled and even quadrupled the rope strands. Crunch—the knife just kept on cutting. It was time for tougher stuff.

A pine 1x4 was next up. The SK was very controllable for shave cuts, producing nice curly cues. Then it started taking out full chunks of the 1-inch wood. The knife bit deep and I had to rap the SK and the 1x4 on the bench to finish the cut. The lock held tight throughout five deep cuts. The lock angle is very good. As a final test I held the knife with two fingers and sliced paper. Despite all the preceding cuts, the SK still was able to slice it—a sure sign of excellent edge retention.

What I Would Change

The liner had a sharp spot that can be removed easily with 400-grit paper.

Bottom Line

The SK-80BL is a great everyday carry knife that will hold up even for the tough jobs.

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