I've read an article written by a US Army soldier in Iraq who used his Gerber LMF II ASEK to cut through a 220-volt power line to cut power which was providing light to the enemy and negating the value of the US soldier's NVGs. He credits the LMF II's rubber handle for saving him from being electricuted.

Would the SYKCO's Resiprene C handles provide the same protection against electrical current? Would the electrical current damage the SR101 blade as it did the Gerber ?

The Base Exchange (BX) is full of Gerber products, which is why they are common among many military members, not that they are of a better quality than other knives.

FG, I am NO expert, but it is possible the handle would insulate you from shock. BUT there is the thong hole tube to consider. You might be able to grip the handle without touching the metal tube but I don't know if the rubber would be thick enough to insulate from HIGH voltage. I guess it's a matter of necessity Vs need.

It would help if you were standing on dry sand.....
The res c is an insulator, but it's not voltage rated.
I would say don't touch the lanyard hole while working live wires.
But generally an electrical run has a ground and a neutral besides the hot wires, if you chop through that, you'll create a short causing the electricity to gouge your blade....

I think the LMF was meant for 12 Volt.... It seems like it was designed to work on a vehilcle electrical system and not have the butt become energized when in close quarters.
I do not believe it is rated for electrical use.... It would cost more than the knife is worth to get it voltage rated.

I read the story and the guy said the knife did what it was supposed to do....
But he did say it gouged out the blade so in fact he was using it in the wrong application, Any rubber handled knife would done the same thing.
When the blade gouged out he tripped the circuit breaker, causing him not to get an electrical shock, and the lights went out.

I gotta think that as soon as that blade touched both wires, the knife would melt and the there would be a huge arc that would have knocked the soldier on his butt (if he was lucky).

Melted an old folder when cutting the battery line on a military jeep many, many, many years ago. And yes, it was a jeep, not a Hummer.

208/220v lines for lighting or general use extension cords are usually small (1.5mm/2.5mm or 16g/14g). You can sometimes cut though without shorting the circuit and causing an arc.

The Res-c handles will protect you but the soldier was probably protected because the soles of his boots did the work. The best way to prevent shock is to wear insulated boots or stand on an insulator (fiberglass ladder, plastic stool, etc.).

I had an electrician working for me that was using a drill while standing in a puddle of water.

He pulled the trigger, got shocked and said it was the drill. He got a different drill, plugged it in and the same thing happened. I think that I bit a hole in my lip watching that guy.

Ferber does advertise it as a insulated handle. Under the rubber there are slabs of a plastic or other synthetic. It's still not something I would count on. I agree that the breaker did the real work

I've owned (and broken) more than one LMFII

The design includes "handle isolation" from electrical currents.

If I remember correctly, there is some sort of rubber gasket and a multi-part tang involved. Its been since before I had my first Bussekin (2008) so my memory is foggy.

If this violates posting rules just nuke it:

Note how the pummel is isolated from the tang, and the rubberized grip is fastened internally. As Randy said, the metal tubes in a Bussekin could transfer current.

Related side:

I only own Busse Combat, Scrap Yard, and Swamp Rat fixed blades now.

In fact, I'm in the process of selling my ZT folders, because I've decided to pocket carry a Warden instead. This effectively means my entire knife collection will be Busse(kin) fixed blades and Victorinox SAK's.

(I do have a couple of Gerber multi-tools, but I don't' consider them knives).

Architect,

I was once telling a mutual friend about Bussekin, and he brought up his LMF2 (All he buys is Gerber knives).

He said someone at a car show saw his sitting in the front seat, and then the guy said "Mister, I can't tell you all the stuff we've done with that knife. We cut up cars with it, etc."

I wasn't really sure if I should believe that or not, but after seeing the tang construction I'm saying no way did that stuff happen.

Not knocking Gerber, they make decent stuff but it's not THAT good......

I use to buy / horde a lot of what I thought were good "hard use" knives. This mostly included Beckers (original Camillus), Bucks, Gerbers, and KaBars. (I also had tons of others, but these were the "commonly recommended" knives most people heard of at that time).

After breaking one from each company I started researching knives more, and that lead me here.

I had equipped our survival gear with LMF2's after relegating my original LMF (different design) to the "collector only" pile. The LMF2 seemed like a good design, but I never cared for the balance. The giant weight at the pummel and handle shape (think a wood 1 x 2) was awful. Anyway, I had set about "testing" my gear and ended up breaking the blade on a LMF2. I also broke more AR15's than I care to remember.

The net result was learning (the hard way) the following lesson:

"As good as" never is.
or
Buy right and cry once. Buy wrong and cry twice.

I haven't bought a single piece of "hobby grade" kit since.

I'm curious how those AR-15's broke on you, did you move to the AK after all that?

I didn't move away from AR's. In fact, I've had at least one AR in my collection for the past 29 years. I did move away from "hobby grade" guns though. I have a BCM and a two Colts. I also have two Arsenal AK's.

The problems I've had with AR's is a long list, and I've been on here too much today so suffice to say:

broken bolt (lost a lug - DPMS)

short stroking (S&W M&P15)

castle nut loosening (not staked - Olympic Arms)

gas key coming off (not staked - Bushmaster)

screwed on gas block working loose (ArmaLite)

trigger guard falling off (the pin worked out of the lower - Rock River Arms)

broken hammer (broke clean off - DPMS)

sheared off buffer retainer pin (bound up gun - SGW)

broken extractor (high round count gun I bought used from a Police Officer - Bushmaster)

frozen selector (this was on a Colt, but I caused the problem when I changed out the Pistol Grip)

sticky chamber (S&W M&P15 - Smith deburred the chamber at the factory after I sent it in the second time)

That's a short list. Remember, I've owned AR's since 1984 and use to shoot about 500 rounds a week through them.

Oh yeah...

upper lower play so excessive the gun wouldn't cycle (parts gun with an EA lower...not to be confused with Eagle Arms)

dust cover spring broke (Eagle Arms - Coal Valley not the later company owned by ArmaLite)

I've owned the followign brands (from memory):

ArmaLite
BCM
Colt
Colt Defense
Core 15
DPMS
EA
Eagle Arms - Coal Valley
Eagle Arms - Div of Armalite
Olympic Arms
Rock River Arms
SGW
Smith & Wesson
Stag Arms

I'm probably forgetting a few.

I remember some other issues:

Barrel over-torqued at the factory (sheared off index pin and couldn't get it sighted in - Bushmaster)

Gas tube crimped at the factory (DPMS)

I got a gerber lmf before kin. I agree its a strange knife to handle

Arc,

None of that surprises me in the least coming from those makers, but if any of that was coming from a Tier One company I would be a little concerned.

Ever own Daniel defense?

Daniel Defense are well made, they are a solid value. Wouldn't be my first choice though, I'd probably grab a Lancer or Knight's.

Knights armerment are pricy!! I thought lancer made mags?

They do, but they also make a fine AR-15!

LMT's, BCM's, and Colt's here. I drink the Tier 1 Koolaid. Seems like Vicker's no longer endorses DD, but talks up BCM all the time.

Sorry OP, I didn't read the whole thread. Way off topic it seems am I.

I couldn't care less who LV endorses, as it's purely who pays him the most to use his stamp of approval.

I will however qualify this statement though and say that anything LV puts his name on, is likely pretty good quality though as his reputation is pretty much riding on it.

Pretty happy with my BCM, bought after a considerable amount of "internet research" on the subject of what's best.

I've never had a DD, but watched one choke a few times in a heavy use class. It was likely OE though.

I'm a BCM and Colt Defense only guy. A friend has a LMT and its a nice rifle, but now that they're using MIM gas keys they're off my list.

I did have to send a Colt back to the factory once. The disconnector "had problems".

There's nothing wrong with MIM parts if they are made right, aside from the fact that they may need to be replaced sooner than other types of manufacture. The problem that I see is that often they are NOT made right. That being said, it is hard to stay away from MIM these days as it seems everybody and their brother are incorporating this process.