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Letter from A.X. Perez

Al Mar SERE 2020 40th Anniversary Commemorative Review

Since I wrote the somewhat fatuous letter below, I have taken time to go over other reviews of the SERE 2020. Basically, what I ran into were people complaining that someone had made a horrible mistake making a knife with a D-2 steel in China instead of a fancier stainless steel in Japan and then daring to sell it under the AL Mar label. The other reviews basically said, “It ain’t what we’re used to getting from Al Mar, but it’ll do.”

The fact is the new SERE 2020’s would have gone for north of $200,00 if they had been made in Japan of the same steel as earlier models. If the new Al Mar knives have diminished in snob appeal, they have also become more affordable. Also, it must be mentioned that it is claimed Al Mar production and variety had been going down, before the new owners took over and moved production to China. The question is, will the new owners be able to restore the brand’s former glory and still produce affordable knives.

Meanwhile people on both left and right have called for bringing manufacturing back to America. So, here’s the challenge: produce a 3.6 inch long blade, about an inch thick, and 1,5 inches thick of D-2 steel on a folding knife with a flipper activated very smooth assisted opening mechanism using a liner lock and is properly fitted. It must be properly fitted and finished, made in the USA, have an MSRP less than $100.00, and sell profitably on Amazon or other discount vendor for $41.00.

Do the same for cell phones, tablets, computers. and computer parts.

FIRST LETTER:

Al Mar Knives went into business in 1979. In 2020 they released a SERE 2020 Forty Year Commemorative Knife. I expected that if I bought one it would cost me about $150.00. Then I saw one available from Amazon.com for 41 bucks and change and I couldn’t lay off. (I had just ordered a copy of Gun Runners by Larry Correia and John D, Brown and I browsed the site for “the heck of it.”)

The knife I received today actually has a satin finish, not a black one as is shown in the picture. It is shaving sharp out of the box and has a truly smooth flipper actuated assisted opening mechanism. It is made from D-2 steel instead of stainless as previous Al Mars have been. That’s why we have Break Free. The steel has a Rockwell hardness of 58-60, or easy to sharpen, holds an edge, is hard but not brittle. The spine is thicker than a Buck 110, and it is about as long. There are versions available with blackened blades and/or semi-serrated edges. I don’t have a lot of heavy chores waiting for me, but the knife seems stout enough for anything I need to do with a folding knife.

Al Mar is now making its knives in China instead of Japan. This is why they are available with an MSRP of about $90.00 to $130.00 depending on bells and whistles instead of something around $180.00 to $200.00. So far I have not heard of quality becoming unworthy of the brand.

Now if we can just make a knife this good at this price in the USA things would be great. Meanwhile, what appears to be a cool knife from a reputable maker is out there at a decent price. It may not have as much snob appeal as before, but it still has enough wow factor to encourage you to use it to obey Gibbs’ Rule 9.

A.X. Perez
[email protected]

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