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......