Survive Knives GSO 4.5 Review
Survive Knives has a troubled past. Their success going forward is based on how they deal with that past. The knives have been there since the beginning all the way back to that first review on Nutnfancy’s channel probably a decade ago. Survive Knives makes great knives. They just don’t always get them out to people. Some folks have been waiting for a knife for more than a year and for a production company, even one as small as Survive, that is not good.
But things seem to be turning around. Knives are going up for sale more often. Those that are sold are being delivered with less wait. My GSO 4.5 (4.5) was delivered right on time. To be fair, and in the interest of full disclosure, Guy asked me to review a knife to update my impressions from the first review (found here). I was happy to do so, so long as I paid full price and didn’t get special treatment. I waited about a month and then put in an order for a knife without telling Guy which one I was buying. I can’t guarantee that I didn’t get special treatment, but I got my knife around the same time everyone seemed to get their 4.5s from that batch.
If this turnaround is legit, Survive Knives will instantly vault to the top of the fixed blade market. The GSO 4.5 is so good that it is replacing one of my oldest pieces of kit—my Bark River Bravo 1 LT in 3V with custom sheath. The 4.5 is a better knife than the previous Survive Knives model I reviewed, the 4.7, found here. It is also better than any other production fixed blade I have seen, used, or handled. It is a masterpiece of design and fit and finish. If the Dragonfly 2 is the pinnacle of design refinement in a folder for me, the 4.5 is that in a fixed blade—versatile, tough, capable, and no bigger than needed. You will like this knife if you have even a passing dalliance with cutting edges.
Here is the product page. There are two variants—this one and an even thinner stock version for bushcraft. The knife is available with lots of handle materials and colors and there are a few cerakoted versions out there as well. There are no video or written reviews other than my Gear Junkie review. Here is my review sample (paid for with my own money):
Twitter Summary: The new standard for production fixed blades.
Design: 2
Guy Seifert has been making very good fixed blades since the beginning, but even a master can get better and here, we have true mastery—subtle, meaningful, and thoughtful improvements throughout. First, the handle is significantly improved over my first Survive Knives, the GSO 4.7. With a less abrupt curve to the index finger notch, this knife seems more natural in the hand. Second, the unnecessary jimping is gone. When you are master, crutches are unnecessary. The sharpening choil is also more natural, allowing for better access and improved in-hand feel when choking up on the blade. The sheath has a dangler now making it better too. While these are differences on enthusiasts might notice, the sum total of changes represents a real upgrade. This is a subtly better knife, but a better knife to be clear.
Fit and Finish: 2
With absolutely crisp edges, fingernail flush materials transitions, and a wonderfully even finish on the blade, the GSO 4.5 is as good as you will find in the production world. It is not out of place even among handmade customs. Stacked up against something like the Krein Whitetail, which I think is about as good as you can find in utility custom fixed blades, there is difference, but not as much as you would think. For example, Tom Krein’s finish on the micarta handle is absolutely perfect and like no other. While the GSO 4.5 is not quite as nice it is still equally functional.
Handle Design: 2
To paraphrase: the handle is the thing in which we will catch the conscience of the king. Fixed blades are all about handles. Relieved of the design constraints a folder represents, fixed blades are free to make a use-focused handle and, in turn, a knife with superior comfort over time (usability, see below) and the ability to soak up damage (durability, also see below). As a result, handles are where you will find the taletell signs of a master. This handle is the best I have ever used on any knife ever. That is a bold claim, but let me explain in comparison to other blades.
Folders—because of the slit down the middle, the need for lock access, and the limitation handle length places on blade length, no folder will ever reach the summit of handle design. If I were to pick, the Jarosz M75 would probably rank 1, followed closely by the Dragonfly, but as great as these two are in the folder world, they are no where near the summit, which you will only find on fixed blades. Its the smartest Kardashian phenomenon…someone has to be the best in a group, even if the group overall isn’t that good. Chuckle with me as someone struggles to pass the California-only and totally made up Baby Bar Exam (it is only required for people not in law school or attending a non-ABA accredited law school; perhaps the better name for it would be the Dilettante’s Bar Exam…).
Fiddleback Forge—these are some of the most widely acclaimed handles in the IKC and for good reason. They are great. That said, I prefer the lanyard attachment point here better, even if it is less stylish than the Fiddleback trademark bull’s eye. The Lanyard Mafia has influence even in the fixed blade world.
BK—I like these shapes a lot, but the material and crude finishing hold them back. I’d love a high end version of the BK16. That would be an interesting fight.
Bark River—the grips are not quite as neutral as the grip here and I prefer the matte texture on this knife to the shiny polish of a BR.
In the end, short of a custom, the grip is as good as you will find.
Steel: 2
CPM 3V is the standard bearer for fixed blades. Here it is excellent and having given it a thumping or two, it does as promised. 3V is good, really good.
Blade Shape: 2
Nice spearpoint, like the GSO 4.7 I had before, it is very competent and quite appealing. I like the shape of a classic drop point, but picking between the two is like picking between hot fudge and chocolate topping.
Grind: 2
As a camp knife, grind is critically important. The idea behind the camp knife is that it can do all your camp chores—delimbing trees for fire, making feather sticks for kindling, and preparing food to eat. These tasks all require different things—weight, lateral strength, and slicing ability—and get a grind that can do all these things is a vexing problem. Guy’s decision to deliver lots and lots of toughness makes the choice of a two-thirds height grind a good one. That puts meat behind the edge for chopping. Using 3V gives the knife toughness needed for lateral strength. But it is the expert hand at the grinding wheel that reduces the cutting edge to a real slicer. This is a superior grind.
Sheath Carry: 2
It rides high, which I like, but I know others don’t. Given that I can’t say the GSO 4.5 is perfect, but for me, I like how the sheath rides, up out of the way until you need it. Its not a splint on your leg, nor is it large enough to be an ironing board on your side.
Sheath Accessibility: 2
One hand in and one hand out, with no issues. You can even do it blind. This is one advantage of the rigid belt loop (which is made of kydex) and the high hip positioning. Again, I like it, but some might not.
Usability: 2
After splitting a cord of wood with the GSO 4.5 riding as back up to a splitting maul, I feel like I have a good feel of what the knife is like over time. It was a long day, but there were no hot spots, no soreness (due to the knife) and it still felt great in the hand.
Durability: 2
At a certain point there is no real meaningful way to damage a well made full-tang construction knife that they are basically indestructible. If you want to smash the knife and torture it via abuse, you can probably break it, but honestly with epoxied handles, 3/16” steel, and micarta, the GS0 4.5 will outlive me.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Low
Fixies aren’t for those needing fidget entertainment, but the sheath is nice and snappy, I guess…
Fett Effect: Very Low
Unless you are careless with the 3V, the knife is basically impervious to wear.
Value: High
While not cheap, given the materials, the fit and finish, and, most importantly, the design, the GSO 4.5 is quite a good value.
Overall Score: 20 out of 20
I absolutely love the GSO 4.5. It has replaced my beloved Bark River Bravo 1 LT. It is the first time in years that I have switched my main fixed blade. The improved sheath and better handle make it a relatively easy swap. I am also pretty pleased at the order and delivery process. Lots and lots of GSO 4.5 have been sent out to the general public, if IG posts are any indication. I am really happy with this as, while great, the GSO 4.5 isn’t that different than the GSO 4.7 (these are upgrades only enthusiasts will appreciate). The big news here is that more great knives seem to be getting out there. The knife business is, unsurprisingly, about selling and delivering knives and it looks like Survive Knives has turned the corner. While they won’t have constant stock because of the size of the company, it does look like Survive will have stock for each production batch. That’s a good thing. I will still note that the order status icons on the Survive Knives website are unnecessary and confusing. There are three statuses that make sense: in production, in stock and shipping, out of stock.
Competition
Four of my favorite fixed blades—the Bravo 1, the Falkniven F1, the Kabar BK16, and the Gerber Terracraft—are all camp knives and so they make fantastic comps for the GSO 4.5.
On the one hand you have the cheaper blades like the Kabar and the F1. They are good, but they have drawbacks. Both the BK16 and the F1 have slightly out of date steel and less than ideal materials. Plastic handles and 1095 hasn’t been state of the art since the Kennedy administration and no one likes the rubbery grip of the F1. Both also have pretty wretched sheathes. But they cost less than the higher end stuff, so they get a bit of a pass. Problem is that for $100 more (or in the case of the F1 $90) all of these problems fall away on the GSO 4.5.
Then you have the higher end stuff, like the Bravo 1. The price is basically the same and the materials are identical, but you have a much more idosyncratic design. The ramp, which I did not opt for, is just silly on the Bravo 1. The bird’s beak is too pointy. And the sheath, ugh, the worst leather sheath I have seen. In the high, where price and materials are identical, the sublime design trumps.
Only the Terracraft really makes a case. Its leather sheath is phenomenal, and while not state of the art, S30V is no slouch. At $160, it offers a price break compared to the GSO 4.5. The design, with its angular handles, is certainly non-traditional, so it is not straight up superior, but it is, in my mind, the GSO 4.5’s most serious competition.
I’d love to see an S35VN ESEE, but they are always two down on my To Buy list. In that line I like the ESEE 4HM. The SOG Pillar is another good fixed blade, but it is a bit more weapony than the stuff in the top tier. I could also be persuaded that the Benchmade Bushcrafter is a competitor, but it is even MORE expensive. The Cold Steel Master Hunter in 3V hits the same marks, but it has the rubber handle that I don’t like on the F1.
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